Thrifting in Headington

Caitlin and I spent a few hours earlier today looking through all of the thrift stores, known as charity shops in the UK, in the Headington neighborhood of Oxford. Charity shops here are different from the thrift stores I have visited in the United States. Each charity shop, which is only about the size of a small boutique, benefits a different charity. Some of the things the shops are dedicated to are cancer research, hospices, elderly people, children's diseases and the elimination of poverty. There are chain charity shops like Oxfam and Age UK, but they are smaller than the Goodwills in America.

All of the shops carry the same basic things like clothing, some housewares and knick-knacks, shoes, books and greeting cards. A few of them sell candy, CDs and DVDs.

Caitlin and I were looking for possible Halloween outfits since the holiday is later this week and we do not have costumes yet. I am not even sure if I want to dress up this year since it has gotten so cold and I do not know how many people really celebrate Halloween here. We have signed up to go on a ghost tour through Oxford on Halloween evening, so hopefully that will be fun.

The only fully formed costume idea I have is to try and dress like a female version of the 11th Doctor from the television show, Doctor Who. It would be relatively simple since all I would really need would be a black skirt, white blouse, tweed jacket, suspenders, a bow tie, and possibly a red hat. My flatmates and fellow Whovians also have thought about being Doctor Who characters. Amy might dress as Amelia Pond, the 11th Doctor's traveling companion, and Caitlin is considering being a Weeping Angel, one of the villains of the series.

Neither of us found anything to purchase in all of the shops when looked at. We might go look at Primark on Monday since our Headington trip was so unfruitful.

I did not mind walking back to the dorm from Headington when we just missed the bus. The weather seems to have rushed passed Autumn and into Winter this week, but it is beautiful out today. The sun is blue after days of clouds and it makes the 45 degree Fahrenheit temperature more bearable. My hands were cold and I could feel my nose and ears turning numbing and turning pink, from the brisk wind. The walk gave me a chance to appreciate the sunny skies and the leaves that are finally being to turn colors, though not nearly as vibrant as the colors at home in the Appalachian Mountains.

As time creeps further into Autumn I keep finding things that I feel like I missing out on, not being at home. Just little things like watching the leaves change color, carving pumpkins, and smelling wood smoke as people start using their fireplaces. I think the beauty of Western North Carolina in the Autumn beats Oxford. I'll have to wait and see, but the score might even out closer to Christmas when Oxford is bathed in fairy lights and evergreen wreaths for the winter holiday.