Several weeks ago, I promised a short post on British charity shops. For the 20 or so years I've been either visiting here or living here for a few months at a time, I've seen a change in the number and quality of British charity shops.
When we lived in Surrey, there was a small shop supporting the hospice in our town, but that was about it. There was an Oxfam shop in the next town, but now there seem to be more and more shops everywhere. In my little part of London there are two Oxfam shops, one across the street from the other. One specializes in books and music, the other has the usual assortment of clothes and other things. There's also a cancer charity shop, one for heart disease, one sponsoring vet care for those unable to afford it, and a hospice shop.
They're all very well patronized and seem to have a circuit of people going from one to the other. I was thrilled (really!) to find an almost new guidebook to Prague for 50p (about 75 cents) when I'd been pricing them for 8-10 pounds. The quality varies, but here, as at home, better areas seem to have better stuff. I've also bought a Pyrex pie plate for a pound as I broke the landlady's plate. The books are very good, and I predict that some of the ones I bought will end up there when I finish them.
Great jewelry--and very cute boots and sweaters everywhere. I do think the smaller living space encourages people to dump what they no longer can use.
The Charity Shops
February 26th, 2013 at 08:29 pm
February 27th, 2013 at 12:51 am 1361926286
February 27th, 2013 at 04:03 am 1361937784
February 27th, 2013 at 09:45 pm 1362001541