A & L Stokes

Ok so you know how there are a range of little shops in Brighton that sell old sweets and cheap little retro toys? You visit them when you’re feeling a bit down and that hit of nostalgia and the rosy memories of when you were a munchkin and had no such cares as work and bills lift you up again. It’s a genuine case of retail therapy. Well, A. Stokes in Henfield is the shop you went to when you were wee (if you’re in your twenties or thirties now and grew up in the UK) only it hasn’t changed the stock and prices are the same. The lovely lady behind the counter is the same only she hasn’t aged and she doesn’t have a tight perm and grey knitwear that seems inspired by golfing socks.
In its’ capacity as a newsagent this place clearly does well — there’s a good selection of magazines and papers, a more then well stocked stationery section and a fantastic display containing jars of retro boiled sweets. Parenthetically, as the sign outside suggests, A. Stokes is so much more. I imagine it’s a side effect of it being a rural store that A. Stokes sees the need to have such a broad stock — out here you have a captive demographic and catering to them as shops did in the old days is a smart business move that has clearly paid off. But even with this in mind the toy section is insane they have jars of bouncy balls, ping pong balls, tennis balls, balloons and water bombs. A section is entirely devoted to Britain’s farm toys, model cars, fishing nets and kites and it’s all brightly coloured and within the range of actual pocket money.
Aside from the fact that I became massively excited about a range of toys that I haven’t seen since the early 1990s, listening the locals talking to the shop staff you realize that A. Stokes have a real care for the local community. This place may not be «locally sourced» or «organic» but it is a real heart of the community and the best place I think I’ve ever found to get your childhood toy kicks.