My addiction to charity shops, consignment shops, second hand stores, garage sales, and now Face Book’s Marketplace started every early in my life. A friend came to visit while we (Tom) was refinishing a dresser for the coming baby. “Yuck, I couldn’t stand having someone else’s old thing in my house.” She sniffed, at the gorgeous 100-year-old oak piece originally from England.
That was a long time ago, and since then I’ve shopped all over the world, whenever I’ve had a bit of free time. I had a couple of hours to myself in London a few years ago, and headed off to have a shop. There was a hot pink purse that called to me. Price was right, so I bought it and went back to the hotel to pack. There was no room for my roomy purse, so I parted with the old one, and carried the new-to-me purse to the airport. The drug doggie loved me. Fortunately, I had the bill in a pocket, so was allowed a free pass.
On the tube in London, I chatted with a woman of a certain age, and asked her if she knew any charity shops I should visit. Good thing I had a pen, the list was long. Meanwhile my travel writing colleagues looking at her bundle buggy, her nasty little dog, her unique outfit, moved down the tube pretending they didn’t know me.
I was having dinner with the “girls” in a little local restaurant several years ago. When desert came, I stared at the plate so long the server came over to see what was wrong with the food. It wasn’t the food, it was the plate, a plate that I had donated to the charity shop down the block. I was Chair of the board that ran the charity shop. That meant whenever a volunteer didn’t turn up, it was me behind the till. During that period, there was a customer in everyday buying kitchen utensils, chairs, tables, silverware and the list went on. Turned out, this was the owner of the restaurant down the street. He furnished the entire place, and helped a charity along the way.
Rome has an amazing market on Sunday mornings. I had my choice of the Sistine Chapel tour, or the market. I chose the market. It was packed full of nuns shopping for a bargain, and pickpockets looking for an easy score. I have since seen the Sistine Chapel, and it too has pickpockets.
Windsor, I was told is where the ladies in waiting donate their ball gowns, so when I was on a press tour to Windsor, I asked Ted Flett, then PR for Visit Britain if he could arrange visits to several charity shops. “Only you” said Ted, who then went on to organize a tour to three very interesting shops, and yes, they did have ball gowns.
Garage sales are fun too. In the British Isles they’re called “Back of the Boot.” My guide for Castle Howard said “Too bad you weren’t here last week end. We needed a new roof so we organized a “back of the boot sale with all kinds of things from the attics. We raised 1 million pounds. “
The Vrijmarket on Kings day in April in the Netherlands actually exists because there are no taxes on sales that day. But at all other times of the year trade is taxed. I’ve never been in April, but I’m told it’s a fabulous day to find bargains.