I am addicted to secondhand charity shops.

I can not walk past an OP SHOP

And I need at least half an hour to hunt for treasures.

---

Today I had a exciting find.

The feeling that is experienced when you come across a random fabulous find in a charity shop is amazing.

A retail high isn't something I experience in a regular shopping mall that is lined with the same chains of outlets. No matter where you go, you find racks of the same stuff in these mega vacumm consumerist cathedrals, that appear to be shrines to mass produced disposable STUFF.

---

Finding something that you come across by chance, that would have otherwise been trash, after committing to rifling through random piles of donations, is cool.

---

I can't come across an elephant and not buy it.

I have many. Particularly the wooden painted variety.

So imagine how it felt to find these gems.

---

I was given my first set before I was one.

When my cousin was adopted from Sri Lanka, he and my sister and I were each given a set of four.

We all still have them.

Only my collection has multiplied somewhat.

---

The modern world has changed the world of second hand charity shopping. Thrift shops or opportunity shops aren't what they used to be.

People sell on ebay or other online forums, and even the charities themselves are a lot more savvy, and a true bargain is hard to find.

But I have found a secret time warp shop.

Run by a group of grannies in a church hall for four hours on a Thursday morning.
You can drop your gran off for a cup of tea while you do the groceries, they give away to people who are in need, your child will always leave with a complimentary toy, and the prices are how they should be A bargain!

I am really looking forward to heading back next week.