Over the years, I have obtained many bargains from the very numerous spring, summer, autumn, winter and other sales that take place regularly.

I normally scan the advertisements with great enthusiasm but the Hanningtons' advert (Argus, May 4) for its "Last Great Sale" filled me with sadness because it reminded me of the imminent closure of Brighton's greatest department store.

Shops, both large and small, make up the backbone of daily life and Hanningtons has always been the most prominent and prestigious.

Many years ago, we lost Hills of Hove and, more recently, Vokins in Brighton, together with smaller shops such as Potters and Hay and Co, the electrical shop for so many years in Trafalgar Street in the North Laine area.

It seems to have become the accepted pattern that, once closed down, the large department stores are broken into many smaller units which just do not have the buzz of the big department stores.

My fondest memory of Hanningtons will always be of the times, many years ago, when I stood, spellbound as a young boy, as the assistant placed the customer's payment into the capsule that would speed it to the central cashier's office.

There was something magical about the way the assistant pulled down the handle which activated the container so speedily across the wires, which always made me think of trolley bus wires.

-Michael Parker, Lewes Road, Brighton