Swings and Roundabouts

Yesterday, for the first time in absolutely ages, I took myself off to Basildon for the morning.  I needed to do some Christmas shopping and thought it was also a good opportunity to check out the charity shops.

When I first moved to Essex three-and-a-half years ago, the charity shops in Basildon were fantastic.  There were loads of them, and a good half were of the real 'glory-hole' variety - piles of stuff all higgledy-piggledy so that you never knew what gems might be lurking.  Now there are probably only half of them still operating, and those that are tend to be of the slightly more neat and tidy kind - with much higher prices to go with it.  There are still two that are always worth a browse around - they are both operated by the local hospice and remain very good value for money.  One of them is situated in the bus station and is always my first port of call when I arrive.  This one is particularly good for books and I was delighted yesterday to find that it was buy-one-get-one-free on books.  I had a really good perusal and picked out fourteen books that I thought might be good for re-selling.  These turned out to be blooming heavy when they were in my bag, and I had to then lug them all around Basildon town centre.  Never mind, I thought, imagining that I could turn a good profit on some of them, it will all be worth it when I get home.  Oh dear, what a let down - only one was of any use whatsoever on Amazon, and one I'd picked up for DN.  A rather nice board book, with really charming illustrations, about a cat whose owner gets a new kitten.

I'm hoping he hasn't already got it, although he is a boy with a very extensive private library.  (S - if you're reading this - let me know if D has it already.)

Anyway, whilst in Basildon, I had to get a few Christmas presents in the Body Shop, and this is where things picked up a bit.  I'd chosen the items I was looking for and when I went to pay, the girl on the till told me that if I spent another £4.00 then I'd get a free gift set.  I duly perused the shelves a bit longer and found just the thing for exactly £4.00. 

 

Now, this is what I call a nice freebie.  There's a very snazzy burgundy satin make-up bag, a small pot of Mandarin body butter (excellent stuff), a small pot of Vitamin E moisture cream, a black mascara, and a bottle of White Musk eau de toilette.  I was really pleased (yes, that's me, very easily pleased!)

Today, to make up for yesterday's disappointing haul, I picked up a very nice little pot in the local charity shop for only 25p.

 

It's sitting on my desk as I type, keeping safe all the various bits and pieces that have been lying around loose on there for ages.

Comments

[Sarah]

Liz,

I'm sorry to say that DN does have the book about Ginger. He had it as a freebie for joining Trinity Road library was he was a baby. It is such a lovely book. Thanks for thinking of getting it for him.

Love from

Sarah

[Denise]

I used to love those quirky charity shops. You're right - there are very few of them left. Most have become quite expensive and several of our local ones sell lots of new stock. The RSPCA and Salvation Army shops are the best "old fashioned" charity shops in our area.

[Gill]

I like the sound of Basildon, my local charity shops tend to be neat and tidy and overpriced and I'm sorely missing car boot sales for real bargains! I like your cards, it's nice to make your own especially as they're so expensive to buy, and people appreciate a hand-made card so much more.
Speak soon
Gill x