A HOSPICE based in St Asaph celebrated the grand opening of its new shop selling “preloved items” in Rhyl today (October 27).

St Kentigern Hospice's “Preloved Warehouse”, on Wellington Road, began welcoming customers in June, but enjoyed its "official" opening at 11am this morning.

The shop will be based on the theme of second-hand shopping for “preloved” items, and how reusing and recycling benefits the environment.

Its proceeds will support the end of life care which the hospice provides.

It is open from 9.30am - 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, and donations can either be dropped off at the store or picked up from your home.

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Today's event included “ribbon-cutting” and a “shopping experience”, plus a row of stands to show the hospice’s fundraising activities, the St Kentigern Lottery, volunteering opportunities, and its Caffi Cariad café.

There was also a special sale of the store’s stock with bargains on furniture and vintage items, as well as raffles, and a tombola.

Meliden-based actor Spencer Wilding (Rogue One, Harry Potter) cut the ribbon, while the mayor of Rhyl, Cllr Diane King, also attended.

Spencer had no qualms about supporting the hospice, not least because it provided care to members of his own family in the past.

He said: “It was an honour for them to ask me; it’s one of the charities I’ll always give time for.

“Cancer is close to us all; we all know somebody – family members, friends – that have passed from, or had a hard time with, cancer.

“My dad had it, and two of my uncles. My uncles were with St Kentigern in their last days. They are God’s workers; they’re walking angels.

“I’ve bought things here already, like a telescope for £100. I’m always up for a good deal, and one day, you might be needing St Kentigern’s help – the good things they do don’t go unnoticed.”

Members of the hospice’s clinical team were also present, while classic cars lined the car park as people arrived.

Val Corner, retail operations manager at the hospice, has spearheaded this project, and was delighted to see it come to fruition.

Val said: “Everything we make here goes to the hospice, so it’s important that we’re able to get good-quality donations, so people will come over and over again, because it’s quality that they’re buying.

“A lot of time and effort has gone into us moving in here. We moved in in June from our old site in Bodelwyddan, so it’s really nice to be able to come to such a big site, of over 5,000 sq ft, where we can really put all of our stock out.

“We wanted to have somewhere more in the community, where people would be able to see us and recognise us.

“Besides here, we have nine other shops up and down the country, so we make sure they have quality stuff and nice, friendly staff.

“We’ve got some fantastic volunteers working for us in the shops, and are always looking for more volunteers, too."

Val was keen to stress that this is not like any other charity shop, with the store priding itself on quality second-hand goods for a fair price.

She also hopes it resonate with customers amid the current cost of living crisis.

Val added: “Sometimes, charity shops are seen as somewhere where you can just put anything in there, and they’ll sell it cheap, for 50p or £1, and it doesn’t always have a nice vibe about it.

“I wanted to make sure we were away from that, and for us to be ‘preloved’.

“You often get people who have lots of nice dresses or other clothes, and although they can’t fit into them anymore, they want to give them to somewhere where they know they’ll get a good price for them, and to a good cause. We meet both of those criteria.

“Our price ranges can be anything. We’ve sold sofas here for about £10, others for about £395. It very much depends on the items that come in, but there’s always something in any of our shops for everybody.

“I think younger people especially are very much into ‘preloved’, or redesigning their own clothes, and they can have their own image when they shop in one of our shops, because they can adapt anything they buy. I think that’s a big plus for us.

“The highlight of today has been having so many people outside the door wanting to come in. It’s been amazing; I really didn’t expect so many people to be waiting to come in.

“Even though we’ve done a lot of publicity, it’s just fantastic that so many people are here, which makes it all worthwhile.”

St Kentigern Hospice has been provided free specialist palliative and end-of-life care for more than 25 years.

Its inpatient unit has 12 beds, each with ensuite facilities and direct access to the garden.

For more information on St Kentigern, go to: www.stkentigernhospice.org.uk.