07/10/18: Model with hat (North London Hospice)

North London Hospice, East Barnet.

20/08/16: "Lovely gentlemen" (MS)

Woman at the till in MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society, East Barnet, upon seeing myself and four other men browsing in her shop:

"My goodness! All these lovely gentlemen! Close the door! I don't often get this many men in the room at once..."

18/06/16: 3 X Wrought Iron Gates (MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society)

Sign outside MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society in East Barnet. The "Rocking Chair & Stool" had sold, but the "Stero system & Speakers" were still available.

11/06/16: Row of CDs (Cancer Research)

Cancer Research, East Barnet. I love to peruse a row of CDs and this one did not let me down. An interesting mixture of Britpop, 70s rock and punk – at £2 a go – including:
• Catatonia – Equally Cursed and Blessed
• Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
• Various artists – Northern Soul Memories
• Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
• Suede – Sci-fi Lullabies
• Led Zeppelin – Early Days
• Morrissey – You Are the Quarry
• ACDC – Live
• The Who – Songs from Quadrophenia
• Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
• PiL – The Greatest Hits So Far
• Banarama – The Very Best Of
• Various artists – The Very Best of Power Ballads

• Various artists – Party Starter: The 15 Tunes That Rocked 2001

• Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms

• Blur – Blur

• Radiohead – The Bends

28/05/16: New shop (MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society)

MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society, East Barnet. The old MS closed down. Pleased to see that this has opened just around the corner. A friendly blackboard outside the door states "Thank you E Barnet for your great support".

23/05/15: 'Hello!' (The Loft)

The Loft, East Barnet. 'HELLO!' screamed the woman at the till – but not to me and not to any of the other customers who were looking up, slightly alarmed, and distracted from their browsing. 'Hello! HELLO! HELLO!!' In fact, she was shouting into a mobile phone. It was too noisy for me. Had to leave.

23/05/15: Great Train Robbery (MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society)

MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society, East Barnet. Two of the staff and a customer were deep in (loud) conversation about the Great Train Robbery. One of the three appeared to have some insider information on the event. An underwhelming selection of books and CDs. The Best of The Nolans was about as exciting as it got.

23/05/15: Inside Out (Cancer Research)

Cancer Research, East Barnet. The CDs were £2 each. That seems pricey by modern-day charity shop standards – especially when those CDs are by Dido and David Gray. Had a quick scan of the books. They had a copy of Nick Mason's Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, but very little else of interest.

28/03/15: McCartney (North London Hospice)

North London Hospice, East Barnet. A generous Beatles fan had clearly dropped in recently, based on this window display. In the vinyl section, too, there was evidence of the same donor: a selection of solo McCartney albums including Pipes of Peace, Give My Regards to Broad Street, McCartney II and possibly (I am slightly struggling to recall) Tug of War. I've heard McCartney II, which has its moments, and remain intrigued by this later-phase Macca, although not intrigued enough to pay the £2–3 asking prices on offer here.

17/01/15: Shania Twain (MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society)

MS: Multiple Sclerosis Society, East Barnet. Good to see Bob Dylan's Chronicles on the bookshelf. Some nice plain white mugs at 50p. A young man was delighted to find a 1991 Super Bowl programme, and started discussing it with a member of staff, who said that her son went to the Super Bowl every year. Can that possibly be true? CDs on offer included two copies of the ever-present Come On Over by Shania Twain (one with sticker, one without), as well as the usual unloved Dido and Celine Dion discs. No purchase made.

17/01/15: Darth Vader (The Loft)

The Loft, East Barnet. A clothing-only charity shop. I tried on an attractive purple-ish shirt, but it was too big – and anyway the collar was worn out. They also had Beatles, Rolling Stones and Darth Vader T-shirts. No purchase made, despite the "Buy one, get one half price" sale offer.

17/01/15: Live is Life (Cancer Research)

Cancer Research, East Barnet. The 1985 hit single “Live is Life” by Opus was playing on the radio and people in the shop were singing along. Usual suspects on the CD shelf, including Bryan Adams, Johnny Cash and "classical music babes" Bond. Was slightly – but only slightly – tempted by the Paul McCartney anthology Wingspan. No purchase made.