Alright, so everybody has been working flat out up here today in Blackwood Shop.
Flat out yesterday in Pontypool as well.
Thank you to all the volunteers who have come in today.
We got all the Christmas stuff that we could find and got it out ready.
It needed a good, good tidy.
It really did.
We've ordered a Wopsit Zoo, a Teddy Zoo.
It's only a small one though.
To get some of our Teddies in because it's alright until you want one.
Jan has gone through the clothes again.
Jenny's done all the shoes and tied them up.
It really needed a massive overhaul.
Jan got to about there I think since she's coming in tomorrow to finish.
So I've been in contact this week now with one of the colleges.
I told them what we're looking for.
I told them the type of people we can't take with the criminal records etc.
But what we've said is we don't want any idiots.
Right?
We need people who are willing to work when they're here.
And I've also contacted the Jobcentres today as well because they're sending people up.
I appreciate that they've got to send people up.
But we also need people who are willing to work, nor sat down drinking tea and coffee.
There's been about six or seven of us in here today and we've still got work to do tomorrow.
My knees are starting to hurt now.
I hope we haven't worn off the injection already.
We need volunteers that will clean and tidy and listen.
Okay?
Because I don't want furniture and stock moved from one end of the shop to the other end of the shop.
It stays where we put it and you tidy it up where we put it.
You don't pick up a pile of stuff from there and drag it all the way over that side.
So that is the type of volunteers we're looking for.
I would rather have quality over quantity right now.
With some of the problems we've had recently.
So yeah, we've been quite busy.
We've still got stuff to do.
I've got this window to do tomorrow.
We had an issue with somebody stoking our bins.
I don't know what more stoked me or my bins.
So just to, you know, explain it.
This is a shop.
The shop and the typer.
We pay rates as a shop.
Okay?
And we're entitled to put our rubbish outside the shop for it to be picked up by the council.
Okay?
In a designated location.
So if anybody's not quite sure about that, I can do it over again and I can also do you a picture.
So I've got to tidy this tomorrow and clean it.
So we'll just show you the windows now.
Because we've done this window again.
Every time we put something in the window we were selling it.
So we've got some lovely items in there again now.
So this one needs to be touched for at least a month I reckon.
And they've done the teddy wall.
The problem is when somebody wants the penguin and they all fall down.
That's why we're going to get the teddy.
It's like a cage it is for teddies.
What's it called?
A teddy zoo?
Yes, a teddy zoo.
So yeah, we've been busy.
We need to clean the front as well and the windows I think.
And we've got five minutes.
I'm going slow.
I'm going as slow as I can.
So you can see what's in the windows but we've got some nice stuff in there.
Yeah, and like I said, massive thank you to the volunteers that's come up and really, really busted the last couple of days to get on top of the shops again.
So nice and wide day now for prams.
Look.
I don't know what about rails out here and all sorts of what was going on.
Anyway, it's all done now.
We know we've got a lot of stock.
We know we're popular.
We also sell a lot of stock believe it or not.
But tomorrow now I'm going to have to do that.
I'll be in early.
It's usually quiet on a Wednesday.
What was our busiest day last week, Thursday, I think, which was unusual.
But yeah, I think the children are back tomorrow so it might be quieter.
So I'll drag the rails out and then I can put stuff in the windows and then where we've got gaps I can bring more trays up from the donation centre.
Because we've got stock there waiting and I can't get it up yet so get it going.
But yeah, thank you very much to our volunteers.
And like I said, if you want to volunteer, you need to follow what we're asking you to do on a regular basis.
We need volunteers that want to work tidy, organised and clean.
So thank you to the ones that's coming today.
