As regular readers of my reviews may know, I am an avid charity shopper. Imagine my unbridled joy,…read morethen, when one of Formby's finest charity shops opened just three minutes walk from my house. What they don't do is clothes, what they do is almost anything and everything else - weird and wonderful costume jewellery shaped like zoo animals, gold rimmed wind-up watches, books from bestsellers to cult classics (I bought both Cloud Atlas and To The Lighthouse here for less than £5 for the pair). They also do a nice line in cheap furniture, my bedside table cost £3 from here and there was a dining room set for less than £30 last time I walked past. If you do wish to donate clothes (or indeed curtains or bed linen) they willingly and happily receive them during opening hours. Instead of selling them though, they are torn into pieces and used as bedding for animals at the rescue centre. Aww...

One of the charity shops which on my aforementioned trips through Formby village I usually spend…read morevery little time in - the reason simply are the clothes. Whilst boasting a decent selection of videos (hallucinatory kiddies classic 'Dougal and the Blue Cat') and records (a fair old selection of Mancini and Ella Fitzgerald vinyl when I was last there, amongst the 'Pop Pickers '73' albums etc.) the clothing is mostly for those of the female lady-type feminine persuasion (or at least someone more metrosexual than myself.) The shop is small though and as most of the charity shoppers in the village tend to be womenfolk themselves (awaiting confirmation of this from the national office of statistics) I can hardly blame them from playing to the crowd on the clothing front. The books though shouldn't be overlooked with modern classics by Julian Barnes and Hilary Mantel cropping up amongst the Dan Brown's and Wilbur Smith's.

When it comes to helping the aged I do my part; I ring my grandma pretty often, sometimes I even…read morereach to the high shelf to get down that last box of porridge oats for struggle elder shoppers at the supermarket. I shouldn't feel guilty about it. I don't throw old cream cakes or bits of omelette at pensioners but somehow, when I see adverts about OAPs freezing in their underheated flats a pang of guilt hits me. Maybe I should do more of my charity shopping here then. Guilt wouldn't be the only reason of course, there are boardgames and tennis rackets and cable-knit sweaters aplenty for me to splash my cash on - not too many records but every charity shop has to have its weak point otherwise they would just completely overtake from actual shops and then the economy would be shot and where would that leave the aged? Unhelped, that's where.

I cannot say enough great things about this charity shop which is by far my favourite on the Formby…read morecircuit - they've supplied me with fancy dress outfits, tweed jackets and brushed plaid shirts for years now and haven't started overpricing their items unlike some other charity shops. You can still get a ton of videos for a couple of pounds, full suits for less than £15 and any of the ties from the great selection for under £3. The nic-nacs and bric-a-brac is not of Animals in Need standard (you are more likely to find an old vegetable steamer here than a set of commemorative horse brasses) but they do sell frequently sell completely unused items; I have bought a great oxford shirt and a set of candles here, both still in wrappers - does it make me sad that I considered that to be a fantastic achievement? Yes, is the answer.