Comments on: At KTS The Corner DIY

By: CAROL ANN CONLEY

CAROL ANN CONLEY — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 00:19:38 +0000

I think this shop may have been a newsagents in another life. I lived off Englefield Road many moons ago, my street, Lockner Road is no longer there. One of my many great-aunts, Auntie Annie had two rooms in a house in Englefield Road, just a few houses from this shop. I remember another hardware shop just past the Odeon and just before Dalston Junction.

By: Dennis Darwin

Dennis Darwin — Thu, 03 May 2018 16:04:37 +0000

Nice to see some home grown skills remaining in the borough . Regards from an old (very) mate

By: Denise

Denise — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 00:13:11 +0000

” Four Candles ”

I could not resist …

By: Mary Gardiner

Mary Gardiner — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:39:17 +0000

Ah GA, you are so right when you talk about the secret romance we harbour for old fashioned hardware shops! We can all immediately recall that wonderful smell – paint, wax, string, turps. It is so difficult to define but wonderful in its complexity.
I know if I walked into KTS and asked for one No 6 chrome raised head 5/8″ Tony would immediately be able to produce it.
These hardware shops are now hard to find and those that remain are under threat. I guarantee a book about “proper” hardware stores of the UK would be a best seller!
Clearly other readers have their favourites too and I have loved reading their comments. Thanks Richard for reminding us of the wonderful “Four Candles” sketch by the inimitable Two Ronnies. Allegedly H E Harringtons a hardware store in Broadstairs, Kent was the inspiration for this. In case any readers are wondering to what Richard is referring just search for “Four Candles” on You Tube. Even after more than forty years it remains one of the UKs favourite comedy sketches – it even has its own Wikipaedia entry! Testament to our love for great comedy and hardware stores.

By: Richard Smith

Richard Smith — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:22:56 +0000

Four candles? No, fork handles. Handles for forks. Got any plugs? What sort? Rubber ones for bathrooms. What size? 13amp……….

Sorry GA couldn’t resist that. KTS looks a super shop, the kind of place where I can always find something to buy. Thank you for telling us about it!

By: Gary Arber

Gary Arber — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 13:17:10 +0000

It is good to see these little D.I.Y. shops surviving in these days of warehouse stores.
Another of these is Thompson’s in Roman Road, E.3, This was started by Kenny and Phyllis Thompson on a stall in Roman Road Market just after the war and is still going ran by their children Mark and Annie.
Gary

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 10:25:40 +0000

THIS is exactly why I love starting my day with you, GA.
This story is full of optimism, unique point-of-view, wonderful images that pull me right in, and
provoke the fervent wish to actually MEET the people you introduce us to, on a daily basis.
Hurrah and huzzah for the spirit behind this one-of-a-kind Emporium of Wonderful. Frankly, it looks like it would be worth the trip from anywhere.
Long-live TK and TKS and DIY, and GA! — LKP

By: Res Burman

Res Burman — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 10:02:43 +0000

Oh what a lovely shop! I am green with envy. We used to have a little shop like this, (smaller) in Penzance, redolent with the smells of wax polish and paint and oil. It was called Wilton & Nichols and there seemed to be an inexhaustible supply of old men in almost ankle length grey warehouse-coats who’d often say, in broad Cornish, “Well, let me see, we haven’t got one of those but we’ve got summat that will do just as well!” and they’d lead one off into the back rooms, winding from stock stored room to the next until they found something with the dust of ages on it, and d’you know what, it always did just as well!
I even found a matched pair of lacquered, Japanese Travelling Alter Plaques, with little fold out shelves for offerings and incense etc. Nobody knew how they came to be in there but I got them for a tenner! Shops like that should be declared national treasures and encouraged to stay!
Than you for this trip down memory lane!

By: Helen Breen

Helen Breen — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 09:56:12 +0000

Greetings from Boston,

GA, what a heartening story about Tony Kane and KTS The Corner. Lucky for him that his energies were directed since boyhood into a meaningful job trajectory on which he put his unique stamp.

Good luck to him and his offspring in keeping this enterprise viable in this age of the “big box” stores.

It’s easy to understand why his three-sided clock has become a much loved landmark in his neighborhood…

By: Coralie Mattys

Coralie Mattys — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 09:48:23 +0000

Loved this. I lived nearby for 23 years and passed this shop numerous times but never – to my shame – went in. Next time I’m in London I’m going to make a point of visiting and buying something.