After work I went for supper with Alastair and Leslie Reid in the cottage they rent from Finn and Ella in Garlieston. Alastair spoke of his first trip to America, which he took via London. A lecturer at the University of St Andrews, from which he had recently graduated, had given him the telephone number of a friend of his in London called Tom. Alastair duly arrived in London and telephoned ‘Tom’ to see if he could put him up for the night. ‘Tom’ turned out to be T. S. Eliot. Stewart Henderson, another friend who was there for supper, asked him ‘What did he smell like?’ to which Alastair – with no pause for thought – replied, ‘A musty pulpit, which is exactly what he would have wanted to smell like.’
Afterwards I asked Stewart – a poet who presents programmes on Radio 4, including Pick of the Week – what had possessed him to ask that question. He replied that he had once been interviewing the last survivor of a British brass band which Hitler had requested to perform a private concert for him before the Second World War. The interviewee was an elderly woman who evidently did not understand that Stewart was trying to extract more than ‘yes/no’ answers from her. Eventually, in despair, he decided that he would ask her ‘What did Hitler smell like?’, at which point she opened up completely and gave him all the material he could have hoped for.
Till total £125.38
19 customers
WEDNESDAY, 4 JUNE
Online orders: 3
Books found: 3
Today was surprisingly quiet in the shop, which afforded me the opportunity to sort through some of the piles of boxes of fresh stock that perpetually clutter the shop and price up some of it and put it on the shelves. With the constant stream of fresh stock coming into the shop it is a battle to keep the place tidy and organised, particularly now that we have to check prices online to see whether a book is worth listing. This has slowed the whole process down considerably.
The undoubted highlight of the day was when my mother appeared, excitedly clutching a book that I must have bought at least six years ago, back in the days when I used to store freshly bought stock in the shed at my parents’ house. I thought I’d cleared it all away, but she’d found a box and started rummaging through it and discovered a signed, numbered limited edition of W. B. Yeats’s The Winding Stair. The edition was limited to 642 copies, 600 of which had been signed by Yeats. It was unusual to see my mother, who is not a bookish person, so animated, but it was not about the value of the book – more because she had in her hands a book that the most famous poet of his generation from the land of her birth had once also held. I spent the rest of the day wondering how on earth I could have missed it when I bought it, and trying to remember where it had come from in the first place. No idea.
Till total £157.48
20 customers
THURSDAY, 5 JUNE
Online orders: 2
Books found: 2
At about 10 a.m. Nicky and I were gossiping about the perils of lending things to people when we were interrupted by a customer who asked if we had a ‘rest room’. Blank looks were exchanged for some time before Nicky broke the silence, saying, ‘There’s a comfy seat by the fire if you need a rest.’ For moments like this, Nicky’s value is beyond measure.
Smelly Kelly appeared, doused, as always, in Brut 33. He now has a walking stick but assured me that he will be fighting fit in no time. His relentless pursuit of Nicky is most inspiring, particularly considering that not only has she failed to give him any positive signals, but on several occasions she has also told him quite bluntly that she is not interested.
Drove to Glasgow and bought fifteen boxes of books from a retired couple in Bearsden.
Till total £115.50
10 customers
FRIDAY, 6 JUNE
Online orders: 2
Books found: 2
Laurie was in, covering for Nicky, who put in an extra day yesterday, so I went fishing on the Luce. Didn’t catch anything, but a worthwhile break from the shop. Eliot emailed to say that The Bookshop Band are going to be in the area this weekend and are looking for a venue for a gig, and could he come and stay for a few days. I replied that I would be happy to open on Sunday for them, and yes, of course he was welcome to stay too.
Till total £109.49
7 customers
SATURDAY, 7 JUNE
Online orders: 2
Books found: 2
Laurie fronted the shop today, which turned into a beautiful sunny day.
Her first customer was a Welsh woman who had brought ten boxes of Scottish books with her while she’s here on holiday, with a view to selling them. Her husband brought them in from the car. Some were interesting – perhaps 20 per cent of the total – but they were all in terrible condition. As I was going through the first three boxes, the woman made a note on her list of the books that I had removed. This is always, without exception, an indication that someone has overvalued their books. Occasionally she would pick one up and mutter, ‘Oh yes, that’s very rare’, or ‘valuable’ or ‘first edition’, as if this would somehow influence what I would offer her for the collection. When she eventually stopped talking, I offered her £60 for about twenty books. Immediately she replied, ‘Oh no. Oh no no no no no’, so I left the room at this point and went to make a cup of tea. When I returned five minutes later, both she and her beleaguered husband, and the books, were gone.
Eliot arrived at 4 p.m. and made himself at home, which, as always, meant dispersing the contents of his overnight case as widely as possible throughout the house.
Till total £128
20 customers
SUNDAY, 8 JUNE
I opened the shop at 2 p.m., just as The Bookshop Band arrived. They set up and started the gig at 3.30 p.m. They were wonderful. The Bookshop Band are Ben, Beth and Poppy. They were doing a tour of Scotland and the north of England, and Eliot persuaded them to come to Wigtown and perform in the shop. They brought their friend John along to give them a hand with setting up. Their USP is that they mainly play in bookshops, and all of their songs are based on books they’ve read. The shop was full for their gig: Callum brought his children along too. In the evening, once we’d eaten, the instruments came out again as the wine and beer began to flow and they sang folk songs (John’s speciality). We drank and sang until 3 a.m.
MONDAY, 9 JUNE
Online orders: 3
Books found: 2
Awoke and opened the shop with the hangover from hell.
On Facebook today was a message from hater Pauclass="underline" ‘We’ve crossed swords before and before you patronise me with your explanation of exactly what your site is meant to be portraying, remember that due to the wide coverage of the internet, you are possibly doing your business more damage than good. I, for one, stopped visiting your shop a few years ago, due to your pathetic postings on Facebook and over-inflated self-belief and attitude. I really think you should stop doing this, as it is quite patently a childishly backhanded way of being rude behind your customers’ backs. Grow up and find a more beneficial hobby for crying out loud.’
In the evening I went for a pint with Eliot and Natalie McIlroy, who is one of this year’s festival artists in residence. Natalie’s project is to find thirty-one Galloway pippins – apple trees native to this area – and create an indoor orchard in an empty building on the square. She is going to raffle them off at the end of the festival. I already have one in my garden. The fruit it produces is huge. This year there are three artists in residence – Natalie, a woman called Anupa Gardner, who paints on textiles, and Astrid Jaekel, who did an extraordinary silhouette installation in the windows of the County Buildings last year. This year Astrid is making plywood cut-outs of figures to go in front of each shop. Astrid is German but grew up in rural Ireland before moving back to Germany. She has a very unusual blend of accents.