Car (or bike) Chat!

[dave2010]

Yeah, totally agree about the area. Overall, Wrexham isn't an affluent area, and the stuff we Freecycle is always decent quality (as we don't buy shite), so it's usually always snapped up. There's way too much mindless waste in today's 'disposable society' - skips full of perfectly good kids bikes, mobile phones, furniture and all sorts, dumped simply because the owners were bored of it, or has become unfashionable

Down at some dumps I know, if you take (say, for example) a kid's bike, there'll probably be about 20 for sale, and then if you ask the guys what to do with one extra the answer is nearly always something like "toss it in the metal bin", or "toss it in household waste". Nobody cares if yours is better than the others.

One of the guys working there I spoke to said that after a while he got used to seeing really good things tossed - just "the way of the world", though at first he was stunned by it all!

[struth]

Is that with your sparkly lilac top, from Dorothy Perkins, and diamante high-heeled sandals? It's a 'distinctive look' for sure!

Marco.

Probably is, when he isnt parading up and down in taffeta ballgowns, drinking mint juleps and whipping the houseboy!

[Pigmy Pony]

Yeah, totally agree about the area. Overall, Wrexham isn't an affluent area, and the stuff we Freecycle is always decent quality (as we don't buy shite), so it's usually always snapped up. There's way too much mindless waste in today's 'disposable society' - skips full of perfectly good kids bikes, mobile phones, furniture and all sorts, dumped simply because the owners were bored of it, or has become unfashionable

Ridiculous... Or lazy bastards who would rather just take stuff to the dump than to charity shops, or Freecycling it, where someone else could benefit - or even 'upcycling' it themselves, and turning it into something more interesting and useful.

One of our favourite programmes is the BBC's 'Money for Nothing', where unwanted items are turned into something useable by skilled craftsmen, then sold to specialist retailers/corporate buyers for a profit, which is then given to the owners of the items concerned: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06bhwvy

Sometimes it just takes a little bit of elbow grease and imagination to create some wonderful stuff from your 'junk'!

Marco.

I'm one of those lazy bastards who takes stuff to the tip instead of the charity shop - but that's because they are picky bastards who expect donations to be near perfect. Also, all the charity shops are in the town centre, with the attendant parking problems.

A couple of years ago I took a shitload of books (a backbreaking amount) and lugged them some distance from car park to shop. They sifted through them and went "don't want that, we'll take that, don't want that" etc. I ended up lugging most of them back to the car and going to the tip anyway.

A lot of stuff at Pony Towers goes under the car port where I decide whether to make something else with it or give it away. Most of it ends up at the tip to make room for more crap.

[Marco]

I'm one of those lazy bastards who takes stuff to the tip instead of the charity shop - but that's because they are picky bastards who expect donations to be near perfect. Also, all the charity shops are in the town centre, with the attendant parking problems.

Ha - or you're attempting to use their shop as a dumping ground, by bringing them a load of 'toot', so quite rightly sent packing!

Seriously though, none of the charity shops here have ever refused anything we've taken them.

Plus, there are no issues with parking in Wrexham town centre. You get two hours free parking outside of Home Bargains (huge car park with always spaces available), and which is right next to most of the charity shops, so Del and I do a 'team effort', and simply park the car there and both of us carry stuff into the charity shop(s) in question, where the friendly staff are invariably always grateful

You see, that's the difference between Wales and England!



Marco.

[dave2010]

A couple of years ago I took a load of books (a backbreaking amount) and lugged them some distance from car park to shop. They sifted through them and went "don't want that, we'll take that, don't want that" etc. I ended up lugging most of them back to the car and going to the tip anyway.

A lot of stuff at Pony Towers goes under the car port where I decide whether to make something else with it or give it away. Most of it ends up at the tip to make room for more crap.

Sometimes leaving stuff under the car port, or close to the front gate .... they just disappear!

Sometimes, in fact, stuff which has just been put out temporarily, disappears!

Re the books - years ago we inherited loads of books, and took many to charity shops. On one occasion, one of the charity shop people spotted us (not me, actually - my "agents") and came out and said something like "if that's more books, you can turn round and take them away right now!". After that we found another charity shop in another town not so far away where they at least professed to be grateful for what we gave them.

[struth]

If you want something taken, put a crappy security device on it in open sight of Rd.. Be nicked by morning lol

[Marco]

Lived here for nearly 20 years and [touch wood] have never had anything stolen inside or outside the house, and we've left all sorts of stuff out overnight, even me forgetting to lock the car on a number of occasions, but in that respect I think it helps being away from a main road and not having folk going past your door all the time

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Ha - or you're attempting to use their shop as a dumping ground, by bringing them a load of 'toot', so quite rightly sent packing!

Seriously though, none of the charity shops here have ever refused anything we've taken them.

Plus, there are no issues with parking in Wrexham town centre. You get two hours free parking outside of Home Bargains (huge car park with always spaces available), and which is right next to most of the charity shops, so Del and I do a 'team effort', and simply park the car there and both of us carry stuff into the charity shop(s) in question, where the friendly staff are invariably always grateful

You see, that's the difference between Wales and England!



Marco.

Ah, so that's the difference - and I thought it was just the woolliness of the sheep, or the dual-language road signs. Actually there'll be some parts of England that are no different to Wales, like Burnley or Maryport

If I'd just wanted a dumping ground for my "old toot" I would have gone straight to the tip where I could park right next to the skip, job done. But I only tried the one charity shop - I'm not prepared to lug stuff from one shop to the next, in the hope that one of them will deign to relieve me of my burden, my life is busy enough without having to spend my all too brief leisure time going door to door like an unpaid encylopaedia salesman.

[struth]

always a problem when charity becomes business.

[Pigmy Pony]

Lived here for nearly 20 years and [touch wood] have never had anything stolen inside or outside the house, and we've left all sorts of stuff out overnight, even me forgetting to lock the car on a number of occasions, but in that respect I think it helps being away from a main road and not having folk going past your door all the time

Marco.

The scrap rats are the worst culprits I think - if they come past where I am working, and there is something that has value, I then have to find somewhere else to put it, cos sure as eggs is eggs they'll be back later, after you've left