I love Freecycle.  Just got rid of a perfectly good wardrobe recently - although it did take 3 attempts.  Why do people send emails saying 'must have - desperate for' then let you down when it comes to arranging collection?   Also got rid of a carrier bag full of foil baking trays - the sort that you get with tarts, quiches etc.  A new 'baker' was more than keen to take them off my hands.  I love charity shops as well - just the place for new vases and glassware.  I keep them about 6 months then take them back for them to re-sell.  I'm currently on a quest for a large, shallow dish with a narrow rim, to replace my frost-cracked bird bath / drinking bowl.  I've seen plenty, but not one that is quite right, yet.  But I know there is one out there somewhere and the hunt is tantalising. 

Good idea, Michelle, and one I'll keep as a backup, though ideally I want something a little deeper and a  bit more artistical.  I'll know it when I see it.  My current cracked one was originally the bowl part of a tajine (not sure of the spelling here and the spellchecker isn't offering any useful alternatives.  What I mean is one of those Morrocan dishes for doing spicy lamby things with apricots and almonds and prunes and ¦. (drool, drool).  Anyway, I digress ¦.)  'Crackpot' is about 2.5 inches deep, and about 15 inches in diameter, so it makes a nice big splashy bath for blackbirds.  I was thinking, before Crackpot cracked, to fix a couple of lollipop sticks (the flat sort you get in ice-lolls) to the edge as diving boards for the little'uns.  So I'm holding out for something similar.  Little'uns (spadgers, not blackbirds) look so cute when they all line up on the rim egging each other on to take the plunge.