It says something about shopping habits nowadays when even the charity shops are layered according to pricing in the same way that ‘proper’ shops are. A lampshade from John Lewis for example will cost more than a lampshade from somewhere like B&M (is that still going?), so you go to the shop that suits your income and lifestyle. I’m not really sure what shop would be at the top of the spectrum (even Harrods has gone downhill so it would have to be Selfridges or Fortnum & Mason), and what would be the bottom. B&M is definitely at the lower end of the list along with shabby places like Home Bargains, Poundland, and their different variations. Charity shops have taken the same direction, the ones that have stayed true to the charity shop ethos, (selling it cheaply based on the fact that as all the stock was donated and you don’t pay rent or council tax then 10p is a profit) and the ones that have taken it upon themselves to attempt to become a higher class shop by simply adding the word that has become synonymous with adding several pounds to the retail price; vintage.

Yesterday afternoon after we had been to Hartley’s, we took a little walk around Hockley and the only shop open was a charity shop that uses the word ‘vintage’ in order to ramp up the prices. There were a few bargains to be had of course, but some things were just ridiculously priced. Based on my visit to the circus on Saturday I decided to buy an ornamental clown. A while ago I had planned to collect clowns, but never really got round to it. Yesterday I added this little chap to my collection, I say ‘collection’, there are now three. The new one is the one in the middle.

You may recognise the bouquet of pencils as the romantic present I made for Mandi for Christmas 2012.

My most interesting find was these two comic annuals that had not been price-clipped. (Price clipping was something that happened when annuals were given as Christmas presents, and the parents would snip away the price from the corner of the first page. If you see an old annual that hasn’t been done, they are a lot more collectable).  Knockout was one of the many comics that came from the legendary IPC label, produced from the fondly remembered King’s Reach Tower on Stamford Street in London, a placeI made a little pilgrimage to a few years ago. As fans know, the comics eventually all merged into each other until Buster was the only one left, sadly outliving the brilliant Whizzer & Chips. The other annual, Smash, isn’t something I have ever heard of before. When it caught my eye I thought that it was another IPC publication but it wasn’t. The characters are drawn in exactly the same style, and the stories are written the same. A little bit of online research told me that it was in fact one of IPC’s titles, brought together from Odhams to release books under the Fleetway Publications umbrella. How this managed to pass under my radar of knowledge on the subject I’ll never know, but now I have a new collection to try and find.

It amazes me that IPC Media haven’t attempted to repackage the old titles as a nostalgia title in the same way that DC Thompson come out with special Christmas cash-in editions of The Beano and The Dandy. What better reminder could there be of a time when comics were proper comics and not just some shitty package based on whatever television rubbish is available at the time.

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