The brilliant 'Barter books of Alnwick'

Hello!

Rather like my Steampunk and Museum of Power posts, this one has been languishing in my drafts for a while- I didn't post it because I wanted to photograph the books I bought, except they've kind of spread out now through my house, so I figured I might as well post it!

If you don't know about it, it is the most amazing 2nd hand book shop!!!!!

It can be found in Alnwick in Northumberland in the old Alnwick railway station (you pronounce it Ann-ick! Not to be confused with the Northumbrian village of Anick, pronounce Aye-nick which confused me somewhat when I saw the signs)  It is found near Alnwick castle which has the most wonderful castle and gardens (it was in the Downton Christmas special) so you may as well make a holiday of it.

 I posted about it back in 2011 about it.
Reasons to love it:

• It is a veritable labyrinth, you can lose your spouse and sneak off to peruse books for hours and can use the excuse of getting lost
• So many books.
• Amazing model trainset that runs round the ceiling.
• It's an old railway station. So picturesque it's untrue!
• It has an amazing cafe inside. You can sit and peruse your finds at the table.
• You can sit in railway chairs!
• You can sell books to them too (not tried this but I have a suitcase full of antique books for next time I go!)
• They found the original Keep Calm and Carry on poster that inspired the modern obsession with it!
• Hilarious books, old and new to look at
• Lots of unusual books

I thought I'd leave you a selection of photos so you can enjoy them without my witterings *Well except for captions which will probably witter...it's inevitable.

Get on board the Barter books book truck. I spent a lot of time in the Children's literature room.

Yep, loving the children's fiction.

Oooh, school stories- I love them!

I was searching for Chalet school books...

The poetry on the walls is great. All linked to books and trains.

Books forever! Boo hiss to Kindles

 There's so much to look at even if books aren't your thing (she says incredulously)

 This cog is soo cool!

 Leading like spokes of the wheel, these shelves lead off from the iron construction in the ceiling,

 I tried to take several pictures of the amazing velvet seats but this was the only non-blurry one I caught!

 What a glorious edition of Chaucer!

I really like rail stations- this makes this place all the more exciting!

 So many categories to peruse.

 This is the first room you enter- love the retro globes.

 It was really buzzing and busy- comfy sofas galore.

 Here in the main atrium,you can see the train riding round the ceiling,

 Choo, choo!!!

And finding amazing and hilarious dated gems...

Who can forget the terrifying doll-sacrifice book I saw in the summer?




The enjoyable task of perusing books is hungry work so we headed for the first class ladies waiting room for some food.

I found CBC there with a salad.

He pounced on my pile of books: I am sure you wanted to know what I bought. If you know my book tastes, you might suspect I bought historical whodunnits. You would be right.

I discovered a few new series:

• Michael Bond, Mr Paddington's French detective, Monsieur Pamplemousse- two of them which I devoured and loved. There is a wonderful Alexander McCall Smithness to them!
• Wycliffe and the dead flautist by M.J Burley- not read any Wycliffe but a dead flautist- ha, you know I bought it purely for the title.
• The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin - excellent, with a bookish professor sleuth, Gervaise Phenn.
• A summer birdcage by Margaret Drabble- not a whodunnit but a really interesting vintage book.

Have you been? 

DO go if you are on your way up north, or just go to Northumberland for a holiday- it's so beautiful!

xxx

The Museum of Power

This post is a very long time in the putting together- I've been meaning to put it together it for ages.

Back in November, Sophie from Sophie in the Sticks let me know she was coming to Maldon in Essex for a Steampunk extravaganza at the Museum of Power which she'd been invited to and asked me if I wanted to come and meet her.  I was delighted at the opportunity to see Sophie again and I've been looking at those Brown tourism Museum of Power signs for years, wondering what it is.


When I arrived, from the outside, it looked a bit of a ramshackle place but inside, it was amazing, it is an absolutely fascinating museum, really my cup of tea- so different and so quirky!!!! It's not a sanitary, Science Museum or Natural History museum, it's a bit more basic and earthy but it's fab. It reminded me in some ways of the Jean Tinguelly museum in Basel in a strange way.

I thought I'd share how the website describes what it is for and what it is like

The Museum, a unique and fascinating experience for all the family, is located at Langford, near Maldon, Essex and is easily accessible from the A12 (see ‘Visiting’).
Set in seven acres of grounds with the River Blackwater running through, the main exhibits are housed in the 1920s Steam Pumping Station, the former generator hall and boiler house.
Pride of place is given to the magnificent Lilleshall triple-expansion steam engine which was returned to steam for the first time in 50 years in April 2011. As a result in September 2013 the museum was awarded “Engineering Heritage Listed Status” by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The Museum includes numerous power-related exhibits that will interest young and the not so young, with many working examples of various power sources, machinery, equipment and tools.
In addition, in the former workshop, the Steam Pump Tearooms (opened in April 2011) offer an extensive selection of refreshments and treats for every age where visitors can relax.
Outside in the grounds more attractions can be found including a model village, picnic area and the ever-popular miniature railway providing rides for all ages at selective events.

There are so many cool exhibits!  I thought I'd share some pictures of some.

This yellow robot was really fun.

Because they run educational days, there were some great educational, interactive exhibits like this one which showed how a kettle boiled which I found fascinating!

There were some amazing pieces of machinery, pistons, gauges and motors galore.

This massive wheel is part of the huge steam pump- this was super impressive in motion.

We loved this collection of hoovers through the years- CBC joked that my hoover (now defunct) should go with them!

Ahrgh, why is this on its side!

We liked trying some different machines and tools!

In every corner, there was something to intrigue and to amuse.

Benign devices of power with friendly faces.

I loved seeing all the vintage fuel containers

Because there was a special Steampunk extravaganza, there were special exhibitors on the day, people who had brought their machines, steam or oil powered.

It was so different to any exhibition or museum I had been to and the fact you could get so close to things was really cool!

Outside, there were more interesting things to see.

There is a miniature railway there which you can ride on for a few pounds.

CBC, Sophie, her husband C and I decided to give the train a go and it was great fun

We had a super time at the Museum of Power and I recommend it for a visit. As I said, it's not the most spruced and shiny looking place but it is really interesting!

Have you been?

Stay tuned for a few pictures of the costumery people wore at the Steampunk event another time- it was fascinating!

xxx

Cards from Africa

Every so often I find an organisation who do something brilliant that I want to share. Or an awesome shop or product. Or a brilliant method of recycling. Or something wonderful and fair-trade.

Well, here I am, sharing a wonderful shop and organisation who do all three.

Cards from Africa
 http://www.cardsfromafrica.co.uk/ 

They exist to improve the quality of life for orphaned youth in Rwanda.  They are a fairtrade organisation

I thought I'd leave it to the founders to tell you about what they do in more detail:

We provide them with employment handcrafting greeting cards that truly embody better lives. Our staff receive fair wages and valuable life skills while our customers are delivered excellence.

Our Approach

Cards from Africa is a part of a new generation of African businesses setting a trend in our divided world. We make high quality products, made in one of the poorest countries, available to the international market at competitive prices. In return, we offer well-paid employment to those who need it the most. Furthermore, our business model is to provide a stepping-stone for our staff to transition easily to another career or start their own business someday. We are currently developing a program to effectively teach entrepreneurial, management, and practical business skills to our staff. By unleashing creativity, teaching valuable skills, and fostering self-worth, we are confident that someday they will be able to access the international market themselves and contribute to a thriving economy and better quality of life for all Rwandans.

A Brief History

The idea for Cards from Africa came to British founder, Chris Page, in 2004, inspired by a Kenyan doctor who had started a similar endeavor to generate income for women in a Nairobian slum. Chris teamed up with Rwandan artist Gabriel Dusabe and together they learned how to make paper and create simple card prototypes. Their first employee was a young orphaned woman named Ariette. After one month's time they asked her to bring another friend to train but she brought two! Shortly after, twenty more orphaned youth were trained and the business was born. Our profits are continually reinvested into company operations as well as the lives of our staff. Our hope is to grow to provide steady employment to 300 orphaned young people in Rwanda and to provide a model for sustainable job creation in Africa.

Our Values

We run this business because we believe that God has a heart for the poor and marginalized in society and that faith requires action: "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, `Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,´ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:15-17)

We believe that all people are precious and that we must do more than provide jobs: we must take care of the entire person. As a result, we take a holistic approach to employment. For example, we spend 30 minutes at the beginning of each day with our staff discussing practical, spiritual, and emotional issues affecting their lives. The life skills acquired from these discussions have proven to be invaluable to their growth. Our staff warmly embrace our faith-inspired intentions.

They are fairtrade because: 

1. Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers

2. Transparency and accountability

3. Capacity building

4. Promoting Fair Trade

5. Payment of a fair price

Here are some of their cards:

Here are just some of their really cool designs!  I came across them when the founder of it came to talk to us at church about what they did and bring along a selection of cards to sell.  They were exquisite in person, really finely made and vibrant.  I think it's really cool that they set up these children and young people who might otherwise end up in poverty and help them to learn business skills as well as crafting, learning to be an artisan and being able to support a household. Watch the video for more about what they do.

And please please go and look at and maybe buy some of the cards, you won't be disappointed!

Cards from Africa

What do you think of them?


xxx

I feel really silly saying this but I blogged this because I think it's cool, not because I am a sponsored blogger of any kind!