Saying goodbye to Argos catalogue is heartbreaking | Lou Hannan

It feels like another chunk of my childhood is disappearing.

Completely inconsequential, granted, but when you think about catalogue shopping, I bet you too have memories regardless of your age.

I remember my mum belonged to two ‘club books’ as she called them.

Kay’s was the first one and then I think she also joined Littlewoods.

As a little girl, I recall the excitement of the new club book arriving; I’d ask permission to rip off the cellophane wrapper and start thumbing through it, starting from the back because that’s where the toys were.

Whether it was the big catalogue or the Argos book, I’d turn down the pages desperate for a Girl’s World or a Fisher Price Kitchen and be in awe as I looked at the colourful toys, totally oblivious to the prices because well, as a kid, you didn’t have any concept of how much stuff cost, did you?

As Christmas or birthdays approached, I’d leave little notes for my mum and dad with page numbers on them, hoping that they’d get the hint.

As I got a bit older, so came the interest in fashion.

I say fashion, however looking back on the dodgy velour tracksuits, rah-rah skirts and culottes I wore, I have no idea what I was thinking.

With this in mind, the catalogue was the perfect place to while away the hours looking at the latest trends and asking mum to order me some things because ‘they’d probably be sent back anyway’.

In those days, you had to wait 14 days for delivery to the point that by the time stuff arrived you’d forgotten what you’d ordered!

And so on to the modern day equivalent of the Argos catalogue.

Two editions a year, thicker and glossier as time went on, and the perfect addition to any coffee table along with a handbag full of the little blue pens you used to get when you went into a store to order.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the ease and speed of online shopping.

But boy, do I miss a good catalogue to thumb through!