This particular Sue Ryder store is lovely; with its huge windows and pure white walls it's bright,…read morelight and airy and, because most of their stock is in good condition and is constantly changing, the shop is always very fresh. I only recently discovered that Sue Ryder was a national charitable organisation, I had thought, perhaps due to the quaintness of this store, that this was a locally based charity. Still, it's funded and run by locals. The staff are quite possibly the nicest I have ever encountered, nothing is too much trouble and they're always so, so grateful, to the point that I am shamefaced for just buying a copy of Wham! for a quid as a joke for a friend. I usually visit charity shops for books: university texts and leisure reads, and Sue's has never really been of use, I don't think books is it's forte, but there's always lots of kids toys (no not for me) and beautiful doll's houses (yes, for me) and if you look through there's often some designer clothes mixed in. I once picked up a stunning hat for the races in here: very Audrey Hepburn!

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.

In terms of stock this was once of the best charity shops in the area. I would often come here and…read morepick up several books for school and university studies. Now however the book section is quite poor and there's little to me up for this. Obviously the standard of the goods sold depends on the goods donated, it's tough times and people must be less willing to give away their property! Fair enough, but the charity shops are suffering a bit! This is a nice big store, the staff are always very friendly and do what they can to keep the store tidy and attractive by way of window displays and stock arrangement.

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.

The layout of this shop has remained the same for years, and I'd guess that 90% of the stock has…read moretoo. As for the other 10% well, that's OK. I've only bought a couple of things in here over the years, a book or two and a delightful Mary Poppinsesque suitcase. Mother on the other hand has bought books, toys and fancy-dressware for work (she works with children!) and it's always dirt cheap. The book section is probably it's best asset. I think the shop could do with a face lift or at least a little wash down.

From the owner: Crosby Housing is unique as a housing association to have a charity shop that has been established…read morefor over 40 years. The shop is run by a small team of staff and volunteers and sells clothing, shoes, jewellery, gifts, books, dvd's, small electrical items, toys and general bric-a-brac. The shop also sells some items on ebay under the user profile 'chacharityshop'. We take pride in the fact that we rely solely on public donations of items to keep the shop running. If you have any good quality items for donation, please bring them into the shop during opening hours. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

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.

Damn those pesky doe eyed mutts and scruffy kittens needing our help! Most charity shops will draw…read moreyou in through the promise of bargains and money going towards a good cause, throw in the idea of some critters with tiny bandages across their heads and I'm almost ready to buy an old crap! But alas even the crap in here was not enough to convinceme to part with any money but it wasn't for want of trying, oh no I just really couldn't find anything! I know that it might not really be the point and I certainly can't put anyone off from vsiting but if you like the cause just hand them some money because I get the feeling the poor creatures behind the till might need to be put out of their misery too!