#1 2009-07-29 09:48:01
I live about 15 miles from my old stomping ground of Milton Keynes,
I lived there for 40 years and was quite glad to see the back of the place
to be honest. I still head that way once a week however to do my radio
show which is broadcast from the back of an industrial estate carpark
in the rougher part of town.
My visit to MK on this occasion coincided with me having to go to our
studio to record a session with a new band called Joana & The Wolf.
I could not miss out on the opportunity to have a wander through the
quaint streets of Stony Stratford which is the posher {most expensive}
part of the city, where there are several charity shops and smarter coffee shops*.
*It was in one of these that the scene in a tea room was filmed for Withnail & I.
Anyway, off I went with optimism in my heart and about £15 in my pocket...
Stony Stratford is such a foppish-town that it has a "special" welcome
sign that for some strange reason looks a bit like a gravestone.
Of course SS is probably most famous for being the original source of
the well known English catchphrase "a Cock and Bull Story", which began
when tales were exchanged between drunken punters of the 2 pubs,
The Cock and The Bull, both in the high street and are 20 yards from each other.
My first stop was the Willen Hospice shop, but going by previous visits
I was not optomistic. I did bump into dj Andy Kershaw going through it's
boxes a few years ago but I remember that the only record I have found
here in over 10 years is Peter Wyngarde's album - which was nice.
The overpriced stock (£1.99 does seem a little steep to me} yields little
joy, however there was a Mary Mungo & Midge LP and some old Irish Folk
comp hidden in the depths, but I didn't buy 'em, sorry.
Round the corner & opposite the Bull Hotel however was the legendary
RSPCA shop. I have had some incredible buys in here over the years and
am rarely disappointed when I pop in. 
Todays vinyl choice was pretty grim tho, a box of Geoff Love
& old TOTP albums, cheap as chips but all shit.
The cds are a better buy, 10p each for albums by Stone Roses, Tull, etc
with my bag of booty, £1.20 well spent, I head to the Red Cross shop over the road.
Never that much in here but I have come across boxes of cd promos dumped
by local djs, so I had fingers x
pretty much as I expected, Nelson Riddle & Mantovani box sets.
a few doors up is a bit of a tease of a shop, they sometimes sell cds
{but not today} so it's mostly overpriced books you could pick up at
a car boot for a fifth of the price, ah well, onwards.
the Age Concern shop over the road used to be a lovely old bakery called
Hazeldines that was there for 150 years until they couldn't cope with the
supermarket around the corner. 
It's a grim visit with slim pickings, some tapes, VHS videos and NO vinyl, rats. 
across the road my hopes were higher as it was in this very same
Oxfam shop in 1986 where I picked up beautiful UK mono copies of
Pink Floyds' Piper & Saucerful in MINT condition. I still have them &
have never forgotten their origin! 
as I approach the racks I see a lovely Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee
album sitting at the front for £1.99 in great condition, that will do nicely
but that was all there was.
as I head out of Stony I drive up to the industrial estate between the
town & our studio dropping into the Age Concern Warehouse.
I know there is always a lot of records upstairs but in the downstairs office...
... they keep the "pricey stuff"
I wander upstairs where there may be hidden treasures 
and this was the pick of the bunch, a Mandingo best of on MFP
in near mint condition and ok for 25p.. So that was the end of my
charity shop hop in Milton Keynes, I know all there are dozens more
shops spread across the city, 13 in Bletchley alone.
But thats gonna have to be another day, maybe next week!
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#2 2009-07-29 10:01:38
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#3 2009-07-29 11:11:04
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#5 2009-07-29 11:29:35
I would love to see other folks photo experiences at their
local charity shops, but maybe I am the only one interested in
this sort of thing... I'll get me coat!
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#6 2009-07-29 11:47:21
You guys know how sometimes we get bored and want to advertise so we can get n00bs?
It would be like this times a bazillion. This actually, I like better than the chick assuming we're furries.
But anywhooooo.
Welcome, Head Gardener!
Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs
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#7 2009-07-29 11:52:25
Head Gardener wrote:
I would love to see other folks photo experiences at their
local charity shops, but maybe I am the only one interested in
this sort of thing... I'll get me coat!
Don't mind me, I was just looking for the kicker that never came, ya know the drunks alseep in the diner, the MP giving the tranny-prostitute a blow-job in the alley .... something so it wouldn't be so fucking quaint.
However your post was original for HS and it is providing me with some amusement...
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#8 2009-07-29 11:58:23
sofaking wrote:
This actually, I like better than the chick assuming we're furries.
Welcome, Head Gardener!
I believe a reinvention happened. CumCookie didn't get hugs so came back as the Constant Gardener and bored the living shit out of us again.
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#9 2009-07-29 11:58:59
I told myself a little story in my head.
The story was basically about a person who composed a fairly enormous post, including text which was clean and properly spelled (I always gotta give props for that) and photos which were actually in focus and rather well composed as these things go, and said text and photos were relevant to each other...
...and this person got all the coding right and everything...
...and then this person hit "Post" but unfortunately, through some unknowable chaotic comibination of circumstances, somehow posted to totally the wrong forum. Perhaps the wrongest forum possible.
It's actually sort of an interesting story for what it is. I'm getting the impression, from this and other things I've read here and there, that the entire English countryside is some weird combination of an uptight gated community and The Village from The Prisoner.
P.S. to sofa: Your image is way fucking funnier than mine. I peed, but only a little.
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#10 2009-07-29 11:59:36
I dug it. I was hearing Dukes of the Stratosphere in my head the entire time I was reading it.
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#11 2009-07-29 12:07:46
orangeplus wrote:
Dukes of the Stratosphere
Holy fucking shit, O+. I thought I was the only person on the planet besides Andy Partridge's mum who'd even heard of the Dukes.
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#12 2009-07-29 12:33:36
Ah, other people's vacation slides.
Gardener, you should know that we're only not tearing the shit out of you because we're still sated from making floorcookie pack her marbles and go home.
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#13 2009-07-29 12:34:22
y'know your.. all.. RIGHT! I suppose steaming in with such
a post was asking for a bit of a smacking but I guess in my heart
I thought ahh fuckit, let em see what sort of place this is here,
and yes, I will probably just post something less wanky in future.
Shame as I had another little shop hop post lined up n all, bugger...
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#14 2009-07-29 12:38:34
Head Gardener wrote:
y'know your.. all.. RIGHT! I suppose steaming in with such
a post was asking for a bit of a smacking but I guess in my heart
I thought ahh fuckit, let em see what sort of place this is here,
and yes, I will probably just post something less wanky in future.
Shame as I had another little shop hop post lined up n all, bugger...
I'm sure there's people who share this interest. You might look at grabbing a free blog at blogger or somewhere for it.
Now, if you're on one of your "shop hops" and were to find something that made you fear for the future of humanity, we'd love to hear about it.
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#15 2009-07-29 12:40:26
find something that made you fear for the future of humanity, we'd love to hear about it.
a male blow up doll in a charity shop in the Lake District, need pic?
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#16 2009-07-29 12:45:26
George Orr wrote:
orangeplus wrote:
Dukes of the Stratosphere
Holy fucking shit, O+. I thought I was the only person on the planet besides Andy Partridge's mum who'd even heard of the Dukes.
I fucking love the Dukes of Stratosphear--best XTC alter-ego, ever.
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#17 2009-07-29 12:48:03
Head Gardener wrote:
find something that made you fear for the future of humanity, we'd love to hear about it.
a male blow up doll in a charity shop in the Lake District, need pic?
Yeah, stuff like that.
Also, we have a strict "pics or it didn't happen" policy.
Last edited by jesusluvspegging (2009-07-29 12:48:32)
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#18 2009-07-29 12:50:41
Head Gardener wrote:
Shame as I had another little shop hop post lined up n all, bugger...
Cates?
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#19 2009-07-29 12:50:47
A bordello hop in Copenhagen would have garnered you more support.
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#21 2009-07-29 13:46:43
whiskytangofoxtrot wrote:
George Orr wrote:
orangeplus wrote:
Dukes of the Stratosphere
Holy fucking shit, O+. I thought I was the only person on the planet besides Andy Partridge's mum who'd even heard of the Dukes.
I fucking love the Dukes of Stratosphear--best XTC alter-ego, ever.
Jesus. You fuckers are my tribe.
This should make me happy, but for some reason it kinda scares me a little.
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#22 2009-07-29 14:03:41
Phreddy phound a phew songs phrom Psonic Psunspot to be phairly phavorable.
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#23 2009-07-29 14:12:46
Scotty wrote:
Cates?
No shit.
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#24 2009-07-29 14:23:40
glad there is a love of The Dukes here as I happen to
have a radio show {ooh get me etc} named after an XTC
song - it was the first track I played on the show way back in '91
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#25 2009-07-29 16:23:21
God.... I hate Milton Keynes. My anglia broke down there... and I thought the natives would eat us alive before we got back out on the motorway.
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#26 2009-07-29 18:24:37
whiskytangofoxtrot wrote:
George Orr wrote:
orangeplus wrote:
Dukes of the Stratosphere
Holy fucking shit, O+. I thought I was the only person on the planet besides Andy Partridge's mum who'd even heard of the Dukes.
I fucking love the Dukes of Stratosphear--best XTC alter-ego, ever.
Buuuuuuut -- do you have the limited edition, colored-vinyl 45 of "You're a Good Man Albert Brown?"
Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs
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#27 2009-07-29 18:32:50
karenw wrote:
Buuuuuuut -- do you have the limited edition, colored-vinyl 45 of "You're a Good Man Albert Brown?"
https://cruelery.com/uploads/thumbs/430_albert_b.jpg
Curse you Red Barrel!
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#29 2009-07-29 20:10:51
Head Gardner came to us via MySpace. Seeing as how we are getting lurkers and posters from MySpace, perhaps Pale will finally see the value in our outreach there.
Gardner, I love your MySpace page and your website. I’m fond of the English Countryside (don’t really care for London) as I have lots of relatives in England and have spent a lot of time in your country. I’m guessing however that not a lot of people here share my enthusiasm for England and things English. As you’ve noticed by now, this site for the most part celebrates the sick and twisted aspects of life. I’m thinking your contributions to the music thread would be most welcome. And should you have a twisted side to your personality that doesn’t work for your radio show, High Street is the perfect place to express that part of yourself.
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#30 2009-07-29 20:14:30
George Orr wrote:
Curse you Red Barrel!
Indeed. :)
I also have vinyl copies of "Go 2," "The Big Express," "Black Sea," and Mr. Partridge's "Take Away."
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#31 2009-07-29 21:03:07
fnord wrote:
Head Gardner came to us via MySpace.
Then he deserves more scorn than OatmealCookie.
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#32 2009-07-29 21:04:51
Scotty wrote:
fnord wrote:
Head Gardner came to us via MySpace.
Then he deserves more scorn than OatmealCookie.
Floorcookie also came from MySpace.
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#34 2009-07-29 22:22:53
fnord wrote:
Scotty wrote:
fnord wrote:
Head Gardner came to us via MySpace.
Then he deserves more scorn than OatmealCookie.
Floorcookie also came from MySpace.
I rest my case.
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#36 2009-07-30 00:41:47
Whilst I certainly wouldn't want to en-courage too many postings of this sort on High-Street, I rather en-joyed it. And, there were at least two High-Street worthy images in there (Cock Hotel & the rather in-appropriate "Top Of The Pops" album cover). The thread all-so served to re-mind me that I'd been meaning to watch "Withnail And I" (I know, I know - I've been busy, all-right?).
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#37 2009-07-30 01:33:36
karenw wrote:
whiskytangofoxtrot wrote:
George Orr wrote:
Holy fucking shit, O+. I thought I was the only person on the planet besides Andy Partridge's mum who'd even heard of the Dukes.I fucking love the Dukes of Stratosphear--best XTC alter-ego, ever.
Buuuuuuut -- do you have the limited edition, colored-vinyl 45 of "You're a Good Man Albert Brown?"
https://cruelery.com/uploads/thumbs/430_albert_b.jpg
Karen, I would crawl buck-naked ten miles on broken glass, barbed wire, and dog shit just to masturbate in your shadow.
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#38 2009-07-30 02:29:18
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#39 2009-07-30 02:47:46
Ah, my fellow residents, I have a very bad feeling about this. Twice we have been visited by others whose impression of our wretched little strip of the bad side of town has been entirely at odds with the image we have of ourselves. Do we truly celebrate "the sick and twisted aspects of life"? Are we honestly inclined to "tear the shit out of" n00bs? Are we really a repository of things that make our viewers "fear for the future of humanity"?
It is with great sadness I state, based upon the undeniable proof now put before us: we have gone soft. We knew that of course, but now others think we have gone soft.
I'm going to hang out at 4chan for a while.
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#40 2009-07-30 03:24:06
Well fresh from my adventures in Lakeland, where I was lucky with the weather
but not so fortunate on my crate digging. In all my years of coming
here I have no recollection of ever buying anything worth anything in
the charity shops here, ever, so hopes were not high and I was not to
be disappointed.
Although I checked the racks in Workington, Wigton, Silloth and yes,
even Cockermouth, it seems that the Lakes are a wasteland as far as
vinyl and cds are concerned, its not even a case of someone getting
there first, there was simply nothing there to begin with. Still, I did discover
that it is the cheapest place in England to buy old VHS tapes, 5p each! great...
On my journey south to Maryport I passed through the village of Allonby,
which has a lovely beach and nice ice cream but I wouldn't want to stay too long.
so here I am in the quaint seaside town of Maryport, little did I know of the unexpected
suprises I had in store.
first stop was Age Concern, a common problem round these parts
with very little in the way of vinyl, just a box of free newspaper cds going cheap
and a wall of VHS videos, guess Friends ain't so popular anymore then
I found some records under the granny coats near the back of this shop
nothing to get excited about however, if only this was NOW 4 on cd
rather than the common vinyl as the original compact disc is a £250+ gem
walking down to the harbour I found the tide was out and god knows
how many old supermarket trollies were lurking in those muddy depths.
heading back into town I passed a window in a pub with a noticeboard
claiming a recent visit from New York rockers The Liars!?! blimey!
with fingers crossed I tried my luck in COSC
I found a bounty of cds but alas, nothing to my liking, how odd then that
for some bizarre reason they had a male blow up doll available for sale,
"ohh we were going to put that in the window" said the lady behind the till
I was unprepared for the excitement on offer next door in The Childrens Society,
once I had managed to get past the heavy security on the door!
2 albums {leaning against a radiator!} and some singles chucked on the bottom shelf
a selection ranging from The Fall to Benny Hill to the Black & White Minstrels all scratched,
oh how unfortunate!
surely Oxfam wouldn't let me down even if they had so much crap it spilled into the street
ahh young man, let me pull out this box of new fangled compacted discs for you
nothing in there my dear, however I did unearth this olde England curiosity album,
and no, I don't want it sorry love but thanks anyway.
So in the end I spent nothing but came away with happy memories
of all the other places I visited where there was no smell of old ladys'
wee and the sparrows came to eat at my table.
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#41 2009-07-30 07:18:52
whiskytangofoxtrot wrote:
Karen, I would crawl buck-naked ten miles on broken glass, barbed wire, and dog shit just to masturbate in your shadow.
Wow, I really don't know what to say. That's one of the most disturbing AND sweetest things ever said to me on the intrawebs.
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#42 2009-07-30 08:30:39
Taint wrote:
I'm going to hang out at 4chan for a while.
And lo, it did come to pass, that the brave young knight of High-Street did sally forth to the lair of the great unwashed script-kiddies in an epic quest for moar lulz. He would do battle with teh mudkips and black ops to find the great treasure -- over 9,000 new copypastas for the hungry villagers who eagerly awaited his triumphant return.
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#43 2009-07-30 17:13:29
For my 3rd adventure I travelled west of Northampton to the wilds of Daventry.
Mrs. HG has an irrational fear of this town which are quite similar to my own
pointless, personal dislike of Bedford, which is to the east.
With the local swimming pool closed and nothing to be found in the dozen or
so boxes at the local recycling depot I hit the shops armed with £10 and with
little optimism. The Sue Ryder Care shop is the one stop i'm most looking forward
to as i've had my best finds there on previous visits.
What more of a welcome do I need?
A pain free experience is on offer at my first stop.
It's pretty slim pickings in the music section at the back.
This was the pick of the bunch but I felt compelled to hang on to my tenner.
Round the corner is a trio of shops right next to each other which
must surely lead to competition - which has the worst tat probably...
An uninviting basket of cds and well thumbed 7"s sends me straight next door.
I once bought a pile of Stump & Bogshed records in here so God knows what I'll find today.
Unfortunately it's a pile of old Rod albums, no good to anyone.
Would I come out on top in the curiously named Fops Shop?
My pulse quickened at the sight of a box of albums left by the back door,
not because of the undoubtable delights of Ms. Mouskouri but for the sight
of a Stevie album lurking behind hinting at the possible pleasures deeper in.
It proved to be just a tease as the only excitement to be found was this cheeky Keep Fit album.
Resisting temptation I moved on leaving Leida to a future lucky dipper.
Wandering onto the High Street I arrive at the aforementioned Sue Ryder Care shop,
and it's bloody shut!!
shit.
Hopefully I will have better luck in here with the sign of 'new goods' on offer.
This small basket of cds dumped on the floor doesn't look too promising.
However a deeper dig uncovers the Black Dog cd 'Spanners', a bargain at 99p.
Jangling with a pocket full of pound coins I drop into the Red Cross opposite.
I spy a box of albums hiding under the ladies clothes, it's almost too exciting!
I manage to calm myself down by turning the albums on offer down. 
My final stop is the BHF shop in the town square, they "never sell records anymore" not a good omen.
£2.99 for free magazine cover discs?! I have tried to reason with them about
this unusual price structure before but was once told "well people still buy them"
it won't ever be me, fuckers.
I head home with my one compact disc not too suprised at my
lack of booty and feeling I shall look a little closer to home next time.
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#44 2009-07-30 17:17:31
What the fuck?
This is turning into the Twilight Zone/Travel Channel thread [from hell].
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#45 2009-07-30 18:04:31
s'ok, saves you flying over!
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#46 2009-07-31 02:34:59
MSG Tripps wrote:
This is turning into the Twilight Zone/Travel Channel thread [from hell].
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#47 2009-07-31 09:37:18
One photo of a angry fat lesbian and another of a blow up doll - buddy you disappoint more at every turn.
Couldn't you at least snap a few shots of the local prostitutes or the local dive bar?
For fuck's sake - you travel around England with 10 bucks to your name looking for cast-off music? It must really suck to be you...
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#48 2009-07-31 12:24:40
USER wrote:
For fuck's sake - you travel around England with 10 bucks to your name looking for cast-off music? It must really suck to be you
this is an ongoing project to see what records & cds I can find,
not only to play on my weekly radio show but to flog on eBay
and make some handy money. I can make over £150 in a weekend
doing this, seriously! The stuff I have been posting is not from my
good days, I was planning to do that at a later date, perhaps...
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#49 2009-07-31 13:08:44
Head Gardener wrote:
USER wrote:
For fuck's sake - you travel around England with 10 bucks to your name looking for cast-off music? It must really suck to be you
this is an ongoing project to see what records & cds I can find,
not only to play on my weekly radio show but to flog on eBay
and make some handy money. I can make over £150 in a weekend
doing this, seriously! The stuff I have been posting is not from my
good days, I was planning to do that at a later date, perhaps...
Don't sweat it. We rather like you.
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#50 2009-07-31 13:23:13
sofaking wrote:
Don't sweat it. We rather like you.
Speak for yourself - you have a personal agenda to turn this place into a dildo-hawking, mormon-bashing quilting club.
The rest of us are here to enjoy hate, discontent and titties.
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