Story Donated By Emma Adams

I found The Spanish Lady at a massive car boot sale in Leeds. I was making a short film at the time and one of the sets needed to be totally rammed with charity shop glory. So, I was there with my Art Director (Mark Mathews where have you gone?) who is really good. He was holding the purse strings, trying to stretch the budget as far as he could. We were going round and I saw her and I just fell in love with her haughty stare, her creepy sprayed on lacey vail and her chipped nose. I said ‘Mark can we have her?’ and he was like, ‘She’s too expensive and we don’t need her’. I knew he was right but I was sad as we walked away from her box… But then it got towards the end of the morning and people were drifting off and I saw that she was still there! Her price had dropped. Mark bought her and gave her some dignity back by touching up her nose.

She looked ace in the film.

After the shoot I bagged her up and took her home. The Spanish Lady has ever since been my pride and joy. Her showbiz days are not over either. She had a cameo role in a play I wrote last year.
Emma Adams

Story Donated By Sandy
@ YMCA, Armley, Leeds

My favourite thing I bought from the YMCA was a lemon clock powered by the juice of lemons.
One lemon lasts a week.

I’m going to try an apple next week.
Sandy

Story Donated By Amy Seaward

I have recently started the wooden toys collection above, and it is still quite small, but perfectly formed.The Russian dolls at the back, came from Prague and were incredibly cheap, the smallest one has inexplicably disappeared, but will hopefully return home one day.

The sailors came from Ashton-Under-Lyne flea market and were about 50p, I think their facial expressions are great, they don’t look very happy.

Unlike Mr and Mrs Tall, the two red toys who came from Leeds Thursday Market from the Faggy Lady Stall (so nicknamed by me and my friend, Sarah as they smoke all over everything) for 50p, I think. Mr Tall’s head keep falling off and I am forever sticking it back on with superglue.
Amy Seaward

Story Donated By Jane Earnshaw

I found this chap whilst hurtling round charity shops in a big white van to buy furniture for one of the I Love West Leeds Festival events. We visited lots of charity shops across the city and I was supposed to be looking for bookshelves and sofas. Instead i ended up parting with a hard earned pound for a tapestry framed cat from Meanwood Charity Shop. I love him not only because he has been lovingly handmade but because he isn’t a pretty pin up kind of cat, but an overweight, probably bad tempered, ginger tabby. And his eyes almost fit with the background wallpaper which makes me think if you look too hard at him he could probably hypnotize you.
Jane Earnshaw.

Story Donated By Beate Rohle

I would like to introduce you to Matilde. Matilde is a flower-pot-duck, orange glazed pottery - quite useful if you like that sort of thing. She’s got proper eyes (like an old fashioned teddy bear) and lovely stripes.

My (then) best friend S. bought her at a flea market in Paris, back in 1994. We named her together and, for about a year, Matilde took a place of honour on the windowsill of the small flat we shared in Berlin.

I fell out with S. some time after Matilde and me moved to Leeds, and Matilde is getting rather dusty on a shelf in the kitchen - I could never part with my duck, though!

PS. Having written this, and having dusted off Matilde for the photograph, I think I might just find her a new place of honour!
Beate Rohle

Story Donated By Nomie Parker

I bought this for a very good friend of mine after enjoying the pile of snoopy reading matter that graced her loo. I happily handed over my 50p to the lovely ladies in the Armley Community Charity shop [ now closed and sadly missed] and trotted home - congratulating myself on my purchase and feeling smug about being such a kind and thoughtful friend.

We’d just had our bathroom done with a rather dinky corner loo that lacked an ornament .So out with the snoopy mirror which fitted perfectly and has remained there ever since.

I have since admitted my selfishness and will swap it soon for a book.
Next time I will buy her something that is easier to photograph.
Nomie Parker