I’m Antonia and I run the shop in the Town Hall (now called Uncover!). I’ve been doing this for over a year now but what a year it’s been….! With Covid-19 restrictions due to ease soon, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome you all back into our shop. I’ve got some lovely new stock ready for you, as well as some old favourites.
The recent lockdown has been tough for everyone, mix in the cold and wet weather we’ve had over the winter, it’s no surprise people are starting to struggle. In light of this, we’ve got a wide collection of books focusing on self-love, positivity, well-being and how to live your life to the full. I’m sure a lot of you are turning your noses up to the thought of reading a ‘self-help’ book, and you’re not alone! I used to be the exact same, but trust me, these books work…
Maybe a self-help book really isn’t your thing, and that’s okay. How about plants? I’m sure there’s a huge amount of your who bought your fair share of house plants over the past 3 lockdowns, I know I did. And it’s true what they say, having plants in your home can drastically improve your mood! Keeping this in mind, we now have a selection of Macrame plant hangers available, all locally made of course. You can buy these separately for your current plant babies, or why not treat yourself to some more greenery in your home?!
It’s coming up to summer, and you know what that means! Some gorgeous new jewellery collections for you to swoon over. My personal favourite had to be our new pressed flower rings, they’re perfect for all those socially distanced summer get-togethers, and I can’t wait to show mine off when beer gardens re-open!
Speaking of beer gardens, I truly have missed going out to eat with friends. Having said that, the past lockdown has given me the chance to greatly improve my cooking skills. Having been veggie for a few years now, and recently going vegan, trying to find yummy recipes can be tricky. That was until I discovered quite possibly the best cookbook yet, Bosh! Bosh is a wonderful book filled with delicious yet easy recipes (and If I find them easy, they must be easy!) If your more of a baker, or aren’t ready to commit to veganism just yet, never fear! We have a great selection of cookbooks ready for you.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent a fair bit of lockdown working your way through your bookshelf, as well as re-visiting some old favourites. I’ve dedicated a lot of the past few months to reading, and have some recommendations for you all. My first recommendation is by fair my favourite book I’ve ever read, having said that, it’s extremely dark and not for the faint hearted. ‘Alice’ by Christina Henry is the best, most disturbing and quite frankly terrifying re-telling of Lewis Carrol’s Alice In Wonderland, and I can’t recommend it enough. If you like horror, trust me, this is the book for you. I started this book with not very high hopes, thinking it would be a butchering of the original, and aimed at young adults looking for something ‘scary’ to read. Boy was I wrong.
My second recommendation couldn’t be more different. ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ is set in a small Café in Japan that has the power to send you back in time, as long as you follow a strict set of rules, number one being to return to the present before your coffee turns cold. I don’t want to give too much away, but It really makes you think. If you could go back in time, who would you see? What would you say? Would you spend your time in the past meeting your favourite musician (because who wouldn’t want to meet Ringo Starr in his heyday?!), or would you use this gift to get to know your ancestors? Whatever the answer, there’s one thing that’s for sure, you have to read this book.
If it’s non-fiction you’re after, why not try ‘2071 – the world we’ll leave our grandchildren’? I’ve read my fair share of environmentally based literature, and this is by far the easiest of them all to read. It’s quick, simple and gets straight to the point. With only a few paragraphs on each page, and sometimes just a sentence, it makes the climate crisis easy to understand. Having said that, don’t be fooled into thinking this book is a light read, it really makes you think long and hard about the planet we live in, and what we as individuals need to do to save it.
Now I’m sure you’ve all heard of the brilliant book ‘The Salt Path’ by now, unless you’ve been living under a rock or decided not to leave your house in months (imagine?!) If, by some chance however, you haven’t read this book yet, please do. It’s a beautiful story of a married couple who give up everything to camp along the stunning English coastline. It’s happy, sad, funny and inspiring, everything a good book should be.
If anyone has any recommendations of their own, please let me know! I’m always on the look out for new additions to my ever growing book collection, and would love to know what you’ve been enjoying over lockdown.
The shop reopens from Monday 12th April, Monday to Saturday 10am – 2pm. I can’t wait to see you and show you all our new stock!