I love charity shops. They are something of which us Brits should be very proud. Rather than chuck unwanted, but perfect good, stuff away, we can recycle it for resale thus helping good causes. And hunter gatherer hoarders like me can fill their houses up with wonderful things for next to nothing.
Upon a visit to my favourite local charity shops, (the ones that have yet to be ruined by a professional make overs), the jigsaw section is the priority. I’m a sucker for jigsaws of beautify works of art. Whilst completing each puzzle, I can really get to know the details of each picture and learn the brush strokes of the masters. I can also break the second law of thermodynamics (albeit on a temporary basis) by restoring a little order to the world. Now my attic is so full of Botticellis,, Van Goghs, Turners, Constables, Klimits, Kandinskys, Giottos etc etc etc that I could probably open it up as a small art gallery. It’s a shame that the bedroom ceiling is now developing some rather large cracks.
After the jigsaws, it’s the book section. Why buy a new book when we have libraries and charity shops? Of course, what is on offer is totally random, but that is just what makes it so magical, Who knows what you will find and what you will end up reading about.
Currently, I’m reading “Danube” by Claudio Magris, for which I paid £1. What a gem! I would never have bought this book full price and I’ve never heard of the author, so how could I search for him on line. Who ever donated it, was either a fool or very wise. This is just one of the many admirable paragraphs that gave me great pleasure.
“Perhaps writing is really filling in the blank spaces of existence, that nullity which suddenly yawns open in the hours and the days, and appears between the objects in the room, engulfing them in unending desolation and insignificance. Fear, as Canetti has written, invents names so as to distract itself. The traveler reads and takes notes of the names, of stations his train passes through, at the corners of the streets where his footsteps lead him; and he goes on his way with a breath of relief, satisfied with that rhythmic order of nothingness“.
Wow. Where’s that jigsaw of the Scream? This is exactly how I used to feel until a few years ago. But now I’ve moved on.
Fear, as I’ve already written, only exists in our heads and holds us back. Even fear of death should be banished, after all it can’t be that bad, because, if it was so terrible, why would we all do it?
As for the existential void, that boring bit between birth and death, what should we fill it with? Biology says reproduce, travel writers say travel, and Voltaire said gardening, but that still leaves plenty of time to fill. So what to do?
Well I’m a boomer, and was constantly told, in that super confident time, that I could become what ever I wanted . However, I was in a bit of a dilemma, as no one ever told what was worth doing - so I became a Quantity Surveyor. This gave me a quiet comfortable, boring life that I spiced up with dangerous rock climbing.
Now that I’m retired, and weaker, (so can’t progress on the rock), I’m faced with a similar dilemma. What to do?
Make the world a better place, that what. But how to achieve this? There are so many things we can all do, But I like to think big - what are the biggest issues the world faces? How can these problems be solved? Firstly pick a topic and then learn. Secondly understand, predict, and finally, interact. Apply a bit of pressure at a sensitive spot and see if the world twitches. I Listen for echoes of what I write and so far, what I hear gives me encouragement.
Of course these echoes could all be delusional creations of a Don Quixote, or the imaginings of a small dog, that whilst yapping at passing juggernauts, is very pleased with itself because it believes it has chased them away.
Well, as my friend Pete says "a mans got to have a hobby". and I’m happy visiting my local Charity shops!
Ps A burglar visited our house recently but didn't take anything of mine. So another advantage of getting your stuff from charity shops - none of it is worth sealing!!!.
