Random Jottings

Wimbledon Wednesday

Last week was Wacky Wednesday when seeds were falling, literally, all over the place and withdrawing or losing and it all got a bit hysterical. Well today was even worse - not so much for the seeds but for us watching.

Now I love Wimbledon and there are some traditions that never go away. The overpriced Pimms and strawberries, Sue Barker's awful hair and clothes (get her a stylist somebody), the exit of the Brits on day one and of course, being put through the ringer by one of those players.   Tim Henman upheld this tradition for many years usually playing a five setter on Centre Court against somebody ranked 955 in Lithuania. It happened year after year until we got used to it - it was part of his charm.  Then along comes Andy and he also has given us a fair share of nail biters (there was one the other year that went on until 11 pm at night under the Centre Court roof before he finished it off) but this year he has majestically strode through his matches in straight sets.   All very strange.  The crowd began to get used to this and relax a bit, but then we came to today.

He was playing Verdasco from Spain. And before I go any further can I say that I was totally fascinated by his hair. Positively bouffant and it never seemed to move, only the odd lock falling fetchingly on his forehead. Not sure I would care to run barefoot through it, have a feeling my feet would be very greasy  indeed as it looked as if he had put a pot of Brylcreem on it. Weird.

I digress.

Within ten minutes of the match starting I felt uneasy. I was watching Andy and thinking he looks sluggish, he is not moving, he is letting Verdasco make all the running, literally. The he started making mistakes, the shoulders slumped and the air of Kevin the Teenager which we all thought Andy had left behind, made a reappearance.    At this stage I knew something dire was going to happen and at 4-5 down I switched off as I could not bear to watch what I felt was coming.

As the afternoon wore on and my TV stayed off, I was bombarded with text messages, tweets and telephone calls from friends asking what I was doing, what did I think, what was happening.   Over 45 years of watching Wimbledon enabled me to deal with all this with equinimity, I was immune to the possible upset. After all you are talking to a woman who sat on the Centre Court and watched my then idol, Roger Taylor of GB, lose in five sets in the semi-finals at Wimbers, THREE years running. Yes three. And in each case he was two sets up and leading before he lost. So my inner Eeyore came to the surface and I prepared myself for the catastrophe.

Then a text from my daughter 'Turn telly on Mum it is the fifth set'. So I did and spent the next half hour hiding behind the door and the sofa unable to watch so in the end turned it off again and only switched it back on when I knew the result. I tell you if he beats the nine foot Pole in the semis and that is not guaranteed, I do not think I will be able to watch on Sunday. I really don't.

The othe semi with del Potro was simply awesome. Bad fall at the start and it looked as if Ferrer would go through by default, but Delpo wasn't going to give in easy and he carried on knowing he had to hit out and run as little as possible. There then followed three sets of simply amazing tennis, an exhibition of power hitting and stunning rallies that had me jumping up and down on the sofa. I do love Juan Martin and it would be wonderful if he could beat Djokovic, he has done it a few times.   Well we shall see.

The women's semis are tomorrow and for the first time since the open era of tennis started there is not one single champion of any of the Grand Slams in the last four. That is wonderful. A new champion and I would love it to be Lisicki.

I tell you it has been a nerve wracking day. I watched the first episode of the third series of Luther last night and thought that that was shatteringly frightening enough, but it pales into comparison when it comes to watching Andy at Wimbledon.

New balls please.......

Independent Booksellers Week (IBW)

I have been asked to give out the following information on Random Jottings about Independent Book Week and am happy to do so though I feel guilty as I know I am helping with their demise.  I receive a lot of books from publishers so that my book buying these days is limited and, when I do purchase some, it is always from Amazon, either for my Kindle or otherwise.    I love independent bookshops and love browsing and picking up books and the feel of the crisp new pages and the pleasure of holding a book in one's hands will never leave me. But, and it is a big but, the drawback is the cost. We have an excellent independent bookshop in Colchester and if I wish to purchase a book from them I have to drive into town, park at an extortionate rate, buy the book which will be more expensive than an online purchase, and back home.

So what to do?

Of the small independent bookshops I do know, many of them specialise in a certain subject so that they become the place to go to if you are interested in a certain genre. By doing this, you become, in effect, a specialist bookshop as well as a standard one.   Bookshops in small villages become the centre of the community in many ways, holding events and evenings and book club meetings and stay viable. 

Second hand bookshops are a different place altogether. Again, we have an excellent one in Colchester which is situated, very handily, next door to my hairdresser so when I go in to have the roots done I nip into the shop on the way out.   

I set out below the details of events taking place in this week long celebration and if you can see if you can support it.   I have not reproduced the entire press release as it is very long and veplease ry detailed, but do check out the website below for further information.

And to kick off,please let me know of any good independent bookshops in your area and I will try and feature them all this week.

I will start by mentioning The Wivenhoe Book Shop and Red Lion Books in Colchester.

I should end by part of this post by mentioning that the independent book shop scene seems very strong in Australia, at least the part I know. Around the corner from my daughter's house, within a radius of 100 yards are three excellent bookshops and ten minutes walk away another one. There are no Waterstones or other book chains in Sydney and, it is interesting to note, there is no Australian Amazon so this is why these shops flourish (if I am wrong about this in my very limited knowledge of Oz would some kind reader correct me).   Mind you the books in Australia are very expensive indeed.

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 This week over 360 bookshops around the UK are taking part in Independent Booksellers Week (IBW), a week-long celebration of independent bookshops, organised by The Booksellers Association (BA), the national trade association for booksellers in the UK. 

 Independent Booksellers’ Week is part of the IndieBound campaign for independent bookshops, which promotes the idea of shopping locally and sustainably and highlights the stark issues facing bricks and mortar bookselling.

 SOUTHBANK CENTRE DEBATE

The headline IBW event will be a debate at the Southbank Centre in London on Wednesday 3^rd July. Entitled The Perfect Storm: Why Bookshops Are in the Frontline in the Battle for the High Street, chaired by James Runcie, Literature Director of the Southbank Centre, the debate will be an opportunity for the book industry, media and members of the public to meet to discuss the issues facing bookshops today. The panel will include leading independent bookseller Nic Bottomley (Mr B’s Emporium), award-winning author Kate Mosse, Chair of the Society of Authors Anne Sebba , Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown literary agency and Lindsay Mackie (New Economics Foundation).

Tickets can be booked from www.southbankcentre.co.uk .

AUTHORFEST

Authors across the country will be taking part in AuthorFest, a series of high profile talks and events encouraging British book lovers to support their local bookshops. Bestselling writers including Antony Beevor, Kate Mosse, Rachel Joyce, Ann Widdecombe, Richard Madeley, Deborah Moggach, Kate Humble, Jack Straw, Malorie Blackman and Ruth Ozeki will be visiting bookshops to discuss why they matter so much to them and the valuable role that to play.

  IBW FESTIVALS

Some independent bookshops have created bespoke Festivals to tie in with IBW, including Goldsboro Books (London WC2) Crime in the Court crime writers festival on 4^th July, with authors including Mark Billingham, Robert Goddard and David Hewson. The Chorleywood Bookshop will also be hosting the Bloomsbury Cooks Food Festival on 29^th June, a celebration of renowned cooks and their recipes with authors such as Paul Hollywood and Wendi Peters.

For more information about IBW, visit www.independentbooksellersweek.org.uk

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And don't forget to tell me about your local independent bookshop!