Rockinghorse

Compared to the rest of the charity shops on George Street, the Rocking Horse shop seems to have actually spent a little bit of money on the shop interior. The shop has been decorated, there is newish laminate flooring and the shop is fairly spacious. The other massive advantage that it has is the clothes have obviously been rigorously washed and ironed. Their whites section in particular was sparkling clean, and the clothes smelled of washing powder, not dust. On the downside, the shop assistant stared at me the entire time that I was in there, and even when I was standing outside I could see her staring at me through the glass. Creepy.

Rockinghorse is a children’s charity devoted entirely to improving life for ill children in Sussex. Being such a small charity, I can only assume that this is one of few shops that they have, but they’ve had some good ideas to make it stand out in the welter of charity shops that is George Street. This is an excellent one for children, as the toy section is set out as a play area, so you can leave your offspring to potter happily among the Duplo, watched over by cooing old ladies, as you browse. Then, when they fall in love with a toy and refuse to part from it (I have vivid memories of doing this in a doctor’s surgery) you can take it away with you for a mere 45p. There’s also a magnificent rocking horse, the emblem of the charity, which is not for sale, but available for playing on (although apparently this offer extends only to those of below waist height. Sniff.)
Sadly the rest of the browsing isn’t up to much as it’s a tad under-​stocked and for those of us unable to wear skirts without drawing stares, there’s very little. Great toys though. Did I mention this?