Age Concern

Being one of those people who can’t go into a charity shop without coming out with a year’s supply of books, my creaking bookshelves and increasingly overloaded cupboards are eternally grateful this place isn’t nearer to my house.
The shop houses an impressive supply of reference books and is well ordered by subject. The staff here are clearly able to sort through the titles, and so there is a section devoted to the best quality works and the ‘classics’.
For the specialist reader, the shelves are also divided up into categories as diverse as Religion, Pregnancy, Foreign Language and Antiques.
Throughout my English Literature, I found this quite the resource as next year’s reading list often tended to appear just hours after the school’s essay hand-​in date. At turnover times such as these, text books and professional guides are always prominently displayed within the shop so do make sure you get in quick.
At other times, keep an eye out for buy one get one free incentives. Who knows, you could take a chance and find your new favourite author.
URBAN CHALLENGE: Buy a book by an author you’ve never read before

I love what Age Concern is all about. They are one of the most important charities that are supporting the elderly in many different ways. Isolation is a huge problem for old people these days, as it is for younger people too, but whilst younger people may get depressed about feeling alone, there are a multitude of other potentially harmful factors of living in seclusion for the old. Isolation is a product of modern society, where communities have broken down, with large numbers of the workforce being incredibly mobile, often relocating great distances away from their parents. The fact that we have transient societies means that it’s difficult to start and maintain friendships, so there are fewer people looking out for the welfare of the nations OAP’s. I’m always saddened to learn of yet another old person being found dead in their home by the postman, or the milkman, instead of by a family member or a neighbour.
Age Concern addresses the issue of isolation amongst a plethora of other initiatives to offer support to the frail and needy. Their shops provide a significant amount of revenue to fund these directives, and so they play an important role within the charity.
This particular shop is a good one. It is well stocked, and often has good quality clothing with a few designer labels thrown in for good measure. They also have a reasonable bric-​à-​brac section and the books and DVD’s often offer up quite a few titles that I snap up readily. Great!