I got inspired by my visit to a flea market in Brussels, where the sellers put out hundreds of boxes full of random objects mixed up together and let people rummage through them – usually without asking you to hurry up or coaxing you to buy!

I started to hear about other places that I could visit – like the Dog Charity Shop in Machynlleth in Wales where everything is 50p, Raeburn Place in Edinburgh – a street where charity shops outnumber “normal” shops, a 630 mile long yard sale in Alabama, one of the biggest flea markets in the world in Bonn, and my favourite (from Lian Bell, ABSOLUT Fringe Programme Manager) an Animals in Distress charity shop in Minehead, England that was crammed full of things, and very chaotic. An old lady was sitting at the counter crocheting tea-cosies to sell, and the shop was organised as if it were a giant tombola. Everything there had a coloured raffle ticket cellotaped to it and when you paid 50p you could “win” one of the items, but then you had to find it.

I read about the thrifters in New York City who wear body suits under their clothes in case they have to try things on in the aisles. I found out about a woman with over 500 pairs of shoes – many of them found in thrift shops – and an assistant who catalogues them for her. I read about a shop that raises money to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. On Wednesdays Type 1 diabetics get a 15% discount: “Just show us your medical chart, pump, or other diabetes paraphernalia.”

You can see some of the places I got to, in Journey and I hope to put up a Diary there soon.