The Aardvark Blog

Musings for the Between Time 2
24/07/2020

Well it is official. People seem to like coming back to the bookshop and are doing so in reasonable numbers. Footfall is probably less than 2/3rds of what would be normal for this time of year, but those who are coming are happy to buy books - some of them in large numbers. I had wondered whether after the first week sales would decline - as some bookshops have reported, but in the event we have got generally busier. It is not an easy time and I am very grateful to our team of R, J and P (who deals with despatch of our still considerable online orders). It can be very emotional and as things open up, being on the retail front line is not without its risks.

Saturday I was shocked to see the whole Aardvark crowd (less Ethel who is still sheltering) come into the front room, led by K playing the ukulele to sing me happy birthday. It was a total surprise and I was tremendously moved (although almost unable to physically move after consuming a huge piece of home-made chocolate cake).

In between birthday celebrations I have been listing a large collection of CDs I bought last week and which R has been struggling to shelve in our rather too small music area. It would be a kindness if you were to come and help us out by buying a few. They include a nice selection of British and American composers whose works are often harder to find.

I am writing this at home whilst drinking a truly delicious pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, made from beans my sister gave us a couple of years ago which I have stupidly saved until they were a year out of date. Because they were vacuum packed they are fine however, and it makes one wonder how much perfectly good food gets thrown out due to overly aggressive use by dates.

I am taking a break from reading 'Dirt' by Bill Buford, a successor to the wonderful 'Heat' that he published a few years ago. It was a birthday present, and the perfect accompaniment to the coffee and Record Review Extra that I am listening to on headphones. In truth the re-opening and other matters which I will not go into have left me somewhat drained, and R and J have mounted an intervention to give me an additional day off (apart from needing to go do a small house clearance this afternoon).

An afternoon’s reading stretches out ahead of me - what joy. I have been reading a lot recently as I have got addicted to the Jim Butcher Dresden novels I mentioned previously and have knocked off two in two days, and have ordered five more from sellers on Abe. It will be interesting to see how long they take to arrive - there is quite a lot of variation at the moment with some overseas destinations, particularly Australia, proving very slow.

The books I am picking up include a number of Folio Society Books, which have been selling well both in the shop and online. Thank you also for the donations which have been coming in recently. They help to keep one large, rurally located bookshop viable. So here’s to another week and the adventures it will bring.