Mind on St. James was the first charity shop I went to upon moving to Brighton. I bought a single…read moregreen coffee mug for about a pound. Step one: Move to new country. Step two: Ensure a means to morning cup of coffee. Clearly my priorities were in order. There's a decent selection of books - each £2 and I saw several classics on this most recent visit. Perhaps a good stop for English Lit majors. DVDs are £3, but there are only five of them at the moment. The home décor selection is also a bit slim - a few trinkets, dishes and a set of wine glasses for £5.50. Of course there's also clothing, accessories and shoes - more for women than men. There's not too much unique about this location, other than personal nostalgia.

Loved it! The woman helping me was friendly and got several things out of the window for me…read more I got a lot of gothic pieces here for very cheap, £15 for an amazing Lolita dress, and £4-6 for some jackets, because her neighbor was donating and I was so lucky to receive slashed prices on these amazing items!

The first time you go there, it's amazing to find this hall, tucked away back from the road in a…read moreresidential area. Despite being only five minutes' walk uphill from the station, it feels like a little village hall, the sort of place you went to as a kid for a fete with cakes, a raffle and bunting. They are of course limited by noise constraints and they don't have an alcohol license, so it's bring your own booze (BYOB) but the hall puts on some great events. It used by groups such as Brighton Woteva and Brighton Zinefest. There are also occasionally gigs.

This is a hip venue. It seems the Hall is used everyday. Mondays is Crazy comic club 3.30pm then…read moreYoga & 7.30pm. Tuesday there is a pre-school music 10am and a quiz last tuesday of the month 7.45pm. Wed & 11am is Exercise 50 plus and crazy comic club again 4pm. Yoga is then on at 6pm followed by fencing 8pm. Thursday 10am is Rhythm-a-jigs. 7pm is B Gua then Tai Chi Chuan & 8pm. Fridays is mother & toddlers 10am then Capoeira class 6.30pm. On Saturdays 9.30am is childrens drama. Sundays Chi Gung is 1st Saurday of the month. It seems every Saturday night there is live bands & DJ's. This community Hall may look old and boring but its a big part of the Seven Dials community and worth a check out if only once.

Raystede is an amazing place that is primarily a rehoming centre for stray pets. They rescue,…read morerehome and look after more than 2000 pets each year! As well as this, the centre is open to the public. It's free of charge, but they do ask for donations to help look after the animals. As well as visiting the cats and dogs, they have huge averies with many tropical birds, beautiful lakes with friendly ducks, geese, coots and moorhens. Stables with horses and donkeys. Rabbits, goats, turkeys, chickens, alpacas...and many more. There are some lovely walks around the lakes, a shop and a cafe to visit, as well as the visitor centre. Raystede is a great place to come with all the family. And if you are looking for a new pet, come and see if there is a fluffy friend here for you!

Congratulations to the organisers of the Christmas Fair..A great idea having the marquees, as they…read moregive so nuch more walking space. Incidentally I am registered to have a dog once again and am still waiting to hear from the dog staff. following the visit today, I am interested in homing Richie

I'm not a religious man, but you really can't fault a place like the Cornerstone Community Centre…read more Offering morning yoga sessions, educational activities and also a host of classes and sessions for the over 60's community. Set in the nice area of Hove, this is something to be embraced by any local members of the community. Their are a variety of classes, all of which can be learned from the flyers available at the centre. A feather in the cap for Hove, no question.

Time after time there are venues in most areas that are not loud in their publicity. This community…read morecentre is on a main city road but can still be un-noticed. There is a cafe which is open 10am-4pm Mon -Thu. There is a huge timetable of events. These events, to name but a few, are: Amigos playgroup Art class for children Brunswick bridge club Kung-fu for children Liberal councillors surgery Macular disease society Philosophy group drop in Pilates Spanish class Yoga Believe it or not this is not he full list! Room hire is available.There are four rooms plus th cafe up for hire. One of the rooms holds 110 people! Volunteers run the cafe & office. There is full disabled access.

Someone must've been fond of the YMCA song in Hove, because just when I was thinking there was only…read morea Hove YMCA on London Road, Brighton, I find out there are THREE of the blighters in two streets in Hove alone. There may even be more! Where the George Street store is your standard clothes charity shop, and the other Blatchington Road branch (see review) focused on furniture, this store is all about electrical products - from radios and TVs to fridges and heaters. If you're in the market for second-hand electrical products then be sure to check this place out, as they are slightly more reliable than other non-charity shops. You're also helping the YMCA out, so they can make more awesome pop videos with the Village People (who, coincidentally, seemed to be working at Lewes Bonfire Night this year!)

As well as all of the electrical products and other amazingly useful buys or just as easily,…read more ridiculously old fashioned and perhaps useless tat, Hove YMCA does what it's name suggests; Advise Youths. Monday to Friday Hove YMCA runs drop in sessions, giving much needed help on issues ranging from unemployment, and job hunting to sexual health and free pregnancy tests. These types of places are in my opinion the bed rock of a good society, so naturally I will give it 5 stars!

This good old-fashioned charity shop situated on Kemp Town's St James' Street is certainly not for…read moreeveryone. When comparing it with Oxfam's flashy locally designed clothes just up the road on North Street, or even with the colour co-ordinated rails of Kemp Town's neighbouring charity shops, you may well turn your nose up at this one. It's dark, dingy and disorganised. It can even smell pretty bad. However, if you're not too sneeze-prone and have a bit of time for a good rummage this place is definitely worth a visit. Although maybe don't even bother if you suffer from OCD - with its disarray of items, and seemingly no discerning judge of what makes the shelves, it is hard to resist the temptation to give The Friends Shop a thorough clean and tidy. But for the dedicatedly thrifty amongst us the prices are dirt cheap - all books are 50p for example and clothes much the same. Make a few trips, have a good rummage, and you're sure to find a bargain you'll be proud of. Well, eventually. One of Brighton's hot spots it may not be, but I feel strangely fond of The Friends Shop. It recalls those days of yesteryear before charity shops were popularized by magazines and celebrities, and thus anything vaguely nice always ransacked by an earlier bargain hunter. And with money raised supporting local hospital and healthcare facilities, at least there's one clear excuse for that 'bound to come in handy' item you end up buying.

Before charity shops caught onto the fact that they were sitting on a goldmine of retro treasure,…read moreand hiked up their prices, you could get any number of things for less than 50p. Friends however, still maintains this old school ethos or maybe no-one told them about inflation. Either way, have fun rifling through the rails as bric-a-brac drips from the cluttered walls. There is so much packed into a small space that it takes a surprisingly long time to get around it all. Best of all is that they have already concocted different fancy dress outfits from the random jumble, genius.