by Renato » Sep 13th, '06, 19:18
I'm around that area, the one shop that I use regularly is House of Magic in Stourbridge. It's about a thirty minute train ride from the centre of Birmingham. The shop itself is a bit out of the way but the guys at HOM are so helpful that it's worth it. Ask them for some directions beforehand and you'll find it no problem.
Most shops stock all sorts - Books, DVDs, Videos, single effects, props, accessories; and HOM has all of these. They're a small shop so their stock line is not huge, but they have a lot of the new effects out and a good choice of material. Like I said before, they are really helpful there and know what they are talking about. Friendly bunch too. My experience at other places has been the same.