Memories come flooding back 
recycling at its best
those smokey awful jumble sales 
which kept us all in dress

Tombola stall and Bric-a-brac 
the popular ‘white elephant’ stall
when the doors were opened 
they ‘stampeded’ through the doors  

Thrusting clothes against you
seeing if they would fit
handing over coppers
on our budget shopping trip

It wasn't just our family
It was the local kids there too
thank God for all these jumbles
as we very quickly grew

Rich parents went to ‘proper shops’
and fully clothed their kids
we said ours were new sometimes 
mostly they were fibs

That look of shame and horror
as mums rummaged through the clothes
probably thought I was better
looking down my entitled nose

Now that I'm older
It must be ingrained into my roots 
as I love to find a bargain 
at the many local ‘boots’

Jumble sales are few now
as they've now gone all posh
they've made them into businesses 
and called them ‘charity shops’

They started realistically 
and Kept it all dirt cheap
but over the years I've noticed
the prices gradually creep....

Kim Hicks July 2022©️