31/01/15: Shell shock (Barnardo's)

Barnardo's, Whetstone. The "shell bra" has sold! Someone, somewhere in North London, is having "serious fun"...

24/01/15: Shell bra (Barnardo's)

Barnardo's, Whetstone. Shell bra. £1.99. "Serious fun!" says the packet. Bargain? No purchase made.

23/01/15: Eon (North London Hospice)

North London Hospice, Whetstone. Some good books on offer here today. The Wolf of Wall Street is well worth a read, as are the Philip K. Dicks and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Does anyone recommend In Praise of Older Women?

I snapped up another "SF masterwork" – Eon by Greg Bear. Based on the length, it will probably take me an eon to read – especially if someone else insists on reading it first...

23/01/15: R.E.M. update (Barnardo's)

Barnardo's, Whetstone. Quick update – Lifes Rich Pageant (sic) has gone, but Document and Up have appeared, so there are now five R.E.M. albums available.

18/01/15: Islands (Barnardo's)

Barnardo's, Whetstone (again). Charity shoppers who inspect the CD shelves will be all too familiar with R.E.M.'s orange-spined Monster – seemingly one of the easiest-to-find of all compact discs. Less commonly seen are pre-megastar back-catalogue items by the group, such as Lifes Rich Pageant (sic). I'm shocked to learn that "literate frontman" Michael Stipe didn't want an apostrophe. In fact, Peter Buck is quoted as saying “We all hate apostrophes. Michael insisted and I agreed that there's never been a good rock album that's had an apostrophe in the title." Untrue. What about this lot for starters?

• The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
• The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by the Incredible String Band
• It's Alive by the Ramones
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
• This Nation’s Saving Grace by The Fall
• Tonight's the Night by Neil Young
• The World Won't Listen by The Smiths

Almost reassuringly, Shania and Britney put in their usual appearances. Shelf analysts will enjoy the neat symmetry of the Island Paradise CD sitting beside the (unrelated) Island Story disc. Also shown, from left: Beth Rowley, Basement Jaxx, James Bond Themes, The Stranglers, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus. No purchase made.

17/01/15: No Parlez (Barnardo's)

Barnardo’s, Whetstone. Every charity shop in the UK stocks a vinyl copy of No Parlez by Paul Young. This shop has two. Just to the right of Paul is Basil Brush, looking rather fetching in his little foxmobile.

17/01/15: Singing Detective, Gateway, Tau Zero (North London Hospice)

North London Hospice, Whetstone. A man was complaining that the jacket he’d bought during the week was too large. He wanted a refund, but had to settle for a credit note. It's vulgar to haggle over these things – it's a charity shop! I was delighted to find The Singing Detective on DVD (all 392 minutes of it). Could be the greatest TV drama ever made – or rather, that's how good I recall it being when I saw it on the BBC in the 1980s. The man browsing next to me asked whether the shop had a DVD of The Railway Children. It didn’t. I was also pleased two find two "SF Masterworks" (£1 each): Gateway by Frederik Pohl and Tau Zero by Poul Anderson.

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.

16/01/15: The Supremes (Geranium Shops for the Blind)

Geranium Shops for the Blind, George Street, London, W1. A neat little shop packed with stock, some of it falling into the dreaded "vintage" category. I was in too much of a hurry to investigate fully. Always nice to hear "Baby Love" by The Supremes, which was playing on the radio and which remained lodged in my brain for the rest of the day.

16/01/15: Dr Who (Barnardo's)

Barnardo's, George Street, London, W1. Not much excitement going on here. A dedicated shelf offered "75 Dr Who books for £49.99". Working out at just over 66p per book, that should make a fan very happy – except that a fan would surely have them all already.

16/01/15: Britney and Steps (Cancer Research)

Cancer Research, Marylebone High Street, W1. More Britney. Charity shop regulars Steps also put in an appearance. In the unlikely event of being absolutely forced to choose one of these discs, I would probably have gone for the Meat Loaf (I read his autobiography last year and warmed to the man).

16/01/15: Britney and Celine (Oxfam)

Oxfam, Marylebone High Street, W1. A specialist "Oxfam bookshop" with a huge stock. A fair amount of music, too. Note the obligatory Britney Spears and Celine Dion CDs. It's no surprise to see the David Gray, Dido, James and U2 albums, either. Frequent charity shoppers will be wearily familiar with these unwanted relics from the bad old days of 1999–2002.

14/01/15: Han Solo (YMCA)

YMCA, Goodge Street (up the road from Oxfam). Just a lunchtime browse. Was slightly tempted by a Han Solo T-shirt, but did not purchase. Likewise, I did not buy the Pink Floyd CD (packaging mangled) nor the Jimi Hendrix CDs (have them already). No good books on the shelf. Was happy to leave empty-handed.

14/01/15: Hunter, Gram (Oxfam)

Oxfam, Goodge Street. Bought two books (nice condition) found in the room downstairs:
• Hunter S. Thompson – The Great Shark Hunt – £1.99
• Jason Walker – Gram Parsons: God's Own Singer – £1.49
When I got home I was dismayed to discover that I already have The Great Shark Hunt, albeit an American edition in worse condition and with a different cover. Dilemma: which one should I keep?

11/01/15: New Order, Tangerine Dream CDs (Barnardo's)

Over the road from All Aboard is the Barnardo's shop. More pricey than most, but not that much if what you're buying is a hard-to-find synth-rock CD classic (or two). The lady at the till asked me if these were CDs or DVDs, and I assured her that they were CDs:
• New Order – Brotherhood – £1.99
• Tangerine Dream – Rubycon – £1.99

11/01/15: Nanci G, drum & bass CDs (All Aboard)

Few messages could cheer me more than “charity shop open”. All Aboard in North Finchley sells its CDs for very reasonable prices. I bought:

• Nanci Griffith – Other Voices, Other Rooms – 50p

• Various artists – Essential Drum & Bass 2: 20 Drum & Bass Cuts from the UK Underground – £1 (it’s a double set)

Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of drum & bass? The sticker text concludes with “genuine value”. Certainly can't argue with that.

10/01/15: Mac, MacColl, Bowie CDs (North London Hospice)

A short bus ride away from the North Finchley branch is the Whetstone North London Hospice shop, where I picked up three CDs. The staff (a teenage boy and girl) were just pricing up the CDs and putting them on the shelf. A better selection than the usual Gloria Estefan and Madonna albums. I bought:

• Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac – £1 (formerly "£11.99")

• Kirsty MacColl – Tropical Brainstorm – £1

• David Bowie – Let's Dance – £1

10/01/15: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (North London Hospice)

North London Hospice shop, North Finchley. Thought this brick was a bargain at £1.50. However, as a "test" I decided I would only buy the book if it was comprehensive enough to include Her Lover (Belle du Seigneur) by Albert Cohen, which I am enjoying immensely. It passed the test. Despite that, I'm not sure I agree with all the choices (why no Richard Ford?) and I was dismayed to find an error straight away (Anthony Burgess wrote four Enderby novels, not three). But it's a handy reference book, all the same. Re: the title, that "must" seems way too pushy. What happens if you DON'T read these books? As for reading them "before you die", you can hardly read them afterwards, can you?

The shop is currently missing its frontage and not looking its best. It is, however, perhaps my favourite of all north London charity shops – well stocked and expertly run.

30/12/14: Las Vegas mugs (JAMI)

JAMI, Golders Green, next door to Sue Ryder. The mugs in JAMI were not priced. I asked the man at the till how much they cost. After some distraction, delay and dithering, a second member of staff advised that they would be 50p each. How could I resist? I like these Las Vegas designs because their excitingly bright, gaudy colours accurately evoke the flavour of that Nevada city. Plus, I needed mugs.

30/12/14: Her Lover (Sue Ryder)

Sue Ryder, Golders Green. The sign stated that all paperbacks were £1, but a sticker on the actual book said £2. A confusing state of affairs. I asked the lady at the till, who confirmed the £1 rule and removed the misleading sticker. The purchase proceeded without further incident. Her Lover by Albert Cohen is 974 pages long and as such will take me a while to read. It was published in 1968, but is set in 1930s Geneva and details the lives of social climbers connected to the League of Nations. This is an English translation from the original French version (published as Belle du Seigneur).