Let Thrift shopping thrive in 25!

C_J

I nipped into one of the hospice shops on the outskirts of Oxford this morning whilst out running errands, and lucked out with a 100% cotton cable knit jumper from M&S in a gorgeous shade of royal purple for just £3 on the sale rail. I think it may be a man’s jumper as the label says ‘regular fit’ which I don’t think they say about women’s jumpers (but I may be wrong). It’s nice and long, and loose enough to be worn over base layers which is exactly what I was looking for (for the autumn wardrobe, not in this mini heatwave obv!).

goldfinches

@C_J - your jumper sounds lovely, that sort of cable knitted cotton always looks and feels nice I think.

@Miró - your photo of Daphne and brood is in the newsletter this week here.

Miró

goldfinches said:

@C_J - your jumper sounds lovely, that sort of cable knitted cotton always looks and feels nice I think.

@Miró - your photo of Daphne and brood is in the newsletter this week here.

Awwwww, thanks for the heads up!  I'm away on hols just now but still worrying about those chicks and the back road and the farm traffic.... 

goldfinches

I had a truly exhausting but delightful day out visiting the Bicester charity shops recommended by @C_J yesterday so here is a marathon post to show you what I snapped up.

First these books, the Nigella was £2 I think either from the BHF shop or the Salvation Army and the others were 3 for £1 from the Sobell House warehouse.



Then I also found this cycling jacket on the rack in the Salvation Army for £24.50, it fits beautifully and is lined with thermal fabric so will be lovely and warm later in the year.



I also bought two dvds at the Salvation Army which you can see further down.

Then I went on to the Forces Support shop and bought a battery powered icing set and a circular container big enough for a small cake which is lower down with the tart tin and then in the Katharine House shop I found this jigsaw of drinks of the world. I particularly like the orientation of the text on it which means that more than one person can have their bit the right way up IYSWIM.



Also in the Katharine House shop I snapped up this bag of assorted biscuit cutters, some lovely shapes to have fun with.



Then I trudged out to the Sobell House warehouse and bought a tart tin, two tops which I don't like on so they'll be going back, three pairs of trousers and some more dvds.



The trousers are currently in the machine so I'll photograph them tomorrow and that's the lot.

I really enjoyed my day away from home but was quite shocked by how empty Bicester was. Every shop I went into seemed to have volunteers desperate for company and conversation and Sheep Street was very sparsely populated, there were also a lot of commercial properties that were empty and/or for sale. By contrast, I had brunch at the Ottolenghi in Bicester Village which was very busy even at 10:30 am.

C_J

@goldfinches I’m glad you had a successful trip! It transpires there is another charity shop (Woodgreen) which is located in Crown Walk, just off Sheep Street between The Works and the BHF shop. Crown Walk used to be full of shops but has been nearly empty for years so I stopped using it as a cut through. I’ll have to check it out when I am next up there. I know what you mean about the town centre being so empty, but there are new stores due to move into some of the vacant properties soon. There are rumours that almost all the shops in Sheep Street are owned by just one family and it’s somehow linked to dodgy dealings but I think that is just made-up gossip 🤣 I do enjoy visiting the Bicester chazzers though, I’m seldom disappointed. 

Wednesday2000

The charity shops in Folkestone looked good from the shop display, but because it was such nice weather I didn't feel like looking in them. I didn't feel like lugging stuff back home either as that was what I did I'm Cornwall and had to carry it all home.

C_J

I'm just back from a successful shopping trip to Bicester, where I checked out the charity shop (Woodgreen, an animal charity) that I hadn't previously known existed. It's tucked away off the main shopping street and has been there a while, as well!  Fancy me missing out of that one for so long, I ought to be banned from this thread for such outrageous behaviour   The prices were extremely reasonable (tops mostly £1 or £2, dresses £5) and they had lots of clothing stock. Not much in the way of household or children's things, and I can't recall seeing any books.  

From this one I bought a pale blue and white polka dot maxi dress (£5), a long sleeved red T shirt with beaded trim around the neck (£2), a chocolate brown T shirt with a ruched front (£1), a long sleeved dressy top in a caramel and white spotty pattern with a panel of gold sequins down the front (sounds horrendous, but it is so pretty!) £2.50 and a genuine Polo Ralph Lauren black bodywarmer for £5. Also a selection of brand new, sealed in packaging Doll's World babygrows, bibs and fabric nappies for 18" dolls which my granddaughter will love. These were between £1.50 and £2.50 per pack.

In the Sobell House warehouse I bought a pink plastic Barbie wardrobe for hanging Barbie doll clothes in, as new condition for £3 and a Zoku ice lolly maker for £5. I've just realised it's the sort where you pre-freeze the base and it then makes them in seven minutes - it's this one, look at the price!! 

In the Katharine House shop all stock was half price today so I got the fabulous bargain of four 1/2 litre glass storage jars with bamboo lids (brand new and boxed) for 50p each, and two Lakeland kitchen cupboard carousel units for £2 each. They're showing as discontinued on the Lakeland website, but these are in sealed boxes so somebody must have had them for a while and never bothered with them!

Watty1

Popped into village charity shop and for £2 bought a glass chopping board with a lovely bee pattern (found similar on line for £13).  Really wanted a brand new apron that was just £2 but someone got there just before me sadly.  Never mind there is always another time.  

Anyway point of post, the shop had a little sign up saying that they had contributed 91K in the last 12 months to the Hospice.  I was really impressed because most items in there are less than £5 (usually £2 to £3)  and they often sales where everything is £1   The volunteers who are so lovely and I commented on the great sum, and apparently they out sold the really "posh charity shop" in a local town.     I wasn't surprised, said shop is always so much more expensive than they are and the staff not as friendly.      

The turnover in village show is great, and all of us purchasing something today ended up laughing that nothing we had bought was a "need" but we had all spent because, well, it was a lovely item and was a bargain and that we often pop in because the turnover of items is so high.

Really brings home pricing - I wouldn't have bought the chopping board for £5 because I have no need of it but for just £2 it was too pretty to leave behind.

C_J

I realise now why those two carousel units might never have been used - because they are the large size ones they are too deep to fit into kitchen wall units (where I had envisioned them going). However they fit perfectly into the base units so with a bit of re-jigging of what-goes-where in the kitchen (a job I have been meaning to do for a while now) I can make very good use of them. Phew!

goldfinches

@Wednesday2000 - I do see what you mean about lugging things home; I often wonder where I have left my packhorse when I come out of the shops loaded down with purchases! Isn't it odd that some things get more convenient and easier over the years and others either stay just as onerous or get even harder to achieve.

@C_J - your clothes all sound lovely as do the dolls clothes and the ice lolly maker was a steal. I do envy your storage jars and especially the carousels which look very useful.

@Watty1 - your village charity shop is a perfect illustration of the wisdom of a high turnover and reasonable prices for chazzas and I do hope that it continues to be so successful. I'm sure the hospice appreciate every penny of that £91k and do a lot of good with it.

I've realised that I haven't got around to photographing the trousers I bought in Bicester so will try to get around to doing it tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I popped into my favourite BHF shop this afternoon on my way to the Post Office and snapped up a Good Housekeeping Pies Pies Pies cookbook and a Lakeland Pies cookbook for £1 apiece. I've put in the links because I'm sitting on the sofa and feeling too tired to get up and go into the other room to snap them so thought those would do instead.

Hope everyone had a good day and that tomorrow goes well too, goldfinches.