My favourite charity shop is a place of extremes and opposites. It is a large shop, but never busy.

It has a lot of stock, but much of it is not worth having.

It is staffed by people whom, if you haven’t met them before, you might find… intimidating. Think large men with tattoos and shell suits and certain other rough-around-the-edges qualities.

But they are diamonds in the rough. They are lovely to me, as I pop in often and engage in conversation.

I know it’s only Tuesday. And actually, these came into my possession yesterday. So perhaps I am jumping the gun by calling them my thrift of the week.

But I can’t honestly think that I will better it before the week’s out, so here they are.

I bought these curtains for the fabric, of course. I got them as a bundle with a bit of red gingham and some fun fur, the total price of which was £2.50. (That’s another reason why it’s my favourite charity shop.)

I thought they were home made, but after a closer inspection at home, I found a label (too faded to photograph) stating that they are by Hardy Amies for Vantona. Yes, that’s right, the Hardy Amies, the designer label responsible for the Queen’s outfits for a good many years.

I was right royally surprised by that, I can tell you.

Who’d have thought my local shop would have curtains fit for a queen? ♥