Oh, sorry guys, customer.

I've got a couple of freebies tomorrow for customers.

We've had a brilliant day, absolutely brilliant.

Smashed sales today, brilliant.

We've got another volunteer coming in tomorrow maybe.

We've got some good volunteers that started this week.

So I'm pleased with that.

So we've got a lot of stuff being moved around in Pontypool shop.

There's a lot of stuff in Pontypool shop.

You know, you've got to move stuff to see stuff.

But stuff is being moved out of glass cabinets onto the shop floor even though they're shut.

The ones with the keys obviously not.

So I've ordered more keys and I'm going to be monitoring the CCTV more frequently in Pontypool because I don't know what's going on.

So I need everybody to be aware that I will be logging in.

I don't usually log in unless we've got a problem or somebody asks me to log in to have a look at something and then I can see it.

But I will be monitoring what's going on in Pontypool shop.

Yes, so we've been busy.

We've had lots of donations again.

Absolutely tons and tons of donations.

So thank you for that.

We have had a witness come forward giving a witness statement to the police about Sherlock and their identity and people who were involved on the group chat.

So the feedback from the website from volunteers they've said that there is no leak.

There is no whatever.

There is.

There has been.

Even your own people are getting fed up of you now.

So there we are.

Lovely.

Thank you very much.

I am indebted to you with that one because they've done it off their own accord.

They're fed up of it now.

We've had some lovely new customers in.

Absolutely brilliant.

We've had customers, old customers, new customers that know that we're dealing with a lot of stock and we need another way out and everything and they are still circumnavigating themselves around.

We've sold Christmas stock.

It's exciting.

Excited to sell Christmas stock.

And we've been.

We've been crazy busy.

Crazy busy.

Lovely donations in again.

Absolutely lovely antique stuff and more of you.

Absolutely brilliant.

I just wish.

I wish now that and I will try and do it because we're very good at manifesting because I tried to manifest a slow cooker for the shop.

I've got six today.

I've got to be a bit more specific when I'm manifesting.

So let's all manifest now a nice big warehouse.

Torvain Cwmbran because we've got the one Blackwood Pond and Frife and that's full.

So we need another one.

So let's manifest that.

Nice landlord.

Decent rent.

Free racking.

Yeah.

Loads of green crates.

That's what we need.

We're waiting on Blackwood to go bang.

It's not far off.

Other people are saying it now.

Before we go back in to get a better deal.

If we even go back because Blackwood is a ghost town and I never thought I would say that ever.

But obviously we got out as quick as we could to go back in.

Cheaper rent.

Better location.

Because we don't want to be tied and wasting baby bank funds on a shop that's useless with a useless landlord.

Do we?

We need to use the money effectively, don't we?

And keeping Blackwood going for another year.

Oh, you're talking about me then, Bec?

Metroponte Pool manager.

Yes, she's lovely.

I know I am.

Oh, Ingrid.

Yes, she is lovely.

Oh, you bought the Turkish coffee cups.

I know.

Very nice they are.

Oh, thank you very much.

Thank you very much for popping in.

So there is no point pouring money into something that isn't going to work.

We've got to use the fundraising money appropriately, haven't we?

And could I justify renting that shop for another year, dealing with our landlord and all his crap emails I was getting sent every five minutes, and his brother-in-law messaging me on Facebook and bloody window tacks.

No.

His loss, not ours.

I could do with another shop, but what I really want is a furniture shop.

Or a shop I can put furniture in.

Solely furniture.

Maybe a few bric-a-brac items.

I want to set it up like Ikea.

So you walk in there, and it looks like Ikea.

So you can sit down on a sofa, sit down on a table and chairs, and it's got a dinner table set out on it, and you can sit there and go, I really like this table and chairs, I'm going to have this, and I quite fancy the rug that goes with it, and I quite fancy those couple of teacups by there as well.

So that's what we're looking for, but it needs to have window.

Right?

So like Blackwood, but not Blackwood.

But it might need to be bigger than Blackwood, because it's got furniture in it.

Because you can imagine what Blackwood would be like with all our furniture in it.

It wouldn't be no good, would it?

It would still be overcrowded even with furniture in there, wouldn't it?

So it needs to be... there is one in Caerphilly, but they won stupid prices, because this was Brinsons.

It needs to have window frontage.

You know the one on the hill they've been working on?

They won like 1,200 a month, you've got no chance, right?

Window frontage, so you can see the furniture, so you can look from outside and then you can look...

But it needs to have the depth to go back as well.

So that's what we're looking for there.

That shop is not too bad, it isn't long enough.

But it has got the depth, but we're not paying that price for it.

So if you're a landlord and you've got Brinstons in, you need to get them out.

Because A, we're not going through an agency again.

And B, they're just not getting your shops rented for you because of the prices.

That's what we're looking for.

So I'm not necessarily looking for another shop to put our gear in.

We've got it now.

I'm looking for a shop that I can lay out like Ikea would be.

I'd like Ikea.

Can you imagine if we had Ikea, we'd fill it.

Can you imagine that?

We've got an inch left in Ikea.

Yeah, that's what I need.

That's what I need now guys.

That's what I want.

I think I'm going to have to get the stuff in now because I've got a few wanderers in us.

So yeah.

Brilliant.

Brilliant sales today.

Thank you so much.

I had good sales yesterday here.

Quite a few other shops.

But like Dan's been able to crack on and get some stuff done.

Like you've started the books.

So it'd be easier for Dawn.

Dawn went down to Risca today.

I'll try and let you know when Dawn's there.

I might have it there.

Yeah, I got it there.

So you started the books.

So that's good in here.

We also have a furniture area in Kafele shop.

But you should be able to get to it better now because he's done the books.

Where you couldn't before because the books were just all shoved on the shelf.

But he's been going through them and sorting them.

So once we've got our procedures in place, obviously everything runs a bit smoother doesn't it?

So thank you for bearing with us for Pontypool shop.

Like I said, I'm waiting to take on a warehouse.

I want a good price.

There's a couple.

I've already messaged a couple of people.

In Cwmbran, you need to think about your prices and you also need to think that unfortunately, you know, you need to think that if there's rates involved, it's not going to work.

Yeah.

We get a discount, but we don't get a full discount.

And we're looking for a furniture shop.

I'm not necessarily looking for a shop.

And I don't think there's anything on Blackwood High Street other than Wilkinsons.

Wilkinsons is going to blow the budget and we're not going to have enough money for the food bank and the nappies and everything else are we?

So we need something.

Is the pound shop going in Blackwood?

But that's going to be a lot as well because it used to be Woolworths didn't it?

And they're going to be expecting a lot for that.

So if the pound shop is going, it might be something we might be interested in.

For furniture.

And the other one would be New Look, but New Look isn't going yet.

Is Abbey National or Santander, is that up for rent yet?

And if it is, can somebody let me know who's renting it so I can check the price?

I haven't seen it online.

So I'm assuming it's not going through the normal channels on the thing.

So if Abbey National has got a sign on it, can somebody have a look if they're in Blackwood this week and let me know who's renting that.

But that's not suitable for furniture.

And they'll probably want stupid money for that because it used to be a bank.

But I can't think.

You've got AKE down the bottom, but they're not budgeting on rent yet.

It's been shutting down since 1980.

But if you were to take the window signage out of somewhere like New Look, that would be quite big and central as well, wouldn't it?

I don't want anywhere up past Pound Shop and I don't want anywhere lower than AKE.

But it's still going to be a nightmare if you buy furniture to pick up off Blackwood High Street, isn't it?

I tell you where I wanted and they ruined it was the little carpet shop in Pontnum Frife just before where our donation centre is.

They used to have big windows in there and then they knocked them out and then put a weed farm in there.

Took their offer over hours and then came back to me and said do you want it now?

I said no thanks because now it stinks of weed and now you've taken the windows out of it so it's no good to me.

But that would have been ideal as a little furniture shop there because you could have pulled in with your cars, picked up the furniture and gone like, couldn't you?

But that's what I'm looking for now and I don't think there's...

I mean I don't particularly... it doesn't have to be in an area that we're already in.

So it doesn't have to be Caerphilly, Blackwood, Risker.

It could be somewhere else.

It could be Newport.

It could be wherever, couldn't it?

It's not a major issue.

But if we go into Newport they're going to want a shop like this too.

The mothers are going to want a shop where they can pick up stuff.

So yes, it's a bit... I don't want Cwmbran, any Reco players.

I don't think so.

I think we've sold them all.

Yeah, I think we've sold them all.

So keep your eye out guys.

You know I'm looking for a big warehouse.

Possibly up rather than out with a warehouse because it costs less to rent a higher one than what it does a wider one.

And another place I've looked at is Arrow Ford in Cwmbran because that's got big windows and you can pull into the car park.

George Street furniture would be ideal, wouldn't it?

That would be ideal.

Keep your eye on that one for me.

But of course they'd want a lot of money for that because of the size of it and because they're used to having somebody in there that pays a lot of money.

And there's also a furniture shop in Newbridge that never sell anything, isn't there?

Opposite the one stop.

That would be another good shop.

But nothing moves in there do it.

It's like one of those fake shops.

And then I need you guys to keep spreading the word about us.

We're on 50% off minimum till 2025 because of the amount of stock we're taking in and we can do it.

Plus we have loads of other offers on as well.

Bundles like fill a bag for a fiver and all the rest of it.

I need you to keep spreading word of mouth.

If people say, oh I've heard this, it's not true.

They're jealous.

They're jealous because of how much Jane and her team have achieved without being a registered charity within such a little amount of time and the respect and the following that she's got.

Okay?

And that she doesn't really give a shit about these idiots anyway.

Tell everybody because we need more foot foot because the problem is I get 10 new customers today then next week those 10 new customers bring in 10 bags with them minimum every week.

That's even more stock again isn't it?

So keep telling people.

Okay?

That we're here.

Keep telling them where we are.

Tell them we're on 50% off.

We only take card and contactless staff safety because of the weirdos.

And I've had lots of lovely volunteers come forward again and you know.

Now we also pay our volunteers £20 a day in store allowance, store credit.

But can I just remind people that's only if they're working, only if they're doing a full shift and it's a gesture of goodwill.

If I decide I'm not going to pay it because somebody has been in, hasn't worked, hasn't done anything, made a bloody mess with somebody else.

Then I don't need to pay that by law because that is something that I have set up.

And that's up to us if we want to pay it.

But we would, if you're a non-worker, we probably wouldn't have you here anyway.

We'd probably say thank you very much for doing your trial but you're not suitable to work here.

But the other thing is you can't add it up.

It does say it on the post.

You cannot add it up.

So you cannot say I'm old £150.

You can't.

It's £20 a day.

It needs to be low value stock.

It's up to you if you want to take something that's £20.

But if you're going to take stuff every day that's £20 in value, you may have to declare that to HMRC.

That's why we've set it up the way we set it.

So that you come in and you take your allowance and it's all low value stuff.

It's stuff for yourself.

It's not stuff that you sell.

If you do take stuff and you do sell it on Vinted, then you will need to declare that as well.

But if you're just coming in, picking up toys, clothes for yourself, clothes for the children, keeping bric-a-brac for yourself, you don't need to declare that.

Tell the Jobcentre.

Tell HMRC but you won't need to declare it every week.

If the protocols are not followed, we will obviously say to you, there's no point you working here because you're not following the protocols anymore.

If you don't follow it, then you lose your allowance.

It's as simple as that.

We don't carry it over and it does state on there that we don't carry it over.

So yeah, massive thank you from me today guys because we've paid one of our rents for the shops.

Possibly 10 days early.

And the rent that was due on the tent was paid a couple of days early as well.

It's always nice to pay it in advance.

If we got it, we pay it.

That's the way we do it.

So it's always nice to be able to do that for our landlords that have made an effort for it as well because they can see it going in early as well.

So thank you very much guys.

And like I said, keep spreading the word about us and keep telling people to come to our shops.

So thanks guys.

See you tomorrow.

