Hold the martinis at Harvey Nicks - and take me to the dump instead - Susan Dalgety

I used to think that a dry martini in Harvey Nick’s cocktail lounge was the perfect day out. These days, it’s a trip to my local recycling centre that makes me happy.

There is nothing more exhilarating than that moment when you push years of yellowed magazines into the paper bank or throw broken electrical items into the skip reserved for, yes, “small electrical items”.

On my third visit last week, I even spent some time watching the crusher power through the skip for general waste, mesmerised as its dangerous-looking spikes obliterated everything in its path, from a broken loo to black bags full of rubbish.

And I hung around the “real wood” skip for a few minutes longer than necessary, clutching my ancient headboard in the hope that Sarah Moore from BBC’s Money for Nothing programme would pounce.

Sarah hangs around council tips, looking for unwanted trash she can turn in treasure. Last month, the show featured Musselburgh woman Anne McDonald, whose wood pile was turned into sunburst mirrors which later sold for £220.

Her husband Willy, a former PE teacher, has lived with Parkinson’s since 2019, so Anne donated the money to the Edinburgh branch of Parkinson’s UK.

"They do so much and a lot of it is for nothing so that's why I wanted to give back to them with the money,” she told the East Lothian Courier.

A dry martini used to make Susan Dalgety - but now the real joy is to be found at the recyling centre, writes Susan Dalgety. PIC: Ken30684/CC

I doubt if even Sarah Moore and her team of talented designers could have done much with my trash. Despite downsizing and decluttering several times in the last 15 years, I have still accumulated far too much stuff. Why do I still have a box of ‘No Thanks’ stickers from the 2014 referendum? And no-one needs two copies of Nigella Lawson’s How To Eat cook book.

As we left the Kinwegar Recyling Centre for the last time, my husband made me promise that in future we would buy less and recycle more. I think he had my charity shop treasures in mind.

“Of course dear,” I said, promising to turn over a new leaf, but I have a horrible feeling it won’t be long before we are booking a visit to our new dump at Sighthill.