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Kids and grown-ups need stuff to Iark about with — it’s a medical fact. Katy McAulay, the last toy scout, knows where to find the best gear.
veryone loves board games.
'l'here‘s nothing quite like a
good Monopoly session for breaking tip relationships. fatnilics atid the occasional limb. But with 20 weekends to fill before summer begins. and the likelihood that at least half of them will involve copious amounts of rain. the property~put‘chasiiig game alone makes for a pretty flimsy arsenal against familial boredom.
Of course. in the old days. children were turfed otit into the street with nothing btit a bag of marbles and a piece of string with which to amuse themselves fot' a fortnight. Unfortunately. today that strategy is considered just not cricket. (‘ricket isn't much ftiii either. Before you reach for the Argos catalogue. consider the
ability of an excellent clutch of
independent toyshops and online retailers to keep kids. and big kids. amused for hours and hours.
When it comes to children. divide and conquer. Activity kits from the Little lixperience. for example. require neither competitive spirit. llowever. young children creating and decorating items from bouncy balls to wooden trains may need some adult help. Meanwhile. toys such as yo-yos may he oldies btit they're goodies. Felix and Oscar. the lov’eable mini-
chain and prov ider of distraction for
West lindci‘s in (ilasgow. sells
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iiRobotics l.td formerly ran the Robot Shop on St Mary's Street iti lidiiiburgh. and follow ing its closure. friends decided to take up the flag of iiRobotics and set tip an
;.Ultlltle bot-shop. 'l'hc companv now
packs of two for a mere £3. hot to
mention a brilliant collection of
finger puppets that will keep children tied tip in multiple personalities for hours.
The daddy of toyshops in that same neighbourhood is the dinky
Sentry Box. l-lere. wooden toys of
all shapes and sizes reign supreme along with kites. stickers. dressing up outfits. traditional games from
dominoes to marbles. plus stacks of
activity sets. A spinning top may be a one-trick pony. btit products by Dr Zeus and Miffy also prove that this toy shop isn’t stttck iii the past.
In Edinburgh. shops such as Snapdragon Toys are also llying the flag of good old-fashioned fun. Michael Crooks. co-owner of the London Street shop. says: ‘Snapdragon stocks wooden toys.
forts. castles. kites — that kind of thing — as opposed to the kind of
toys or games you might see
advertised on TV. We‘re the kind of
toy shop you might remember from when you were wee.‘
Also stocking up on retro-appeal is website iirobotics.com.
sells a varied mix of modern robot toys such as Robosapieii and l—
~(‘ybie l)og alongside collectable
vintage tin and retro robots. l’rice tags for the retro-bots can start at around £20 for a battery titi robot. with other collectable options such as the Japanese lloi'ikavva Astronaut weighing iii at L' l 5‘).
Another option for big kids with money to burn is the extremely addictive old skool arcade table
from online retailer. iwantoneof
those.com. This piece of Slls kit has around lit) of the all—time favourite arcade games. which means it will l’lease everyone from the Pro— Wrestlers to the l’apet'boys. btit it also has a hefty L‘ l 79‘) price tag. Luckily. children‘s toys with crossover appeal offer a more middle ground. ()ne of Snapdragon
Toys‘ most popular products. for
example. (ieomag. is proving popular with adults too. ‘lt‘s a kind of magnetic construction toy that you can build remarkable structures with. and it‘s probably my favourite product in the shop.‘ says Michael Crooks. ‘I play with it all the timef
Sentry Box, 0141 334 6070; felixandoscar.co.uk; iirobotics.com; iwantoneofthose.com; snapdragontoys.co.uk; the- Iittle-experience.com.
I Want One of Those: Arcade table £1799, Darth tater £9.95; The Little Experience: Build it train and carriage set £15.99; Felix and Oscar: Wizard finger puppet £3.95. Dragon finger puppet £3.95;
Sentry Box: Piston Robot: £180
Toy Story
More great shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh
I Wonderland Models
9/ and 101 totliian Road. tdinbtirgh. wonderlandmr>dels.<:om
lhe pick for the specialist Dolls' houses. plastic model kits. radio controlled cars. steam engines and Scalextrit: sets. plus extremely knowledgeable staff.
I Wind Things
1 t Cowgatehead. Edinburgh. Windthingscouk
For all things Windy. Whether you want a kite that Wlll dangle prettily from a piece of string or a piece of kit that can help you surf the waves. this shop has got it covered.
I The Big Top
26 Charing Cross Mansions. St Georges Road. Glasgow. bigtopglasgowco.uk
A clown's paradise, This colourful shop sells Circus equipment. tin toys. puppets, kites. unicycles. sailing boats. face paints and anything that can be itiggled or doesn't need batteries.
I Abacus
7~9 Gibson Street. Glasgow. 0141 342 4300
Board games galore. From an intellectual game of chess, to something Simple to make a long ioorney seem shorter, this shop has board games of all shapes. Sizes and skill levels. And Monopoly (don't say you weren't warned.)