Shop Charity in '23!

Rosa_Damascena

@Miró - I wouldn't be in too much of a sulk with The Bloke, at least he showed willing! Many these days are neither use nor ornament and don't even pretend to be. Yesterday I met one that was, he and his wife worked as a team (she the design and he the muscle) and what they created was jaw-droppingly beautiful, a real labour of love! Everyone reacted in the same way, but what floored me was the number of ladies who said their men wouldn't lift a finger at home!

Repair cafes are usually held monthly, and use FB as an advertising platform. Repairs are undertaken by skilled volunteers who give their time, its a very worthwhile venture.

Rosa_Damascena

goldfinches said:

Well Banbury was sweltering but I managed to snap up some jolly good bargains and have five shops to report on. However the heat has left me so tired that I'm going to leave typing out the details until tomorrow morning when it will hopefully be cooler.
What I am considering is whether to start a new thread specifically for us to add details about the shops to be found in particular towns and cities which would mean we wouldn't have to rely on the search function which doesn't seem to work particularly well on here. What do others think?

Brilliant idea, I think it would be well-used resource.

goldfinches

Sorry I've been so long reporting back on my Banbury trip, it's been so hot and sticky here that I'm not sleeping well and finding it hard to get my brain to function.

Anyway the first shop I spotted was the Orinoco scrap store which is a cornucopia of all things handicraft related from small power tools to embroidery scissors. I didn't spot anything I wanted to buy but will be going back one day for a browse through the boxes and boxes of patterns and huge array of knitting needles in every size. It turns out that there is a branch in Oxford too which I'd never heard of before so I will be making my way there sometime in the near future.

The next shop I visited was the BHF shop in the High Street where I snapped up an Australian Women's Weekly Biscuits and Slices recipe book for £2. 



Then I went next door to the Scope shop where I picked up a small metal rack I plan to use for saucepan lids, £1.50, and this rather pretty set of drawers, £5. The very nice assistant also talked me into buying a raffle ticket for a draw in October so I've got my fingers and toes crossed.



After that I was so tired and hot I staggered to the nearest cafe and had a reviving salad and several bottles of water. Then I headed toward the Salvation Army superstore where I bought this pretty little Bunnykins moneybox, £4.50, a Maeve Binchy book, £1, and another Australian Women's Weekly cookbook, £1, this time about Spanish food.



Then last of all I went into the Katharine House Hospice shop where one of the lovely volunteers was sorting out some additional items from the store room to go into the window display and I spotted that she was holding two Nordic Ware tins and pounced. She was very apologetic about the state they were in as the donor evidently hadn't washed them clean before donating them, you can see the remnants of the sponge mixture in the photo here. I had a careful look and they really were just filthy so I decided to buy both tins because they cost around £50 new and last for ever as long as you're careful to grease them well before baking. But really, why wouldn't someone clean them before donating. Anyway, I also spotted a Prestige little cakes tin, £1.50, and 3 x 1 litre storage jars for £2 each so bought those too.



I had to have a double seat to myself (so many bags) on the bus trip home which I really enjoyed because the route runs through some lovely villages and past Rousham gardens too. I sat in one of the higher seats at the back of the single decker which gave me a really good view over all the hedgerows and garden walls so I had a jolly good nosey!

Cherryfudge

What a gorgeous haul, @goldfinches!

Rosa_Damascena

@goldfinches - those cake tins are too cute (albeit the price of both is eyewatering)!! You need to get in there with a soft toothbrush and soapy water and then get baking!!

I've got Maeve's Times too. Its based on the columns she wrote and not nearly as soppy as her fictional works.

beanielou

@goldfinches.  Love those wee drawers.

joedenise

Took some stuff to the charity shop for a friend whilst there decided to look for some books as have read all the ones we had in the motorhome so need more for future travels and found 3 John Grisham and a Lee Child Jack Reacher book which neither of have read before so at least it's a start.  Will keep looking for more as we tend to read loads when we're away.

Miró

Thought today's tripette round the local chazza shops was going to be fruitless til I got to the last shop....Sue Ryder.  There I first spotted a pair of Reiss bnwt cream smart trousers for £8, the tag indicated the RRP to be £95!  Then,  I saw a pair of bnwt M&S black leather ankle boots priced at £15 with the sticker on the sole indicating a RRP of £49.  Finally I picked up a little pad of fancy labels for jars of jam and chutney priced at 20p.  Not that there will be much preserving done this year as the rasps and strawbs and apples have cropped abysmally, but the courgettes, sweetcorn and squash are going berserk!

Brie

Tried my luck at one of the local chazzers but nothing caught my eye.  Not helped by the fact that I'm "C" present shopping and was hoping to find a royal something.  Coronation mug, socks, whatever for my English SiL.  Just have this week to sort something out as I fly across the pond next week and will take any presents with me as I refuse to pay postage.

Rosa_Damascena

Brie said:

Tried my luck at one of the local chazzers but nothing caught my eye.  Not helped by the fact that I'm "C" present shopping and was hoping to find a royal something.  Coronation mug, socks, whatever for my English SiL.  Just have this week to sort something out as I fly across the pond next week and will take any presents with me as I refuse to pay postage.

I saw a Charles & Diana wedding mug in a chazzer last week, does that help at all? It may have antique value in time