Boys' Brigade 'Bargain Bazaar'

It is coming up to the time of year when that 'mother of all bring & buy sales' - the 'Bargain Bazaar' - organised by Morpeth Boys' Brigade and 6th Morpeth Scouts - is held.

This year it runs from Sat 22nd - Sat 29th Nov - with opportunity to bring items for sale to the hall every evening (6.30-8.30pm Mon-Fri) from 27th Oct

It has always been like an amateur version of Smail's Hardware Store - and this year, may help alleviate withdrawal symptoms in fans of Smail's with the shop still closed after flood damage.

And, personally, I'll be looking to do a lot of my Christmas shopping at the bazaar :)

Boys Brigade Bazaar

I meant to post this during the Boys Brigade Bazaar - but didn't get round to it.

This annual event is the hidden star of Morpeth's fairs and jumble sales. It lasts all week - this year from Sat 17th - Sat 24th Nov - and completely fills the Boys Brigade Hall (an old chapel) on Manchester Street.

You can get everything from glass & china to gadgets to prints & pictures to toys to electrical goods, not to mention books, cds, videos and computer games. If you can imagine Smails having a sale of surplus stock - but allowing customers to rummage through the stock rooms - you'll start to get the picture.

It's a great social event (and I usually get a fair bit of my Christmas shopping done there). But for me the best thing is that it promotes re-use and repair of things which is better than recycling.

It's one of the 'greenest' events in Morpeth - and its been going since 'green' was just a colour between yellow and blue in the rainbow [no political metaphor intended].

And now - you can get the same thing all year round with 'Freecycle' - a web-based exchange of unwanted goods. The Morpeth Freecycle™ group (currently with over 1800 members) is open to all who want to "recycle" [actually re-use] unwanted but serviceable items rather than throw them away. Whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano or an old door, feel free to post it. Or maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. Just one main rule: everything posted must be.