Saving Pages: A selection of vintage bookmarks

As a child of second-hand booksellers I had ready access to books and their offshoot – bookmarks. I recently rediscovered a box filled with some that once upon a time I had hoarded.

David Abbott, writer, book lover, inspiration

David Abbott, one of advertising’s best known, most accomplished and best beloved writers died last Saturday 17 May. One of the founders of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, he was responsible for a huge number of famous ads and campaigns for clients including BT, Sainsbury’s, The Economist and Volvo. My two editions of D&AD’s Copy Book are…

A dream of a bookshop: Topping & Company Booksellers, Ely

The Topping and Company bookshop in Ely is so good it’s almost laughable. This is the kind of shop that you don’t expect to find in real life; only, perhaps, in a lost Penelope Lively children’s book, or there to be sneered at for its too-good-to-be-true perfection in a Richard Curtis film.

Behind Bristol’s Closed Doors

A new way to go behind the scenes of some of Bristol’s most historic buildings.

Coping with the ‘to read’ pile: confessions of an English book-eater

All book lovers and avid readers, whatever type of book or subject matter they’re into, are faced with one great big non-negotiable truth – YOU’LL NEVER READ THEM ALL.

I owe my life to a second-hand bookshop

Once upon a time a young woman opened a bookshop…

Why I love Twitter (a bit, despite the bile)

There’s a lot to put you off Twitter. People spreading hate. Bots pretending to be people spreading hate. People wanting to police the thoughts and comments of strangers. Attack mobs flaring up. Oversharing. Utter inanity and mundanity. I get why lots of people leave or never join in the first place. But, there is also…

An ill-fated encounter between a pompous git* and a pram.

Why is it that a certain kind of person in this country finds it so hard to accept that children exist? It’s not as if they are a rarity. If you have or know children, you’ve probably encountered the type. They’re often male, but not exclusively, usually fairly well-off and long past their own youth.…