So it really looks like the book chain Borders is about to collapse.

What a shame.

When Borders opened their British flagship store in Oxford Street it was like a breath of fresh air to the book retailing market. Yes Waterstones was always knocking around in the background, but the majority of stores were fusty and dusty like Foyles, or just full of the latest bonkbusters, like WH Smith.

Borders had the most incredible magazine section, filled with magazines I’d never heard of, but loved handling and reading them. They had excellent coverage of most areas and the store was a nice place to be, even without buying.

It’s true that book retailing has changed enormously in the past 10-15 years – driven mostly by Amazon, but surely there is still a space in the market for high quality retail stores focused on books. Foyles has improved beyond measure, and Waterstones are also taking the fight to the supermarkets, so it’s true that the competition has learned from Borders, but their precipitous collapse remains shocking to anyone who has ever enjoyed shopping – and reading – there.

More information here.

It looks generally like a very good line-up but I can especially recommend the discussion of Borges and Cortázar on Saturday the 14th.

My second Snail Mail: Creative Letter Writing Workshop of the season took place on Saturday 31 October at Foyles, in our lovely meeting room just above Charing Cross Road. Ten enthusiastic participants wrote new letters and shared stories and thoughts about writing and communication. To give a flavour of the workshops and to celebrate the originality and creativity of the writers, I’d  to share some of those new letters here. Two generous ladies have agreed to contribute… one remains anonymous. Both of their letters came from an exercise where I ask participants to list significant people, objects, places, emotions etc. and then choose one to write a letter to. The results are eclectic and exciting…

…

Letter to Flirtatiousness

Dear flirtatiousness,

I have an interesting relationship with you, flirtatiousness, and I often wish that I could feel more comfortable with your presence in my life.

I love you for your humour and warmth. You bring complete strangers under your wing and giggle a while with them.

So why do I feel guilty – a little ashamed to admit the fun we feel when we play together on someone’s mind like an impish confidence that knows its power and enjoys it.

Perhaps I am afraid of my reliance on you to get me through the boredom, and of the weight of infatuation that you can bring. You are a cheeky bastard who I can’t resist, but resent the power you hold.

I love to laugh with you and with my friends, but know there’s more depth to life than you’ll ever know how to share, and I fear you lack respect for your prey. I, however, care for them deeply, and though we play together I have written to tell you that I am always going to stand up against your power, and love.

All the best,

G

…

Letter to My Flat

Dear Flat,

You are flat number 2, 9 Sherwood Rise as listed above. It took me ages to find you, those 7 years ago and we’ve seen so many good and bad times together. I feel like I’m writing a love letter. I know I don’t spend much time with you at the moment but I crave you when I’m away. Sometimes I only come in to take something from you but I’m sorry for being selfish. I did paint you a lovely red colour though. You can be so cold sometimes and the double glazing doesn’t help. And I don’t mean to be horrible when I say ‘I wish I had a garden’- although we’ve grown so many plants together, it would be nice to get fresh air, like I said the double glazing doesn’t help. Without being cheesy, you have been my sanctuary and the neighbours have heard that. Actually, was it you who called the police when I was smashing everything? Anyway this is really to say thanks for being there for me and accommodating me, especially when I have been out of order, really out of order. You share a lot of secrets with me that I haven’t told a soul. It’s funny when we laugh secretly and mischievously isn’t it? I promise to spend more time with you and maybe we should have a nice night in like we used to- your choice of food.

Lots of love,
Di xx

…

Diana Ali is a Visual Artist & Curator. She is doing some very exciting work around text, correspondence and connectivity.

www.post-authorship.blogspot.com
www.dianaalidefamiliarization.blogspot.com
www.olfactionexhibition.blogspot.com

The next Snail Mail workshop takes place on Saturday 28 November 11am – 1pm at Foyles, Charing Cross. Visit www.foyles.co.uk/events and scroll down to book your place.

There is also a Slow Down London Day on Saturday 21 November, with a whole range of slow food, activities and discussions. I’ll be running a letter writing taster workshop as part of the day. Again, you can book tickets through Foyles. Hope to see you there!

By Dorota Faron

Former BBC correspondent Martin Bell claimed last night that the Kelly recommendations on MPs’ expenses must be implemented in full, if the health of British democracy is to be restored.

Bell , an independent MP in the 1997-2001 Parliament, voiced his concerns about the state of British public life in his latest book ‘A Very British Revolution: The Expenses Scandal and How to Save Our Democracy.’ He also used the publication to lay down a six-point plan for the reform of national politics.

Speaking at a promotional event at Foyles bookstore on Charing Cross Road, Bell said a radical overhaul of parliamentary expenses should be the first step on the road to the recovery of UK’s politics.

He stressed that the House of Commons needs to be cleared of all ‘swindlers’ abusing the claims system and funding their privileged lifestyles from the public purse.   

Martin Bell's new book dissects the expenses scandal and offers remedies.

‘We need to find a way to raise the calibre of our MPs because we are not necessarily represented by the best of Britain,’ Bell said.

‘Like Somalis we too have our own pirates, the Palace of Westminster is their ship,’ he added.

Unjustified demands

Bell claimed many MPs display a certain sense of entitlement to a high standard of living which, in his opinion, has led to mass exploitation of the expenses system.

‘MPs have been unsuccessful in winning a significant increase in salaries they clamoured for, so they found a backdoor way to improve their financial standing,’ he said.

‘MPs complain that  £60.000 a year is modest compensation for their work but many of them aren’t even qualified to do their job. They go into politics straight out of school and if they lose their seat they’re unemployable bacause they have no real skills or life experience.’

Bell’s speech at Foyles received a warm welcome, as the audience applauded every point he made.

John Pilner, a retired teacher who turned out for the event said: ‘I agree with Mr Bell that radical measures need to be taken to improve the state of British political life. There is a widening gap between MPs and the rest of us and something has to be done now if the public trust is to be restored.’

A number of MPs have however publicly criticised the changes proposed by Sir Christopher Kelly. 

Sir Nicholas Winterton, the Tory MP for Macclesfield, told the Times that “the way MPs are being treated is quite despicable”.

“Mr Kelly is a senior civil servant on a generous index pension link who is trying to reduce MPs to abject poverty and I don’t know why,’ he added.

Tiendas del Camden Market

El sábado lo comenzamos con un rápido desayuno en un Starbucks cercano al hotel, para coger el metro hasta Camden. Pasamos un par de horas recorriendo los puestos y las tiendas que hay en Camden Market y alrededores (Fer aprovechó para comprarse unas Vans) y paseando por Camden Lock (la zona del río, con las esclusas, es muy bonita), donde compramos unos regalos para Cristina y para Laura.

Camden Lock (detalle y Fernando en unos asientos muy originales)

El río y detalle de las esclusas (Camden Lock)

Un puesto de Camden Lock (con una vendedora muy peculiar)

Interior de Koenig Books

Desde Camden cogimos el metro hasta Charing Cross (os recomiendo leer 84 Charing Cross Road, de Helene Hanff –y ver la película con Anne Bancroft, que en España se tituló La Carta Final–), ya que quería ver libros en Foyles, Koenig Books (especializada en libros de arte, fotografía y diseño –en el nº 80–) y en otras librerías especializadas que hay en esa calle. Después pasamos por el barrio chino, Regent Street, New Bond Street, etc., y finalmente dimos media vuelta para terminar comiendo en Spaccanapoli, un muy buen italiano que está en Dean St. (lo curioso es que estábamos buscando un Pizza Hut que no acabábamos de encontrar y, cuando ya estábamos sentados en este restaurante, vimos a través del ventanal un cartel que decía “Pizza Hut just around the corner”).

El barrio chino y los musicales son parte fundamental de la imagen del Soho londinense.

Leadenhall Market

Después de comer, paseamos por Oxford Street (fuimos a HMV y a Urban Outfitters) y después cogimos el metro hasta Bank. Ya en la City (totalmente desierta los fines de semana, parecía una ciudad fantasma), vimos el famoso “pepino” o “The Gherkin” (Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe) de Foster, el Lloyds of London de Richard Rogers y el precioso Leadenhall Market.

The Gherkin (Foster) y Lloyds of London (Rogers)

Detalle de "The Gherkin" (Norman Foster)

Una calle muy "Ziggy Stardust"

La tarde-noche la pasamos en la zona de Brick Lane, un barrio estilo Lavapiés, pero mucho más “currado”: han reconvertido una antigua fábrica de cerveza, la Old Truman Brewery, en un espacio de ocio y cultura donde hay galerías de arte, tiendas de ropa, cafés, restaurantes como Al Volo, bares, pubs y clubes como The Vibe Bar o Café 1001, tiendas de discos como la de Roughtrade Records (en el Soho, en el 34 de Berwick Street, hay una tienda muy buena que se llama Sister Ray –venden por internet a través de Amazon.co.uk–), un mercado, etc.

Roughtrade Records y el bar Rootmaster, en Old Truman Brewery

Un original collage de la exposición "Young Masters"

Estuvimos en la Cynthia Corbett Gallery viendo la exposición “Young Masters” (obras de artistas jóvenes, inspiradas en trabajos de maestros clásicos), compramos un par de vinilos (Girls y The XX) en Roughtrade y estuvimos haciendo tiempo tomando una cerveza en un pub de Brick Lane (teníamos una reserva para cenar un par de horas después).

Instalación hecha a base de billetes de lotería y vista de la exposición “Young Masters”

Cena, música y espectáculo en The Brickhouse

The Brickhouse

La cena fue en The Brickhouse, un curioso local con tres pisos, mezcla de club, restaurante y cabaret. Cenamos estupendamente y lo pasamos mejor, tanto por el entretenido espectáculo de cabaret como por el ambiente y la fauna que allí había.

Al final, entre la cena (un menú de precio fijo con cinco platos), el vino, la propina y el espectáculo (actuaciones de cabaret que incluían a una contorsionista, a un travesti y a un presentador polifacético), la noche salió un pelín cara, pero mereció la pena.

.

.

Kensington Palace

Y llegó el domingo, último día de nuestra visita a Londres (medio día para ser más exactos). Como sólo teníamos la mañana, aprovechamos para pasear por los Kensington Gardens (el Palacio de Kensington, el Round Pond, la Serpentine Gallery, etc.). En la Serpentine Gallery vimos la exposición de Gustav Metzger y el Pabellón de 2009, obra de Kazuyo Sejima y Ryue Nishizawa, de SANAA.

Kensington Gardens

Serpentine Gallery (2009 Pavilion, de SANAA)

Por último, fuimos paseando hasta Harrods (pasamos por el Royal Albert Hall, el Science Museum, el Natural History Museum y el Victoria & Albert Museum) para comprar un par de regalos y un encargo (sí, la dichosa bolsita de Harrods).

Royal Albert Hall y Victoria & Albert Museum

Museo de Historia Natural

En estos tres días y medio de visita a Londres lo hemos pasado estupendamente bien y, además, hemos tenido buen tiempo. Eso sí, nos han quedado un montón de cosas pendientes para la próxima visita. ¿Quién se apunta?

throwing leaves in Victoria Park

I’ve been offline for a while with flu, but I’m now back to full health and also back on the blog. Here are some of the things I’ve been up to over the past month…

I helped project manage the Lit Up Showcase & Conference at the Albany on 24 September. You can read all about the conference in the post below.

My first Snail Mail Letter Writing Workshop of the season took place on Saturday 26 September. A friendly group of people, some new, some familiar, met upstairs at Foyles, Charing Cross for a morning devoted to the writing, reading and discussing of letters. As I explained in my last post, the idea behind the workshops is to use letter writing and a form of creative expression, and participants dived right in. One woman wrote a beautiful letter to her walking boots, remembering places they’d been together. Another wrote a letter to flirtatiousness. We discussed what letter writing meant 50 – 100 years ago, and what it might mean today. We also looked at poetry by Richard Hugo, whose collection 31 Letters and 13 Dreams explores poetry in the form of letters and Catherine Pierce, whose Love Poems to unexpected things (America, the phrase ‘Let’s get coffee’, the word ‘Lonesome’) read very like some of the letters participants wrote. The more I explore letter writing and run these workshops, the more excited I am about letter writing as a form of creative writing – one that is accessible and starts from freewriting. I’m looking forward to exploring this more in my poetry, so watch this space.

The next Snail Mail Workshop takes place on Saturday 31 October 11am – 1pm at Foyles, Charing Cross. Visit www.foyles.co.uk/events and scroll down to book tickets.

More recently, I took part in writing a communal poem for National Poetry Day over Facebook. The idea came from the wonderful poet Naomi Woddis, who like me, believes that poetry can come from anywhere and anyone, anytime. A diverse range of poets from different countries took part. If you’re my friend on Facebook, there’s a link to the poem from my page. It may appear somewhere more public soon…

And this week Naomi Woddis and I took part in the first ever StorySLAM at the Albany. We wrote a joint ghost story in the form of emails, texts and letters. Naomi began by texting me some ideas and beginning the story by email, and we then went back and forth by email and text as the story emerged. It was fun to experiment with collaborative writing, especially in a genre I’m not so used to. The story should soon be appearing on the StorySLAM site. While I was ill I spent most of my time listening to The Moth, a podcast of true stories told live in New York and other cities across the U.S. I’ll be looking out for more StorySLAMs and storytelling events in London.

Enjoy the October leaves… I’ll be back soon.

Some of you may remember the Slow Down London Festival in April this year. You may even have taken part in a (very) slow walk across Waterloo Bridge during rush hour. The aim of the festival and project is to encourage Londoners to challenge the cult of speed and explore things at a slower pace. As part of the festival, I ran a Snail Mail workshop, exploring creative letter writing. It was an unexpected hit! As well as receiving a mention in the Financial Times, Liz Hoggard of the Evening Standard actually called me up to ask for ideas for letters she could write as part of the Standard’s Week in Slow Motion.

So what exactly is ‘creative letter writing’? Well, I’ve sort of made up that term myself to try and describe what the workshops are about. They are essentially creative writing workshops, but instead of using poetry, short story or scriptwriting, they take the letter as a starting point. Letter writing is beautiful because it offers total freedom. Rather than worrying about whether your writing is ‘good’ or if you’ve chosen the ‘right’ subject, you can just focus on writing freely and communicating whatever it is you want to. Letter writing is a form of freewriting – letting ideas and thoughts flow freely without censoring every word as soon as it meets the page. Of course, these aren’t letters you necessarily have to send (although Foyles provided envelopes and stamps for the last workshop), but they are creative explorations into territories you might not have visited before. To me, writing a ‘creative’ letter is a bit like writing a poem addressed directly to someone, or something, but without worrying yourself about the term ‘poem’.

To demonstrate: in my first letter writing workshop, one participant wrote a letter to the science cabinet at his primary school. He described the mystery of the cabinet, with its skulls, skins and odd-smelling plants. For him, the cabinet represented everything that science promised to be: delicious, strange and tempting. On his first day at secondary school, he was deeply disappointed to discover that there, ’science’ was all about categorisation. All the excitement of the cabinet was forgotten. This letter was written in response to an exercise where I asked participants to make a list of objects that were important or significant for them and write a letter addressed ‘to’ one of them. This participant’s letter had many ingredients of a poem – detail, epiphany, striking imagery – but had I asked him to write a ‘poem’ he probably wouldn’t have arrived at the same place, in fact, he probably wouldn’t have come to a ‘poetry’ workshop at all. That doesn’t mean that what he had written was some kind of ‘poem in disguise’ – it was a letter. The point is, the letter opened a door into something this man, who was now a teacher, had wanted to explore for some time but hadn’t known how. This is the long version of what I mean by a ‘creative letter’.

These workshops are not about how to write letters, they don’t push letter writing as something we should be doing more of, but they do give people the chance to explore creative writing in a form they feel safe with, and in doing so, they draw out some beautiful, original and unexpected material.

Snail Mail Workshops take place from 11am – 1pm at Foyles, Charing Cross on:

Saturday 26 September
Saturday 31 October
Saturday 28 November

You can come to one workshop for a taste, or all three for deeper exploration…

To book, visit: www.foyles.co.uk/events and scroll down.

As has been previously mentioned, I am very much enjoying the UK. We leave Surrey for Bristol tomorrow, having been in our current locale for exactly two weeks. In the spirit of commemoration, therefore, here is a list of things I have learned since being in England.

1. Alcohol and supermarket food, especially cheese, are cheaper than their equivalents in Australia, even accounting for the dollars/pounds conversion.

2. Train fares are more expensive, but better value for money, seeing as how British rail and the tube actually work. (Connex, take note!)

3. Fish finger sandwiches with mayonnaise are extremely tasty.

4. Sloe gin is, as the name suggests, regular gin with sloes in’t. Sloes are small, purple-brown berries. On their own, they do not taste wonderful. Neither does gin. But mix them together, and by God, you have a spiritous, mule-kickin’ beverage that drinks like port, warms like whiskey and hammers like dawn. Also, it is delicious.

5. Sloe gin is, as the name suggests, gin. Drinking it as if it were port is therefore not recommended.

6. Camden Markets is my new spiritual home. On an average Thursday at 3pm, the crowds were equivalent to that of any street festival you’d care to name, and bounteous with (but by no means limited to): tattoo parlours, striped stockings, blue hair, market stalls, African food, Lolita Goths, silversmiths, canals, rainbow knits, anime, punk, leather and lace. There is a pub called the World’s End, and beside it, a shop called Underworld. It is a magic place.

7. There are many excellent bookshops, first and secondhand, on Charing Cross Road, into which I could cheerfully (though inadvisably) take a shopping trolley and a credit card. Of these, Foyles is the most mindboggling. It is huge. If Camden Markets were not my spiritual home, then I suspect Foyles would be.

8. Luggage has a tendency to grow overnight, in the fashion of mushrooms.

9. Deadlines become hazy when they were set on a different island.

10. We will soon be living with a cat called Genghis. Which is awesome.

Foyles bookshop, Charing Cross Road – a paradise for bibliophiles. According to Foyles it’s Europe’s largest bookshop (in terms of books stocked rather than floorspace), but if you can’t find what you want here there’s a Borders directly across the street.

Large Version – Flickr

Scoperto il triangolo perfetto di Londra, si trova a Tottenham Court Road, per l’esattezza Charing Cross Road, ed è composto da: Foyles Bookshop (una delle più grandi liberia di Londra per numero di libri così dice il sito, di sicuro una delle più belle e fornite) con il suo bar e la wifi free! aperto fino alle 21 in settimana, una volta chiuso si passa da Borders diretto concorrente davanti, anche lì liberia & Starbucks però aperto fino alle 22. Finito lì si va a mangiare da Mc Donalds aperto fino alle 3 AM a 30 metri di distanza in direzione stazione metro.

Credo che sarà tappa fissa ogni volta che avrò un po’ di tempo libero e sarò in zona.

Oltre a trovare il posto perfetto a Londra oggi non ho fatto molto, domani andrò ad informarmi per gli autobus destinazione Global Gathering visto che i treni costano un occhio (60 e passa £ a/r.. ma stiamo scherzando?).

Intanto mi chiedo perchè a Londra suonano praticamente tutti in 3 mesi tranne Bondage Fairies, IAMX e i Royksopp… ovvero quelli che voglio sentire io, strani casi della vita.

Cheers

Autobiography is not about truth. Autobiography is about memory, which is a fickle friend. One can never be sure whether to trust it or not. But as a genre it is increasingly popular; we love to share people’s perceptions of themselves. Hence the establishment, many years ago now, of the Ackerley Prize, named after J R Ackerley, literary editor of the Listener and author of those extraordinary books My Father and Myself and Hindoo Holiday, amongst others. This evening, at the gallery at Foyles bookshop in the Charing Cross Road, the 2009 prize was awarded to Julia Blackburn, for her book The Three of Us. Unfortunately, the author herself could not be present to accept the cheque, as her house on the hilltop in Italy where she lives had been hit by a thunderbolt. How literary is that?

Instead, we had some entertaining short readings and comments from two autobiographers of note, Dan Jacobson (Time and Time Again) and Miranda Seymour (The House of My Father), in an enjoyable, but not always entirely audible, session moderated by the Chairman of the Ackerley Prize, Peter Parker. The Gallery was filled to capacity, which only goes to show that the book is not dead — or at least our nosiness about other people’s lives is enduring.  ‘One of the pleasures of being a writer is taking revenge,’ the deceptively mild octogenarian Dan Jacobson declared, with a half-smile as innocent as that of a clockwinder. ‘Memoir is a very English literary form’ countered Miranda Seymour.  ’Americans tend to turn their story into fiction.’

Link: www.englishpen.org and www.foyles.co.uk

Enjoying the (lack of) sun on deckchairs outside Foyles bookshop, London’s Southbank

© Lores

Don’t be scared…I was politely asked if I was available for kidnapping yesterday, and was well taken care of during the ‘experience’.

Why the kidnapping?

Well, another PhD student in the department, thought it was time that the people in the group did something together, so on Friday he nicely (if that word can be applied to him !) asked me and the two research assistants if we were up for being kidnapped yesterday. Unfortunately, one of the research assistants had other plans, but being a ‘nice’ kidnapper, he let her off easily.

4:00pm: We are asked at what time we are ready for the kidnapping (I told you he was nice ); research assistant asks for 30 mins.

4:30pm: Kidnapping commences

We first made our way to Foyles book shop on Charing Cross, and went up to the cafe. There I had hot chocolate while the other two had coffee and a chocolate cake (vegan for one and totally un-vegan and creamy for the other ). From there we then had a rummage through the bookshop, looking at what books are on offer and what interests us…though none of us bought anything, it was good fun…I enjoy books, and it is always nice to look enviously at all the books I wish I had the money to buy.

From there we then had to decide what to do…go home or go for some dinner? Hmm…the decision fell on dinner. The other PhD student knew of a vegetarian Indian restaurant (the research assistant is vegan, or was at least vegan), I don’t mind vegetarian food, and neither did he…so off we went. One problem! He knew it was in the British Museum area…but where exactly? We walked a bit and realised we wouldn’t figure it out, so we walked up towards UCL till we were in reach of the RoamNet to get connected to the internet and figure it out. We had been just one corner away when we started searching, but oh well…off we went.

The restaurant, Sagar, was empty besides one man when we arrived. No problem! This meant that the waiters were always attentive to us and came to the table when we needed them (luckily without overcrowding us too much). We got the menus…what to order?

Well, this was my first time going to an Indian restaurant (I have not been very experimental with Asian food, so far having only tried Thai food twice in London when I went out with Jamie and Beckie, and Malaysian/Oriental food once in Malta, and another time Chinese takeaway), so the food all looked incomprehensible to me! Luckily, the others were on hand to explain and suggest some things for me…The PhD student suggested a Dosa, which is like a crispy pancake, and I took up his suggestion, opting for the Masala Dosa (potato, onion, and maybe carrots? not sure!). I am glad I took this suggestion…I got this enormous pancake (which much to the surprise of the others I manage to finish off they actually said so :S !?!?!?!). Oh well! It was good

However, though the food was good, spending time with other people in the research group was for me the most important part of the evening. Luckily, so far, I feel like we get on well together, which makes it a good environment. Also, they are all with much more experience than I have, so hearing them talk about their work, experiences, thoughts, and whatnot helps me see also the bigger picture of the field, the work, and the people involved. 

So this was a kidnapping with a benefit

This morning we went with Jay and Val to visit KT Summit House on Hanger Lane, not too far from our hotel. The Summit House is the office buidling of Kensington Temple. The church itself is downtown.

The offices fill three or four floors, including classrooms and meeting areas. We expect to cooperate with KT in sharing some meeting space in the future.

The senior pastor of KT travels widely and writes extensively and is deeply concerned to warn our distant cousins about the errors of their beliefs and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Next we went to Charing Cross Road and hung out at Foyles, a huge bookstore, the predecessor of the big bookstore chains such as Borders. We had lunch in the Jazz Cafe, located in Foyles.

I walked down the street to Shaftsbury Avenue to see the Palace Theater, a theater in the grand old style, and the place where the musical Les Miserables ran for so many years. Here it is.

I did not learn what is currently showing at the Palace.

Then we took a 40-minute walk to Euston Road, across from the British Library, where we sipped coffee and read some more while we waited for Jay. When he showed up, having led a tour of the British Museum and Library for a small group interested in how archaeology and ancient manuscripts confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible, we went next door to a Pizza Express for supper and conversation about spiritual development and administrative issues.

In an earlier blog I mentioned the bus ads being run by the atheists of Britian. At last I saw one (this is, one of the ads, not one of the atheists) when I had my camera with me.

Some Christians are uneasy or angry about these signs and say it is an indication of the evil and decadence of our day. Others say, “Hey, if we have the right to put the words of Jesus on a bus, they have the right to put their ideas up. Maybe it will make some people think, and it gives us an opportunity to talk about our faith.”

If these ads came to your community, how would you respond?

So this is the New Year/And I don’t feel any different/The clanking of crystal/Explosions off in the distance

So everybody put your best suit or dress on/Let’s make believe that we are wealthy for just this once/Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn/As thirty dialogues bleed into one

I wish the world was flat like the old days/Then I could travel just by folding a map/No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways/There’d be no distance that could hold us back

- death cab for cutie

The lyrics of emo/indie fencesitters and Seth Cohen pin-ups Death Cab for Cutie seem apt as 2008 and its events (natural, political, financial - it all seemed particularly calamitous) segues quietly into 2009.

London is awash with upbeat tourists taking full advantage of the dire state of the pound.  But overall, the mood is sombre as the celebrations and hangovers of Christmas (who could not love the story of French customs officials foiling the dastardly plot to flood the European party circuit with 10 tons of fake Ferrero Rocher chocolates) and the New Year recede and reality pokes its unwelcome head into proceedings once more.

Unlike the melancholy earnest navel gazers of Death Cab, I have made resolutions – most notably, to spend more time in the places in London which I adore:

1. Foyles and its Cafe, Charing Cross Road.

2. The Curzon, Soho.  Three levels dedicated to film where movie anoraks, wannabe intellectuals, Soho nu-media types, daytrippers, bar poseurs and good, simple folk who adore their film with a dash of pastry panache (the stars were all aligned when the good folk of Konditor & Cook decided to open shop at the Curzon) can gather to watch, dissect, analyse, drink, munch and generally make merry.

3. Southbank and its stores retailing all manner of kitsch delights from the 1950s, galleries, art spaces, concert halls, and wonderful arts programme

4. The Victoria & Albert Museum and its store, a veritable cornucopia for lovers and magpies of textiles, fashion and shiny baubles and its even more stunning Modern/Victorian (what else?) fushion style tea rooms.

5. The Tate Britain and its round bright art deco style cafe.  Sufficiently distant from a tube to to deter the tourist hordes which have to satisfy themselves with the Tate Modern.

At the age of 21 I own around 250 books to say the least. My family and friends also own a fair number of books, but we are apparently living in more of a primitive world than our friends from the States or even our European colleagues, the British.

During the twentieth century the industry of books, or rather the industry of commercial books, made the very old book become part of an exciting experience. Most of us have had the pleasure of experiencing the Big Bookshop Experience. To the Spanish audience, I should probably explain.

It is not only on tv where people get into humongous bookshops, similar to those modest shopping centers of only 4 or 5 floors, and wish to lose identity to gain the imperturbable blank face of that person following the mass flow. It is certainly one of the most appealing places to go to for a person coming from a small city like me, but it is just one of the ‘advances’ of the modern cities, like London. As you open the doors of the desired place, a feeling of overwhelming well-being overcomes you. It is quite a feeling, I’m telling you! Coming from the rain outside, the coming and going of people, suddenly carpet in the floor! –if you are lucky, of course- and a quiet corner of the world opens up.

Once there, it is a difficult choice whether to pretend to actually look for some book in particular or some department. Most of us just walk around it pretending, once again, to be too unspecified as to being able to check one department only. Before even starting to think of what I want to buy, the simple coolness of standing in it makes you proud of yourself already.

A book, 15 pounds and 3 floors later, it’s the ‘what the hell I’m having a coffee’ moment. Your mind has got into such a peaceful stage after looking at all the discounts coming from heaven –called usually ‘the marketing people’-, that a cup of tea is granted!

Some would say it is a topic, but when you get your well-deserved tea and cookie, choose your wooden table and sit down, there is a big change you will overhear a conversation that you are most likely not to understand. This is not because of it not being in your language, yeah could be, but because after all you are there just for the fun of the experience rather than the bunch of friends discussing more intelligent sounding topics.

Why would anyone even think of taking this experience from us? I know the digital book, the deeply loved and hated Kindle and all of his friends are very exciting to start off, but do not deprive me of these moments.

I had my twentieth birthday last Monday.  Due to my leg, being away from my usual pals at home and my being prematurely middle-aged anyway, this was never going to be too raucous a day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In the morning, I went with the boyfriend to the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker St.  This was my second visit and I found it every bit as entertaining as the first visit, though the BF did say that for the average punter (rather than the crazed spod, such as myself), the museum could be a bit of a damp squib because of its lack of information giving the history of, say, a Persian slipper hanging from the mantelpiece filled with tobacco.  This is just what I like about the place, and I suggested he got reading for his next visit.  As ever, I had no camera on me, so this is an excellent excuse to reproduce a photo that always makes me laugh of my friend Pádraig with Dr Watson taken on his visit to the museum.

Next I went to Liberty to fill up on a very good cream tea indeed.  I am aware that this is the granniest thing to do in the world, but I don’t care: a pot of tea, two great big fruit scones, strawberry and, my word, the clotted cream – whatever some people might say about my coming from a dairy-heavy culture, for whom is such a sight not happiness?  Certainly not me, at any rate.  I hoovered it all up as daintily as I could, and then wandered about lovely, lovely Liberty for an hour or so.  I don’t really subscribe to the idea of retail therapy – you get in, you get what you want, you get out – but Liberty is one shop that I will very happily wander for some time.  I think it is its unusual combination of prettiness and costliness – the prices effectively make it a museum to the likes of me, where I can pick up the exhibits and examine them, but will never ultimately be able to buy them and bring them home with me.  This gives me some release, as I don’t agonise over what one thing I will bring home – I can bring nothing home, and so the whole visit is a joy, borne along by the beautiful wares and surroundings.

Then I wandered on, it being a nice day, toward Foyles for a very leisurely browse, culminating in buying some music theory books (’cause that’s the kind of girl I am) and Alan Moore’s From Hell – this last might seem a grim choice for my birthday, but I chose it as I’ve always till now been put off by its punishing £25 RRP; I thought I might splash out for the occasion.

I arrived home to find some presents, my favourite being this Rob Ryan tile:

Next up was the BFI Southbank (ah, I remember when it were all fields round here and it was just the plain old NFT) to see Citizen Kane on the big screen, with the night polished off with a very satisfactory pizza at Zizzi on the Strand.  Happy birthday me.

Back in 2004, Chris Anderson wrote a piece for Wired magazine on the Long Tail. In an age of online retailing, your shop space becomes effectively unlimited so anything and everything can be made available for sale that way. Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London can be bought on the web from all manner of retailers, but over the weekend I took to the high street to see how widely it was available there.

Hatchards new fiction display

Hatchards on Piccadilly had half a dozen copies of Johnny out on a table displaying new children’s books. As a writer you don’t travel anywhere without favourite pens for jotting down the flash of inspiration that arrives when you least expect it, so at the invitation of the shop I was able to whisk it out and add my moniker to the title page of each edition.

Books Etc Broadgate Circle

I was delighted to find two copies of Johnny in Broadgate Circle’s Books Etc. In Chapter 2 Johnny travels through Liverpool St Station so it’s lovely that other people can also read about him there.

Blackwell Charring Cross Road

Blackwell on Charring Cross Road also had two copies in their Children’s Hardback Fiction section. This area is the unofficial bookselling centre of London so a big thank you to the store for making it available in the very heart of London’s book traders.

Waterstone's Piccadilly

Last, but absolutely not least, thank you to those lovely people at Waterstone’s who had a display of eight on the shelves of their flagship Piccadilly store and also four at the Gower Street branch (which, again, I was asked to sign). On publication day itself, I saw that there were a couple of copies at the Leadenhall Market branch, but the first shop I went into this time, on New Street near Covent Garden, is quite a small one. Without me having to do it myself to try to get my book noticed, there was Johnny Mackintosh already facing out on the shelves attracting attention with its beautiful cover. Over-excited, I went up to the Bookseller and thanked him, at which point he asked me to sign the copy. He was still busy placing the sticker on the front cover when a particularly discerning customer came along and bought it off him.

Waterstone's New Row

Waterstone's Gower Street

It wasn’t all great news, but of course it’s very early days. Hopefully, Borders, Foyles and WH Smith (who have three outlets in Liverpool St Station) will be stocking up soon, and it is wonderful to know there are copies available out there if people do want to buy them. It’s not just London either – friends scattered around the country are also reporting Johnny Mackintosh sightings.

If you do go into a bookshop and can’t see the book on the shelves, please ask behind the counter for it. The more often people hear the name, the more likely they are to start stocking up. And if you let me know, I promise I’ll sent lots of badges as a reward.

hello!

it’s been a busy one; friday night was out with a few mates drinking in the west end and camden. my boyfriend and his south african friends LOVE having their pictures taken with the most ridiculous facial expressions. I don’t know how they physically do it. haha.

Leon came up with a great concept at the World’s End in Camden; beer tap reflections. This was the result!

Saturday I toddled down to the southbank. it was a glorious sunny day! my best friend had informed me that Michael Palin was doing a signing outside Foyles and he wanted to get his book signed; I had to be the allocated photographer of the event! haha. After a 1/2 hour wait, Robin finally met Michael and had his booked signed “from me and the camels”. a very nice touch.

Today I decided that it’s time to brighten up my apartment with some plants, and so ventured to Shoreditch for the sunday flower market. it was incredibly busy! i was armed with camera hoping to take some lovely foliage shots however, it didn’t seem appropriate to stand in anyone’s way at that moment in time. eep! I walked away with some pansys (or so i think!) and a few nice shots of my friends…

all-in-all a great weekend!

My thanks to Erase for spotting this in Foyles, one of my top ten favourite bookshops of all time

Face out and everything!