Paradise Gift Shop

I chuckled to myself when I saw the name of this place; Paradise Gift Shop… oh puhleaasse, it’s as far from paradise as possible. As far as gift shops, it’s not like the cute little boutique style gift shops with scented candles dotted all over the place to create a nice atmosphere. Oh no, it’s more like Pound Stretcher or Pound Land and sells the same kind of tat you would expect to find there.
Okay, perhaps I’m being a little too harsh I guess I just expected a lot more than what I got. Paradise Gift Shop stocks a whole mish mash of items including flags, coasters, mugs, calendars, stationery, hardware items, cellotape… you get the picture, it’s just a selection of stuff, really.

If ever there was one business which confirms that the tiresomely over-​quoted phrase «New West End» is utter nonsense, then Paradise Gift Shop is it.
The very lowest of the low, I seriously doubt you’d find shops punting Poundland’s castoffs down Byre’s Road.

I have a feeling that the same people who believe this shop to, in fact, be paradise, are the same people who believe Curry Heaven in Duke Street is where they’ll float to when they’re pan breed.
Unlike the stores it scraps for survival with in the bowels of the Glaswegian retail scene, Paradise Gift Shop seems to offer virtually nothing of any use. No quirky gifts, no handy every day items, just complete and utter junk.
It’s possible there may be one or two hidden gems somewhere, but with a setup which hardly lends itself to a quick scout around, you’d have to take the possibly irretrievable risk of being caught in here by someone you know to find them.
Few believed it was possible, but this could well be the poor man’s Poundland.