From vintage toys - a reminder of bygone days - to garments from across the decades and ornaments your granny would be proud of, we’ve found - from experience - that you’re not likely to leave this haven for vintage enthusiasts empty-handed.

So, then, when we asked shop manager Rene Trewern if she had any gems, any quirky stories to share with us, she jumped straight to an item that fell into the shop’s hands in the summer.

Picture this: in the 1920s, a gramophone sits on aside table and the crackling music provides evening entertainment for a family. Almost a hundred years later, it finds its way to a vintage shop in Cornwall, where the shop manager can almost feel her legs doing a little jig as she brings the 1927 His Master’s Voice gramophone out of the dark. The only problem? As the stylus touched the record, the sound nearly knocked everyone in the shop over, it was so loud.

But the solution soon came in an old phrase many of us will have used before. As Rene sought some advice on lowering the volume of this old gramophone, she was told, ‘put a sock in it’. Supposedly, problems with over-zealous gramophones were quite a common occurrence in times past. But one clever person, clearly at their wits-end from all the noise, grabbed a sock and stuffed it into the horn, which immediately made a difference to the volume.

So, taking this advice with a pinch of salt, Rene placed a sock over the sound box and, sure enough, the Retro Launceston team were able to unplug their ears and continue with their day to the happy tune of some old music!

While we can’t promise the gramophone will still be in the shop, having most likely been snatched up by now, Rene encourages everyone to pop in to find some old gems.

“We often find these rare things,” she said. “You’ll often be pleasantly surprised; if you’re missing something from your past, you might just find it here. Opening up the donations is like Christmas; you never know what you’re going to get."

You can find Retro Launceston at 9 High Street. The shop supports Cornwall Hospice Care.

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