A good rummage around the charity shops has long been one of our favourite ways to spend a Saturday afternoon, particularly on a soggy, miserable day. With two kids in tow now – oh yes, we had another. There is a legitimately good reason why I’ve hardly been around for the last two years. So, with two kids in tow, it can be a bit more challenging to spend a day chazzer hunting. It calls for a bit of patience and a lot of snacks. We may have also told the kids that they’re called toy shops…

Today, we decided to combine a trip to the Hat Museum in Stockport with a look round Marple and Romiley charity shops. The route kind of works, there’s free parking in each place and the promise of the museum was enough to keep our three year old on board all morning.

It was slim pickings today though; for me at least. There were a few interesting looking things:

I liked the look of these two retro AA touring maps, but I couldn’t think of anything I could do with them. The pictures on the front were pretty good.

But I just couldn’t justify buying yet more retro things to turn into pictures… It hardly ever happens and I end up with a pile of forlorn looking objects that I eventually either eBay or stick on the car boot pile.

These were also pretty funny looking:

Again, more junk we really don’t need… These are kids 7″ singles featuring different nursery rhymes and some pretty snazzy illustrations on the front.

These were both in one of the best charity shops in Marple. Look at this:

They make a real effort to set out their items well and we usually find a couple of bits and bobs. Today was a rare exception as we left empty handed. I can’t remember which charity it is in aid of, but it’s in the old Blockbuster shop in the centre of Marple if you want to have a look.

Romiley was next on the list. We found a few bits and bobs for the kids, toys etc but nothing particularly retro or vintage. I’m convinced the chazzers are getting more savvy to it. The prices certainly seem to be getting higher for quite mundane things. I’ve got to say, we had a nice look round (despite the never-ending rain) but my word, were the volunteers miserable today. Grumbling about getting things out of windows and muttering about the kids playing with the toys. Yes. We will put stuff back. Yes. We would like to look at things before buying them. Yes. I’m going to ask if a game is complete before I buy it. Sorry for asking! I know they’re working for free, but crikey, cheer up!

Anyway, we finally ended up at the Hat Museum. If you’ve never been, it really is a great afternoon out. The kids had a great time looking at the different hats, trying on the ones that were allowed to and looking at the old machinery used to make hats. We’ve been a few times now and we all still like looking round.

What’s not to love about tiny hats for pets?!

A lovely day overall and a nice way to spend a soggy Saturday. I’ve spent all evening sorting out our ridiculous toy mountain and listing some of the good stuff on eBay. Hopefully, they’ll do okay and make me a few pennies, which I’ll probably spend on more toys we don’t need.