Charity Shops and Holidays

Charity shops are a wonderful idea. They sell all sorts of donated goods at bargain prices and the charity benefits from the sale of them. As those of you who know me will be aware, I cannot resist calling in to charity shops. They are a bit like a magnet is to metal, with me! Let's face it. I get a bargain and the charity benefits from my purchase.

Whenever we go on holiday to the Isle of Arran, I am always persuaded by Dot to go through my rather large collection of LP's, Cassettes. CD's, Video Tapes, DVD's and Books and remove some of them. These are then packed in boxes and taken up to Arran with us. These goods usually occupy about a half of our luggage space! As we arrive on a Saturday evening, they have to stay in the boxes until Monday morning, when they are taken to the local charity shop in Brodick. This is "ARCAS" [Arran Cancer Support] who seem to look forward to our visits - it seems we re-stock them every time we go there!!

There is, however, one slight snag. After depositing all the goods I have brought them I usually have a look through their stock and come out with a few CD's DVD's and books! It is probably a good thing that ARCAS is the only charity shop on the island, otherwise I may have been leaving Arran with as much as I left there.

After a week on the Isle of Arran we then cross Border Country and arrive for a week at Waren Mill, a small hamlet about two miles north of Bamburgh. Fortunately there are no charity shops in Bamburgh, but as we have visited this part of the world many times, I know that there is an abundant supply of Charity Shops in Berwick upon Tweed [seven at the last count!], Peebles, Wooler, Alnwick, Kelso and Melrose, so by the time we have visited all these places I have purchased as much in the way of CD's DVD's and Books as I set off from home with.

I really do kid you not! I arrived home with 43 CD's, 36 DVD's and 10 Books.

There are the usual High Street Charity Shops - Cancer Research, Oxfam, Age UK, British Heart Foundation, etc. and one or two lesser known ones. For example in Berwick you can find B.A.R.K. [Berwick Animal Rescue Kennels], and in Wooler, The Newcastle and District R.S.P.C.A. Whilst Kelso has my favourite charity - C.B.A.H. [Charity Begins at Home.] This shop is usually manned by genteel little old Scottish Ladies and has a fascinating diversity of goods in it.

In all cases, as we are on holiday and not in any rush, I can browse through the full stock of CD's, DVD's and Books and invariably come across something or other that I have wanted.

One of the prize finds this year was a digitally remastered copy of the first James Bond Film "Dr No" at the knock down price of £1.00. I also picked up a two CD set of Vivaldi's Adagios, A 5 CD set of British Music, and a 3 CD set "Orchestral Spectacular" at 75 pence each set. In the book bargains I purchased a book called "The Illustrated Morecambe" written by his son Gary, originally priced at £20.00 for £2.00

A selection of some of the bargains I got from charity shops whilst on holiday!