I'd imagine Food for All to be just like what people who stick their nose up at charity shops…read moreimagine it to be like. But I don't see that as a bad thing, far from it in fact. It's like a car boot stall in a shop. Everything seems to be thrown in in some vague manner which if you spend long enough in there you start to suss it out. They have a few rails of clothes at the back, boxes of CDs, cassettes and videos as well as furniture, electrical items and children's toys. It is staffed by a couple of volunteers who seem to be perpetually having a cup of tea and a natter, which again, I think is great. I've picked up some amazing bargains in this place - a chair for £3, a rain coat for £1 and a Sufjan Stephens CD for £1. It's one of those places where you do really need to pop in regularly as they get the most unusual items in every week.

A pair of shops on North Street - the charity shop is sparse and in need of some good donations but…read morethey do have a little display of homemade bath bombs and smellies. The folk centre next door is the meeting point for a local Hare Krishna group. The money from the shop goes to the group who buy and cook food for homeless people - you will see them in the bear pit (the large roundabout behind Debenhams you cross to get to Stokes Croft) at Monday lunchtime handing out a hot meal - fantastic work however you feel about their religion. If you live local think about giving the shop a few items.

The last item I bought from age concern was a Miss Selfridge skirt, new with tags on - tag price…read morealmost 40 quid, Age concern £3! Thank you very much Age Concern! I also picked up a cute white lace dress, I reckon it was probably a 1970s nightie, however it looked just like the dresses I had seen selling in Camden the week before for 30 odd quid.I popped in here last week and they had a really sweet retro blouse, again I reckon this was some retro item from the 70s but it looked very 'now'. It also has a cheap selection of books, the range can be a bit chick lit heavy but its possible to find the odd cheap gem.

Great little charity shop with very cheap prices. Last time I popped in here there was a huge table…read moreof wool (cones and balls), each for 50p or £1 - a bargain. If wool isn't your thing then the entertainment section is quite big for such a small shop. Although very are very few people that still have video recorders if any of your friends do then send them here - there is a large selection of videos in good condition of as little as 50p each. There are also plenty of books and the odd CD or record, though these are few and far between. The staff here are lovely - quite old but always chatting with customers and answering any questions you might have about the shop. Although I didn't find any clothes I liked on my most recent visit, this shop has served me quite well in the past, with decent tops and jumpers for under a fiver. Well worth a look if you're in the area.

Stokes Croft is a sliver of land between the suburbs Kingsdown and Bishopston and inner city St…read more Pauls. It's definitely not the prettiest of areas. In fact it's pretty grey and depressing, with a fair few boarded up shops and a constant stream of cars roaring through on their way home or into the centre of Bristol. Possibly because people want to counter the dullness of the place some amazing grafitti has popped up here, which the grandly named People's Republic of Stokes Croft have claimed responsibility for. Some of the murals are beautiful (which of course are liable to change or get wiped out by the council without any notice) and I think it's a brave attempt to bring a little colour to what is a drab part of Bristol. There isn't yet a walking tour, but I can imagine one popping up - Bristol's urban art has been attracting a lot of interest recently. It's easy enough to see the sites by one's self though - a wonder along Jamaica Street and the road Stokes Croft itself should mean you see a few interesting sites. Their website reveals them as a fairly serious bunch. They have maps, ambitions to be some sort of official community group, and a mission statement that says they want to promote Stokes Croft as a 'cultural quarter'. I hope they go from strength to strength and continue to brighten up Stokes Croft. That their chairman Chris Chalkley was arrested for painting a 'Welcome to Stokes Croft' sign shows they've got a way to go before everyone comes round to this view.

Stokes Croft: a gift and a curse to Bristol's culture. On one hand, this area of town is dodgy as…read morethey come, with antisocial behaviour and crime, this is a threatening place to be if you're alone and feeling vulnerable, especially towards the St James Roundabout. On the other hand, Stokes Croft is a gem. Full of artists and musicians, businesses like venues, cafes and arts centres are rapidly growing, what with Hamilton House, the Left Bank Centre, Metropolis and Cafe Kino all newly developing. When I miss Bristol, I miss places like Stokes Croft, but also can feel a little unsafe walking around there. It's definitely worth a visit. This is Bristol as much as Clifton is.

This is quite a bizarre shop located in Old Market, close to the Lawrence Hill roundabout/underpass…read moreon your way to Redfield. It's packed (and I mean actually full to brim, up over your head and everywhere you look, with little space to manoeuvre other than a couple of feet from the door) with vintage and modern guitar/bass cabinets, amplifiers and PA speakers. There is also a smattering of second-hand guitars, basses and stompboxes available, too, but it's the amplifiers that you'll want to check out here. Need a rare Marshall stack that was covered in limited-edition green leather, or something of that nature? This is the place to go. The ageing hippy-rocker who runs the place is a fountain of knowledge on amplifiers and cabinets, plus how to repair them if you ever run into problems, so you can be sure that every second-hand item is fully serviced and ready to rock. This shop is a Bristol gem.