More Tales of Village Life - the 'recycling' shop

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One of the most amazing things that our local county council has set up in recent years is a set of so-called 'Reuse' shops. We are lucky to have one of these shops in our village and it's a little gem. The Reuse shops take in stuff that people don't want any more but don't want to just throw away to landfill. There are collection points at the local 'dump' (or 'Waste Recycling Centre' to give it the formal name) where people can leave unwanted items that are too good to destroy. Alternatively, when we have stuff that's good but not wanted, we pop round and give it to the shop. The prices charged are mind-blowingly low. We've had several toasters and small electrical items and this morning I 'invested' £3 (what's that? $4.50?) in a Nespresso coffee maker. My husband pops in regularly to buy water butts and compost bins for the garden, each for a few pounds. For young couples starting out with their first homes, it's a great way to get very inexpensive items. The shop is a great example of a 'win-win' situation. The County Council don't have to pay for landfill for these items, the store manager gets a job, the community get bargain deals on items they might not otherwise be able to afford, and whatever doesn't sell locally - such as old CRT Television sets and defunct old laptops - gets shipped to Africa. The Reuse shop is also another place where our cat, Baloo, likes to hang out. The manager gave him his own chair just inside the door so he could watch the customers. He claims that Baloo follows people around the store to make sure they don't steal things. I like to think he's the unofficial 'assistant manager' of the shop. We suspect his ulterior motive is that the Reuse is next door to the pet shop. He's probably planning to tunnel through and eat the chickens and rabbits next door.