29/07/17: Charity shop hop, North Finchley

1. The Bothy – saw a white-label record with a message written on the sleeve: "To Steve, Thought this would be a good first record. Good luck, Sam." But what's on the record? Nearly bought the Substance CD by Joy Division. Not sure why I didn't, actually.

2. Cancer Research was closed, even though the list on the door said it should have been open for an hour already.

3. All Aboard. Plenty of DVDs. "Two books for 50p" special offer still running, but couldn't find two I wanted. Or even one. Nearly bought £1 vinyl copies of Commoners Crown by Steeleye Span and Johnny Cash and His Woman, but they were both too beaten up.

4. North London Hospice. Nearly bought CDs by the Sex Pistols (NMTB), Queen (Greatest Hits) and Talking Heads (Stop Making Sense), but again the condition wasn't quite good enough. Various Anne McCaffrey fantasy novels on the crowded bookshelves.

5. RFFR. Bought three vinyl LPs for £1 each:
• Many a Mile by Buffy Sainte-Marie (1965).
• Back Home Again by John Denver (1974).
• Songs of the British Isles by Nana Mouskouri (1976; one of 200-plus albums Nana released).

28/12/16: The Very Best of Julie London (R.F.F.R.)

RFFR, North Finchley. I saw this CD the other day and was tempted, but foolishly bought a disappointing Carly Simon CD instead (see HERE). Passing R.F.F.R. today, I was delighted to see that Julie had waited for me. Two discs and 50 tracks for a mere 50p – that's one penny per track: not bad going in 2016's broken Brexit Britain. Interestingly, both Carly and Julie cover Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye".

17/12/16: Back Into the System (R.F.F.R.)

RFFR, North Finchley. Was tempted by Julie London (who wouldn't be?), but ended up buying a Carly Simon CD called Film Noir. Mike Peters' Back Into the System was signed by the former star of The Alarm himself. The gold writing looks like it says: "To Rennie with respect Mike Peters". Clearly the respect wasn't mutual.

03/05/15: Days Are Gone/Cara Massimina (R.F.F.R.)

RFFR, North Finchley: bought a Tim Parks novel called Cara Massimina for 50p, plus a two-disc version of Days Are Gone by Haim (still shrink-wrapped) for £1. The latter had rave reviews when it came out in 2013, so I am keen to hear it.