Just 50 yards from the sea front at Weymouth, and a pleasant walk along St Alban Street, (affectionately known to locals as Flag Street) you’ll find Imagine Books at number 23.
Displayed outside the shop with its distinctive black and gold signage are children’s books, postcards, sun hats, beach bags and wind chimes. This provides an idea of the merchandise to be found within.
My post for this week about independent bookshops coincides with Independent Booksellers’ Week. Please join me for a visit to Serendip.
The bookshop on thriving Broad Street, takes its name from the island of Sri Lanka. Serendip has a fresh feel, with a new frontage changed in 2010 from the original created 30 years ago during the filming of The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Inside the space is airy and light, with a high ceiling. Bee Painton, who runs the bookshop with her husband Chris, invests in daylight quality lighting to create the effect.
The shop is arranged for easy access, with displays and shelving providing enough room for wheelchairs and buggies. It caters for a range of customers, including residents, second-home owners, and visitors to the area of all ages. Bee has introduced a wide range of quality greeting cards, postcards, wrapping paper and book themed gifts to complement the selection of books. Titles about the local area (including walking and fossil books) appear near the entrance together with new fiction. Shelves along the walls hold fiction titles and there is a large range of children’s books. Background music, including jazz, is played to create a relaxed atmosphere.
By the modern-effect fireplace there is a rocking chair and a child-size chair for in-store book sharing. The non-fiction section is tucked away at the back of the store with another lovely seating area to encourage browsing.
In the tradition of a poetry slam, where poetry is recited, a story slam encourages prose writers to take the stage and read their work. Events are informal and fun, with feedback from judges and applause from the audience. The idea is to enjoy sharing stories from a range of genres with a wider audience and prizes are awarded. In July, Storyslingers in Shaftesbury are holding their first story slam event and would be very pleased to have you join them.
This is the first in a series of posts about independent bookshops in Dorset. Once a month I attend a writing group in Wimborne led by poet, writer and teacher, Sarah Barr (you can find out more about the Wimborne Writers’ Group here). Last week I took the opportunity to visit Gullivers Bookshop, a family owned business in the centre of the market town run by Malcolm and Anne Angel and their daughter Jane with their son and his wife.
As I went into the shop, Malcolm was in the throes of dismantling the window display that celebrated Dorset Art Weeks from 26 May – 10 June, which comprised a collection of papier-mache heads featuring characters from books. With another community event approaching, it was time for a change. To celebrate 20 years of Bookstart, Gullivers is hosting a Busy Bear Party on 22 June and the new display will feature a teddy bears’ reading group. This engagement with the community is a feature of the bookshop that has been in Wimborne for over 40 years.
The shop feels bright and airy, well-stocked but not cluttered and an easy place to spend time. Displays by the entrance feature the latest fiction titles with further books on the shelves. There’s an area dedicated to Dorset’s people, places and culture and support for local authors (for a comprehensive list of publications click here). Thought has gone into organising the areas in an accessible way, for example, the young adult books have been positioned in a corner, away from the desk and the children’s section, to encourage self-conscious teenagers to browse.
The children’s section is delightful, decorated with mobiles and balloons. There’s Lego to play with and books for younger children displayed on shelves at just the right height. Children are welcome to chatter and play while choosing books, some saying that they ‘love the smell of the bookshop’.
Just outside Dorchester in the parish of Stinsford, the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy was born in 1840. He grew up in the cob and thatch cottage at Bockhampton, which like Max Gate (the home he later designed and occupied from 1885 until his death in 1928) is open to the public through the National Trust.
From the car park, after a stroll through woodland, you reach the back of the cottage. Follow the path to the gate and into the cottage garden, planted as it would have appeared when Hardy occupied the house. The accommodation was renovated to make room for a growing family, including turning a staircase around to create a bedroom for Hardy’s sisters.
This is the view from Thomas Hardy’s bedroom, where he was able to see on the hill at Portesham, the monument erected in memory of his distant relative Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy. You can find out more about this in an earlier post here.
It was at a small table, like this one, that Hardy wrote the first of his novels set in Wessex, the fictional county based upon Dorset. Few authors besides Hardy have such strong associations with the landscape and culture of their local area.
With two other families, we spent a day in Portsmouth. Arriving in plenty of time to hit the shops at the factory outlet at Gunwharf Quays (my summer wardrobe is now suitably supplemented) we also managed to have a look around the historic dockyard. While the men and children managed the tour, my friends and I reminisced about our last visit. On that occasion, I set foot on HMS Victory and distinctly remember the guide sharing the story about the origins of the phrase ‘square meal’. Read the rest of this entry »
Dorset Voices is a wonderful showcase of literary talent and new photography in Dorset. The editorial team (Jim Potts OBE, Maria Strani-Potts and Louisa Adjoa Parker) selected prose, poetry and photography submissions from across the county and with local publisher Roving Press, this makes the anthology and all-Dorset production.
The launch of Dorset Voices will take place on 23 April as part of Bournemouth Festival of Words. Please come to Bournemouth Library, 22 The Triangle, BH2 5RQ from 6-8pm to meet the editors and publisher and purchase copies of the book. I’ve offered to read ‘Dusting off the Memories’ my piece of flash fiction from the anthology and there will be other contributors sharing their work. The event falls on World Book Night and the library will be busy with a number of events including a live theatre performance of scenes from ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’. I think it will be a great occasion and I hope to see some of you there.
On one the most beautiful days of this year, I was in Waterstones, Dorchester selling copies of The Rosemary Project. The anthology comprises poetry and prose by writers from across Dorset and all money raised goes towards Alzheimer’s Research and Mindful (which supports a memory cafe in North Dorset). Although The Rosemary Project was the branch best-seller for the day, I only managed to sell eleven copies. Read the rest of this entry »
The Exchange at Sturminster Newton was a busy place on Saturday with workshops and talks by authors and a good chance to meet and chat with other readers and writers. I finally got to meet fellow blogger Patsy Collins who has recently won a competition to have her first novel published. Watch this space for more details of her book titled ‘Escape to the Country’.
Patrick Gale
I loved reading Notes from an exhibition by Patrick Gale and opted to join his workshop on flash fiction. I was interested when he said that a character’s back story from a novel can make an excellent piece of flash. This was reassuring as several of my latest attempts have been just that.
Patrick was also keen to promote entry into the Bridport Prize ( he is the judge for the flash fiction and short story categories) and
