It's good to clear the air

Today I cried at work. It wasn’t pretty but if someone cant express their emotions then it isn’t healthy is it? I am not going to rant on about pity or gossip this is merely a diary of my days at work and I felt this was as important as any other day I could write about.

Often in any job everything comes to a head and you succumb to the madness and pressures that you, society and the nature of a job place upon yourself and its only normal your mind finds a release.

Sometimes in a small environment like this it can become a little intense and personal and things can be taken out of context or overlooked in some instances and as always prevention is always better than the cure but sometimes situations expand and before you know it its too late.

There are of course dramas, dismays and day dreaming and today was one of those days. Sometimes you can hit opposition and conflict and this is exactly what happened today without going into too much detail. As a manager and responsible adult I am somewhat responsible for peoples emotions and if you get close to them in a working environment like this one the smallest change can have a massive effect on that person.
But its good to clear the air and sometimes we all need to stop and take a look at the situation and see where we can improve and I’ve done just that today. Its all about balance! I find Lady GaGa really helps balance my mind and settle my thoughts into something more manageable.

On a brighter note its been a busy day but I’ve heard through the grapevine that a nearby high profile shop may be closing in the near future and if this becomes truth it could have a massive negative effect on our sales, as footfall will surely decrease to our store. So we would need to find a way to combat this, maybe move to a bigger premises? That would be fun, and would be a lovely injection of freshness- well deserved and appreciated. With a biscuit. Speaking of biscuits I like this town, it has character and some of the people really are wacky I was talking to a customer today who lives on a boat (not saying wacky people live on boats - I don’t think Rosie & Jim were wacky)

She’s such a spirited character and fun to talk to I wish everyone could be like that, she has no edge or attitude and is purely pleasant i'd like her as an auntie. She has invited me on her boat for a drink of tea and biscuits and I may take her upon her offer before she set sails south, she also informed me of shocking fact that her boat with 2 engines takes £4000 to fill with fuel! That is incredible I think she is rich and has nice ornaments on her boat and I may set up a donation station sailing down the canals collecting bags of donations, how amazing would that adventure be?

Maybe it would sink though that wouldn’t be amazing, but from the photo she showed me it has a life vest so I’d be ok. It made me think that if your on a bus and you give your seat to an old lady, well what if I was on a boat with an elderly lady and neither of us could swim and we needed to jump which one of us would morally have it? I think I’d give it to her though because I’m like that.

Just don’t get me started on lamb!

Why don’t I eat Lamb? Because its technically a baby and I don’t eat babies. This is one of the heated discussions that I’ve had with one of the volunteers today (all friendly don’t worry)

There have been lots of staff in today, more than usual and although you may think you would get copious amounts of production out of them this is not always the case, its often more productive and effective having less staff so they can get on with their job.

I found two of the staff finding conflict in who should be in charge of the bric-a-brac and they were each striving to find a place on the shelves for the glass decanters and tea, coffee and sugar canisters they were holding. It was sort of like a competition who was going to win the battle of the bric-a-brac. It’s a funny name that isn’t it “bric-a-brac” I don’t like it if I’m honest - which I always am. There is an antique shop in Mapplethorpe that is exactly like what you may expect a charity to be like (which it isn’t), I’ve never in my life seen anything like this, stuff everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! I nearly bought a handmade doll with one eye like Coraline but I was worried it was possessed or haunted and the little girl that owned it would follow me home. I wonder if its still there.



Friends of Weatherfield Hospital
Shop - Coronation Street

 I remember when Rita from Coronation Street worked in a charity shop, possibly with Emily Bishop? Not quite sure but we could do with some media exposure as an “industry” we are a valuable commodity, quite powerful in our appeal and content and should be treated as so by the media. I like the idea of a “boutique” style charity shop selling the same kind of thing but in more of a bespoke style with fabrics and nice lighting, it’s a modern world now things have changed and I think this idea would really appeal to the public.

By the way if I were to have a uniform sponsored by Fruit of the Loom I would like this logo on my back.

A Royal Wedding

Today first and foremost it was the wedding of William and Catherine Royal. I am not a royalist I cant stress this enough but I do have an interest in this specific marriage because it is of my generation and a piece of history I can feel a part of.

No doubt in a few years all charity shops will be flooded with “Kate and Will” memorabilia such as tacky mugs (I want one, maybe two) souvenir plates and the like,  especially if they get divorced now don’t think I am being negative or commiting “treason” for saying anything untoward against the Duke and Duchess of Cambridgeshire but divorces do happen look at Diana and Charles.

Divorce is a messy thing and does happen but it can generate lots of nice donations such as when a vexed lady donates her ex husbands John Wayne DVD collection or the contents of his designer wardrobe into the shop and doesn’t even care if she has forgotten his right shoe (not that this has ever happened to us of course but I’m sure it has somewhere, I‘m speculating).

All my working life in charity shops I’ve been plagued with “royal memorabilia” jubilees, weddings, commemorative pieces and never really thought anything about them until now, I realise we have been sitting on a gold mine! They are usually of Diana and Charles or the Queen.


Apparently the Queen's crown has the equal weight of 2 bags of sugar but is that light, brown or normal? Who knows I doubt we will ever get the crown donated in to weigh it like we do the rag bags.

Apparently 1 million folks turned out to the procession outside Buckingham Palace, what a missed opportunity for a donation station! A donation station is where a charity can set up camp with notice boards and a station and allow people to bring a bag of donations and then a van driver collects and distributes fairly between shops, helping people spring clean their home, create awareness for the charity and what they do or simply generate stock. There are many fundraising opportunities and ideas to trial, sometimes brainstorming is where the best ideas come into fantastic realities.

Anyway speaking of reality I’ve had a few weeks off and no internet so not a lot of blogging materials sorry for you hardcore readers that hang on for my every word but there is more coming soon but I’ve just been lounging around at home, watching royal weddings and things like that so not a great deal to report other than we need your donations! Stock levels have dropped somewhat and we need them back, we need you to do your spring cleaning and get donating! Our shops really rely on it and appreciate it!

By the way I thought Kate looked beautiful today.

HRH Charity Shop Blogger