The Aardvark Blog

August is here, Scarecrows in Brampton Bryan, Book Sale, Vide Grenier
4/08/2023

Impossible to believe but we have already reached August and this weekend will be 'Scarecrow Sunday'. Our village - Brampton Bryan - will be 'en fete' as they say in a neighbouring land and this is the only day of the year when Brampton Bryan Castle is open for those who wish to go round and hear about its history from the owner.

This year, many of the artists and craftspeople who work in the village will also be open and I heartily recommend a visit to see Isatu's ceramic studio as well as 'Alice Draws the Line' and more. As it happens both Isatu and Alice will be featuring in our H.Art exhibition this year (from 2nd to 10th of September). As ever, it clashes during the second weekend with the ever popular Ludlow Food Festival where we will be once again working with authors and doing booksignings etc. Another fantastic line-up this year and I particularly recommend that anyone interested in outdoor cooking visits the ever brilliant DJ BBQ's fire stage.

Meanwhile our book sale continues and each day I am adding more books to the sale pile. Where else can you find brilliant bargains at 50p across so many subjects?

From time to time people in the bookshop ask me what I am reading and at the moment it is a fairly eccletic mix. For my birthday Ethel gave me  'Ways of Life' a biography of Jim Ede by the Times Art correspondent Laura Freeman. I arrived at Cambridge a few years after Ede had left the town for Edinburgh, but stories of him abounded and the existence of Kettles Yard was a secret that was passed between arty undergraduates. One of my then friends Christopher Mason - now gone on to bigger and better things - told me about Kettles Yard and I turned up one afternoon and pulled the piece of string with a round piece of wood attached. The following wait was just long enough to make me think that perhaps I was about to annoy an innocent householder, before a friendly grey haired woman invited me in and explained the order with which to walk round the house and attached gallery. It was the first of many visits and left an enduring impression on me. Since then I have acquired a first edition of Ede's wonderful book 'A Way of Life' and in my own home have often attempted the kind of artless arrangement that Ede make look so easy. Also on my night table is 'People of the Book' a wonderful multi-period story based around a beautiful Haggadah. This makes me think about my late beloved stepfather Martin Benson, who also popped into my head yesterday when I heard about the re-establishment of a synagogue in York - the scene of one of the most brutal anti-Jewish pogroms in history. Lastly I am also part way through the third 'Thursday Murder Club' by Richard Osman. Very mannered, but well written and real page turners, these books quietly address many issues that are close to my heart, particularly dementia care and the value of older people in our society.

Finally stall bookings are coming in fast for our Vide Grenier on the 28th of August. We still have some spaces and if you haven't ever done one of our events and have some items to rehome then the Aardvark Vide Grenier is a brilliant opportunity to make some friends and a bit of money at the same time!