24th August
The Village Hall Fete was on Saturday. A marquee had been bought via Ebay by the Village Hall Committee and I was roped in on the Thursday to help erect it. (pun intended) The local Hunt Supporters Club were supplying another marquee for the big day. Sadly and very dramatically the new marquee was demolished by the wind on Friday and the HSC very sensibly said that they would not put up theirs on the Saturday. So everything including our little book stall had to be crammed into the hall. There were people eating scrumptious cakes and drinking locally brewed beer and buying books and outside between the showers sheep were judged and so were dogs. Chidren ran races and despite the missing marquees a good time was had by all. We even mananged to sell some books.
Our local book club is reading "To kill a Mocking Bird" at present. I'm finding it so much better than "The Color Purple" which deals with the same period in the history of America's deep south. But so much better written. I never could understand how Color Purple got the Pullitzer Prize. It will be interesting to find out how other members of the Book Club reacted to the book. The problem with our book club is choosing the books to read.Perhaps we are too democratic. We really need someone to be in charge of us.
We were introduced to a new publisher recently. New to us that is. They're called Quadrille and they produce some very high quality and relatively inexpensive books on crafts and suchlike. The first order has just arrived and they look exceptionally good. We find that there is high demand for books on knitting and similar crafts so it will be good to add these to the stock.
On Sunday night we met up with an old colleague of mine who I had not seen for 10 years or so. Difficult to think of her as a shy articled clerk when now she is a proud and loving mother of three boys as well as being a partner in a central London firm. Her description of present day life in a large legal practice did not appeal. Even she was thinking of moving on. She and her husband and the three children had rented a national trust house/cottage on the Cragside Estate near Rothbury. Great settings with the added bonus of constant access to the wonderful gardens. The visit has inspired us to do more on our plot. It'll never rival Cragside though.
Already we have people in the shop buying or ordering books for Christmas. Our Xmas catalogue will be with us shortly and will be distributed to every one in the area with the October issue of Kelso Life. We're impressed with people who are buying Xmas presents so early. For us the best Xmas present would be to find bigger premises where we could expand the business.
We generally have a debate as to whether we should open or not on the August Bank Holiday. I expect we will open and see what trade there is. Perhaps we'll bring the dogs in so that if there is no trade we can jump in the car and head for the coast. Sounds like a good idea to me.
It's time to change to change the window displays again. We are always surprised how many books we sell from the windows. Perhaps next week we'll go for childrens books and take out all the cookery books. Perhaps I'll put up a little model railway to amuse the passing children. Might amuse me too.
There's a definite hint of Autumn in the air. Every year we're promised a blazing hot summer but somehow it never comes about. Maybe, just maybe next year.
Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend and find time to read a book.
9th August
According to the data which we pick up from our web site over 900 people are out there reading this blog. Not quite sure whether to be very flattered or just plain concerned.
Yesterday my youngest gand daughter was christened in Sussex in the same church where her parents were married. Vicar gave a sermon in which he managed to confuse monogamy with monotheism. Once he realised his mistake he then launched into discussion on polygamy.(Don't ask why) The children in the congregation (and there were lots) were as confused as the grown ups were amused.Then at critical moment youngest grand daughter tried to launch herself into the font. Tremendous fun all round. Great party afterwards with many swimming in the pool in the brilliant sunshine. If only every day were like this.It was great seeing the children (grown up and not so grown up) looking so well and happy.
We even managed to fit in two hospital visits in Cambridge on journey down and up back to Scotland.Even when a "child" is 29 and has a long time partner his mother still feels that she should be there with him and that has to be right. Hopefully the hospital now have diagnosis right so correct treatment will help Hans recover.
So from hospitals and crazy sermons to the bookshop. First customer today wanted a book on making Blueberry Muffins. Not many around I told her but eventually we found something that gave seven different fruit muffin recipes so off she went, happy I hope. End of bizarre requests I thought. Not so, said the God that rules the lives of booksellers. Into the shop came a lady of a certain size who wanted a book on dieting. No problem. We have one whole shelf full of such books. "But I'm getting married at the end of August and I need to lose two stone". Ah, we thought. This problem is not so easily solved. And then to cap it all a very nice family came in wanting a book on racing pigeons. Well, I suppose we managed to satisfy one customer out of three.
Peter Mandelson's book "The Third Man" had very mixed reviews when published and is already being remaindered, we are told, by Waterstones in Edinburgh. We've sold a few copies but we are returning the rest of our stock to the wholesalers. It will be interesting to see what happens to Blair's autobiography.
So what is our recommended book of the week. For me it has to be Simon Schama's latest tome called "Scribble, Scribble, Scribble". Absolutely brilliant writing. A book to be dipped into and enjoyed. Serious and funny, some very personal anecdotes and some very perceptive comments on politicians and others great and small. Buy it and enjoy.
And so we wait to see what the coming week will bring. More slightly bizarre requests from customers perhaps? Some good conversations about everything and nothing in the shop? But whatever happens we hope that the week will be good for you. And however good it is, remember it will be even better with a good book to read beside you.
Read and enjoy.
3rd August
According to the Chinese calendar it is the Year of the Tiger but for us, at least at home, it is proving to the Year of the Wasps Nests. Over the last few days we have discovered several and some of them are seriously large. The largest is in the stable and is larger than a rugby ball. The others in other outbuildings are nearly as large. Small ones we can cope with ourselves but these monster ones require the services of an expert. Hopefully he (or of course it may be she) is on their way. The nesting Housemartins who swoop in and out of the outbuildings all the time do not seem at all worried by the frenzied building activity of the wasps.
And so onto bookish matters. Reading the reviews in the papers at this time of year is sometimes a thankless task. Most papers are full of comments by people who one has barely heard of telling the readers what they would choose to take on holiday. Why? Can we not make our own minds up? One must wonder if these "celebrities" actually read the books they are puffing. Perhaps they do but I doubt it. But amidst the dross in some of the papers there was in the Guardian on Saturday a good review of a new book about the Greene family. A family that could produce an author as brilliant as Graham Greene and a director general general of the BBC -Hugh Greene has to have something special in its genes. And so the book proves. It is by Jeremy Lewis and is called "Shades of Greene:one generation of an English Family".
It looks to be worth a read as does another biography this time about one person and not about a whole family. Roy Hattersley has written a very positive and sympathetic review of Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds new biography of Atlee. Almost forgotten by New Labour enthusiasts Atlee led a revolution in post war Britain not from a sofa (a la Blair) but from chairing a cabinet in a quiet and apparently unassuming way. Another good read for anyone interested in the political world.
The Booker so called long list has just been published. It always surprises and this year is no exception. For the first time ever the list contains a book with a single letter as its title. "C" by Tom MacCarthy does not look as though it is going to be an easy read. Despite that we'll read it soon and let you have our comments.
This is being written on Tuesday as the Border Union Show took up a lot of our time last week.It was good fun seeing so many of our regular customers at the Show. We also met some some lovely new customers whom we hope to see again in the shop soon.
This week we start our 3 for 2 promotion. There are no restrictions at all. Any mixture you like. Hard back and paper backs. Any genre. This will hopefully allow us to clear our shelves and restock in advance of the Christmas season.
This year we are buying lots of books direct form some new publishers rather than relying on the major wholesalers who sometime are more geared to the requirements of the big retailers and not the small independents like us. Seems utterly crazy to be thinking of Christmas when we are only just into August but the clock ticks relentlessly onward. We heard that one large store in London had already put up Xmas decorations. Now that does seem premature.
Hope to see you in the shop soon and don't forget our ordering service is free and fast.
Friday 23rd July
Often we read of bookworms but in our little book shop we seem to to have a book spider. What he lives on I do not know but every so often he emerges from behind the Art Books runs around a bit and then disappears so that I have no chance of catching him (her?). I m sure that he would be happier outside so I have an empty glass sitting on my desk which I intend to use as a spider catcher in due course. Earlier someone came in whilst I was on the floor talking to said spider trying to persuade it to come out. Must have thought I was mad.
Okay what I have read this last week? Well I've just started to read Sylvia Loch new novel called "My Algarve Affair" It's a torrid love affair set in Portugal at the time of the revolution 40 years ago. Sylvia Loch has already written several books but they have all been to do with horses and their training so this novel is a new departure for her. It's already got some some good publicity in the local press. Let's hope it does well for her.
On slightly different level I recently read "The Soap Man" by Roger Hutchinson. This is a study of Lord Leverhulme's purchase at the end of the First World War of the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides. Sounds dry but it is in fact absolutely riveting. It proves that not even very rich men can always overide the wishes of ordinary folk. The book evokes the the period of 1918 to 1923 very powerfully.It is a good read. Some customers have already read Peter Mandelson's book"The Third Man". Very mixed reviews.
And what else? Well, we've given up buying a daily paper most days. We can do the cross-word on line and most of the papers are online as well.Today I bought the Guardian but immediately I wondered why I had wasted a pound. Could have spent it on something useful like a scone or two.
All this week Kelso has been celebrating Kelso Civic Week. Lots of Ride Outs from and into the town with a big ball taking place tonight for the toffs. I imagine the town will be very quiet tomorrow but we'll be open although I know some shops will be closed. The local paper said that Monday is a Bank Holiday but it isn't. It's just that the Doctor's Surgery is closed from some reason. A sort of NHS special holiday. In fact in this part of the world there are all sorts of local holidays. Trouble is there is never a national booksellers holiday.
Next Friday and Saturday we are at the Borders Union Show in our usual place in the Food Hall. As last year we hope one of the children will be helping us. Pip can't come this year but Anna hopes to be there perhaps with latest boyfriend. If he's strong enough perhaps he can help me put the roof on the field shelter on Sunday morning.
We'll take a good selection of books to the show. Hope to see you there.
Wednesday 14th July.
Publishers often send us proofs of books they hope to publish. A while ago we were sent a copy of "The Breaking of Eggs" by Jim Powelll. I've only just got round to reading it and I have to say that it has to be one of the best books that i've ever read.It's now been published and is available in paperback. Put simply it's the story of a Poilish born Paris based publisher of guides to eastern Europe who retires and sells out to an American publishing firm.Partly through chance and partly otherwise he starts to rediscover his personal history which takes the reader to pre-war Poland, to Switzerland and France, to America and Germany. Sounds boring doesn't it but it most certainly is not. It's a personal history of Europe from the 1930s to almost the present day and a love story and a lot more besides. Politics and philosophy and a fine commentary on isms whether commuism capitalism or national socialism. Read it if you can.
This is actually my second attempt at this blog. The first disappeared into the blogosphere so if it emerges somewhere and this all sounds very familiar I apologise.
Today is Bastille Day in France so France is en fete Ten days ago the Americans celebrated Independence Day with huge parties. Why can't we have a truly national day for the whole nation? How about a Freedom Day? Anything has to be better than some days commemorating local saints like St. George, St, Andrew or St David. Why saints? Perhaps the new government can put their coalition minds to it.
We'll be publicising our latest list of author events which start again in September soon. In the meantime come into the shop and see what we've got on the shelves and if you cannot get into the shop why not come and see us at the Borders Union Show on 30th and 31st July in Kelso. We'll be in our usual place inside the Food Hall. No grub I'm afraid but plenty of good books.
And finally for all you bargain hunters. The Latimer Books 3 for 2 sale starts on Monday 2nd August. No restrictions at all. hardback, paperback, fiction or non-fiction. We'll run through August and September. The cheapest book comes free. Now that is something to smile about.
See you soon we hope.
Monday 5th July
Although we are not far from Sir Walter Scott's house near Galashiels at Abbotsford much to our embarrassment we have so far not been there. However that should be rectified shortly when we go to the launch of a new book called Scott-land by Stuart Kelly. We sell a few books by Sir Walter Scott each month but clearly his somewhat ponderous style is now out of fashion. Stuart Kelly's new book is sub entitled "The Man who invented a nation". It'll be interesting to meet the author and hear a little more about the book and the subject. It's interesting how books which are acclaimed as good literature become dated and are not then read very much. John Buchan is a case in point. And yet Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton go on for ever. Good marketing perhaps. Who knows?
Another new locally written book we were introduced to recently is a novel, "An Algarve Affair" written by Sylvia Loch whose horse books are well known and we already stock. This book will be launched very shortly and is in paperback and tells the tale of the "goings on" amonst the expats in Portugal in the 1970s. Sylvia tells us that there is murder and adultery in it so it sounds like a good read for a lazy afternoon on the beach somewhere. We'll have it in stock later this week.
Every Christmas we distribute to every house and business in Kelso and the surrounding villages a copy of our Christmas Catalogue. That is now being prepared though it's quite difficult to concentrate on Christmas when the weather is so hot. We were on the west coast yesterday and heard that some hotels on the islands were being forced to turn away customers due to the lack of water. Maybe the scientists are right after all and there is global warming. Difficult to reconcile with the heavy snow in the winter which forced us to close for a while.
As an experiment we moved the spinner which holds the Shire Books to the front of the shop. Very successful move but now we cannot replace the books quickly enough. How on earth the publishers choose the titles we don't know. Titles range from "Scalextric" to "Old Television Sets" and onto "The Rover". Quite eclectic but great fun. Very popular and very reasonably priced too. Have a look next time you're in the shop.
We try to write this blog weekly and we try to put something on twitter every day so if you are desperate for news of us in our little book shop here in Kelso in the Scottish Borders and do not want to wait till next week just look us up on twitter. It's not supposed to be very serious and usually it isn't.
Have a good week.
Monday 28th June
It is always interesting for us to be told how many people read this blog and our tweets. On the other hand writing this blog is not unlike doing an essay for an exam where your finished paper is sent off to some far away marking centre and you never get to meet the person who gives you your mark. If not a distinction let's at least hope for a pass.
Last week in the shop we seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time dusting the shelves as, with the weather so warm, we've had the door open all the time. The passing traffic has meant that we've taking in more than our fair share of dust but every morning out it all goes on the back of a yellow duster. We never see it coming back but there it is each evening.With the warm weather come the tourists. Wives berate their husbands for spending too much on history books and husbands wonder why cookery books always seem so expensive. Of course that is a vast simplification and is very gender biased but you probably get the drift. Many customers (like us) still find the new national electronic booktokens tiresome but we are told that there is no going back. Paper national book tokens are no more unless of course you want to buy a Latimer Books book token which we sell in units of £10.00. If you still have some national paper book tokens, worry not. We still take them. It's just that we cannot sell them any more. Ah, progress.
After all the hype no huge surprises in the budget on Tuesday last. No vat on books (yet) but the general vat rise will mean some small adjustments to vatable items like cds when the new rate comes in in January next year.
Apart from re-reading "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker which I did not enjoy I have read with huge enjoyment Adam Fould's " The Quickening Maze". It was shortlsted for the Man Booker last year and it is a great read. The book's bibliography makes one want to find out more about the poet John Clare and the early life of Tennyson and how their lives crossed. It's now available in paper back. It's the chosen book for this month for our book club. It will be interesting to find out what others think of it.
In our small village the ladies of the Guild arranged a marvellous exhibition at Southdean Chuch over the weekend. It was to celebrate childhood and there examples of toys and artefacts from childhood of 60 plus years ago. Dolls houses, clockwork toy trains,wooden toys, games and books. In retrospect it all seemed such an innocent time.The only problem was that scones and tea were served in the village hall. If only I could have resisted the second set of scones. I think that I give in to temptation too easily.
And so onto another week. Some rain is much needed as we are fast running out of water. The burns are dry and the springs are failing. Farmers who have no mains supply are worrying. I never thought that I hear it said but here in Scotland we are approaching drought conditions. Having written that it'll now pour with rain for the next few weeks. If it does remember that I warned you.
Monday 21st June
The fact that it was Father's Day on Saturday as well as the first of the two day Dog Show here in Kelso led to some confusion in the shop with some people obviously a bit confused as to what they were buying and for whom but hopefully everybody was happy when they got home and opened their purchases. We even had a desperate phone call from a man in Vienna asking us to get some books to his Dad for the big day. All in a day's work.Now we have to change the window display which had been devoted to books about dogs. Perhaps Thai cooking or is that too subtle? Choosing the window display themes is not easy. Ideas anyone?
Next week on Saturday there is a Farmers Market in the Square so perhaps something to reflect that.
In the shop last week it was interesting to meet some people from Yorkshire who also had a small bookshop. Like us they have had hard times over the last year but hopefully matters will improve now that there is less political uncertainty. Everyone is waiting to see what tomorrow's budget will bring.For myself am very worried as the Minister at Church yesterday twice mentioned the budget. What does he know that we don't?
On the home front we had an entertaining evening at the village hall on Friday evening watching My Fair Lady. Very dated but still very funny. That was followed on Saturday by the village Beer and Skittles evening at the same venue. The writer was dragged off home after eating two meat pies and mushy peas and winning at darts. It was thought that there was a danger was a third pie might follow the way of the first two.
The writer wastes fifteen minutes every day listerning to the Archers. Difficult to believe that any small community could house so many dysfuctional families. It can't be refection of true life can it?
Have a nice week and enjoy this lovely weather if you can.
Wednesday 16th June
We're running a competition in the shop where people are asked to tell us what they think is Keslo's favourite book. The winner is to be given a copy of "Strongholds of the Borders". Some of the suggestions so far have been, what shall we say, interesting. Am not sure that a Life of Lenin is likely to be Kelso's favourite book but then you never know for sure what people are reading behind closed doors. If you want to enter and cannot get to the shop to fill in an entry form just post your choice on the website and email it to us.
We've got some some new brochures in the shop for so called summer reading. These ones are produced by Bertrams one of our two main wholesalers. The cover shows some bright yellow sunflowers which is great on sunny days like today but very inappropriate on some days when the rain sets in and the clouds come low. Of course as a mere book seller we get no say in what goes into the brochure but I do query how many sales there are going to be for a a Life of Harold Larwood. How many people under say 60 have even heard of him? (*see below). The same wholesalers produce a very good (and free!) monthly magazine about books which we give to customers. Apart from reviewng some recent books it also has useful ideas for Book Clubs. Do make sure you pick up a copy when next in the shop.
Am trying a new diet ahead of next family gathering in August as photographs taken at last such gathering (two weeks ago) seem to show a rather portly geezer which is not how I see myself at all. So no more morning buns from Greggs, no baguettes full of prawns and mayonnaise from the other shop for lunch and definitely no scones for tea. Makes one wonder if life is really worth living.
* Harold Larwood was an English bowler who in the 1930s caused a huge row between Australia and Britain by bowling in a controversial manner. The fact that he was working class added to the furore.
Thursday 10th June
Whilst waiting for the 7am news on the radio was alarmed to hear National Anthem being played, apparently to mark the birthday of Duke of Edinburgh. What fun. Initially I thought it was to mark downfall of coalition governnment and then where would we be? Watched some footage of the Labour Party leadership hustings last night. Seemed very jolly. Poor Mrs. Miliband. Who does she vote for? Someone said that she'll vote for Dianne Abbot. Well, if she does, that's one vote in the bag for Dianne then.
Am now halfway through my Open Uni course called "Approaching Literature".Thankfully we have now moved away from the Romantic Poets onto a fascinating study of Gender and Literature. Not quite sure how race and religion get muddled up in this but hopefully time will tell. I just hope the budget cuts do not impinge too much on the OU. If anyone reading this blog has never seen the OU prospectus it is marvellous. The course materials are really good and so are most of the tutors.
We're going to call this year the Year of the Wasp. So far we've discovered three nests in sheds and outbuildings which is very unusual. None fortunately at the shop but in the trees where we are building the new house we can hear a swarm of bees. Have had it confirmed that we have badgers on the so called starvation paddock by the burn. Huge entrance hole to their set(t) with smaller holes to allow air in and out. Very clever on the part of Mr Badger but it's ruining the grass that Jane sowed last year. Some people say that we should kill them but I think that they are protected. Cannot kill everything that upsets us can we?
And now to books. By way way of relaxation I'm re-reading Barchester Towers by Trollope. Harold Macmilian, according to his biographer, used to read Trollope each night and one can quite see why. Such cynicism. Perhaps every politician should read it and then they might understand why we generally do not like them very much.
Now that life has for us returned to normal with the last of the family having gone home we shall redouble our efforts to relocate the shop. In the meantime new signs are being prepared to help people find us where we are. We are busy organising more events in the shop and of course we shall be at the Borders Union Show at the end of next month.
Ah yes and at last an apology to Hans. His time in the London marathon was much much better than I blogged a while ago. Next blog I'll give readers the exact and correct time.
Wednesday 9th June
We shut the shop on Friday lunchtime as we've just had a wonderful weekend celebrating my birthday. Blazing hot sunshine. All five children here and the three grandchildren. We had a family meal for 14 outside in the courtyard on Friday evening and the Saturday evening we were joined by 40 or so friends for a hog roast. It was great and the sun continued to shine. By Tuesday the last of the family guests had gone leaving the house very empty. Now the dogs have gone back to snoring in their usual places and the shop demands our attention.
Because of the party I missed reading the book reviews in the papers on Saturday and Sunday so will have to catch up with what's new via the wholesalers. The wholesalers reps only visit us one every two or so months but we also have visits from the publishers reps. All are a source of trade gossip. All are worried about the future of traditional book shops like ours. But we hang on. Interestingly enough it seems to be the specialist book shops that are shutting. We just hope that the government does not impose Vat on books in the budget on June 22nd.
And so to last night's episode of the Archers. How clever to keep it secret and what dramatic radio it made. Perhaps the producers of TV shows who are constantly trailing their programmes might sit back and reflect on the effectiveness of a real surprise. An unexpected death is always good drama.Frankly I find it diificult to understand the need for a TV licence but BBC radio has to be financed somehow and that more than justifies the licence fee. Someone told me in the shop the other day that people spend an average of 4.5 hours a day watching the silver screen. Can that be right?
I'm writing this blog from home as Jane is in the shop today. All round the house the house martins are making nests or have made them so they sweep up to the windows and then swoop away.The cat sits on a window shelf trying to catch them but of course the glass pane in the window stops any contact. Poor cat must be exhausted. After staying up so late at the weekend I know how she feels.
Monday 1st June
Well not exactly a blazing hot June so far but we can but hope for better things Have engaged a new sign writer to redesign our signage. Something to catch the eye without being too garish is the brief. If anyone reading this has any bright ideas don't hesitate to contact us.
Have ordered some very interesting new blank cards each being a photograph of a different rock formation. Sounds slightly strange but in fact they are very colourful and extremely unusual. They will sell for only £2.99 which is incredibly reasonable considering the quality. Have also ordered a trial run of some A5 diaries for 2011. Only June and already thinking of next year!
From the customers in the shop it's obvious that the tourist season has begun. People want books on local history to try and trace ancestors. Some expect us to be able to help which sadly we cannot. Some want us to act as a Tourist Ofice little realising that the official Tourist Office is only 50 yards away.
Later in the week we are closing the shop on Saturday and next Mondy as we are having a large family party at the weekend to celebrate the writer's birthday. All five chidren are arriving with partners where appropriate and the three grandchildren. Will be fun I am told. I just hope that they don't mind being quiet whilst I listen to the Archers.
The weather forecast is getting better by the hour. I just hope that they are right. As with everything else in life the good weather has its downside and that is the dreaded hay fever. There's quite a lot of rape being grown outside the town so hay fever sufferers are having a bad time at present.
I'm about to read Alice Walker's "The Color Purple". Should have read it years ago but didn't so am now catching up. Trouble is I always worry when a book is recommended by the Mail on Sunday. I suspect that I'm not the only one who reads the reviews on the back page of a book and then takes a view. Just finished reading " The Secret Scripture" by Sebastian Barry. Well worthy of its inclusion in the Man Booker short list last year. Jane guessed the ending before I did. I must be losing my touch.
Saturday 29th May
Jane was celebrating her birthday yesterday so Happy Birthday to Jane. We went out to dinner last night and whilst the food was very good the entertainment provided by the four fellow diners at a nearby table was amazing. The two couples clearly did not like each other. First couple declared (loudly) that they had spent a wonderful week in Algeria, Second couple capped that with (louder) description of their tremendous two weeks in the Carribean but first couple then went one better with over lengthy description of their three weeks in Mexico. Silence then reigned for a while and then they started on their (brilliant) children and very clever grandchildren. Einsteins all them apparently. I regret to say that we started laughing out loud. It was like reading out loud those ghastly family round robins that some people send at Christmas. Still it provided us with some fairly harmless amusement. Cannot imagine the foursome will ever go out out together again. We will, I hope.
And so back to the shop this morning. For some reason the town is full of people on Vespas. Very noisy but obviously great fun. There's some sort of Vespa rally here this weekend.If no one else the garages will make money out of the invasion.
The new book by Alastair Campbell arrived today. It's being serialised in the Guardian and getting quite a lot of coverage in the other media. He claims it is his unexpurgated diary. How do people like him find the time and energy to write up a diary each night?
We're expecting a large delivery of new books shortly but we have a major problem. We keep scissors on the desk to cut open the boxes and to cut through the packaging but they have gone. Where to, we do not know. Have we inadvertently put them in the bin or has some customer taken them and if so why? A real mystery.
Our attempts to find other premises are not going as well as we had hoped but we shall keep on trying. In the mean time we're getting some new signage to assist people to locate us. Trouble is that there is so much so called street furniture that signs sometimes simply get overlooked. If you don't know where we are just find Boots the Chemist on the Square and then walk a few yards down the Wynd besides Boots and there we are.
We will not be open on Bank Holiday Monday. Not sure what we will do but the forecast is good. We hope that whatever you are doing this long weekend that you get suitable weather and manage to enjoy the great outdoors.
Saturday 22nd May
Jane has been asked by so many people to consider selling some of her Japanese Embroideries that she has now agreed to price up the ones that are in the shop. Each one represents months of intensive work and the prices obviously have to reflect that amount of work. She's preparing some explanatory notes as well, as each, though beautiful in its own right, also contains a lot of Far Eastern symbolism.
At supper last night one of our neighbours said that we had not had any proper rain for three months. Looking at the state of the rivers and burns I can well believe her. Some local farmers are already irrigating their fields of new crops.
Sad news is that we still cannot get either printer to work. Might have to handwrite letters which would doubtless cause some headscratching for the recipients. Computers and laptops and cars are all fine when they work. Disasters when they don't. Still it's difficult to get too vexed on such a nice day.
Friday 21st May
A very strange week at the shop with our normal trading pattern seemingly reversed. Very busy early in the week not so busy later on. We're still trying to find other premises so we can move and expand. We've located the ideal place but we need to find another occupier for our present shop. Hopefully something will happen shortly.
Home news is mixed. One of us left garden gate unlocked and sheep from adjoining field broke in and ate Jane's herb plants. Very healthy sheep, very cross Jane. Eldest son had his car stolen which is very irritating and at the same time his company was subject to an expensive scam which has cost him quite a lot in lost commission but on the other hand youngest daughter has now launched her new business at www.thecamdenstore.co.uk Worth a visit if you're likely to be in north London.
The very nice people at the Borders Writers Forum have told me that I got their website wrong. It is www.borderswritersforum.com
Jane was in touch with someone at Harper Colloins only to discover that they were sitting opposite one of Pip's best friends. Small world.
The reviews that we did for the Independent on Sunday last week have generated quite a bit of interest locally. After two years and quite a lot of publicity we are still amazed that some people do not know of our existence. There are signs in the Square pointing to us but still people manage to overlook us. What else can we do apart from move to a more prominent position?
The local council who apparently have money to waste want to change the traffic flow here in Kelso. At considerable expense they have arranged an exhibition of their proposals inviting the public's response. The traders oppose it so their views are being ignored. It seems a very great pity that the council does not spend the money making better use of the cobbled square which at present is used just as a parking lot. The Square is wonderful.We ought to make far better use of it. The council perhaps could sponsor a competition for some bold ideas. Okay- rant over.
What a strange world we live in. A friend who has recently moved to Dorset has discovered that she cannot get broadband in her cottage and so she has just phoned and asked me to check her emails. She had over 4,000 emails in her inbox. Obviously a very,very popular lady.
When Daisy my eight year old grand-daughter comes up in a couple of weeks we're gong to see if we can actually observe the badgers that are doing so much damage to the ponies' field. Daisy thinks that badgers are sweet. I'm not sure and of course a lot of cattle farmers are convinced that they carry TB to cattle. Whether that's right or not they certainly destroy grassland with their digging.
Tonight we are off to the local film club which meets in the village hall at Southdean. We're watching "The Reader" having read the book at book club some months ago. Hope the film is as good as the book. Weather looks good for the weekend so whatever you are doing enjoy yourself. I'm in the shop tomorrow whilst Jane is running a book stall at the LIvingBeing Fair which is to take place here in Kelso at the Tait Hall. Lots of therapists apparently will be there. Not my scene but I know that such things are very popular with many people.
Monday 17th May
For some unknown reason the blog I did in the middle of last week managed to lose itself in cyberspace. Obviously I pressed the wrong button somewhere along the line. Sorry
So what has been happening? Well we appear to have new government. Talk in the shop has moved away from poitics to the vagaries of the weather (in other words back to normal) and of course the re-appearance of the vocanic ash cloud.
After a few initial teething problems the new way of issuing and redeeming Book Tokens at last is working well with most people happy with the electronic cards. For local customers who prefer the old ways we still have traditional Latimer Books paper book tokens which can be redeemed only at our shop.
Recently we had supper with Hannah Myervitch who has written a book for children called "Crisis at the Castle". It features two dogs, Moonshine and Shadow and it makes a very good read. It's slightly zany which is what chidren love. She's already on the successor volumes and if you're passing the shop you can always have a look at the book and see if you think it is for any 9 year old you know.
Sadly we forgot to get the Independent on Sunday yesterday but we know our selection of books appeared in it as a new customer came into the shop today and mentioned it. Although she lived locally she had not realised that we were there so that really does show the power of the press.
We are hoping to put up our hanging flower baskets soon. The Chamber of Trade has engaged someone to go round the town watering all the baskets which will save us the job.
On Saturday 22nd Jane will be at the Livingbeing Fair in the Tait Hall here in Kelso with a bookstall. She'll have lots of books to sell. The fair is open from 10.30 to 4.30. Call in and see if there is anything that appeals. There will be various therapists giving talks and demonstrations and we have flyers in the shop giving more details of the other stalls that will be there.
For anyone reading this and who has not been in the shop recently you'll find some changes have been made. We've introduced a discount table so as to move slow slow moving stock and to clear the shelves for new stock. We are actively looking for bigger premises and I hope to be able to say more about that in the near future.
Our daily comments can of course still be followed on Twitter.
Saturday 8th May
A very exciting day yesterday at our little bookshop. Struggled in at 9am having had very very little sleep because we were so late to bed as we were following the election results. Strong coffee(s) followed by a meeting with some members of the Borders Writers Forum who have responded very positively to the idea of a Bookfest being held here. It looks at though this concept has caught their imagination. We're hoping to hold the first Bookfest in the early autumn. More details to follow but if you want to be involved look at their website at www.borderswritingforum.com .or contact us.
The next meeting was with some marketing gurus www.brightquarter.co.uk who think amongst other things that we should personlise our web site. They suggest that we put our photograghs on it so you have been warned.
Then the Independent on Sunday rang and asked Jane to do some book reviews and then we had the great pleasure of seeing the youngest daughter Pip at her election declaration on the television. Hers was almost the last one in the country so we had to wait all day.
In between all this excitement we sold some books and continued our May exercise of weeding out slow moving stock to make room for new entries. We really do need bigger premises but the thought of moving is quite daunting. It will probable take months to sort something out but clearly a presence in the Town Square would help our customers and if we could get big enough premises the ability to serve coffee and cakes might also assist people buying books. It will all depend on what is available. The search starts on Monday. If you know of anything suitable please contact us. Perhaps you know of someone who might be interested in our present premises.
Harper Collins have just sent us the a proof copy of Barabara Erskine's new book "Time's Legacy". One of us will read this over the weekend and we'll comment in the next blog.
Looking out from the bookshop the weather looks fine but as people come they are talking of the cold north east wind blowing so I think I'll stay here for the time being. Where ever you are and whatever you're doing I hope that you have a good weekend.
Election Day 2010
Very unusual to see men in suits and ties here. Most of us have moved on a bit since we had to conform like that. So very surprised when two such dressed men came into the shop early today.
Had I voted wrongly and were they the thought police come to take me away? They each had a brief case and were clearly very important. Bankers perhaps? Stockbrokers? Financial advisors to seriously rich people? I was intrigued. Had they come far I asked. From Fife I was told. We're visiting local agents in the town. Oh, how very disappointing. Just two men selling advertising material to estate agents in the Borders.
We're having a big sort out. Slow moving stock is either being put on the discount shelf or being sent back to the suppliers. This is allowing us to bring in yet more new stock. Ideally we'd like bigger premises but that may just be a pipe dream at present. We've relocated the audio cds. and repositioned the Book Seats. The Penguin mugs we have now placed on the top shelves above the fiction. That would seem to be more sensible. It'll be interesting to see how many people comment on the changes.
The Borders Writers Forum might be having a "bookfest" here in the shop. The committee are coming here tomorrow to discuss the idea. But Jane has made the appointment for 9.15 forgetting that we expect to be up all night watching the election results come in. So it could be an interesting meeting with very little input from me.
New month
No rain (yet) but quite cold here in the Borders this weekend. In the shop we've had three separate instances of people coming in whilst still talking on their mobile phones. And even stranger they continue to use their mobiles whilst choosing books to buy. Seems people have to keep in touch all the time. Must be very important.
As I walked the dogs this morning I noticed in the woods how the colours of the wild flowers are changing. The yellow aconites have long since gone as have the white snow drops. The yellow daffodils and narcissi are going but now everything that replaces them is blue. The hairbells, the blue bells, the forget me nots-all are blue. Is there some good botanical reason for this? Perhaps I could find the answer in a book.
When Alexander McCall Smith wrote his books about life in Botswana I, like many others, enjoyed them hugely but after a while the saintliness of "the traditionally built" proprietor of the No.1. Ladies' Detective Agency began to pall so I was very pleased recently to discover his books featuring, not Africa but another tribal homeland namely Edinburgh. The Sunday Philosophy Club series is a delight. People who have lived in Edinburgh say that the characters are drawn from life. Is that really true? Last night I finished reading "The careful use of compliments". For a philosopher the main character, Isabel Dalhousie has an intriguing way of justifying her conduct.
And so we wait. Will it be Lib/Lab, Lib/Con, Con on their own, Con with a minority or perhaps with support from the SNP? That last scenario at least does not seem too likely. What happens if the BNP get a seat and that is the deciding one? Maybe we''ll know by this time next week and then the media schedules can revert to normal. Perhaps. All I know is I 'll be pleased for Pip, who's standing in St. Ives Cornwall, when it's all over. Her constuency result is not declared till Friday morning. She sounded very tired on the phone and win or lose she has worked extremely hard these last few weeks as have most of the candidates. Be bit rough on them if they have to go through it all again in a few months time but perhaps a coalition government for a time would be no bad thing.Clearly the country must learn to live within its' means. It's all going to be quite a shock to some.
As I finish this short blog the skies are still blue here so maybe we'll close early and head off to the vegeatble plot. Growing one's own may soon become a necessity rather than as at present,a hobby. If it rains I'll read a good gardening book.
End of month blog
Not quite sure when this will go live, hence the slighly vague dateline above.
Pip who is in Cornwall hoping to win St Ives for her party mentions the rain in her latest twitter. It's making her election leaflets damp, she says. Ah, we say, she should have stood for Parliament here in the Borders where the sun (almost always) shines and where we are now worrying about the low levels in the river courses.
In this small book shop with no open affiliation to any of the main parties we are fascinated by what people say to us and to other customers about the debates, the stature of the different leaders and the candid views that are expressed about politics and many politicians generally. We hear a consensus view that people are assuming that there will very deep cuts in public spending soon and would appreciate more honesty about where these cuts will fall from the contenders for high office. Perhaps less about the wives of the leaders and what they wear from the media and more appearances by female politicians would be better. It's a sad fact that no party is making much use of its' female candidates. I wonder why? Are all the men in the grey suits scared of the ladies. Surely not.
From our somewhat parochial viewpoint we gather that Vat is likely to be raised but will it be extended to books. A tax on reading sounds very draconian. If it is put on books what about periodicals and papers.Would children's books be exempt much like chidren's clothing is exempt now? Would that mean we all start to read(re-read?) Enid Blyton? So many questions but someone will have to deal with them after May 6th. It is clear that whoever wins is going to have a very hard job to do.
Like many book shops we use two or three main wholesalers. The two national ones are Bertrams based in Norwich and Gardners based in Eastbourne. Despite their distance from us, books we order from them before 5pm are generally with us the next day which we think is remarkable. We also use Bookspeed in Edinburgh who have a very wide selection of Scottish books. The carrier system seems to work so very well that it is very galling when something goes wrong. Other suppliers find it difficult to compete but we support them when we can.
The new brochure for the BBC proms has just arrived in the shop. Whatever one thinks of some of the "stuff" on some of the BBC channels on either radio or television the fact that we have a public service broadcaster of such quality has to be good for the country. Like any other institution it makes mistakes and by all accounts is very much over staffed but on the whole it is a good thing. Whatever happens after May 6th we must hope that it does not lead to the death of the BBC.
We've had a couple of books waiting for collection since before Xmas. We assumed that they were ordered as Christmas presents but for whatever reason they were no longer required. To our great pleasure once we had put them out on the shelves they were sold quite quickly. So far so good. Then yesterday someone came in to collect one of these books which had been here waiting for collection since late December. That's quite a long time. Happily the customer understood the situation and we've re-ordered the book so everybody is happy all round. Perhaps in future we ought to impose a time limit on book orders but on the whole we prefer not to impose too many conditions and we don't generally require customers to pay a deposit. We are reluctant to adopt a more rigorous system.
And finally our award for the best request of the week goes to the gentleman who came in and asked for copy of the 1938 (yes1938) A to Z Guide to London and seemed genuinely surprised that we did not keep a copy on a our shelves. What was it someone nearly said. "You can please all of the customers some of the time, and some of the customers all of the time but never can you please all of the customers all of the time". We try, but sometimes it's beyond us.
Have a nice weekend and try to find some good weather wherever you are .
28th April
Already it's Wednesday and nearly half the working week gone. I think that it is true that once you get to be 21 time moves more quickly. Until not so long ago Wednesday was early closing in Kelso but nowadays most of us stay open all day although when the weather is a bit dreary as it is today we do find that things can be quieter than usual after lunchtime. Some shops and offices still close for a lunch hour which seems to hark back to a golden age when things were slower and to go without a proper break at lunch time was very unusual. Does every generation look back with envy?
Quite often we have people in asking for books that they have seen reviewed but when we check it out the book has not yet been published. Sometimes, as in last Saturday's Guardian, it's the other way round and a book is reviewed months after publication. It's all very irritating and annoying both for the general public and us. Publishers are notorious for shifting publication dates and it does the whole industry no good at all. If any publishers are reading this you might like to comment.
At our local book club last night we "reviewed" "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen". Curiously topical with the very recent assassination attempt on the British ambassador in the Yemen. Everybody had enjoyed the book. Some had drawn different interpretations from it but there was uniform delight at the way the Alastair Campbell figure was satirised. Some had not read Ghost by Robert Harris so were encouraged read that. Perhaps we will combine that with seeing the new film at Film Club. When the history of the Blair years comes to be written properly in future years it will be interesting to see if the popular perception was right or not.
Which leads us naturally onto the election which at some dinner tables locally is now a taboo subject. We would like to be in Cornwall supporting the youngest daughter, Pip in her campaign but she has told us to keep away. It's amazing that the children are still worried that their father might embarrass them! Even from far off Scotland we're supporting her. Sadly her count does not place till the day after polling so we will have to wait an extra day to find out whether or not we have an MP in the family. We very much hope so.
Jane, my senior management, is off to Cambridge on Friday for a few days to visit Hans and Estelle's in their new new home which they bought last week. That means that I will be left in charge of everything. Dogs, horses, cat, the shop and the house.Doubt if everything will be perfect but if I get two out of three things right that will good. Monday is a Bank Holiday but we will open the shop as people will be about and what better way to spend a Bank Holiday Monday than browsing (and buying a book) in our shop.
24th April
Some more domestic news as it's Saturday morning. Middle daughter,Anna, works for a huge PR firm in London and one of her accounts involves the promotion of Kenco Coffee. Ben Fogle was due to assist with the launch of something called the Young Eco Designer but he got stuck abroad because of the volcanic ash crisis so the shoot was to be abandoned. Anna then spent hours cancelling all the arrangements only to be told that after all that Ben Fogle had mananged to make it back to the UK. She then had to, in her words, uncancel the cancellation. Happy she was not. However she told us that Ben Fogle was very pleasant, much nicer than some of the celebrities she has to work with and that made all the hassle worthwhile. So when you eventually see the advertisements think of our poor Anna and the trouble she had getting it all together.
In our small village there are often times when events conflict. Last night's choice lay between the Film Club and a Pub Quiz. We had intended to go the Pub Quiz but a supper party we went to ran late so instead we went to Film Club and saw "The Railway Children".It was the Lionel Jeffries version. Very hammy by todays standards but nevertheless a good evening out.
In the shop we learn something new everyday. For example a local farmer was in yesterday telling me it was her first day away from the farm for a very long time because she had been stuck there because of lambing. Much to my astonishment she said that some of her ewes had had quins. I had no idea that such a thing was possible.
The 25% discount table that we introduced at the start of the month has proved so popular that we've had to expand the area devoted to new books that we are selling at a discount. We're very happy to do this as we are finding that customers are not just buying from the discount table but browsing elsewhere as well. What we find so annoying is that publishers insist on pricing books as though they were items in an old fashioned haberdashery store with the final figures always being .99p. It's annoying for us because we have to keep lots of penny coins in the till and it must be very aggravating for the customer as well.
Local authors continue to contact us with a view to arranging an event for them which is good.On this blog I'll keep you posted on what's happening next.
I'm off to Edinburgh soon but Jane is in charge at the shop today. For her it'll be a bit of a rest as she has spent quite a lot of time over the last few days starting to shift 13 tons of hardcore that was delivered to form the base of a new field shelter for the horses. I just hope that in due course the horses appreciate how much hard work will have gone into making their winter quarters secure. I'm told that my Sunday will be devoted to continuing what Jane has started. Just cannot wait. If you're reading this and heading towards Cornwall please do look out for daughter number three, Pip, as she she is out and about persuading the electors to support her on May 6th. Clearly judging by what the polls are telling us the race is not for the weak hearted and anything could happen. It's great that so many more are showing an interest. That has to be good for democracy.
22nd April.
For obvious reasons we do not publicise our own politics in the shop as our job here is to sell books and not push a party line but we often find that customers are only too happy to engage in discussion with other customers in what might be called spontaneous debates where we find ourselves acting as referees. Have to say that listening to our customers the anger about the expenses scandal does not yet seem to have made politicians understand the old way of doing things was not the best way. Also from the Scottish perspective this reluctance to engage in a meaniful debate about a balanced or so called hung parliament sounds quite strange as for 8 years we had a LIb-Lab coalition running our affairs from the Scottish parliament and it seemed to work quite well. In recent years we have had a minority SNP government which again seems to function satisfactorily. Locally we have a Lib-Con council and again that seems to function reasonably well. Perhaps the men (and occasional women) in grey suits who appear to dominate the airwaves should recognise that consensus and not confrontation is the thing of the future.
We are pleasantly surprised how many books by local authors we sell.Sometimes getting any decent publicity is hard and the local press can sometimes seem to be very unsupportive. Not quite sure why week after week a whole page is devoted to the wrong doings of some otherwise quite unimportant people. Usually the crime page is dominated by a picture of the local judge though why I know not. If his picture is supposed to scare young criminals it doesn't seem to work. LIkewise there is often a picture of a local criminal advocate though I cannot believe he relishes his photogragh being in the paper quite so much. More space devoted to local cultural activities might be better.
At home we are following with great interest the activities of the youngest as she fights her party's cause in Cornwall.Quite envious of her waking up each morning to the brilliant sunshine in the west country whilst we have to wait for the frost to clear. Just hope that no-one throws an egg at her. Seems a rather silly (and wasteful) tradition.
The publisher's new summer catalogues are here, full of "must read" books.Maybe some are but some definitely are not. There seems to be some natural law which states that the degree of hype about a book is inversely related to the value of the book.
Whoever you are and wherever you are reading this blog we hope that you have a very good day.
21st April
A very nice gent comes in asking for books by John Buchan but it transpires that he has already read all that we have. Suggest that he tries a more modern author but he is adamant that only Buchan will do. I recall a book written by Tom Sharpe which featured such a character. Maybe some years ago Sharpe met this gentleman and based his novel upon him. The subject of from where authors derive their characters would make an interesting study. Has it yet been done I wonder?
So the ash crisis is no more. I'm very pleased for two reasons. Firstly we will no more have to watch or listen to whinging people saying that they cannot get home when Europe has a wonderful rail system and secondly and perhps more importantly the "a" key on this lptop is dying so it is very tiresome trying to type "ash" all the time. So goodbye ash and hello to the second debate tomorrow night. How to play it must be exercising all three main political parties. If nothing else the first debate generated a great deal of interest in the whole political process which has to be a good thing. Not sure that I fully understand why a so called hung parliament would be a "bad thing" as Cameron would have us believe. Surely if that what we want we, the electorate are entitled to it. Such a thing worked quite well here in Scotland with a LIb-Lab coalition for 8 years.
As the spring advances we have more and more tourists coming into the shop seeking books on where their ancestors lived. Some are surprised that we did not know personally their great great uncle so and so who had a shop nearby a humdred years ago but most are pleased with the selection of books we carry. Choosing stock is one of the most difficult tasks but we seem to get it right much of the time or at least that's what the customers are kind enough to say.
On the home front our neighbour's ewes continue to give them sleepless nights whilst our two horses must be wondering why they shed their winter coats in anticiptation of a warm spring. However a customer in the shop was adamant yesterday that this summer temperatures would reach 40 degrees. Now that would be something to blog about.
20th April
Am trying to make sense of people complaining about the volcano erruption in Iceland. It's not as though anyone has control over it but to listen to some it's (yet again) the fault of "them" whoever "them" might be. On the other hand some folk are showing wonderful enterprise getting home to the UK. So far have not sold any books connected with volcanoes(spelling?) but worryingly some on dragons. Do dragons come out of volcanoes?
We are beginning to plan next author event in May. We might in the meantime organise a Bookfest for the Local Writers Forum which could be fun. We also intend to update our customer data base so that more people can be more aware of what we are doing in the shop.
Today we are meeting a marketing guru which will be interesting for us and hopefully not too discouraging for her. Running a small independent bookshop and having to compete with the likes of Waterstones and Amazon means we should be using every marketing skill we can. But the problem is that marketing can be an expensive business. However we shall see what she has to say.
On the home front invitation cards are now being sent to the party of the year. The family is organising what was going to be a surprise birthday party for the writer of this blog in June but the secrecy was blown by accident. Still it sounds as though it will be great fun. Various members of the family will sensibly travel by train and not fly here.
The last of the local flocks are now lambing. Our immediate neighbours had a very disturbed night last night getting very little sleep because one of their ewes was having a very difficult birth.They did not have their ewes scanned so every birth is a surprise as they do not know if it will be one, twins or even triplets. The weather, though bright, is very cold here today so we hope the new lambs survive their first few days. The dogs are not at all interested in the new lambs gamboling in the fields by the house. Out for as short a walk as possible and then back inside in front of the wood burner.
My bank made a mistake and wanted to charge me £20 for telling me I was overdrawn which I wasn't so I complained about the charge (which the Bank has now rescinded), I also wanted an apology which I've got but best of all the Bank will send Amnesty International a donation equivalent to the proposed charge. Excellent result. So it pays to complain. Literally.
17th April
Quite rightly senior management told me off for going live with yesterday's blog without first checking it for spelling and grammar. Apologies all round.
Had a great morning with Anne Prentice here in the shop promoting her book "Born under a wandering star". Some good sales made which was good for Anne, for the charity she is supporting through this book and for us.
In the square today there were canvassers from the Conservatives and Labour parties. Bit surprised not to see the Lib Dems out in force as it is clearly going to be a very tight race between them and the Conservatives. Maybe they were still celebrating the result of the TV debate.
Over the last few days there has been an accordionist playing in the Square. No problem with that save for the fact his repertoire does seem to be very limited. Also he apparently knows only one tempo which is very very slow so it does sound rather mournful. Perhaps he'll speed up next week and cheer us all up.
Two weeks ago we started selling some slower selling books at a 25% discount. We've been amazed at the response to this. Clearly everybody likes a bargain. Maybe we'll extend this idea to increase other sections of the stock.
Interested to see this morning that one innovative publisher has put out a circular describing all the books on Volcanoes that are available. Would it be trite to say that every cloud has a silver lining?
16th April
My first attempt at blogging. Having been tweeting for some time I am at last being allowed to try my hand at the grown up blog. Will seem strange not being limited to 140 characters.
So far as the shop goes we have been re-organising this. The desk has been moved from it's previous position by the front door. That has opened things up a bit. We've introduced a new table where we are selling new books at a 25% discount and we trying to adjust the stock so we will not have to use the bottom shelves of the bookcases which should them more user friendly. That will take a while. We are meeting with a marketing guru soon to see what else we can do to make the shop even more attractive.
Our next so called author event is on Saturday 17th April when Anne Prentice will be here to talk about her book "Born under a Wandering Star. We know Anne because she attends the same film club as we do in Southdean.Her book is one of the best of its genre. Part autobiography part travelogue it is an extremely good read. Do try to come and meet Anne. We supply food and drink, Anne will will supply the recollections and it is free.
Spent some of yesterday evening watching the Leaders Debate. A clear winner and two equally clear losers. Great stuff. Who'd have thought that the position of each speaker could have such an effect. In Kelso today we have live hustings with local candidates of the major parties. This will be broadcast. Sadly cannot go but will listen in.
So far as family news is concerned, the second son completed the Paris marathon in a personal best of well under three hours 45 minutes and he celebrated by completing the purchase of his first house. The youngest daughter is in Cornwall standing as a candidate in the general election so for us election night will become very personal. We might not support her party on all things but we support her in her endeavours. Eldest daughter's new jewellery shop in Bideford appears to be beating the recession whilst second daughter is making the most of her recent promotion in her firm promoting amonst things, Wrigleys chewing gum. Eldest son has recently joined local cricket team though whether for social or sporting reasons we are unclear. (Check:have i mentioned all 5?)
12th March
Well there is signs of spring now a month on from my last blog and the tourist season is on the way. People are emerging from their winter "dug ins" with smiles and optimism. Now the sales of maps and walking books will take off and the must have holiday reading will bring the people in. Goody!
Our next author event ( see events page ) is on Saturday week the 20th. All are welcome and there will be the usual refreshments.
9th February 2010
This has to have been the quietest day since we have opened! Many of the retailers in Kelso take their annual holiday this month and I'm begining to think they have the right idea! It has snowed on and off most of the day and I think anybody with any sense is tucked up indoors toasting their toes by a nice fire and reading a good book. Can't even spend the time usefully painting the outside of the shop!
30th January 2010
Twitter is now a live feed onto our web page as you may have noticed. Norman does the twitters and I have the job of blogging!!
As from 1st February we will be open until 5.30 so anybody leaving work at 5pm can still pick up books or come in and browse.
20th January 2010
Happy New Year to all our customers and potential customers.
Well having been nagged by media savvy children the blog is up and running again. We are at present trying to get a live link to Twitter so that you all get an up date daily.
Talking about Twitter a couple of weeks ago when we got snowed in at home Norman put out a Twitter asking that if anybody was in Kelso could they please put a notice on the door saying that we were unable to open because we were cut off in the snow. Low and behold later the same day up went a notice. I find that amazing and well done to "Allerley" who performed the deed.
We had our first 2010 Author event on Saturday which was very well attended. Our Author Steve Smith read from his book of poetry and I think made a good collection for his charity which is raising money for children in Africa.
What is going to happen to Waterstones?