Heaven that is a bookshop!

My mother had a lot to answer for.

When I was growing up the mantra I was taught was, you don't need to feel guilty buying fabric or books, and as my husband can vouch for, that has led to over flowing book shelves and

boxes of fabric stuffed under beds.......

I can see where my mother was coming from, its better to make your own clothes than to buy them and well I think books is self explanatory. 

I just might have got carried away!

But it has led to a life long love of book shops, now I am not going to try and be puritanical, I do use Amazon some times, but often I use it as a search engine and then go and order it in town. 

Because for me, I want to discover books, just seeing the front cover isn't enough, I want to feel it, hold it, stroke it (maybe), and as well as reading the back cover I want to flick through it, see if we would get on.  Bookshops allow me to discover the unexpected, or revisit old friends. 

Take for example, this copy of 'The Wind in the Willow'  I had read it as a child, and when I popped in, it certainly was not what I was looking for, but look at this amazing cover,

both inside and out, its exquisite.

Even better the design is embossed so you can feel all the stitches, and I feel in love and just had to hold it, absorb it and own it.  And re discovered an old favourite in the process.

That couldn't happen on Amazon.

And before you ask, no I am not a Kindle girl, I can see the point of them, but they aren't beautiful and you cant read them in the bath with out risk of electrocution, so thank you but no.

Bookshops for me every time!!!!

A loyal supporter of The Press Shop, Smith Street, Guernsey

 

Getting ready for summer

Well we were in the Tapestry early this Sunday morning and that can only mean one thing, 

Spring Cleaning!!!

All the tapestries need to be taken out of their cabinets 

And I promise you they are very very heavy

So that Sally, our Textile Conservator, can go over them with a fine tooth comb, checking for dust, damage or any thing unusual.

And while she is doing that we are all hard out work cleaning the cases inside and out

Then the glass is checked over with the torch which shows up any smears we have missed.

Am always amazed at the smears we find inside the cases as they haven't been opened since we last cleaned them, so how on earth did they get there?????

Every panel has a small pot of Silica in a hidden compartment at the bottom which keeps them nice and dry.  And this needs replacing each year.

(really bad photo of the hidden compartment!)

Then the panels are replaced.

 And finally we are on to the 20th century panel and our last

And our reward, hot cross buns, yummy, think we earned it!

Well we open again for the summer season tomorrow at 10am, so look forward to seeing you all.

Remembering those brave men

 This week one hundred years ago 246 volunteers of the Royal Guernsey Militia 

left the island to join the Royal Irish Regiment. And so today the Cadets of the island were joined by representative from the RIR to commemorate this event.

Photo from Radio Guernsey FB page

They marched the same route, from Beaucamp school, which had been the base of the Guernsey Militia, down into town to the White Rock. From there they sailed to Weymouth and on to Fermoy in County Cork where they became D company in the 6th Royal Irish Regiment.  Please dont ask why we joined up with another country have absolutely no idea!

 Molly the Airedale lead the parade with pride and looked like she had been doing it all her life, I think she thought it was a great walk, and I dont know a dog yet that wouldn't love all that attention!

I seriously don't think this soldier would have passed the height requirement....

In 1915, nearly 15,000 people were waiting at the White Rock to see them off, 

that must have been very emotional.

I found it emotional today as alot of the cadets couldnt have been much younger than the volunteers...

 The Governor addressed the troops and recounted the story of those brave young men, one think that made me laugh, when in Ireland, the soldiers wouldn't take commands in English, only in Patois, that must have made them popular!!!!  

Then along the seafront for a service in the town church, 

Some of the re anactors who really helped with the atmosphere of the march,

So glad I went down to watch.