Tommy Balls
 

Suprised nobody mentioned this already. The administrators closed it down yesterday and all staff made redundant.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

is that both shops dave? the top one & the one that does the cheaper ones at the bottom ?

Re: Tommy Balls
 

I'm guessing it's all the same owner. I heard it on the way in to work this morning but just found the article on the Blackburn Telegraph site too;

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk...lls_closes.php

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Thats sad, although I'm not surprised. The last few times I have been in I've not found anything that I wanted, and I think it put the prices up alot and couldn't compete with the shops in town.

Wonder what will happen to the building?

Re: Tommy Balls
 

oh ******

Re: Tommy Balls
 

God that's terrible, to be told there and then you are out of a job

For some of them too it will be so hard to find other work, ie if they have done that job most of their life and are of a more mature age

Hopefully they will get the help they deserve

Re: Tommy Balls
 

it wasnt actually Tommy Ball who had it though was it? he died a while ago, they just kept the name on

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Yeah he died 2 months ago, had left and retired in 86 i think it was

Re: Tommy Balls
 

That is right. I am informed that it is owned by the same peop0le who own Byron Supplies - the building supplies company, though I wonder if that company will offer sany of the Tommy Balls staff jobs?

Re: Tommy Balls
 

It seems a shame that what was once one of Blackburns most thriving companies has gone to the wall, I think Tommy's was the first shop of its type to sell shoes cheap. He was a very generous man, in the 80s he used to come in the Great Tree in Hassy every Saturday lunchtime, just to torment te life out of Dale Winfield, and when Tommy drank everybody drank:D

Re: Tommy Balls
 

When it first opened you had to queue up to get in, and there were coach trips to it (like they do to Ossy Mills now)

Re: Tommy Balls
 

my nan used to work for him, he would dump hundreds of shoes in her cellar and she would have to try and make pairs out of them lol that was about 40 years ago

Re: Tommy Balls
 

TB sold his empire several years ago.
It is still sad to see it go though.
I looked after a relative of TB many years ago and TB came on the ward and gave all the nurses a chitty for 3 pairs of shoes....any shoes.....price no object.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

just heard it on the news too

Re: Tommy Balls
 

That is a shame, my mum has always gone there for the kids shoes for school. Clarks shoes at affordable prices, going to struggle now.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

It's terrible trying to get good children's shoes e.g Clarks round here.

The only one I know of locally is the one on Blackburn Rd, Accrington.

Passion for Soles I think it's called.

I have had children's Clarks shoes from there.

I also go to Little Feet in Barrowford, they have some lovely shoes in there and they last a long time. This is a must for me as my children's feet grow very slowly. I only buy shoes for them every 9-12 months so if they're not long lasting they soon look scruffy. :(

However, you wouldn't go to Barrowford if you didn't have a car of course.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

There is the shop on Whalley Road as well Lilly, I paid about twenty pounds for some lovely boots there when my daughter was a baby(she is thirty two now) and mum got the exact same boots from Tommy Balls for 99p:eek:

Re: Tommy Balls
 

I know Mothercare at Blackburn has a clarks department
There is the shoe shop on the bottom of Whalley Rd nr town that has clarks too, not sure if thats the one you are on about

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Yes, I forgot about the Whalley Rd one.

The Mothercare one is a beggar to get to without a car.

It's those without a car that I feel sorry for. If you've got a car it doesn't really affect you, you can just go elewhere.

I'm not just talking about shoes now. Trying to get clothes, toys, books, anything, is a nightmare for people without a car. These retail parks are great but they're always out of town. :(

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Yep it is but the prices are ridiculous:mad:

Re: Tommy Balls
 

I know Clarks shoes are very good but I could never understand why they were so dear in comparison to others. I know they do differnt widths and things like that, but when you have growing kids shoes don't last two minutes and when you have 2 or 3 young kids it cost a small fortune to buy their shoes on top of all the clothes as well:(

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Unless you live here:)

But no little Feet is a good shop and is used by people from far & wide as Lily has said

and help forms a small part of Barrowfords Designer Mile:alright:

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Passed the shop tonight - and they had a note in the window, "Under new management!"

When I first came North, I had a coach full of girls singing a song about Tommy Ball, does anyone remember the words to it?

Re: Tommy Balls
 

It was very rare for mum and dad to drag me to tommy balls - think i only ever went there twice - i was always took to winfields. Mind you thats gone down hill now as well, went in there about a month ago and now its all tents, work boots, hiking boots, jackets etc.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

We were the same as kids, used to go to winfields, had mastered the "shuffle" whilst trying to walk in shoes tied together with string, its just no fun anymore, and no more bargains either :(

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Mum just told us to get the kids feet measured and she would go routing at Tommy Balls for us:)

Re: Tommy Balls
 

that shop in Accy is called David Spruce and is waaaaaaaaaay too expensive, the bottom Tommy Balls shop had an 'under new management' sign up ages ago, i havent been to the top one for years, i presume its not a new sign though Busman, i cant see them coming out of administration within 24 hours really

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Only used David Spruces for shoes when my kiddie had different size feet and Clarke's seemed to be the only ones that fit !
Thankfully thats resolved now but the choice of shops in Accy is appalling as we discovered when looking for school trousers today.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

They used to be more expensive because they were manufactured in Britain rather than some foreign sweat shop staffed by 9 year olds, but I am not sure if that is still true.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Asda is where I got some school trousers for Kirby Linds

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Used to go to Tommy Balls a lot when we lived in Preston. It was well cheap when it first opened and the kids were small. Then i found it got quite expensive after it had been open a few years.
Never been to the Blackburn shop.

Re: Tommy Balls
 

The one in Preston has been closed for a few years now i think its a chinese restaurant! i remember going with you and all the shoes were tied in pairs and flung over the rails and there were always shoes all over the floor!

Re: Tommy Balls
 

I remember. half the time you would wonder off and be clunking round the shop in ladies shoes fallin over the string.
Ah.......... Those were the day's

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Hey i still do that! lol

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Thats the end of another era,,,i saved hundreds of pounds there when my kids were little,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Re: Tommy Balls
 

it was a cloggers then granny.:D;)

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But isnt that when you are propping your dad up after hes had a couple of pints? :D:D:D

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I was thinking Tommy Balls must have been an ex Accy Stanley player.. duh!

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Ooooh cashy, that hurt :sad8::rolleyz8:

Hey when i was a kid i loved my clogs.i loved making sparks....:)

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granny there aint that much between us, just me sick humour.:D;)

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Dont worry i am on your wavelength...:D

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Don't say that Granny can't cope with two of you:p

Re: Tommy Balls
 

I think he meant "Passion for Soles" on Blackburn Rd. :o

Re: Tommy Balls
 

It used to be David Spruce, Flashy.

It is now Passion for Soles. :)

http://www.passion-for-soles.co.uk/

Re: Tommy Balls
 

Does lettie know? :eek: :D