A Charity Shop Trail - Bath City Centre (#BEDM Day 2)

I overheard a conversation last summer when I was in Weston Super Mare mooching round the charity shops - one lady said to the shop assistant in a slightly out of town (but still within walking distance) charity shop, "ooh I didn't know this one was here". Shop Assistant replied, "oh yes, there's quite a lot of charity shops in town in different places". Lady commented, "you know, someone really ought to produce a leaflet telling you where they all are".

 

Well I can't do the leaflet but I can share my knowledge of where charity shops are in certain towns. One of the things I like most when I visit somewhere new is to search them all out and it's a terrible habit but I do tend to judge how good a place is based on how many they have (and also what type). There's quite a few towns across the UK which I've visited so often that I've paced a well-worn trail around the streets and if I can make it a circular tour of the town, even better.

 

So, first up - Bath city centre (and if I've managed to create the map properly, you should be able to click on the markers and hopefully they should show more info)

 

Date of visit: March 2015

Amount of charity shops: 14

 

 

1. Disabled in Need and South West Holidays for the Disabled

A new little one that seems to have just popped up, occupying the former MINT vintage shop on Manvers Street. Lots of things to rummage around in and fairly cheap prices with a shop assistant who'll happily chat away to you while you're browsing.

 

2. Dorothy House Hospice Care

A medium sized shop in the main shopping area of the centre, just round the corner from Abbey Green and opposite the side entrance to Marks and Spencer. It's a little bit narrow in places but everything's well organised and decently priced.

 

3. Cancer Research Campaign

Quite a large shop on Westgate Street near Komedia but a bit hit and miss with the prices occasionally. Most of the times I've been in, it's been rather busy but you certainly get to overhear some interesting conversations (bringing back hanging anyone?)

 

4. Mercy in Action (aka The Charity Shop)

I didn't actually get to go into this one as the Saturday morning I was exploring, they were shut at 10am. It's a short walk from the train station across the River Avon if you fancy visiting.

 

5. Oxfam Books and Music

Tucked away near to the Chapel Arts Centre on Lower Borough Walls, you could easily spend hours in here browsing! Lots of books, lots of records and a range of prices depending on what you're looking at.

 

6. Oxfam

Just across Pulteney Bridge and occupying two floors, whenever I've visited it seems to be a good source of slightly more upmarket clothes - obviously the prices reflect this but it's worth a browse to see what gems you might find.

 

7. Dorothy House Hospice Care

Only a couple of doors away from the Oxfam shop above, again this branch seems to have a more posh range of clothes but like with all charity shops, you never know what you might find!

 

8. Save the Children

The first one you come to when walking up Walcot Street, it's a bit hidden away but has a good range of stuff all at fairly decent prices.

 

9. Julian House

Further up Walcot Street is another branch of Julian House and this one is quite a large shop. It goes quite far back inside with good displays (they clearly have a very good windowdresser) and a vintage rail hidden at the back. Lots of houseware bits and bobs and a lot of vintage childrens books that I spent far too long looking through.

 

10. Bath Women's Refuge Shop

A very small shop on the corner of Walcot Street and Chatham Row, it's packed with stuff but some of clothes are in need of a bit of TLC. Cheap prices though (books at 50p and dresses at £3 for example) and if you like a good rummage and don't mind a bit of mending, it would be worth a visit.

 

11. Dorothy House Hospice Care

This one's on Broad Street and was very busy the last time I visited. Lots of clothes, books and bric and brac though.

 

12. British Heart Foundation

Found on Green Street, right next to (the very posh) Milsom Street, it's got the usual range of clothes and homewares - some well-priced, some slightly overpriced, much like most other BHF shops.

 

13. Shaw Trust

Another shop that appeared to be closed, this time on a Saturday afternoon but from what I can remember the last time I was there, it had a good range of clothes and the prices were quite good too.

 

14.  Oxfam Boutique

Right on the corner of George Street and Gay Street, it's actually an Oxfam Boutique with a mixture of normal items and redesigned or altered items of clothing. There seemed to be a lot of space on the shelves when I was there and although I liked seeing how clothes had been changed, sadly there was nothing I liked enough to buy. If you're going past it anyway though, it's probably worth a peek in.

 

So there you have it. There's several more charity shops in and around the outskirts of the centre but they're all a bit far to walk really. Hopefully the map should work and feel free to use it however you want if you're a charity shop aficionado planning a trip to the city. Also, it goes without saying but all the info was correct as of March; obviously if you're reading this several months or years in the future, please be aware things may have changed (although if I spot one that's closed or a new one, I'll update the map as and when).
 

 

(This post is day 2 of Rosalilium's Blog Every Day in May challenge - after sticking to the topics for the last couple of years, this year I'm going off piste!)

 

What Duck Wore...Thrifting Bargains

I'm one month behind in doing my whole "one outfit post every month" thingy for my 33 before 33 list. I think I'm going to blame the lack of decent daylight and busy weekends.

 

 

I've picked up a few interesting little things from charity shops recently (if I can get away with December as "recently") and also took part in Janet and Steph's Big Blog Clothes Swap the other month so here's a bit of a roundup of bits and pieces. Some of them need a bit of alteration but nothing that can't be done at some point with my trusty sewing machine and a mug of tea.

 

This little dress is a modern one by TU at Sainsbury's and was a bargain £3.99 from a charity shop in Bath. One of those dresses you try on and then a little smile appears on your face at just how perfect it is.

Even though I tried in on in the shop though, I didn't actually notice there was a little button missing from the front but that's no bother to fix really. I've even worn it to work a couple of times and no-one's noticed yet anyway!

 

This one was picked up in a charity shop in Bath the other week. I love the colour of it and the pattern and I picked it off the rail to look at and then put it back because green isn't really my colour. It was such as lovely shade though and I loved the neckline on it; it was also Berketex and £8.99 so I thought well, what the heck, I'll try it on just for fun anyway.

In the mirror though, it didn't actually look that bad, which is quite amazing as like I said, it's not often I can pull off a green colour. I'd like to take it up a bit though as I think it would look slightly better if it was shorter but that's a job for another day. It also has the coveted 'Made in England' label!

This top and scarf were part of the fab package Janet sent me for the Big Blog Clothes Swap. I love Breton tops but don't actually own any, there's always a bit of me that remembers it being drummed into you as a teenager - "stripes make you look fat" - so I've never actually bought one.

This fits me perfectly though and I went for a casual look when we went out to see one of the Bath Lit Fest talks the other week. The jeans are just an old pair I've had for a while, the scarf is thrifted via Janet (White Stuff originally) and the brooch is fabulous sparkly heart from a Lucky Dip Club box.

This dress I actually picked up just before Christmas in a charity shop in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. It's supposed to be floor length I think but even so, on my 5ft 4in frame it's just a tad too long and needs taking up a few inches.

I do think it's fab though, it was one of those items that look a bit frumpy on the hanger but when you put it on, looks so much better and a lot more structured. There's no name on the label but it does say 'Made in England' and puts me in mind of something a bit early 1980s.


 

And lastly (not clothing) I've seen a few different bloggers make outfits based on the patterns from the Sew Over It shop and then in a charity shop in Bath I found this gem peeping out from the shelves for only 50p.

I do feel quite inspired to get making and crafting but the first thing I need to do it dramatically sort out my crafting area. At the moment, my sewing machine is rather buried under a large amount of detritus from Christmas and my birthday last December!
 

What Duck Wore...On a January Work Day

On my 33 before 33 list, I have this thingy about doing one outfit post a month. The idea was inspired by Janet's post last year about how bad outfit shots can make you feel better; that really struck a chord with me as I don't feel at all comfortable in front of a camera.

Put me behind one and I'll happily snap away but put me in front of one on my own and I just don't know what to do. How am I supposed to stand? Do I smile or laugh (and risk pulling some kind of weirdo face)? Does the one-hand-on-your-hip-and-leg-bent thing look too forced? Do I cultivate some kind of staring-into-space arty look? Does this outfit which I think I look good in look hideous to everyone else? And so on and so on.

The best pictures of me are the ones that have been taken really quickly or by accident. The sort of ones that, when you're looking back at your pictures on the computer, you think "oh, wow, I actually don't look too bad there".

I don't really want to live my life only feeling good about the 'surprise' pictures though, it'd be nice to think I could actually stand in front of a camera wearing a nice dress and not feel like a complete prat.

 

 

 

So in the spirit of pushing myself to try new things, here's my first outfit post for 2015.

 

With the exception of the shoes (I'll tell you about them in a minute) this is what I wore on my first day back to work after three and half months of sick leave.

 

The dress was from Asda, bought last November for only £12 and it's had quite a lot of use since then (I even spent my birthday daytime wearing it). It's black and white leopard print but I don't think it's particularly loud or in-your-face so I feel quite okay wearing it.

 

 

 

The cardigan was a little gem picked up in a charity shop just before Christmas. It was priced at only £2.99, I'm pretty sure it's handmade and it certainly hadn't had a lot of use. There was a tiny little hole in one area of the neckline but that was no bother to sew up easily.

 

 

 

The shoes I haven't actually worn to work yet (it's far too cold at the moment) but I picked them up last Saturday in a charity shop for £8, completely new and unworn. They're Clarks 'K' shoes and are also the very first thing I've bought clothes-wise in 2015 - the cutting-down-on-clothes and high street ban thingy is going well so far.

 

 

 

How do you feel about having your photo taken?

 

A Photo Every Hour - Sunday 14th December

 

December's photo an hour challenge was set by Jane as Sunday 14th December - part of our weekend in London and a day spent mostly on London buses!

 

 

9am -  We stayed in the same Travelodge two years ago for my 30th birthday and the view we had then was of Clapham Junction station; this time we had a view of the building next door.

 

10am - Andrew picked up this Wolsey waistcoat from a charity shop the day before. I quite like it but he can't decide whether it makes him look hipster (in a kind of ironic sense) or just plain old granddad.

 

 

11am - The little café next door to where we were staying did an excellent line in breakfasts. This is their Breakfast Panini filled with bacon, scrambled egg and cheese.

 

12pm - Off to Battersea Boot Sale on a gloriously sunny morning.

 

 

1pm - Waiting for a bus back to Clapham Junction before heading into the city for the rest of the day.

 

 

2pm - Back in Clapham Junction and on our way to get a bus to London Bridge.

 

 

3pm -  Still on a bus. Making the most of the priority seating though!

 

4pm -  A bus journey that was supposed to take 50 minutes ended up taking 90 so we got to HMS Belfast too late to go in. We did manage to fit it in on Monday though.

 

5pm -  On another bus. Heading towards Five Guys in Islington this time.

 

6pm - After polishing off a very tasty burger, we though we should probably try the hot dogs as well and bought one to share when we got back to the Travelodge as a sort of late night treat.

 

 

7pm - We stopped off at Somerset House on the way back to Clapham Junction. Two years ago I went skating here on the very same evening and absolutely loved it. That was actually the last time I went skating and now, I don't think it's something I'll ever be able to do again. Ah well, at least the last time I went I had a fab time.

 

 

8pm - Bought these purple jegging-thingies from the car boot that morning. They were only £1.75, from M&S and have birds all over them so they had to come home with me really. Still not sure I can get away with them but I'll give it a go in the new year!

 

 

9pm - Planning out the next day's bus routes.

 

 

10pm -  We bought cakes from the boot sale as well, I had this very drizzly lemon drizzle cake and left crumbs all over the bed.

 

 

Now, I've had so much fun doing a photo an hour every month that I'm going to keep doing them in 2015 and myself and the ever-lovely Jane are going to share the hosting and date-setting duties.

 

Several people joined in this month:
 

Jane joined in on Instagram, Twitter and on her blog

Sharon joined in on Instagram, Twitter and on her blog
Rachael joined in on Instagram and on her blog
Kim joined in on Instagram and on Twitter
Bev joined in on her blog

Debs joined in on her blog
Ruth joined in on Instagram
Josie joined in on Instagram
Rebecca joined in on Twitter and on her blog

And of course, myself here on this post, plus on Instagram and on Twitter :-)

 

I make that 10 people; I hope I've managed to include everyone but give me a shout if you took part and I haven't included you!

 

 

For the first photo an hour challenge in 2015, I'm going to choose Saturday 17th January and I'll tweet everyone the day before as a reminder.

 

Hopefully see you then!
 

 

Also, check out what I was up to in...

December 2013

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 19th April

April's Photo an Hour Challenge was set by Jane (from Is That You Darling) on Saturday 19th - a good day to choose because of the Easter holidays!

 

 

My Easter Saturday panned out a bit like this...

 

 

8am - as always at the moment, my day starts early with IVF drugs and injections.

 

 

9am - Breakfast was on the way, we had Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas!

 

 

10am - About to head out for a bit of sightseeing and the view from our cottage window had not a cloud in the sky.

 

 

11am - I actually missed the 11am shot and ended up taking this at 11.30ish, mainly because I was too busy trying on and buying dresses from a charity shop for £2.50 each!

 

 

12pm - After buying up several things, we walked back to the car through the churchyard of St Cybi's Church in Holyhead.

 

 

1pm - Then we stopped off at Asda on the way out of town as I needed to buy a card for our wedding anniversary on the Monday.

 

 

2pm - We ended up in Rhosneigr where we stopped for a delicious ice cream which we ate on the beach.

 

 

3pm - We headed up towards South Stack in Anglesey but it was absolutely packed with everyone else doing the same thing so instead we thought we'd go back and have some tea and cake in our cottage.

 

 

4pm - I unpacked some of the morning's purchases...

 

 

5pm - My brother and dad popped round to our cottage to collect us on the way to the holiday park swimming pool.

 

 

6pm - We were actually in the pool at 6pm (which I couldn't really photograph) but when we got back at 6.30pm I remembered I hadn't yet unpacked this little tulip basket I picked up earlier that day.

 

 

7pm - Dinner tonight was BBC Good Food's Sticky Apple, Sausages and Bacon.

 

 

8pm - Dinner is served!

 

 

9pm - I know, I'm very sad. I thought the holiday would be a good chance to catch up with some coursework reading for my degree.

 

 

10pm - Treated myself to a bedtime snack of Harry Hopalot before listening to my IVF relaxation CD and falling asleep!

 

 

 

Hop on over to Jane's blog to see when May's Photo an Hour challenge will be - it's always great fun!

100 Happy Days #8

The eighth instalment of my attempt to catalogue 100 Happy Days... :-)

 

 

Saturday 22nd March

New haircut!


 

Sunday 23rd March

Andrew dashed out in a hurry only to return clutching two of these - I can't remember the last time I had a 99!

Monday 24th March

One of the girls in the office finished her maternity cover contract last week and on Monday morning there were three little packages waiting for us all (counting down the number of days she had left to work) - inside the bag were three different types of sweets.

Tuesday 25th March

My blogger book swap package arrived that day - containing a fab book about a library cat called Dewey.

Wednesday 26th March

A mystery bag was brought home today - click here to see what it contained...


 

Thursday 27th March

Andrew's dad was readmitted to hospital on Wednesday (luckily only temporarily; he was out by Friday afternoon). That wasn't a happy thing but the garden area just down from his ward was very pretty!


 

Friday 28th March

On arrival at our holiday camping pod we have a little welcoming commitee :-)

Saturday 29th March

Very pleased to have picked up some more Arcopal Scania crockery (and a retro dress) in the charity shops.

Sunday 30th March

More sunshine, more steam trains!

Monday 31st March

Another month of my fab Christmas present from lovely friend M - it's always exciting when this drops through the letterbox!

 

 

Previous instalments can be found here...

Part One

Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven