Random Stuff - Week Of Weird, Shopping Here & There, Springtime and The Spooky Woods

Just a bunch of random bits including a depressing trip to one of those out of town city centres. Ugh.

[@kajuntuite4620]

"The only reason I can think of for coming here is so that you can leave." Amazing quote, thanks for that gem ^,^

[@MysteriumArcanum]

That seems to be my general experience with H&M as well, I really only go there to kill time.

[@brianartillery]

Yes, it's perfect.

[@brianartillery]

There's not one shop in that appalling canyon that I would use. Somewhere like Shirley every time for me.

[@tiredoftheliesalready]

LMFAO OMG I was wondering if that would be here before I typed it out. It is indeed a great quote LOL

[@DanskiV2]

Reminds me of a saying we used to have for a place close to where I grew up called Leven: “the best thing about Leven, is leaving”

[@lewis838]

"its all just collected in to one place, we can wander down here but i don't think i'll find anything that i need. They're just regular high street shops, presented in a windswept, sterile, glass and concrete... trench." mate me laugh, as depressing as it is poetic

[@mikedrop4421]

Wow ,that shopping center look exactly like new outdoor "malls" here in the USA. Right down to the cold impersonal feeling and the terrible Subway sandwiches.

[@terranceparsons5185]

My home town high street had a bakers, butcher, 3 greengrocers, pet shop, Woolworth, 2 pubs, florist, post office, bookies, diy place that smelled of paraffin, 4 newsagents, 3 general stores, shoe shops, toy shops, and all manner of interesting other stores. Roll forward 30 years. All gone, replaced by fast food outlets, supermarkets and estate agents. Depressing really.

[@SUM1SLY83]

You must live where I do 😂 actually to have that here would be a major upgrade from what we have.

[@sarahstrong7174]

What is depressing is the de-skilling of the populace that may represent. Hardware stores & butchers reflect a populace with some basic skills.

[@sarahstrong7174]

The hole in the wall may well be for Hedgehogs.

[@sarahstrong7174]

You should probably spend all night in the Spooky Woods before deciding whether they are spooky or not really.

[@Ktd1013]

Hello from 2020! I’m surprised to see this video has so little views. I feel like I’ve stumbled onto a sweet little hidden gem. It was lovely to see a variety of places near where you live. I also live in a town called Southampton (in America), so it was especially interesting to me. I hope you and your family are doing well in these uncertain times. I’m very glad I found your channel, as your videos provide a welcome and amusing distraction.

[@mikedrop4421]

I can't believe I missed this somehow.

[@zakr1187]

Your town was named after this place

[@errorcode202notfound5]

I wish more people could be like you. Proper big fan of yours - came across your channel about 2 months ago and the more I watch you the more I like you. You’re a great person. I hope to bump into you on day ☺️✌🏼

[@mikedrop4421]

I consider myself quite the Nuclear Prawn aficionado yet I've never seen this video. Not sure how that happened. I've watched everything for years now and I'm ashamed to have caught myself slacking.

[@cbhlde]

Don't worry! His Shellfishness will shrimp you that slack! :p

[@Adrienneten]

awh Eva's face when she realised how big the rock was she was pawing at - so cute

[@davidfitnesstech]

I could have walked through that mall and thought I was here in the states. That was kind of depressing.

[@spacesentinel1287]

The Plesteds pie shop at the bus station was the best, great pies.

[@peterclarke7006]

"A shopping destination." without even seeing it, I already can feel a desperate desire to run away screaming. Retail despair, indeed. Yuck.

[@peterclarke7006]

Shirley reminds me of places like staple hill and kingswood in Bristol- they get looked down on, but they're perfect for people like me that don't like big city centre shops and prefer quirky or cheap to flashy and posh. I shall visit one day.

[@AjiNoPanda]

I love content like this! Local shop walks and whatnot. Looks so different from where I live! Hoping when the pandemic is over you can post more videos of tiny shops and market places.

[@donnabrasher3303]

The cherry tree is so lovely. Nature never disappoints. I prefer the quirky personality of Shirley vs the other shopping area, too.

[@shroomskunk]

"Did somebody say pie. It's a wonderful day for pie"

[@GrandmaLaura2nd]

That canyon of glass and steel is just like the malls you find in the USofA. I hate them because of the Zombie feeling that comes over me as I walk past all that ugliness. Eva is a "Rock Hound" haha

[@captainimperialism4568]

4:50 I’ve run into something similar here in Texas. Can’t remember where or what it was called as it was a few years ago, but I was astounded that there was this enclosed pocket of stores and fast food places in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road. It was a long rectangle with stores either side and a big circular area in the middle with shrubbery and benches to sit on. Ours seemed to be much more isolated, though. Edit: Apparently they’re called “outdoor malls” (go figure) and are actually quite common.

[@CosmoMemory91]

Just taking the time to note that Eva is a very good girl and it’s so cute that she wants to rescue the stones

[@Laralinda]

This video is almost three years old. Anyways. Here in Germany we have a lot of these retail loacation, with no special shops, far away from the towns. Here in Germany we call them "Outlet". It's like a signal word for some Germans to get in a spending spree. They sell "cheap" brand name clothing and stuff like this in concrete jungles. I was surprised to see how the dutch picked it up. Directly at the border to Germany, in Roermond, they set up a shopping village completely from scratch, but somehow they made it look beautiful. Artificial, but nice. The shops are painted in different colours and are not standing in a straight line, there are flowers, trees and chairs in the middle lane, the fast food stands are spread all over the place. It's more like an amusement park. At the weekend this place is crammed with smiling Germans ;-) Funnily enough, the last time I was there I just bought groceries: dutch specialities like vla, hagelslag, peppermint drops, ....

[@peterclarke7006]

Some countries really do seem capable of understanding that if you make something with a soul, it becomes somewhere nice that people want to visit. Shame my country isn't one of them!

[@TomJohnson67]

I've been to an outlet shopping place in the UK. It's the only place I have ever seen a Lindt chocolate shop.

[@joop5415]

Your dog is so very adorable.

[@Sally4th_]

This is so weird to watch - I live just off that park! And yes, Plested's pies are amazing :)

[@anjkovo2138]

Chicken hearts fried in butter and garlic, drop of cream with a handful of chopped fresh sage. Served with crusty bread. LOVELY

[@germyw]

Wow.

[@MysteriumArcanum]

Fried chicken gizzards are also really tasty

[@peterjf7723]

A friend's father once said that in the garden of a house he had owned in the 1960s he had found a shallow grave with a human skeleton and he just covered it up as he didn't want to make a fuss. No way to know if that was true as the garden was sold to a developer in the early 1980s who built several houses there. My friends father had dementia when he told us this, so it could easily have been a false memory.

[@TheCotzi]

I totally love your Random Stuff in your Random Stuff Videos

[@Mikesmilesuk]

Just stumbled across this video and I’ve got to say plested pies are so nice you definitely get plenty for your money. I only live a mile or so away and your right Shirley is so diverse. Keep up the good work.

[@AtomicShrimp]

I haven't been there for ages. Need to get out there again

[@Mattman993]

Hello from across the pond! 2022 perfectly fits your description of corporate desolation, your take on retail stands the rest of time

[@harpersmythe658]

I have been to a place like this (Bicester - pronounced B’ister) with my daughter a few times. As I see it, the attraction is many designer outlets condensed into a small area - to me that interprets as ‘more brand names minus less travel equals more shopping time’. It’s all about the brand name

[@TheJmills39]

I love seeing Eva in your videos - she is very much like my Pug Cockerspaniel mix.

[@archiebatchelor4451]

I've been watching AS for years but this is one of the ones that I keep coming back too. I couldn't agree more with your description of it as "sterile"

[@deejayk5939]

I always enjoy these ! Missed this one till now.🥰

[@greengo1239]

KZbin it weird. Algorithm sends me this after I’ve watched almost every other Atomic Shrimp video.

[@brianartillery]

The only major high street shop I use regularly is W.H. Smiths. Once a month to get a copy of 'Fortean Times' and 'Vive La Rock' magazines, and once a quarter to get 'The Chap' magazine. That's it. I used to go into my local Waterstones, but too many idiots damage books there. Last time I went, there was a woman with a sandwich in one hand, and a paperback with the cover bent back in the other. I have nothing more to say.

[@moonlightequilibrium]

the more i dive into your channel, the more i love you. i had to drive into downtown Seattle today to work at a different location than usual, and anyone who gets off the freeway at mercer can attest to the sad, gentrifed corporate grayness it is. the only shop I can remember distinguishing from the identical buildings is starbucks, and that's only because i remember seeing it and pointing out how starbucks is the symbol of this kind of personality-less gentrification. sad its like this internationally, but glad you said what i was thinking hehe

[@kellymarieoconnorful]

Your channel is my comfort place thank you so much

[@remote44]

Hey Mike, we have a very similar situation in many shopping areas in Toronto. These gloomy outlets outside of the city full of zombies.

[@bmo14lax]

Whitely (spelling) village is very similar to shops near me in new York. We have many of these per town. Some more than other. And some people travel hours to called outlet malls or proper shopping malls. I believe we would call Whitely a mini-mall here in the U.S. Cheers :)

[@PeeJay7290]

I wish I could give this video more than a thumbs up. Our local town centre is slowly shutting down due to nearby supermarkets, trading estates and of course online shopping. There’s a market struggling to survive, Victorian built shops closed down, and it’s something that saddens me. With this and even large local retailers closing down, I fear the traditional shopping experience could be lost forever

[@yes0r787]

OMG, just wait until 2020.

[@yes0r787]

Thank you for the Slow update (sloe blossems). I appreciate the sweet variety of landscapes and ideas in this video.

[@patrice8257]

The first place you went was darling it just needs a little cleaning, the outdoor mall(2nd place) is a dime a dozen. Driving on the "wrong"(my wrong) side of the street is a trip. Yeah!!!! A walk about.

[@bettygraham818]

Clark's Village in Somerset is exactly the same, just as featureless and depressing.

[@sovietbot6708]

Atomic Shrimp: this is a big redwood tree **Shows a tiny redwood tree** He does clarify that it's not big by redwood standards, but I still thought it was funny.

[@therabidscorpion]

I also noticed in the Whitely Village place there's nothing organic about it. Lots of sharp angles and such. No plants, no fountains, etc. I get where you're coming from with that one.

[@MysteriumArcanum]

Yup, just mass produced corporate misery.

[@silva7493]

That first area looks quite charming, from my POV. Anyone calling it "grotty" doesn't know grotty. When I was much younger in local supermarkets around N. California they sold little 1 lb plastic tubs of things like chicken hearts, gizzards, livers, lambs tongues, cow brains, and other weird things for poor people to eat (like us). Now I have no idea what they do with them.

[@germyw]

Looks just like our mall in several downtowns in California: San Jose, Sacramento, Emoryville, San Diego.... all the same.

[@muderousmaggot666]

It's just an outdoor mall by the looks of it. We have loads of them here in the US. Typically only go there for the movies or if they have a specific eatery that isn't anywhere else

[@kevinmartin7760]

Around here, a Yellow Snow Warning would be "Don't eat the yellow snow"

[@alfulton5946]

The first place definitely looks like it has better shops.

[@yelenairwin1717]

"Bland corporate uniformity" and "retail despair". Eek.

[@lovecats6856]

I live in Forest Lawn area in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) and we have a number of interesting shops and restaurants from various countries. In fact it has been named :"International Avenue".

[@fatabelly]

We have a very similar type of shopping area here in Wakefield, called Trinity Walk. And just like Whitley Village it’s very cold and without any soul or atmosphere. They’re the kind of place that put small businesses out of business, and are just full of the big chain shops that don’t give a monkey’s about their customers or staff!

[@theresaromeo5484]

They built one of those villages in my community a few years ago n I have the same opinion you expressed. The small shops are much more interesting to me. The only thing that I have ever seen there that I thought was ok was Christmas lights n decorations to take the kiddos to see for a little walk because young ones like that. The rest of the year just order that corporate stuff online for a cheaper price.

[@yes0r787]

That pie looked great.

[@alfulton5946]

That pie looks awesome.

[@smiller6925]

"sterile trench" lolol Tell us what you REALLY think. :)

[@peterclarke7006]

Sounds like my former marriage. A sterile trench where hope and optimism go to die. 😂

[@Vednier]

I absolutely hate such places like those shopping malls or villages. They so...cold and boring. Yes, sometimes i have to visit them for some merchandise but everytime i try to spend least possible time inside. Go in, fetch my stuff, go out. No strolling around, no browsing stores.

[@alexshaw7618]

Greetings from the native land of the redwoods 😀

[@garyhyndman1105]

Mate I'm at the other end of the country from you. I also much prefer the diversity of little privately owned high St shops . There are too many retail "villages and parks" peddling indifference up and down the kingdom. I miss neighbourly, corner shop concern. There should be assistance available to small businesses to help keep them afloat.

[@deejayk5939]

I also live near a town called Southampton, probably named for the one in England!

[@Nathan_A_RF]

The term for that is "identikit retail". Bland shopping centres that could be anywhere - no unique features.

[@Dynamikcheese]

"Grotty and run down" ie rough as a badgers arse.

[@TheChipmunk2008]

Whiteley is a depressing hole. Causes chaos on the M27 too... People seem to drive there every morning for 8 hrs of depression. Shirley looks more interesting than I remember

[@AtomicShrimp]

Shirley is pretty good for little independent shops - I think because the population of the area is quite diverse for both age and ethnicity - together with the probably lower than average incomes - makes for a colourful, good-value supply environment. Quite the contrast to Whiteley, where it's pretty much all about disposable middle-class income.

[@PlayaSinNombre]

A yellow snow warning: Do not eat the yellow snow!

[@ChrisWar666]

I also prefer real, high street shops over that "village". But it's still a step up from the alternative: windowless, soulless monstrosities that are all closed in. Shopping centres. I mean... I'll take advantage of their air conditioning in this 30+ heat, and might get something to eat, but it's nothing compared to real life shops 😕

[@twudotJam]

This comparison reminds me of the swapmeet, or flea market, vs. the shopping plazas or malls here in Vegas.

[@kathrynillsley7557]

Did you ask your now grown up children for clarification re the graves in the Spooky Wood?

[@philipareed]

I see many shops that won't be there any more in their glass and steel.

[@stevenhale2935]

400 videos, blimey, i wonder what that figure is now! Nearly on 100M total views apparently

[@sarahstrong7174]

My friends & I had an inconcusive discussion recently about whether Sloes grow on Blackthorn bushes?

[@AtomicShrimp]

Blackthorn is the name of the bush that produces sloes, yes

[@sarahstrong7174]

@@AtomicShrimp Ahh thankyou. There a great many Blackthorn bushes where I live in S Devon & a growing fashion for making your own Sloe Gin. I would almost call it a movement.

[@RoswelliVideos]

So you found the shop that sells Tremblett's Pie then? =D (If someone else made this joke, I apologise. ^^; )

[@stevenhale2935]

It's a local delicacy in my part of the world

[@PandemoniumMeltDown]

Polski sklep! Mój ulubiony rodzaj sklepu

[@sarahstrong7174]

Whiteleigh. An environment in which Next becomes more like last.

[@drunkenkot]

Five Guys Burgers is OK, but yeah, that looked like a California strip mall.

[@samhenwood5746]

The pie looks yummy but for the rest of the shops no 🫢

[@brianartillery]

The Brass Monkey: supposedly a brass rack for holding cannon balls on the deck of a Man O' War. Apparently, when temperatures dropped below a certain level, the brass would contract, and the iron shot would fall off, hence: "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

[@AtomicShrimp]

That's a myth, you know that right?

[@brianartillery]

@@AtomicShrimp - Yup. Note the use of the word 'Supposedly'. Thought I'd get it out of the way before anyone else did. Time on my hands, waiting for paint to dry, and wrote it.

[@agitator6995]

What you found is what I find in germany all the year, "Go to the part of town that is not jet gentrified, not jet ruined. go where you most likely will find a person not speaking your language, then and only then you might find something good." sad

[@JudyTheLionTamer]

My friend in Southampton knows Shirley High Street as "The Mutant Mile"

[@trevorp9886]

20:24 love the outro music.

[@carolnewton496]

The second place is more like an American mall.

[@Vollification]

**shows redwood tree and calls it big** USA: "Is this some sort of crown joke we are too colonial to understand?"

[@AtomicShrimp]

It's not a competition

[@Vollification]

@@AtomicShrimp XD

[@peterclarke7006]

Britain's only little. If that tree had been bigger we'd run the risk of capsizing if there was a strong breeze 😂

[@Landon_Lucas]

I love when brits say its bitterly cold out haha... dont come to canada in the winter ever haha its truly bitterly cold here

[@tactical_snails2198]

I have actually been to that shopping village the oden there is really good

[@darianwj]

Looking forward to the Week of Weird.

[@SUM1SLY83]

You not been our town, it’s just full of kebab shops and charity shops, would actually love something like that here.

[@sneakndan]

you went right by a tim hortons and you didn't stop, dude!!

[@AtomicShrimp]

I didn't see that. Are you sure?

[@philipareed]

I think it was a Thorntons which is a UK chocolate shop. (the windows are plastered with Easter egg stuff). I don't think we even had Tim Hortons here in 2018.

[@clef-162]

What a nice little place!

[@alfulton5946]

The area isn't respected by the broader area but has the best shops

[@sandysani6045]

That second place sucked the soul out of you! You looked quite poorly!

[@peterclarke7006]

He looked surprisingly like I feel when I have to go near places like that. Afterwards I feel the need for a restorative pint in a nice quiet pub or a wander in some where green. Think it's an introvert thing. Places like that just sap your soul 🙁

[@darkwing3713]

The second shopping place is a BB2B shopping location - Big Bucks to Billionaires.

[@1980rpgify]

To be fair I also avoid Shiteley like the plague.

[@AtomicShrimp]

I liked it a bit in its earlier incarnation, where it more like a village, before nearly all the shops shut

[@1980rpgify]

@@AtomicShrimp We also preferred its previous incarnation. It was a compromise if my wife wanted to go shopping on a Saturday morning I didn't mind shuffling around Whiteley with a hangover as it was always quite quiet and peaceful.

[@trevorp9886]

14:11 ....and watch the dog doing it's thing.

[@Suman-nv5hy]

Why are the white markings on the roads crooked?

[@AtomicShrimp]

At what timestamp?

[@Suman-nv5hy]

@@AtomicShrimp 4:17

[@AtomicShrimp]

Zigzag markings adjacent to a pedestrian crossing - it indicates no parking or overtaking

[@MegaBYSON]

being a brummie my whole life i always thought british people look miserable in general, not actually feeling miserable just putting on the face lool always assumed it was the same as what we jamaicans do, we call it brick face or hard face, basically means, dont talk to me loool maybe its a West Midlands thing, i hear people are very friendly in the west country.... ALRIGHT MY LUVERRRR

[@MegaBYSON]

Shirley is a expensive crap whole i use to work there and this is coming from someone who lives in small heath Birmingham

[@TobyFloof]

i dont think thats run down? it looks rather nice to me

[@rre9121]

Huh, I hadn't seen this video.

[@finleyplympton]

Hi Mike and Jenny - if you can remember back in 2016 ish (until April) their used to be a white Citroen 2CV classic car in that part of Southampton it was fairly rusty if so please let me know, thanks

[@AtomicShrimp]

I don't remember seeing it specifically

[@finleyplympton]

@@AtomicShrimp thank you :) it had a black roof it was E JRV , i own it and wondered if you saw it about

[@AtomicShrimp]

@@finleyplympton I used to have a 2CV myself - such a fun thing to drive, despite all its idiosyncrasies (the washer bulb freezing solid in the winter was my only real complaint)

[@finleyplympton]

@@AtomicShrimp oh they rust like mad, what year was yours , was it a special edition (two tone )

[@AtomicShrimp]

@@finleyplympton I had the Charleston in grey and charcoal. Mine didn't get a chance to rust as it was totalled when some idiot zoomed out of a side road straight in front of me (his car suffered a cosmetic dent to one door; my 2CV got about 2 feet shorter)

[@Kris_M]

5:30 Heating is free in the UK? Lots of doors fully opened.

[@TheRobbieLaaaaaad]

They're automatic doors, they will be constantly triggered by people walking past them

[@johnmorris5965]

😀

[@pulsarbeam6188]

SHRIMP!

[@ipg2486]

I wouldn’t even compare these 2 places