A childhood memory is this place to me, as I used to go here many times with friends. There is so…read moremuch cheap choice there too. It is almost an old fashioned sweet shop it has sweet; sugary, juicy different flavoured mice, lollies, and there all kinds of chocolate and many other sweets there. The prices are just right and the staff are really friendly and very welcoming. I recommend it as the best sweet shop in town, and it is one of the best arcades within town. I love this arcade because it is amazing what neat, smaller, old fashioned shops that you discover down here. I also love it because it reminds me of Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter, fantasy novel series. Apparently Cardiff is known for being the city of arcades representing perhaps the only images left that tell us of the wonderful and interesting history of the Victorian and the Edwardian heritage. It was in 1858 when the Royal Arcade in Cardiff's city centre was built; before that the 1790s only beheld twenty five retail shops known as 'market stalls.'

Fine Chocolates is an extremely well positioned shop on the corner of The Royal Arcade where it…read moremeets St Mary Street, allowing it a sizeable shop front on both, whilst retaining the prestigious address of The Royal Arcade. The chocolates are exquisite, but with a price tag to match, and so I have only ever bought them as gifts for other people, munching out on the less expensive, ubiquitous mass produced Belgian chocolate when I have a chocolate attack. I think that this is probably what most commonly occurs. With a selection of modern gift boxes, which are all finished off with presentation ribbons by the staff, it's clear that the gift option is a popular one. (This doesn't mean to say that it's not possible to prize the box open and snaffle a couple before you present them, somewhat apologetically, to their intended owner. And, this way you can announce with authority, as you hand the goods over, that the contents of their gift are really very good!) The shop also stocks soft drinks and a few lower cost items, like cake, that you can eat in at the tables provided. They also do great ice creams. I guess it is the sale of this kind of stuff that subsidises the chocolates, and justifies having such a large retail space, (otherwise there would be no point, and it certainly wouldn't be affordable).

This is a great little convenience store and news-agent, and being the only one in the immediate…read morearea, it's a real blessing that it is quite as good as it is, despite the fact that there's no competition! They stock a really good range of wine and alcohol in general, as well as all of the basic foods that are well complimented by some exotic extras. The Indian couple that own this shop take it in turns to man the counter. I like both of them, but really enjoy a chin wag with Mrs... oh no... I have forgotten her name... so sorry! (All of a sudden I don't want her to read this... how embarrassing!) City News stays open really quite late, as do all of the little businesses in the immediate vicinity, including Whispers, the internet shop next door. And that's another thing... Whispers is about to have a change of name, and the owner, whose name eludes me, told me what the new name is going to be, and guess what? Yep, I've forgotten it! Do you think I should carry a notebook and pen!?!

The Hayes is in the perfect location in the middle of Cardiff and I've got a knack of passing it…read morejust as I run out of cigarettes or fancy a drink and a paper on a warm day. It's pretty small and has everything you'd expect. I tend to look at the price of a pack of cigarettes when comparing newsagents and corner shops. I know that's little basic but it works and this one is certainly not as highly priced as Spar and other alternatives. I wouldn't expect it to last too much longer as the modernising of the Hayes area engulfs all and sundry with its power. But enjoy this place and the convenience it provides while it lasts as it's the most well placed newsagents in town.

Something missing from city centres are traditional Newsagents. It really is annoying that you have…read moreto go into a big department store etc to pay for over priced drinks you know you could pay alot less for if there just a damn newsagents around. Luckily Hayes provides this service. It's just a typical newsagents in all honesty, fairly cheap prices compared to changed stores, mags, sweets etc etc it's all here and a very nice member of staff that will always make you live with a smile.

This is another newsagents like Here's News, further up Albany Road, in the sense that it offers…read moremore than the newsagents that I am used to. Rather than just a chocolate bar and a magazine, like I remember, you can instead pick up a little book! How odd. However, I kind of like it. Not that there were any books I really wanted and the fact that it is primarily a newsagent means you don't get a good selection. Then again you still get everything you could possibly want, and get served by a lovely person. What else is really negative about it? I'm trying really hard to think about something! I would say it's prices aren't great. But that's good too! Damn you, A J & B Dudden!

A J & B Dudden Newsagent are somewhat of a rarity these days. They are an independent newsagent…read morethat haven't sold out to the Life Style Group or some other such chain. Good! This means that they can carry the stock that they want, and decide how things are going to look, and essentially do things their own preferred way, making A J & B Dudden Newsagent unique as a consequence! Unique and quirky I should say! They carry items that you wouldn't automatically expect a newsagent to stock, such as board games and books, (mainly Welsh in theme, such as guide books etc.), to compliment the national and full range of regional press and their good selection of magazines (which again reflects their desire to stock titles that you can rarely find elsewhere, unless you go to a large WH Smiths or a chain of similar stature). This of course, means that they can look after their dedicated loyal locals who consistently patronise the shop, allowing them to buy in items that have been requested. This shop is run by a lovely family who never consider anything too much trouble. Being small, they can't arrange the same level of bulk buying discounts that the larger chains are able to negotiate, and so their prices are a little more expensive. But I hope that this doesn't put too many people off using them. We run the risk of losing our independent corner shops, with their individual identity and their lovely quirkiness. We need to carry on shopping there and at other shops just like it if we are going to see them survive.

Women, beware. As the title may suggest, this is a publication for 'ladies' only, so don't go…read morethinking it's for the types who take a nice practical Regatta backpack into work, or for those who wear comfy trainers for a trip to town. Oh no! This is for the pampered kind of babe who wants their pore size to be reduced by 80% within a month, who want a new clutch bag every weekend, or wouldn't be able to survive a day without her Lancôme moisturising lip-gloss. Consequently, Ladies First is all style but sadly no substance. It's a good quality magazine, and a nice, colourful little thing to carry around with you and open up in the odd queue. However, it won't change your life and it won't entertain you for longer than it takes to make up a vanilla latte. URBAN CHALLENGE: Rip up the magazine and refashion it into a holdall. Now that's what I call stylish.

The Miniature Music Press is the brainchild of Aimee-Jade Hayes of See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings,…read moreand musician and promoter Rowan Liggett. The first issue was released ten months ago, and has already established itself as the essential guide to music in Cardiff. Featuring page after page of no-nonsense listings, this free, A5 zine-sized, full-colour, music magazine ticks a lot of boxes. Featuring new releases, live reviews, and the latest music news, as well as offering free downloads with each issue, it's not surprising that The Miniature Music Press has already earned itself a readership of 30,000. And check out J/M Strange's regular feature at the back! Guaranteed to bend your head out of shape and provide you with some well-earned escapism of the most delicious kind! Each month sees an increase in size of the magazine. Issue 8, released in May, was 42 pages long, and the June issue has grown to 48. That's an increase of just under twenty percent (or there abouts... I've never been too pedantic when it comes to doing the math). Whichever way you look at it, with this kind of growth rate, we can expect it to be fatter than a telephone directory in a couple of years time. That's phat! Next months magazine will be the festival issue, featuring the best of what's on offer in the summer, including Croissant Neuf in Usk, Green Man in the Brecon Beacons, as well as some of the smaller gatherings and city-based summer-loving and frivolity... You can pick up a copy at pretty much any venue in town, as well as at loads of shops and pubs. Failing that, check them out on-line... www.theminiaturemusicpress.com/ www.seemonkeydomonkey.com/ www.thenorthstarcardiff.com www.save-the-vulcan.blogspot.com

The local music scene in Cardiff isn't exactly thumping right now and, unfortunately, it hasn't…read morebeen for a long time. There are the occasional flares of success that sprout up, but these are few and far between. However, that's not to say that it doesn't exist; it's there, but it's discreet. It's hidden. Playing dead until something fresh and amazing comes along to give it something to live for. And that's where the Miniature Music Press comes in. In its scant few pages are listings for each and every music event and happening going on in the next month. With regular interviews, editorial articles from the local Cardiff scenesters and comprehensive gig listings, MMS seems to be building a scene all around itself, getting the information out there on exciting new music coming out of the city in a way that hasn't been seen in years. Our city has a diverse and wonderful collection of bands and music aficionados. What it hasn't had in a long time, is a community. The Miniature Music Press looks like it may be the cure to this problem.

I agree that Buzz is a great magazine for finding out what's what in Cardiff. My only real problem…read moreis that is quite difficult to come by. Lucky then they have a website with all the same information, plus they have a twitter feed so you can keep really up to date on whats going on. Its not a cheap looking magazine, whoever makes it really puts a lot of effort into it. I wish Cardiff had those magazine boxes on the streets that they have in London so I could get it easier.

Buzz Magazine is quite an achievement considering that it is practically run by volunteers and, as…read morefar as I'm aware, pretty much on a shoestring. It is a 'What's On' for South Wales, but somewhat unsurprisingly, for this Cardiff based magazine, Cardiff listings tend to dominate the publication. Of course, the fact that South Wales doesn't have another city anywhere near the scale of Cardiff is another reason why it features so prominently. I have been consistently amazed by Buzz. Their listings are accurate, their features are well researched and well written, and their website is packed full of info and regularly updated. I don't know how they do it! The best thing about Buzz is that it's free. You can pick up a copy from loads of places around the city of Cardiff, but it's not so easy to find places that stock it further afield. Art Centres tend to be a sure bet. I even found a copy at the Art Centre in Pontardawe. Impressive!

The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff and distributed throughout…read morethe South Wales region. It belongs to the Trinity Mirror group, the UK's largest newspaper company, and has been published since 1884. Each day there are actually two editions published - what's referred to as 'News Extra' for morning buyers, and 'City Final' for the evening readers. There is also a weekend edition published every Saturday. It has a much more local feel to it than the Western Mail, which covers news and features across Wales, and a lot of the news really isn't that gripping. I can't say I ever buy this newspaper - but if I find a copy on the train I'll have a flick through and find a few interesting local news articles.

The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed…read morethroughout the surrounding area. Founded in 1884, the newspaper is published by Media Wales Ltd (formerly Western Mail & Echo Ltd), part of the Trinity Mirror group. In 2008 Media Wales moved into from Thompson House to Park Street, next to the Millennium Stadium. It is a good source of local news, sport, business and entertainment for the Diff, leaving all-Wales coverage to The Western Mail. The writing isn't astoundingly brilliant, but for a quick catch up on your local vicinity you can flick through it over a cuppa and it'll only set you back a little shrapnel. You can also read articles from the Echo on Wales Online (http://www.walesonline.co.uk/).

I don't know whether it's because it's so close to the station or whether it's something that's…read moretrue across all the shops (I am assuming it's a chain store though I've never seen another) but this is such an expensive corner shop. I mean, you get everything you're likely to need, granted. Snack foods, newspapers and magazines, medicines - it's all there. But at quite a high cost. It's like when you go to the theatre and they charge you about £7 for a spoonful of ice cream - it's because it's theatre ice cream. Well, if you're going to buy food you might as well spend only a little more and get something good from M&S.

I know what you are expecting to see here. Here's New offers... news?…read more Well, yes, of course it does but it actually provides that and a little bit more. This is kind of like what a newsagents' would be like if they went on Pimp My Shop. As well as everything you would expect you can get things like books. The prices are all really good and the service is great. I was really happy with the way that I was treated and I'd come back here if I wanted some more... news.

As you'd expect from the name the shop is a newsagents with all the confectionary chocolate bars…read moreand small selection of convenience foods to bring people into a community shop. All you magazine, papers, and cards are stocked. The place is a bit like open all hours, slightly overstocked with Welsh souvenirs in the form of flags, books and other random collectable tat. I think you would rather go in here if you need direction or a quick chat as well as your order, the alternatives are across the road, which I won't mention as they get enough publicity.