Alright, so hi guys.
I've had an early finish again today because my knee is bad and we've got to get some more stuff over the shop now.
Thank you to Jan and all our other volunteers that are keeping the cogs rolling.
I desperately need someone over at Pontypool to run it because Daniel does all the DIY and we need him over a year now more than ever.
There was donations left outside Aberbargoed unit.
Please don't leave donations outside any shop.
Please bring it.
Donations need to be brought into any charity shop during opening hours and we are not taking any donations at least till December the first.
And I might even stop December completely for donations.
We are looking for key rings.
Key rings are going really well and they take up a smaller amount of space.
CDs, records and magazines.
They are going really quick at the moment.
If you've got a lot of books for us, let us know and I'll see if I can take them in.
But anything else at the moment we're not taking.
So let me know before you drop them off.
So yeah, key rings are going really well.
So if anybody got any collections of anything like this, I know I got about 2,000 in the attic because I used to collect key rings as a kid.
So I'm going to dig them out and donate those.
So yeah, we're doing really well.
Tomorrow Risca will be open, 50% off.
Little Risca will be open, no more prices.
We need volunteers in both.
I need volunteers at Pontypool.
Blackwood, they need volunteers but they are pretty good anyway.
Blackwood will be open.
Al has got a back injury so Abba Bargad is going to be shut for a while.
So if anybody wants to open that up for us, we would appreciate it.
Next week I'm looking at inviting in some charities, support workers, to take any of the excess stock that we haven't taken over the other shop or we haven't packed away.
So it's not fixtures and fittings.
There isn't a lot of furniture there.
There's a few bits of furniture.
But it'll be whatever we've got left for free.
Obviously we don't want the charities in that have given us grief.
Well you're banned anyway, not just by us, by the police you're not supposed to attend.
So there are quite a few charities that have been awful to us since we started our charity journey.
You're not welcome.
But yeah, any other charities.
If you want to give me a message first so I know what's coming because we'll also have to make a list of what you take.
It'll be free, but I need to keep a list for the accountant and for my records.
So, you know, for example, if you take two pairs of curtains and four bags of clothes or whatever, then I need to write that down for the accountant and for my records.
So it'll be sometime next week.
I don't know if it's going to be Monday, probably Wednesday.
If we say Wednesday, I know for definite we aren't going to think on Wednesday.
If I can do earlier, I will.
So if you're a support worker, I'll need to see identification if you're a support worker.
It's no good somebody turning up saying I'm working with all these families, blah, blah, blah, unless you haven't got evidence for it.
Because I need to prove it's gone where I'm saying it's going.
Or if you're a charity and you want to come down and get some stuff, you can.
A lot of stuff we've transferred to the shop mind.
So it's not going to be like massive amounts of like baby clothes or nappies and things because they're in the other shop.
It's going to be whatever we've got.
That's hanging about probably household stuff that we haven't been able to pair up or we haven't sort of had time to fold and take over the other shop.
So, yeah, we'll go for Wednesday as they are past 10 Wednesday.
Big risk a shop.
So if you can let me know you're coming in advance, that would be great.
And the same with support workers as well.
And don't forget, I'm going to need some sort of ID.
I mean, if you've got a T-shirt or printed van, it's not too bad, is it?
But yeah, we will do that.
Pass them on as well.
Because one thing we'll never be short of, thank you to all you amazing people who recycle, is donations.
We are never, ever going to run out of donations.
So yeah, we can give some back out into the community to help some other people as well.
Thank you to everybody who's supporting us at the moment.
Thank you to the landlord that let us have this little shop on Risca High Street.
Because, you know, we've got this leak in the roof and nobody's turning up to fix it.
So I really need it somewhere because our stock was going to get damaged.
So I've seen another shop I'm looking at.
Because the thing is, shops have come down a little bit in price.
Storage units have gone up a little bit.
So you're better off getting a shop because you've got all the licenses, you know, are in place.
Whereas if you've got a unit, you've got to apply for the license to open it as a shop.
And shops are... you can get a shop that's slightly bigger than a unit for the same price now, or less.
So it's just the moving of the stuff is hard work, isn't it?
You know, I think long term going forward, if we're going to have a big property, you know, to store, I think we'd try and buy it this time, next time round.
Because, you know, it's ours then, isn't it?
You know, we can do the fixing and whatever.
And if we put like 20 racking bays in there, then we haven't got to move them, you know.
Because it's hard work moving everything all the time.
Yeah, so we'll go for Wednesday for charities.
Don't matter what charity it's about.
I don't need to know that.
All I need to know is you come in really and take what's left or take what you need.
It's more about coming in with a plan of what you want for your family.
So we can write it down, say what's gone, put a value.
Say they've taken like £60 worth of stuff that we would have sold it as.
And any accountant can do with what they like with that.
So yeah, that's where I'm at.
But I need volunteers now.
I need someone to take over the running of Pontypool because I need Dan.
And I need to be in risk of backing for the two shops at the moment.
So we need someone to go into Pontypool and open it up every day.
Same with Aberbargoed.
But I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be keeping Aberbargoed on.
Because like I said, I can get a shop for the same price.
So why am I wasting my money on a unit?
And some units you can't open up as a shop until you've applied for licenses.
Aberbargoed, you can.
But like I said, you've got to do what's right for us at the moment.
It's just the moving of all the equipment.
It just takes so long.
Anyway, thank you very much for all your support guys.
We do appreciate it.
