What happened on February 10th, 2022

A lady cycling past the door this morning slowed to get a better view of the cat in my window. But she slowed down too much, wobbled, and fell against the door with a shout. Everyone was startled, especially me. But she righted and kept on.

An old lady browsing in the front room said, ‘Golly.’

Someone rang for a copy of Mrs Kelly by Grantlee Kieza. Someone rang for Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.

Kerry came for thrillers: anything he hasn’t read yet and bought two that he has read.

I did some good solid shelving. Put everything in the correct order and neatly because Callie is coming tomorrow. Rearranged the windows, and a lady walking past said into a phone, ‘There’s a cute old place here selling books you’d like’.

Dictionary Chris rang for Sophie Morgan books. Alan came in and said someone was break dancing and fell out of their gopher near his house, and they had to call the ambulance. Then he went over to Woolies to get gravy.

Removed another spider from the front room. Two tradesmen went past with about 10 paper bags of bakery food each. Now I’m hungry.

A teenager bought a Complete Shakespeare, a Complete Sherlock Holmes, and a Beatrix Potter Treasury.  She said (with relish) that her room at home is a library.

I sold out of Morgan Taubert’s My Goblin Therapist. Must message for more. A lady put her head in the door and said the balloons are pretty.

Redid the front shelves so they look refreshed and popping. Sarah came in and said she used to have an orange van and that we shouldn’t listen to the ABC. She said Tales From Wandin Valley is one of the best books she’s ever read. We looked it up online and found a copy on Ebay for 7 British pounds. She said she knew it was going up in value.

Ordered two Francis Spufford books and 3 Christopher Fowler books. Looked online for a copy of People of The Book for myself but then found one in my own shop. Lucky.

Deb got her gopher stuck in my doorway doing a three point turn. She was telling a friend about a hip operation and not really hurrying. So nobody could get in or out.

Sarah, returning from Woolies just then, couldn’t get through, and said (loudly) there were too many people standing about and the bakery needed to sweep up all the mandarin peel. Everyone pretty much dispersed then.

I cleaned windows and stacked shelves quietly for the rest of the day, and when I was packing up, someone asked me if I wanted a small dog, which I didn’t, so they took it back across the road again.