onionbagblog

This piece was first published in the brilliant Colchester 101 magazine. Copies are available for free around pubs, shops and other public places in the town.

I’m a firm believer that you can judge the success of a town by the quality of the local charity shops. Sure it’s great to have the big High Street brands nearby, but the true character of Colchester shines through with the range of charity shops to choose from.

The very ethos of donating cast offs, speaks volumes about the social conscience of a town. This may sound like a liberal wet dream, but it is also something of a retail lifesaver for many local families in these uncertain economic times.

A recent trip into the town centre saw me pick up a woollen jumper, a couple of shirts and a pair of (unused) hiking socks. I blinked at the opportunity of buying a (used) 44DD bright pink bra. I still had change from a tenner, and so spunked £100 away on a designer man bag.

Only joking…

Age Concern along George Street, Scope and the PDSA on Long Wyre, Cancer Research at Culver Street West - it may not be a West End shopping experience, but I’d be struggling to find a pair of (unused) hiking socks along Regent Street for under £1.

What I find fascinating about our local charity scene, dahhhling, is the selection of clothes found within. The items donated serve as a social time capsule for the current state of the town.

Designer clothes don’t exactly grace the rails along the charity shop circuit. There’s a more practical approach, with sensible clothing, as your parents might have once said. This doesn’t mean that Colchester is dull - witness the bright young things scrumaging around in the bargain bins to buy some clothing that they will then customise.

Yep - Colchester is comfortable, rather than costly. This atmosphere helps to promote further creativity within the town. The bottom up approach of retail during this recession is booming, compared to the early 90′s. The black bin liner bidding shops that sprung up after Black Wednesday in ’92 are thankfully nowhere to be seen.

Instead we have the likes of Slack Space, the creatives at 15 Queen Street and the Hidden Kiosk Project by the old bus station, all successfully using empty building space to create something beneficial for Colchester under these challenging times.

Charity begins at home. Or along George Street, Long Wyre, Culver Street West etc.