Book Fairs

[John Pickup]

I was going to go to Harrogate book fair on Saturday but decided to go to the one at Buxton on Sunday instead. Then, on Saturday afternoon, my son said they would be coming over with our granddaughter for the day so I didn't go to either. Saved myself a few quid there.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Hope there's a book fair on when we go to Buxton later this month, John.

[John Pickup]

The next book fair at Buxton is on Sunday, April 24th, Julie. If you are going to that one, I'll meet you there.

[Katharine]

Enjoy the fair, Katharine - we used to go to Woodbridge when our daughter lived in Ipswich and I remember it had antique and collector shops.

Thanks Francis.

I did turn up on the right day this time! Unfortunately I would say it was a bit of a non-event, and I don't know if I'll ever bother with a book fair in the future.

I know I didn't arrive until 2.00, and it had opened at 10.00, so maybe I missed the best on offer, but it didn't look to me as if there were many gaps. Not quite sure how many stalls there were, probably about 9, plus someone selling postcards.

Hardly any children's books, in fact on my first turn around the hall I thought there was only 1 stall with any children's books on, but eventually I managed to spot 2 more stalls with a handful each.

At first I thought I was going to go home empty handed, but I did eventually make a few purchases, mainly because I thought that I ought to have something to show for my £1 entrance fee.

Maybe I didn't send out the right 'vibes', but mostly the stall holders ignored me - too busy chatting to each other. I thought they'd all ask me if I was looking for anything in particular. One stall holder did ask me what I was interested in, as I'd thumbed through a couple of his books, and when I said I wanted to buy one of them, he knocked a couple of pounds off the other one, and I was pleased he gave me time to think it over, rather than hovering over me to rush me into a decision.

The only stall that had children's books in any quantity, mostly had annuals. That seller was a bit more helpful, and I bought a Toby Twirl book from him - I'd never seen one before, other than advertised in the Noddy books. However when I mentioned I was mostly interested in Enid Blyton he said he hadn't got any - even though he had a BOM book on the stall!!

I also bought 3 Ladybird books off someone else. So not a total waste of a trip, but nothing outstanding.

I was also surprised that none of the sellers gave me a card with their details.

Maybe I was spoilt after the mouthwatering array at the Enid Blyton Day.

[Ice_Gemz]

Merged with an older topic.

Fir anyone local to the Colchester area, there is a massive book fair in aid of the NSPCC on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 October.
It's an annual event on the last weekend of October at Holmwood House prep school on Chitts Hill in Lexden on the outskirts of Colchester.
Entry is £1.50 for adults and free for under 16s.
There's a whole gymnasium of books, with the stage area filled with DVDs and sets of books, and a separate room for children's books, jigsaws and games. There's also a refreshments area with reasonably priced tea, coffee and cakes.
The book fair opens at 9.30am and new items are added throughout the day on both days (they have a truck outside with all the stock that won't fit in the hall, which they replenish frequently). Payment can be made by card if, like me, you end up with armfulls of books.

http://www.nspcc-bookfair.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been going to the fair every year for about 5 years now, and love going to both days. I wanted to share this with other society members who might be interested in going along, and also to ask whether anyone knows of any other similar fairs across the country? (I would definitely be tempted to drive further afield to boost my collection)

[Katharine]

Thanks for the info, sadly I have other commitments that weekend.

Such a shame, as Colchester is only about half an hour's drive for me. Maybe next year.

[Fiona1986]

That sounds like heaven! Far too far from me though

[Courtenay]

That does sound brilliant! Colchester is about an hour's drive for me, but there's some lovely countryside around that area and I think I'll be free on the Saturday. I might see if I can get there, but it depends on what else is happening at the time — I may have other things to do at home. But I'll bear it in mind. Thanks, Ice Gemz.

[floragord]

A new discovery for us, the Wigtown Book Festival in Galloway, south-west Scotland which this year fell on 27 Sept - 6 Oct. Fairly recently designated as a "book town" on the model of Hay-on-Wye, it was interesting to look round and there was an extensive programme of events. We specially enjoyed "the Wigtown Feasts" held on the evening of Sat 28th September, a number of simultaneous suppers in houses across Wigtown themed under such titles as "A Feast for the Mind" (philosophy), A Feast for the Ears (music) and so on, no talk or show, just meet, greet and eat, very enjoyable. There were a variety of events for younger festival goers, sadly there was no mention of Enid Blyton.

[Ice_Gemz]

Hi all,

It's the annual NSPCC book fair in Colchester next weekend, always worth a visit, across 2 days and with thousands of books, old and new:

http://www.nspcc-bookfair.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Katharine]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to do my best to persuade my family that it would be a good idea to go to Colchester next weekend. There are a couple of English Heritage sites nearby, so I could combine a visit to those with hopefully stocking up on some books.

[Courtenay]

Ooh, that sounds nice — the book fair and the local area, as there are some National Trust properties around there too. I'd consider going if only I wasn't working next weekend!

[Ice_Gemz]

The Colchester NSPCC book fair isn't running in its usual way this year, but the volunteers are opening the warehouse in Ardleigh just outside Colchester for appointments, where you can visit to browse the books, jigsaws, DVDs etc.

I visited earlier this week, and spent an enjoyable hour browsing without the crowds, before making my purchases of 2 large bagfuls of books.

http://www.nspcc-bookfair.org.uk/

[Lucky Star]

Sounds great Ice_Gemz. Hopefully book fairs will all be back to normal very soon.