Hi, I’ll start with something different this month. As I mentioned last month I am a supporter of The Farm Animal Sanctuary. They have confirmed that they are not going to be open the public at all this year but hope to open for visits and events in 2021. In the meantime they have problems with mud! A brook runs through the site and often floods and the entrances to the fields in particular become difficult to get through. They have a fund raising page to raise money to by some mud control slabs https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mudcontrol2020 if anyone is able to contribute that would be great. They have also made it through to the last 10 organisations with the chance to win a pallet of mud control slabs, but only one organisation can win and it’s down to how many votes they get. It would be great if you could visit the website and vote for The Farm Animal Sanctuary as they desperately need a way to control the mud in key areas the more votes they get the better. They do have a facebook page but I don’t think it’s as well used as some of the other organisations they are competing against who have a bigger social media presence- so please vote and spread the word 😊 https://www.mudcontrol.co.uk/voting
So what’s the theme for August I hear you ask? This month it’s Stationery. This isn’t just for the family shoe boxes but for the elderly boxes as well. Suggestions HB Pencils, coloured pencils, felt pens, biros, ruler, eraser, pencil sharpener, note pad, drawing pad, notelets, calculator, pencil case etc etc.
Ideally include some pens and a note book, and possibly notelets in the elderly box along with a some HB pencils, and a pencil sharpener. I also like to include a small pack of coloured pencils and some pages from some colouring books designed for adults. An older person may enjoy relaxing doing some colouring in – or may have a talent for drawing,
Wilko and Bargain Buys are still good value with 10 biros for 50p, and at the moment Asda has 10 biros for 49p. Poundland still seem to be best for HB pencils with 30 for £1.00. They also still have a few children’s note books and pencil cases for 50p, and still seem the best option for pencil crayons – they still have some 4 packs of short pencil crayons for £1.00. Wilko have packs of 12 long pencil crayons for 50p and packs of 15 felt pens for 75p. Be wary in store as I bought 3 A5 drawing pads that were 50p each but were in the 3 for 2 section but when I checked the receipt when I got home I’d been charged full price – they are showing full price on the website.
Poundland, Bargain Buys, Home Bargains and One Below all have packs of spiral bound note pads for £1.00 – but the quantity varies buy generally they have 4 per pack.
Prices sometimes drop in September when most children have returned to school (assuming schools do re-open this September.) There is still the option of the stationery set from Bargain Buys for 69p with 3 biros, (black, blue and red) 3 HB Pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, and a highlighter.
If you are based in Wales or Bristol a store called What! has packs of 18 felt pens for 69p, and packs of 6 exercise books for 97p.
If you are including pencils whether they are HB or coloured pencils remember to include a pencil sharpener.
The only other bargains I’ve spotted this month was in Asda – they had packs of 4 bars of soap (which had the leaping bunny symbol and were suitable for vegetarians and vegans) for 17p.