The Aardvark Blog

Yarborough House, Books Books Books (2), May Car Boot, Poetry Day 'The Presence of Abscence'
7/05/2022

It seems like all I am doing on the blog at the moment is to write obits for people who have passed, and I am afraid today is no exception. To music lovers near and far Yarborough House in Bishops Castle was a real haven and its owner's unparalleled  knowledge of recorded music meant that some people holidayed in the area just to visit. Sadly I just heard yesterday that Jock has recently died and that all the vinyl holdings have been sold. I cannot claim to have been a friend, but I did speak to Jock on a number of occasions and used to recommend him to anyone looking for a good person to purchase their classical libraries. His death is a huge loss to the area and to classical music lovers everywhere.

In Aardvark world however the book acquisition continues and this last week I went up to the North Welsh coast to pick what I wanted from a massive collection of books. I concentrated on poetry and literary fiction, and I am hoping to have these books on the shelves this week. Some really unusual titles including what looks like a complete set of the Writers of Wales series (a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Welsh literature). Also included were a large quantity of classical CDs, and some DVDs (mostly of classic films). I have a prospect of a massive house clearance in the next couple of weeks, so visitors to the shop will not be short of books to look at. I should also add on another topic that our July sale this year will be by far the largest we have ever done as a) we haven't done a sale for 3 years and b) we have acquired so many books over that period that I am having to be really ruthless over what I put in the shop. I can tell you now there will be some fantastic bargains!

On another note we have had a lot of bookings this week for the May Car Boot and are now approaching 40 stalls. I had said that I wouldn't have a cap on the number of stalls this time, but practically I think that 50 stalls is probably the most we can easily handle at set up time. For this reason if you want to do the car boot - and the pitch price remains the very reasonable £10 - then I suggest that you book soon. For those thinking of coming I can now guarantee a brilliant range of bargains, and also as previously mentioned we have the return of the wonderful Blue Moon combo after their absence due to the dreaded plague over the last few years.

Finally, you will hear a lot from me over the next few weeks about our wonderful Poetry Day, "The Presence of Absence" on the 12th of June. We have the return of the incredible Gillian Clarke, as well as a first visit by American writer Pamela Petro whose book 'The Long Field' many of us at Aardvark have been enjoying. She will be in conversation with Annie Garthwaite, for whose book "Cecily" we held a very successful event last year. A day of discussion and poetry will ensue, with Menna Elfyn, Mike Parker and Paul Henry too! We are delighted to welcome them. A not to be missed event, hosted and organised by the brilliant Anna Dreda. Book your tickets now!