Painkillers check! Athlete's foot powder, Check! Perfume, check! Kid clothes, check!

Boots really does have it all and threes no one on the high street quite like them. The company itself is just over 150 years old and has some interesting history. They bought Halfords then sold it. Their Children World business was sold to Mothercare, their Do-It-All business was sold to Focus, and their laser eye surgery business was sold to Optical Express. Bet you didn't know their research and development team developed ibuprofen, consequently they owned Nurofen which they later sold on. Canny business people these Boots owners, so they haven't just expanded from a little pharmacist back in the 19th century, they've expanded so much bigger!

How to describe Boots? Well, blue, lovely calming blue. The staff uniforms are blue, the décor is blue as are all signs. Theres also no music playing so when there's no crowds it's actually quite a pleasant shopping experience.

I'd say Boots was a two-tier operation; you have your local stores and the then large shops in town centres and large shopping malls.

The small stores have pharmacies in them and then the rest of the store is built around that. You'll find a range of medicines, painkillers, cold treatments, etc, perfumes, gifts, body sprays and more. And various odd things like flight socks. All the essentials you need.

Now the big stores are nothing short of mega stores!
When you walk in you'll be assailed by beautiful women wearing most of their counter on their face and slightly intimidating to talk to.
Your nostrils will be tickled with the air full of clashing perfumes, get through this and move into relative peace.
Boots have a huge range of potions and lotions for your body and face. This includes exclusive ranges like Soap & Glory the only offline stockists, their own natural ranges and more 'up-market' ranges such as Sanctuary. For a bonus they quite often have these on off, such as 3 for the price of 2.

Fancy a make over? For those of us unable to afford the MAC and Space NK they have the likes if Rimmell, No 7 and Maybelline, etc. Often they have special offers or free gifts. Go in for hair dye and you'll be there for hours trying to choose one.

Toothache, poorly little one, cold sore, athletes foot? There are rows upon rows of little pills and potions for every pain, bump and lump.
And if you believe prevention is better than cure and to be nice and healthy there are vitamins and minerals and lots of herbal preparations.

Bad eyesight? Try and find your way to the opticians. When you've got those glasses you can pop over to the photo-lab and you'll finally be able to see those photos of Aunt Edith in Lanzarote.

Got a baby or a little nipper? Drop in the kiddies section, nappies and clothes and milk and all things rug rat related.

Oh no, hair straighteners broken just before the big night out? No problem, pop down to their electrical sections where they'll have a huge range, you'll even be able to get a spare hair dryer 'just in case', and a foot spa for when you've done all that shopping!

A bit peckish on the way home to indulge your feet in that foot spa? Not a problem, they also do a wide range of sandwiches, pastas, etc, healthy of course, as well as drinks and snacks to be got in meal deals. Thanks to the big store in Manchester I can now bypass the M&S Foodhall and buy a hugely over-priced luxury ready meal from the in-store Waitrose they now have there.

And goodness me, they've expanded even more! Not sure what that bump is, worried about that sting, got a nasty case of the colly wotsits? Some of them now have their own walk in centres!
You can get advice from registered nurse practitioners who can also prescribe medication. They also have doctors available at certain times. I haven't quite worked out the rules yet but it seems you can see them if you don't have a doctor in the area, i.e. if you are on holiday. It also seems that id you live in the local area you can register with them for treatment and medication.

And excellent idea particularly as there is a definite lack of doctors in city centres where all these apartment blocks have sprung up. Its just a pity you don't get Boots Advantage card points.
Oh yes another loyalty card I hear you say, another useless piece of plastic to keep in my purse useful just for the store to secretly monitor my spending habits and sell my details to data capture companies.

You get 4 points for every £1 you spend, you get a penny for every point, and its surprising how quickly these do add up to do a bit more spending. They've also expanded how to earn more points, go to various stores such as HMV, eBay, etc through the Boots website and you'll earn points on purchases that way.
Then theres the Advantage Card machine, pop your card in and there might be a nice surprise. Its usually extra points when you a particular products, use the photo lab or buy glasses.
When you've paid for those precious purchases you might get a till spit for more points, of course I'm not one of those naughty people who see's that people have left behind their receipts and till spits and grab them to get points added on or further reductions!.

Like the sales? Getting a good bargain? Oh I'm tempted not to tell you so I can keep it all to myself! Boots are the original purveyors of the Christmas 'buy two gifts, get one free' Of course they over stock and rather fantastically they reduce all the gifts to 50% off, very tempting to stock up. But later on they actually reduce some stock to 75% off, yep 75% That's the time to stock up and get this years presents. Forgot the Next Sale, this is where the fights happen! (This years Christmas, all the birthdays and possibly the Christmas afters pressies were bought last week, there are still some bargains to be had I'm told)

Aah, Boots my favourite store, I hope I've conveyed my admiration for this store, so get yours boots on and stroll down to Boots. (I had to end with a pun!)