Soil Report UK

Pink Floyd, Amsterdam

Ok, so SSUK walked in and no Pink Floyd was playing. For about the first five minutes, and then the old familiar strains of “Live at Pompeii” began to pound through the coffeeshop. You’ve got to imagine that the staff gets a bit tired of the same music, but they still played it! What a surprise to accidentally wander past what appears to be a tiny, dark coffeeshop, and randomly pop in for a coffee, only to be welcomed with a smile into this three-story tribute to the classic rock legends. You might think a shop so dedicated to one theme would be focusing all its energy on maintaining that décor, and not much else, but that just isn’t true at the Pink Floyd. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and the high concentration of locals is a really good sign for tourists. You’ll fit right in with the smokers, Internet fiends, and Umma Gumma hash addicts as you puff away and munch through the menu. Each of the three floors is distinctly different, lending a choice of atmosphere for all who enter. The top floor has café tables, from which it’s very easy to eat your English or Continental breakfast (served daily from 9:00 – 12:00), or chill on the leather sofas conveniently tucked into the windowed corner. This spot is especially nice for middleaged couples trying to find some quiet space to regroup, or those who wish for a bit of privacy. The next floor down has a back room with large padded bench seats, perfect for large groups, and the front is a small mezzanine with several computers where you can surf while you smoke. Downstairs hosts the entryway and both bars (non-alcoholic drinks and the hash bar), where you can peruse the menus, choose a bite to eat, and pick up a magazine to read while you wait. Check out their food and drinks menu online! Feel free to have a chat at the bar, or tuck yourself into yet another back room, where many additional seats and tables can be found. Relax with one of a few local pups that may nose around you for a cuddle, a sign that the owners are pretty relaxed and welcoming. For hash lovers, be sure to smoke some of the shop’s namesake, and grass smokers can choose from a modest but all biological selection, including Highlife Cup winners like Mother’s Finest. The Sensi Star made this SSUK reporter lose half a day or so. Strong, clean smoke for good prices, an extensive food menu, the usual drinks (plus some exotic juices), and a wide variety of seating in a welcoming place are more than enough reason to check out the Pink Floyd coffeeshop, in business now for 20 years! Oh, and by the way, which one’s Pink?

Pink Floyd Coffeeshop (Umma Gumma), Haarlemmerstraat 44, Amsterdam Open Daily from 9:00 – 20:00 www.pinkfloyd.nl

Growmaster Hydroponics, Ross-on-Wye

Former builder Lee and partner Brian, who used to be a chef, opened Growmaster a year and a half ago as there was nothing like it in their area and they were “sick of traveling 120 miles to fetch a bottle of nutrient,” says Lee. “We just thought: why not?” The 50-meter shop bang in the centre of the charming border town of Ross-on-Wye has already captured a wide customer base from across Wales and West England, offering products such as Ionic, Vitalink and the new Amsterdam Indoor range. There’s a grow tent erected for inspection and tomatoes growing in the shop window – part of the Ross-in-Bloom festival (this year’s theme: ‘Grow Your Own’ - really). “We’ve got good relations with the locals; we’re certainly not unwelcome in the town,” says Lee. “And it’s surprising who we get in here – a lot of over-50s. Some of them are growing tomatoes, but some of them definitely are not! Sure, we get a few wideboys like everybody else, but we make it clear we don’t want their custom.” He says good customer service has been the key to their success. This includes free local delivery, and the Growmasters are happy to help with setting up grow systems – “when we’ve got the time.”

Growmaster Hydroponics. 2 Cantilup Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7AN Tel: +44 (0) 1989 762 839 Open: 10.00am – 5.00pm Mon – Sat www.growmaster.co.uk

Hydro Supplys & Grow & Bloom, Hull

Kevin started up Hydro Supplys five years ago, mainly he says because him and his mates were “sick of getting ripped off, and always having to nip out of town to pick up supplies.” The shop is discretely located on the ring road near the docks in the East of the city. “We have a good relationship with the local community,” says Kevin. “As long as we keep selling pet supplies too!” Business was doing well enough to open a sister shop, Grow & Bloom, in the West of the city six months ago, which is slightly larger and has hydro and lighting set-ups on site. Both shops have more of less the same stock (except for the pet supplies at Hydro), being the usual big name brands such as: Canna, BioBizz and their main seller, Advance. They are also the exclusive stockists of the Cannatronic range of lights for their area. Customers come from all over West and North Yorkshire thanks to positive word of mouth and regular bargains. “I’ve been here for five years now, and people know they can trust me,” says Kevin. “Just a few years ago, Britain used to be associated with crap weed,” says Kevin. “Nowadays, you see stuff th at would not be out of place in an Amsterdam coffee shop.” Another Dutch trait he would like to see copied is the tolerance to smoking. “I’d love to have a coffeeshop here in Hull one day…”

Hydro Supplys, 434 Marfleet Lane, Hull. Tel: +44 (0) 1482 783985 Open: 10.00am - 5.30pm Mon – Fri, 11.00am-5.00pm Sat.

Grow & Bloom, 329 Beverley Road, Hull. Tel: +44 (0) 1482-343085 Open: 10.00am - 5.30pm, Mon – Sat. www.hydrosupplys.com

Hydroponica, Wakefield

It was the lack of a decent grow shop in their area that prompted Jim and Stuart to set up Hydroponica around a year ago. “There was nowhere you could get a good standard of trustable service and where they didn’t try and sell you what was convenient to them and not what you needed,” says Stuart. He says their aim with Hydroponica is to provide a professional environment (“not some laddish hobby”) where the customer can “trust what we say, based on real experience”. Located just by the famous Wakefield Trinity rugby ground, half a mile out of the town centre, there is discrete parking round the back of the shop, which has a rear exit too. With 2000 square feet of retail space and the same amount of storage, the impressive Hydroponica is already drawing loyal support from around West and South Yorkshire with its excellent and comprehensive range of hydroponic gear. There are a couple of grow displays set up to demonstrate how pretty much everything works. The shop sells exclusively hydroponic gear. “We didn’t want to diversify and dilute what we offer,” says Stuart. This thoroughness is extended to the website, a very secure, confidential, credit cardenabled site offering every tube, box, bottle and valve a committed water-grower could ever want. A current focus of the shop are the new grow modules that are coming onto the market, like those from Arena Plantage, says Stuart. “It’s the way people are going, commercially.”

Hydroponica, 130 Doncaster Road, Wakefield WF1 5JF +44 (0) 1924 362 888 www.hydroponica.biz