Shopping

An 8ft swimming pool is being sold for £19.99 at Home Bargains

Scorcher of a summer deal.

The Manc The Manc - 19th July 2021

The only thing that can make a British heatwave more enjoyable is finding a scorching deal on a summer product to match. As luck would have it, there’s one on shelves at Home Bargains right now.

A whopping swimming pool has been spotted in the budget store – and it’s available for less than twenty quid.

The ‘Star Buys’ item – which measures 8ft by 25ins – has been widely circulated online since appearing in the Extreme Couponing and Bargains group on Facebook.

The original post was a huge hit – accumulating more than 3,400 ‘likes’ with 1,500 people flooding the comments section.

8ft swimming pools are going for £19.99 in Home Bargains right now / Image: Extreme Couponing & Bargains

As far as summer buys go, this is surely right up there with some of the best available. And it’s popped up at just the right time.

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The UK heatwave – which saw England and Wales record their hottest day of the year so far on Sunday (18 July) – is set to continue into this week.

According to the Met Office, temperatures in Manchester will hit highs of 29 degrees from Monday (19 July) until Thursday (22 July), dipping slightly next weekend to 22 degrees.

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Not a bad summer bargain / Image: Extreme Couponing & Bargains

If you fancy taking advantage of the sizzling weather over the next few days, it might be worth popping down to Home Bargains and seeing if you can spot one of these 8ft pools in stock.

You can use the store locator to find your nearest branch.

Shopping

A brand-new Oxfam Vintage store is opening in Manchester – with a treasure hunt to celebrate

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson A brand-new Oxfam Vintage store is opening in Manchester - with a treasure hunt to celebrate

A brand-new charity shop showcasing curated vintage clothing is opening in the Northern Quarter this month.

The new concept store comes from Oxfam, promising a more ‘design-led’ approach to pre-loved fashion.

Shoppers will be able to browse hand-picked, quality vintage pieces when the new Oxfam Vintage opens at the end of March.

The new Northern Quarter charity shop will transform the existing Oxfam Originals unit on Oldham Street.

It will feature UK-made fixtures, recycled materials, and large-scale installations using archival Oxfam magazine covers and festival artwork.

To celebrate the launch of Oxfam Vintage, they’ll be hosting a city-wide treasure hunt this weekend.

Giant ‘50% off Oxfam Vintage’ shopping tags will be hidden all over town, inside other Oxfam shops.

Anyone who finds one will be able to redeem the discount in-store once it launches on Friday 27 March.

Matt Burgess-Evans, Head of Store Development at Oxfam, said: “Oxfam Vintage represents a step change in how we present vintage fashion within our retail portfolio.

CGI of how Oxfam Vintage will look
CGI of how Oxfam Vintage will look

“It was important that the design of the space reflected the approach to the product — creating an environment that supports a more curated offer and highlights the quality and longevity of vintage clothing.

“By presenting pieces in a considered way, the concept encourages customers to see vintage not just as thrift, but as fashion with lasting value.”

Oxfam Vintage opens on Friday 27 March, with the city-wide treasure hunt happening on Saturday 20 March.

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Featured image: Oxfam

Shopping

Northern Quarter institution announces store closure after almost 20 years

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Northern Quarter institution announces store closure after 20 years

Thunder Egg, a Northern Quarter institution, has announced its sad closure after almost two decades in the neighbourhood.

The boutique gift shop and fashion retailer is known for its colourful, kitsch and quirky products, whether you’re after some bold knitwear or some statement costume jewellery.

Brands stocked here include loads of different British brands, like Daisy Street clothing, Ohh Deer art prints, and Little Moose jewellery.

As the Northern Quarter has changed rapidly on all sides, Thunder Egg has been a constant ever since its launch onto Oldham Street in 2018.

When it opened, its neighbours included Dry Bar, Magma, and a lot of adult-only sex shops – all of which have now closed for good.

And now Thunder Egg will also be bidding farewell to its flagship store in the Northern Quarter (though you’ll still be able to shop their collections inside Afflecks and online).

In a statement shared online, Thunder Egg said that the ‘considerable rise in interest’ from large retail names moving into the Northern Quarter would drive rents so high that the increase would be ‘too big to swallow’.

Thunder Egg will be closing its Northern Quarter flagship store
Thunder Egg will be closing its Northern Quarter flagship store
Thunder Egg will be closing its Northern Quarter flagship store

They also cited ‘rocketing’ business rates, plus ‘relentless’ theft, and increasing online competition from cheap retailers.

Thunder Egg said that with their lease coming to an end this year, the time is right to depart.

They wrote: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person, from customers to past & present staff, for making the last 2 decades in this location so magical!

“We are devastated to be leaving this space, but you can read more about why we’ve made the decision to on the 2nd image. We have nothing but fond memories here.”

Explaining the closure of their flagship store, they added: “It is with great sadness that we are announcing that our current flagship branch of Thunder Egg on Oldham Street will be closing after 20 years.

“Our current lease was coming to an end this year and surviving as a small independent business in the UK is HARD right now.

You can still shop Thunder Egg in Afflecks
You can still shop Thunder Egg in Afflecks
You can still shop Thunder Egg in Afflecks

“There has been a considerable rise in interest from large national & international retail names for shop spaces in the Northern Quarter in recent years. The proposed rent increase that would come with renewing our lease here was just too big to swallow this time.

“Business rates are rocketing, theft is relentless, competition from cheap online retailers is growing… all of the above combined together to push us into our decision to depart.”

Thunder Egg is set to remain open for at least the next couple of months, with no official closing date announced just yet – so get down to Oldham Street and show them some love.

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

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