Jubilee days....

Well, what a week it's been..and I can officially declare that I am now jubileed out. No more wall to wall coverage of the jubilee on television, or in the newspapers please. No, I mean it. It was lovely, despite the weather, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pomp and ritual in London,plus the more down to earth celebrations here in Leicestershire.

On Sunday I was working...visiting and broadcasting live from quite a few jubilee events . One was in Kibworth where the local pub ,The Coach and Horses,  transformed itself into a boat with funnels, life rafts, illuminated portholes and a bow.

The landlord Andrew Southerdon became the Admiral of the fleet and thousands of people turned in nautical gear of some sort or other...as naval officers, ratings, gondoliers, pirates et al.  Slightly surreal as Leicestershire is one of the most landlocked counties in the country.

Nearly eighty tables under gazebos snaked down the main street of the village..and Michael Wood , the broadcaster and historian who based his " History of England" TV series there, was also present.

Katie Fforde, the romantic novelist described him on twitter as the thinking woman's crumpet.....and do you know what? After interviewing him, I can confirm she's right!

In Wigston I met a Queen.....who really got into the spirit of things....his name was Paul and he had the deepest voice.....

But on Monday, our village celebrated the Jubilee. With only twenty six houses, the celebrations were slightly more modest than those in London....

Children from the village got dolled up in fancy dress, and led by Tom and Michelle on trumpets, marched down from the twelfth century church to the village green....

to the modest marquee which seated eighty of us!

We all tucked into cornation chicken, salads, breads, puddings and we got through quite a lot of wine and beer....

There were union jacks everywhere...

Even the youngest baby there was very patriotic.... 

Apart from the flags there were a number of vintage cars on display too....some the men in our village have a thing about them.Willie, Brian, Tom and John are enthusiasts...and they have a lovely collection of classic cars between them.... 

Isn't she beautiful? 

And what about these...love the Riley and the 1924 Rolls Royce at the end....

But there was a space, so my eldest son decided to put his classic, clapped out Saxo into the line up!

And as the sun came out, it was  time for fun and games on the green by the old village school....

A lovely day when the whole village gathered and celebrated in a very traditional way. Brilliantly  organised by Georgina Whitehead and Rhian Goodman... enjoyed by everyone... including all of my family , except for the boy in Australia...who rang just as we all gathered in the marquee. Such impeccable  timing...and he was able to join in a rousing chorus of Land of Hope and Glory..

What did you do for the Jubilee?

Today's track has to be this -Land of Hope and Glory...every time I hear this, it always moves me. Rousing, beautifully orchestrated, always instilling pride.....in a way that the dirge that is" God save our Queen " never does.....

Days of mooching about in bookshops

There's something about days off, wet days and bookshops. Don't get me wrong...I just don't go into a bookshop to get out of the rain......but can you think of a better way of spending a satisfying hour or two in a snug little shop surrounded by fascinating new books to look at?

If it's fine, there's always other things to be done...getting the washing out on the line, going for a lovely walk, being on the allotment catching up in a mad frenzy of digging and planting....useful things, busy things.

But I mooch about in bookshops whatever the weather. I adore them,  it's the most wonderful feeling seeing new books, dipping in between the covers, inhaling the intense smell of a shiny new book and whiling away blissful guilt free minutes in other worlds and other times.

And that's exactly what I did last Saturday afternoon as it persisted down relentlessly  -I toddled off to my local ,and one of my favourite ,bookshops.

It's in Kibworth and called....wait for it.....the Bookshop, and I have to say it's the teeniest, tiniest shop you could imagine. About the size of an average size sitting room .But it's so pretty.....and full of books that I want!

I'm not surprised that the Bookshop has been shortlisted in the Independent Bookseller of the Year Award for 2012. The shop has already won the Midlands and Wales title, and now Debbie James who owns the shop, is hoping for great things on 14 May when the main award is given out at a posh dinner.

I first met Debbie the first week she opened the shop...just before Christmas 2009 - the month that Borders...yes...big ,bold Borders closed its doors.

Now at a time when the number of bookshops here in the UK is declining, that's a brave move.From 2006 to 2011 nearly 400 independent bookshops closed  -almost a third of the total number .

You get a friendly welcome when you enter the shop from Debbie who's chatty, knowledgeable and efficient.You could be forgiven for thinking that she's been in the business for years. But she hasn't....this is her very first bookshop although it's always been her dream to own one...and before that she wasn't even in the trade - she was touring around Europe (she's fluent in German) as a sales advisor for Premier Drum.

It was risky even opening the shop....so in the New Year I hotfooted back to the shop to interview her for a feature on BBC Radio Leicester  -A new year, a new business. I also interviewed Darren, a local computer consultant who was also venturing into a new career as a builder. Both I'm pleased to say are doing brilliantly.

But back to Debbie. Although she was new to the business,....she's spot on when it's come to building it up. She already runs three bookgroups - the one that takes place monthly in the shop always involves wine and cheese straws, and the other two take place at a local restaurant called Bobolis. I suspect wine makes an appearance there too!

I know how hot she is at customer service from personal experience. Whatever I want, if she hasn't got it ,will be ordered and usually be available to be picked up the next day. But  one day, I rang up to see if she had a paperback...a rather obscure one. Debbie said she would order it as usual. I was at work the following day though and wouldn't be able to get into the shop before closing time. And I needed that book first thing the following day to give a present.

Debbie thought for a few seconds..."What time could you be here by then?" I said I couldn't get there until an hour after she closed.

She beamed....and said she would meet me then in the the village pub. So the following day, I met her in the pub where she was with a friend, picked up my book and ended up staying for a few glasses of wine. That's what I call friendly service!

Luckily there are still  hundreds of other lovely,local , friendly bookshops like this one....
but they do need your support. Without it, and the fact that on line sales of books are rocketing and the rise of ebooks - so many may  disappear.

So go on, support your local bookshop too....and you don't even have to wait until a rainy day either.....

Today's track is "Wrapped up in Books" from the sublime Belle and Sebastian ,I saw them perform at Leicester's  Summer Sundae festival back in 2006. Their clever, catchy songs  delighted ....