So when I saw that Poundland had a new range of Jane Asher bakeware I was very excited.
Unfortunately I hardly ever get to go shopping in Poundland (or maybe
fortunately, as I always buy a lot!) as they seem to be in areas
nowhere near where I live or work or go shopping. Every so often though when an
event or appointment takes me out of my way and I see a Poundland, I will always
go in - and come out with a bagful of goodies! I know enough to know that
not everything in Poundland is a bargain - e.g. some of the toiletries if
you got them on 3 for 2 in Superdrug, or a promotion in the supermarket, would
be less than a pound elsewhere. But for party supplies and cheap children's
toys and craft activities, you can't fault it. I've also found that the bakeware
items from Poundland are really good - in the past I've bought
silicon cake moulds and cupcake boxes for instance. I also stock up on card
making supplies when I come here, like these stickers.
I was determined to
find a Poundland but didn't think there were any in central London so was really
pleased when I found there was one in Hoxton I could reach from my office in
about 20 minutes by bus and a short walk through a housing estate (making me
wonder if I had gone the wrong way) - the perfect amount of time to go there and
back in my lunchbreak!
Unfortunately much
of the Jane Asher range was sold out which was disappointing - I had seen a
plastic cake carry case on the website which would cost around £20
anywhere else I think. There were also individual ceramic casserole dishes which
looked a lot like Le Creuset, a set of cake pops moulds, a cake pop holder, an a
pack of two cake boards - all for a pound each - which I had my eye on. But the
only items left when I got there were the plastic cake slice, the cookery book,
a cookie cutter set in various colours, some muffin cases, pastry brushes,
plastic sieves, whisks and round ceramic dishes.
Most of these were fairly
non-descript and I didn't think that I was saving much money - obviously if I
was in need of a pastry brush it would have been good, but these sort of items
are usually quite low cost anyway, other than the ceramic dishes but I didn't
need any of those. I was pleased to find the cookery book (I bought the last
one!) and the cake slice however. When I go to Clandestine Cake Club meetings we
are asked to bring our own cake stand or plate and knife or cake slice. I don't
really want to walk around town with a huge knife in my bag so I bring my late
grandmother's sterling silver cake slice, but am always worried I am going to
accidentally leave it behind. Also, it's quite heavy - so the Jane Asher
one, made of light plastic, will be perfect for CCC events in
future.
The cookie cutters
also looked pretty good - I do have some fluted round cutters already but this
set includes some bigger sizes than the ones I currently have, and they are
double sided so you can cut either smooth or crinkled edges, which is really
good.
As for the cookery
book: I haven't made anything from it yet as I've only just bought it, and I was
slightly dismayed to see on the back the price was printed on the back as £6.99
but then followed by "SPECIAL EDITION FOR POUNDLAND". Which is a shame if you
wanted to give this as a gift!
The book has some lovely photos and recipes are fairly traditional like Victoria sponge, black forest gateau, lemon madeira cake, eccles cakes, crumpets and tea cakes.
While I'm on the subject of shopping, another place I love is The Works. They have a big range of craft and card making supplies and recipe books (it is mainly a bookshop) and occasionally bakeware gifts as well. I went to Salisbury to see a friend for her birthday recently and The Works is right by the carpark she used so we popped in - several pounds later I was wondering how I was going to get everything home on the train!
Most items I bought were either 99p or £1.49. I got a lot of alphabet letter stickers of different kinds for a project I am planning, plus some greetings labels, mini flags and mini blackboards that I thought would look cute on cards, some sparkly gems and a kit to make paper flowers. I just need to find time to use it all now!
Disclaimer: I bought
the products with my own money and all opinions are my own. This post is not in
conjunction with Poundland or The Works.
