I was manning the book stall at the school summer fair today. Despite the rain we had a bumper day of trading, especially in the last half hour when I started selling carrier bags for £1 and people could fill them up with the remaining books. The punters went crazy.
I still think that would make for a blinding high street retail promotion. They do it in the States in some clothes shops. You buy a carrier bag for $50 or something and can then cram in anything you want from the sales racks. I reckon if Waterstone's charged £20 for an average size bag then let you loose on a promotional table it would prove very popular indeed.
Anyway, I picked up a couple of cracking books for myself.
Holiday Book of Things to Do dates from 1973 and is full of ideas and suggestions that must have kept kids amused for hours back in the day but which, by the looks of the nails and glass on the cover, would have the health and safety brigade up in arms now. From cotton reel motors to pond dipping, nine men's morris to moss collecting, peg dolls to leaf rubbing, it is jam packed full of activities that seem awfully quaint to a 21st century reader - but that isn't going to stop me trying them out on Ethan and Martha over the weekend.
Also from 1973 is this artefact.
This should certainly keep my Jack Hargreaves fixation going for a while longer. I watched a DVD of Out of Town a few weeks back and was transported back to my childhood. I am now seriously considering buying the whole set.
If we do make anything worth showing off you can rest assured that I shall post pictures here.
Awww Jack Hargreaves <3 I've gone all warm and fuzzy.
Posted by: Jo | June 07, 2009 at 10:09 AM
I'll go halves with you on the Out of Town DVDs
Posted by: PK Munroe | June 07, 2009 at 11:50 PM
If you are serious about getting the Out of town box set you’ll have to get you skates on as its currently deleted. So is Out of town number 3 including “market day” when Jack laments about the closure of cattle markets and visits Ringwood market. We have sold 256 in two years so I’m gutted its currently not available. Will have to get Mr Anderson on the case.
Posted by: tj | June 08, 2009 at 09:30 AM
TJ - It is the Ringwood episode which I saw. Remarkable stuff. When was that filmed? Presumably some time in the 70s which I realise was a while ago but still, amazing scenes. The idea of a woman bringing in two pats of butter she had made at home to sell really struck me. Does that happen anywhere nowadays?
Posted by: Scott Pack | June 09, 2009 at 08:25 AM
Cotton reel motors. That's it. I was trying to think of those the other day. I had this vague image of my dad and a rubber band and something that whizzed along the floor but I couldn't recall the specifics. Thanks for dusting off that memory for me.
Posted by: jem | June 09, 2009 at 12:18 PM