Christmas wouldn’t be Advent without a visit to Harris Toys. It's a proper old fashioned toy shop and in these internet shopping days it's easy to overlook the very long established premises in Clwyd Street. I know of nothing like it in Dinbych, where such a shop has long gone. Likewise in Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, independent toy shops have disappeared. Harris Toys is now one of those retailers that defines Rhuthun/Ruthin as the shopping centre it is today. Yet it's anything but aggressive in attracting our collective attention. It's quietly unassuming and unpretentious.
Harris Toys is a bit like King's: it has a Tardis-like quality. It's stock is greater than the window assumes. It's interior seems more spacious than could be imagined from looking from the outside. Harris Toys hasn't been here quite as long as Doctor Who (in its 60th year) but in its unassuming way it is just as much a Rhuthun institution.
Harris Toys is now under much more pressure than ever, even locally. This year, B & M Bargains has significantly increased its toy range and shelf space. B & M is also enabling you to buy some of its toys for either £20 or £24. Aldi's middle aisles have a range of toys. In fact, there's a large-ish section plus two smaller bins-full. Even Tesco has more than in previous years, though theirs is a much more limited range.
Let's pledge to buy from Harris. In these straightened times, independent shops are under pressure from chain stores whose buying power is greater. But the consequences are significant: we risk losing another part of the patchwork that makes up the whole or sum of our unique town.
