Money, Happiness Or Just Common Sense

When you change the way you look at things the things you look at change.

Last night I watched a new program on Channel 4, The World’s Most Expensive Foods and I have to say it made me laugh. A private jet company decided to try and produce the world’s most expensive pudding for their in-flight billionaire dining experience, clearly for customers with more money than sense.

Searching the world for rare valuable commodities they came up with a coffee bean, apparently sourced from the excrement of a land mammal from some remote part of the world. The cat like mammal searches for the fruit that contains the beans, eats them and then poos out these coffee beans which are then used to produce this amazing pudding. The jet company charges £400 per plate to enjoy. Go figure.

This program got me to thinking about the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes and what people are actually buying into. Is it possible to have so much money we lose sight of what really matters?

In my old life I enjoyed flights on many private jets. I never owned one myself but it is easy to get used to both the luxury and convenience when you need to get somewhere quickly and time is money. These days I find it so much more fun, amusing and so much more rewarding when people envy and drool over something I am wearing that once belonged to somebody extremely rich, cast off into a charity shop for good, for someone savvy like me to pick up for a song.

If I was greedy, selfish and single minded I would keep my best kept shopping secret in London to myself but true happiness comes from sharing the love and sharing valuable information on how to get the look for less and do good at the same time.

Tucked away on St John’s Wood High Street, the poshest High Street in London by the way is a gem, a charity shop called St John’s Hospice and highly recommended if you are looking for a designer bargain, to give it a whirl. I've seen a few celebs on the street over the years, (I  lived on Avenue Road) Maureen Lipman, Claudia Winkleman and the Queen of Shops herself Mary Portas but possibly donating rather than shopping. The women who run it are dedicated, stylish and discreet, they do have famous customers of course but are tight lipped about them. They make the experience a true pleasure, even offering recycled designer high end carrier bags to complete your shopping in style fix.

St John’s Wood is a very affluent suburb of London and the wonderful kind people who donate their cast offs are very generous and probably secret shopaholics. I have found Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi and a number of other delicious designer brands we all crave if only we had the money.

The hospice itself obviously relies on the generosity of those who donate, the kindness of the volunteers and the support of the shoppers so if you fancy a day out, instead of train-spotting do a bit of charity shopping and visit St John’s Wood in the heart of north London for a bit of celebrity spotting instead.

Photo by: André Ravazzi Unsplash