Barnardo’s

I must say this is one of the lesser Bernado’s I’ve seen in Manchester. The one in Withington and the one on Deansgate are considerably better.
Having said that, my priority in terms of charity shops is always books. This place has got a few shelves, but literally only one or two books that wouldn’t be a waste of time to read. They sometimes put these out on tables outside, but this does not improve the text inside the book.
For clothes and stuff it may be a little better, but its smaller and less full than other charity shops. My advice would be to pop in if you’re actually inside the precinct in which it is located, but not to bother climbing the stairs into the precinct specifically for it.

I have recently been berated by family members for expressing my belief that charity shops are getting excessively overpriced these days. It may be an unpopular stance to take, and I can understand why some would assume I’m either a tragic miser or appallingly uncharitable. However, my understanding of a charity shop is that it works on two fronts: to raise money for a designated charity by profiting from donated goods while offering those on lower incomes the opportunity to clothe and furnish their homes at truly jaw-​dropping prices. Before becoming hijacked by the hipster masses, being spotted in the vicinity of a charity shop was considered social suicide. Does anyone else remember that ultimate childhood put-​down of ‘nice tracksuit, where’d you geddit? OXFAM?’?
I digress, what I’m trying to say is that this Barnardo’s is obviously lacking in the marketing drives demonstrated by other, more upmarket, charity shops and is evidently suffering from the minimal flow of people it gets in the barren precinct. This has caused it to introduce a fabulous ‘every item £2′ policy which has elevated it in my estimations to the most charitable of all its cohort. It is now a one stop shop! And if I let you in on a little secret of mine, that recently I discovered a genuine AQUASCUTUM trenchcoat in immaculate condition for a paltry two quid, I wonder if it’ll send you bounding up that flight of stairs too at every opportunity!

Barnado’s charity was started way back when, when Mr Barnado decided to help out all the vulnerable, needy children he could in his specially designed schools. It was a good thing he did because it’s spurred this charity on for years to come, and these charity shops help to keep the dream alive.
Like most charity shops it’s a jumble of things from the time that we forgot. VHS tapes, old books, clothes, miscellaneous stuff you don’t quite understand. It’s all there. Probably one of the better things is the fact you can do photocopying as well for 3p a sheet. Mr. Barnado you’re a legend. More than you already are.

Barnardos is the second saviour spot for those desperate photo copying needs, at 3p a sheet it beats most other places by a whole 2p as well. Other than that you can pick up those children’s classics you watched over and over again on VHS! Such as the Lost World or Disney’s Pinocchio. Other reasons to browse is to dig out those rare CDs and books which always seem to end up in a charity shop after the owner pays no interest in it anymore. At around a few quid a go there usually well worth it, I found some ace titles in the past that only cost me a pound. Finally the charity shop seems to be the shopping reserve of the indie and vintage kids of today, whose needs for leather jackets, beaten old boots and floral dresses is never ending.