I've been popping in and out of this shop since I was about 10 years old. My earliest memory of the…read moreplace is when Granddad lived around the corner on Dyas Road and would always pick up his Evening Mail from there. I find it very satisfying that the shop is still there and looks pretty much as I remember it as a kid. Whilst it's changed hands a few times over the years it's still a reassuring fixture of the Kingstanding Road. These days I drop in once a month or so to buy tobacco, or some other 'essential' (is tobacco an essential?) as I pass through Kingstanding. As well as a newsagent this is also an off licence - it wasn't like that in my Granddad's day! - so, if the mood takes you, you can always pick up a beer or two for a reasonable price.

Selling a wide range of newspapers, magazines and everyday household items, this small…read morenewsagent-come-convenience store is a handy place to stop by whenever you're passing through Kingstanding. A large public car park is located just over the road, for shoppers visiting the Hawthorn shopping centre and several bus stops are within walking distance. Inside, the store is clean, spacious and very well organised. Though small in size, logical organisation and lack of makeshift shelving make ensure that the store never feels cramped, and friendly staff make every visit here a pleasant one. The prices are surprisingly good too.

Gone are the days of buying fishing nets from this shop in some kind of English, Ladybird book-type…read moreidyll. But the principle remains the same - it's here where you can stock up on drinks, snacks or perhaps ice cream for a trip into neighbouring Sutton Park, accessible via Town Gate at the end of the road. Essentially, it remains a newsagent, with a range of magazines to boot, but, like many of its type, a mini grocery and essentials like bread and milk are added to the mix. Coffee to go is also available via a self-serve gizmo, although you can't imagine too many of those find their way into the park compared to rocket lollies. But it's a welcome addition for those surrounding residents who are just the wrong side of Brassington Avenue or Jockey Road to make nipping into Sutton's commercial hub, Beeches Walk or Boldmere a 30-second breeze. It really is a venue to which you walk - and it's not uncommon to see gents in their slippers. Driving is a bit of a non-starter. Wyndley Leisure Centre is situated nearby, so you can stock up on water here rather than scratch around for vending machine change.

This is a small post office but covers a huge area after a few post offices closed down over the…read morelast few years. The staff are friendly and chatty and are happy to help. There is also a small shop area in there which sell crisps, pop, sweets, magazines and lottery tickets. It can get very busy first thing in the mornings but they have started to open at 8:30 which helps with the queues.

I love this post office, the staff are very friendly and cannot do enough for you.read more

Whenever I'm shopping on the Hawthorn Road in Kingstanding I will always pop into the appallingly…read morenamed Supercigs for some sweets for the kids - and my cigs, of course! It's a great little newsagents which I believe is part of a chain, but this branch is absolutely brilliant. They have a large selection of magazines and newspapers which is great for me as I love my trashy celeb mags, the magazines are laid out logically which is great compared to the newsagents nearby who seems to think it's a good idea to place Heat magazine next to Coarse Fishing books! They have a couple of fridges stocked with a nice selection of soft drinks which are reasonably priced and always well stocked. The 'munchies' section is the best part of Supercigs; they sell a brilliant range of crisps, boxed cakes, chocolate bars, sweets, chewing gum and bagged sweets. My daughters' love the bagged sweets because as well as the usual pineapple chunks and jelly beans they can also choose more exciting sweets such as chocolate Brazil nuts or dried banana chips. The sweets are all very reasonably priced, not just the bagged ones but across the board in this branch. The use-by dates are aways a way off in the future so I'm not such how they can offer such large discounts, but on my last visit I bought multi-packs of Monster Munch for £1 and a bag containing six Cadbury's chocolate bars for just 99p! My kids love it in here because the couple of quid I give them for sweets lasts so much further than if they spent it in the Co-Op. You can also buy greetings cards in here and in the centre of the shop are usually some discount baskets which can hold anything from kids' gardening sets (£1.99, although this was a couple of Summers ago) to huge boxes of marshmallows. Another thing I love about this branch of Supercigs is the fact that I can pay all my bills in there, it's a Paypoint outlet so any bill I have which requires a card or statement for payment I would simply hand over for them to scan and pay the money owed with no charges for this service. Saves a trip to the bank, and believe me I'd much rather be in a shop than a bank!

Joshua's is a brilliant convenience store. A fantastic range of products, run by a very lovely…read morefamily who will go the extra mile to make sure they always have the products you like. If they haven't got something they will make sure they have the next time you visit! In lockdown they were amazing and didn't try and hike their prices like a lot of other stores did! Honest and reliable, you should try them out!

Spotlessly clean inside and offering a copious range of foods, drinks and household essentials,…read morethis handy corner shop stocks pretty much everything you're ever likely to need for day-to-day domestic life. The store's range of pet food and refrigerated products are particularly impressive and there's even a cash machine inside for those of you who, like me, regularly end up going out with an empty wallet. Unfortunately, Joshua's is incredibly cramped inside and offers no parking facilities whatsoever. A bus stop is situated just opposite and the aisles aren't the tightest in the world, but the store's claustrophobic feel does undeniably let down what is otherwise a very handy, pleasant and reasonably priced local shop.