The Fopp Challenge

If you know me well there are two facts you'll be aware of:

1. I really fancy Konnie Huq (and I currently despise Charlie Brooker and am seriously considering getting rid of my copies of his books in a fit of pique - see my previous post.)

2. I spend a lot of time and money in Fopp.

Earlier this year Lou set me a challenge: I had to visit all eight branches of Fopp. A noble task, and one I was keen to attempt.

So far I've done fairly well. My progress to date:

Fopp Manchester
Obviously I've been to this one an awful lot as I work five minutes' walk away, when I'm in Manchester at least. It's a great little shop, built over two floors, and whilst the ground floor has new releases, special offers, books and some DVDs the basement has the bulk of the stock. I've spent a fortune in there over the years, and I don't regret a penny of it. Well, a few maybe.

Fopp London
Located on a triangular floor plate between Covent Garden and Leicester Square it's incredibly busy all the time and very easy to knock CDs flying when trying to pass somebody in the aisles. I bought several Nick Cave CDs in there once. It's on three floors, CDs upstairs and DVDs down just to be awkward.

Fopp Edinburgh
Located on Rose Street behind Jenners department store (I've often stared wistfully out of the window of Jenners as Lou has been trying clothes on, gazing at the front of Fopp) in a new building it's all very swanky. Two floors, CDs downstairs and DVDs up (oh for consistency) I've spent a fortune in there too. I really miss the old Fopp on Cockburn Street though, which was tiny but amazing.

Fopp Nottingham
I was delighted when I was sent to Nottingham to run a course and discovered during the lesson that there was a Fopp in the town. As soon as we broke for lunch I dashed out to find it and stumbled across it by chance. It's huge, but only on a single floor, and very modern but dark. Bought a Talking Heads CD ("Naked") and a Nick Cave CD ("Live Seeds"). I liked it in there.

Fopp Glasgow (Union Street)
This one is almost underneath Glasgow Central Station, and I was delighted to find that it was equidistant between my hotel and the training centre when I was there last week. It's not quite as big as the Nottingham shop but is brighter. Didn't buy anything, which was a surprise. Apparently it is the head office.

Fopp Glasgow (Byres Road)
To get to this branch I had to catch a small train! Glasgow has a small underground network where the trains look like London's tube, but further away. Once inside you have to crouch a little if standing up, so it's a bit Lilliputian in a way. Anyway, once I left the train I had a fit of the giggles and found myself muttering "what are you doing?" over and over again as I realised I was doing something quite silly, i.e. commuting to a record shop. The shop itself is tiny and properly dingy - very dark, cramped, and all on a single level. I absolutely loved it in there and bought two CDs (EPs by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The National) and a book (by John Robb). Caught the train back to my hotel. This is now probably my favourite Fopp so far.

So this leaves me with Bristol and Cambridge to do at some point. Will they be ticked off the list? Watch this space.