Someone must've been fond of the YMCA song in Hove, because just when I was thinking there was only…read morea Hove YMCA on London Road, Brighton, I find out there are THREE of the blighters in two streets in Hove alone. There may even be more! Where the George Street store is your standard clothes charity shop, and the other Blatchington Road branch (see review) focused on furniture, this store is all about electrical products - from radios and TVs to fridges and heaters. If you're in the market for second-hand electrical products then be sure to check this place out, as they are slightly more reliable than other non-charity shops. You're also helping the YMCA out, so they can make more awesome pop videos with the Village People (who, coincidentally, seemed to be working at Lewes Bonfire Night this year!)

As well as all of the electrical products and other amazingly useful buys or just as easily,…read more ridiculously old fashioned and perhaps useless tat, Hove YMCA does what it's name suggests; Advise Youths. Monday to Friday Hove YMCA runs drop in sessions, giving much needed help on issues ranging from unemployment, and job hunting to sexual health and free pregnancy tests. These types of places are in my opinion the bed rock of a good society, so naturally I will give it 5 stars!

The original Town Hall at Hove was built in 1882 to the designs of Alfred Waterhouse, best known…read morefor Manchester City Hall and the Natural History Museum in London. This splendid red brick gothic edifice, with its 110ft clock tower, was a well-known landmark until a fire in 1966 severely damaged much of the fabric. A picture of the old Town Hall can be seen at: http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__5858_path__0p115p188p941p.aspx After several years of debate as to whether to rebuild within the remaining fabric or build a completely new hall, a competition was held for a completely new replacement building, which was won by John Wells-Thorpe, of Gotch & Partners. The new building, completed in 1974, is very much of its time: the structure is covered in unpainted grey-brown rough-cast concrete panels, with large expanses of tinted glass. It's not quite brutalist in style, thanks to the detailing on the panels, and the extensive planting around it softens the harder edges. But it's still a love-it-or-hate-it sort of building architecturally. I think it's mellowed rather well with time, and its low profile and set-back facades don't try to compete with the surrounding, older buildings. The building houses an information point (branded 'Citydirect') for the City Council's services, open 8.45-16.30h Monday - Friday. It also has various function and meeting rooms, which through the year host many diverse events, such as the Sussex Beer & Cider Festival held annually in March.

Hove Town Hall is a festival of the early 1970s, a mirrored, faux-wooden parade of concrete and…read moreangular features that don't do much to soften the blow of your parking fine. It looks inside like a once-grand hotel gone to seed, with the smoked glass looking onto overly polished walnut accents on the concrete walls. These bits of concrete look like a cast of real wood, which is definitely, definitely better than unadorned concrete. Nevertheless, it's still, ahem, bare concrete. Even the lighting looks like it's been around since back in the day, with yellow gels casting a weird golden glow over everything. It's as if you've taken the wrapper off a caramel Quality Street and held it in front of your eyes. It's worth going here just for the pure authenticity of it - they really don't seem to have updated anything since it was built, so it's a living historical monument to the age of bizarre buildings. A word of counsel - if you do have to go here, for whatever reason, and I hope it isn't as unpleasant as many of the reasons you might pitch up here (parking, housing regulations...), but if you do - don't leave out a visit to the loo. That be-mirrored fairground attraction will stay with me for some time to come.

I do a lot of browsing in YMCA charity shops - for furniture and records usually but I popped into…read morethe one at the top end of Blatchington Road and was extremely impressed. Its organised really well inside with plenty of second hand beds and cupboards at really good prices. The staff are extremely friendly and do have some stock out in the back so its worth asking if you can't find what your looking for. I was really surprised to learn from the manager, Mark that they work closely with the local land-fill site to retrieve electrical equipment, restore it and sell it on. Fantastic, enterprising idea in my opinion!

Whenever I go shopping on George Street in Hove, I always head to the top of the street and head…read moretowards the YMCA shop on Blatchington Road. Not only is it a great cause, but this is one of the best charity shops in Hove. It's huge, for starters, and they sell lots of furniture and bulky items alongside the usual bric-a-brac, books and the like. I've picked up a fair few bargains in here.

This place is simply amazing…read more Whilst most youth clubs will have a few footballs and maybe some computer games to keep the 'yoots' happy this place is state of the art. There's a room filled to the brim with G5 Apple Macs, with all the best gear for editing films with, such as the professional quality Final Cut Pro, and other amazing editing tools for music. There's a professional standard recording studio with state of the art equipment and sound booths. If you dont have the instruments, they are all here, with guitars, basses and drums to allow you to record the best music ever. The main hall is huge, and there are so many things to do here it is incredible. Supporting this main room are smaller rooms, where different activities such as Art lessons can take place. There is so much going on here, the best bet is to look at the website and just get yourself down here to experience it either as a Whtehawk resident, or as a volunteer on one of the many amazing projects run from here. Here's the website. http://www.crewclub.co.uk/

From the owner: The Crew Club specialises in work with young people from the ages of 7 to 25. This includes Youth…read moreWork, Play Work, 14 to 16 KS4 Support, 16+ Foundation Learning Courses, Music & Media Provision for Young People with Special Needs and Physical Disabilities and Holiday Activity Programmes.

I went to this charity shop for the first time today and boy, was I impressed! I so admire the…read moreprecision with which the shop is arranged. I realize I sound a little overzealous, but I am a girl who likes things to be in their place, especially when it comes to clothing. The shop is organized, uncluttered and unlike many secondhand shops, its enjoyable to browse the rails, as they aren't rammed full and everything doesn't fall of its hanger the second you touch it. There is an impressive wall of books: fiction, nonfiction, cook books, travel books, dictionaries and more. They also have a good collection of coats at the moment- I saw two Levi denim jackets, which are v. trendy at the mo and I also saw a great cosy sheep skin coat, which I definitely would have bought, had it been a little smaller. I'd say the collection of men's clothing is bigger, there are tons of jeans and an incredible amount of smart suit jackets! This is also a great place to pick up your Xmas cards, whilst supporting a local HIV/Aids charity.

A friendly greeting is a great way to get in my good books in any shop, let alone a charity shop…read morewith such an organised and easily manoeuvrable layout. Clothes, books, nic-nacs and bric-a-brac A wonderful charity and a great cause, it's a pillar of strength and a strong link of the community-I haven't seen such an extensive Gay and Lesbian book section in a bookshop or library, but the Beacon has quite a collection.

I'm the kind of person that gets excited about secondhand shopping, disproportionately excited,…read moresome might say. I don't know what it is, but I just love the thought of finding a great wardrobe or bedside table for next to nothing. And in my defence, I have found some wonderful stuff in my time! The smaller Hove YMCA has yielded all sorts to me and my friends...great mahogany dressers and wardrobes and even a sofa and an arm chair! There was a period of about a year or so when I found a great 1930s piece of furniture practically every time I went in! I was expecting this on a grander scale from the main shop on Blatchington Rd. Oh, the disappointment... Now I know charity shops are hit and miss and that often the search for great furniture can be disheartening, but what I found at this shop was pretty uninspiring. Call me crazy, but I don't want to fill my house with MDF furniture and 70s old lady coffee tables! If you do, head on down to Hove YMCA- you're in for a treat! As Joseph J. points out this place would be perfect if you're looking to cheaply deck out a student house or need a temporary fix. It's very inexpensive too, meaning that if you do happen upon a gem, you'll get an absolute bargain to boot! This store is much larger than the London Rd shop and they stock clothing as well as furniture.

I cannot express the sad pleasure it gives me to review a branch of the Hove YMCA that's actually…read morein Hove. And for crying out loud, there are actually three of the blighters down Hove way. This is, I'd say, the biggest of the three I've seen. It's nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose well. When you enter a charity shop, you don't expect to see any wondrous interior design, or Next Top Model sales assistants and if you're not expecting this, you won't be disappointed. (If you are, please stop watching home makeover shows and Living TV and get out more!) My expectations were suitably low and to be honest they weren't particularly elevated, which can sometimes happen. The store is large and has a decent selection of furniture, radios, TVs and various other used gizmos. The focus is more on larger products than the knick knacks you find in smaller charity/second-hand stores, but that makes sense, being as the proprietors are making the best use of this large unit. If you're looking for cheap furniture for student housing or something short term, then you're all good in the hood. Just don't expect anything phenomenal.

Mind on St. James was the first charity shop I went to upon moving to Brighton. I bought a single…read moregreen coffee mug for about a pound. Step one: Move to new country. Step two: Ensure a means to morning cup of coffee. Clearly my priorities were in order. There's a decent selection of books - each £2 and I saw several classics on this most recent visit. Perhaps a good stop for English Lit majors. DVDs are £3, but there are only five of them at the moment. The home décor selection is also a bit slim - a few trinkets, dishes and a set of wine glasses for £5.50. Of course there's also clothing, accessories and shoes - more for women than men. There's not too much unique about this location, other than personal nostalgia.

Loved it! The woman helping me was friendly and got several things out of the window for me…read more I got a lot of gothic pieces here for very cheap, £15 for an amazing Lolita dress, and £4-6 for some jackets, because her neighbor was donating and I was so lucky to receive slashed prices on these amazing items!

The federation of disabled people are very brilliant peeps indeed. They provide an apic amount of…read moreservices for disabled people in Brighton and Hove from brilliant online resources such as a disabled city guide and online forum to training and support. The following is a short history from their website; 'The Brighton & Hove Federation of Disabled People was started in 1981 to provide a body that would promote the independence and dignity of disabled people making sure than when services were being planned and developed, disabled peoples views were heard. It is this ethos, which the Federation represents today. The Federation is run by disabled people and works closely with local organisations and service providers to advocate better transport, ensure that disabled people are invited to join committees and forums and look at ways for disabled people to be recognised as part of the community rather than being on the fringe. We provide training and support to all our volunteers and staff and always involve those who have actual experience of the issues we deal with. The Federation takes a positive approach to the removal of barriers for disabled people and looks more at what people can do as opposed to what they can't do.'