An incredibly useful shop for kitting out a house, or buying specialist light bulbs late in the evening, or any item of domestic or cookware, or vinyl from a roll to use as a tablecloth, or to get keys cut. In short if you need it, it's worth hunting for it in Fred's.

Surprisingly, it's good for textile supplies: if you're looking for sewing / embroidery threads and you don't mind if they're not Anchor or DMC then often Fred's and its neighbouring cousins are your best (and certainly cheapest) bet. They also sell Dylon Dyes, and gorgeous edging / ribbon in a whole range of colours, with sparkly mirror bits. Although it's meant for saris it's also very good for decorating Christmas trees.