Turmoil

Why a photo of yet another charity shop about to open?

Well, this happens to be the second in less than a year in Bridge of Allan.

Now our wee town has fought fiercely against charity shops and it must be the last in Scotland to succumb to this modern High St phenomenon.

Don’t get me wrong. Some of my best bargains have come from them and I am forever recycling my stuff.
(Only the other day I got an urgent text from a friend wanting to know if a sweater she had seen in the vintage charity shop was in fact one of mine.)

But it’s what it says about the current state of our High Streets that is worrying.
Couple this with the Referendum and we are in turmoil.

Vote “yes” and will we see more small businesses going bust as Scotland struggles to pay its way? Vote “no” and will be subjected to more austerity cuts, which we have already been promised, are in the pipeline?


Charity shops are a bellwether of our economy and reflect fundamental changes going on in our society as we move towards a digital economy with more people shopping online. The High St is loosing its raison d’etre.
And charity shops are stepping into that gap.

Then couple this with a growing Green awareness.

What are we doing making all this stuff only for it to end up in landfill when it is in fact perfectly useable?
And then there is the elephant in the room: all these consumer goods are are made by what amounts to slave labour in the Far East.

So you see I am in a turmoil. Which way to vote?