0 Comments on Olympic Bookshop Hop - Day 28 - Alnwick to Newcastle as of 1/1/1900
Day 27 and we caught up with Anne Harkness of the Forest Bookshop in Selkirk. Anne saw the torch from the bookshop door, which has a great vantage point for the market place.  | | Schoolchildren in nearby Innerleithen wait for the torch |
The torch coincided with Selkirk Common Riding, an annual event in the Borders in which locals ride around the town’s borders to celebrate past heroes who risked their lives to protect their towns. ‘It’s the biggest horse riding event in Europe – bigger even than the Paleo in Sienna,’ said Anne. ‘It was great to celebrate a local event alongside a national, and indeed an international, one,’ she added.  | | Here it comes... |
Anne pointed out that the Selkirk Common Riding also remembers how, after the Battle of Flodden (in which ‘unfortunately the Scots army was defeated’), tradition has it that only one man from the town returned, bearing a captured English flag. ‘Flags are therefore an important part of the Common Riding festivities,’ said Anne and this fitted in well with the torch’s arrival. ‘The fact that the town was already excited and waving flags added to the atmosphere.’
Anne was a little disappointed that she didn’t see former Scottish athlete and Olympic 100m medal winner Allan Wells running with the torch. ‘We were expecting the torch changeover to take place in the marketplace, but it didn’t and Allan must have taken over running with the torch elsewhere along the route.’
All the same, Anne, was ‘very pleased’ to have been there and seen it.
0 Comments on Olympic Bookshop Hop - Day 27 - Edinburgh to Alnwick as of 1/1/1900
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Today, day 26 of the Olympic torch relay, the flame travelled 145 miles from St Andrews to Edinburgh and visits Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument and Edinburgh Castle on the way.
Early in the morning, the torch was carried along West Beach in St Andrews by a group of children to re-enact the famous scene in Chariots of Fire where the British Olympic team (decked all in white) ran along the sand at Broadstairs in Kent. The scene for the 1981 Oscar winning film was actually filmed on West Beach and the athletes portrayed in the film were training for the 1924 Olympics (although none of them were carrying an Olympic torch as part of their training regime).
After its cameo on the coast, the torch continued on its route through Dunblane and Cumbernauld before it was transferred to a boat when it reached the Falkirk Wheel - which was opened by the Queen 10 years ago as part her Golden Jubilee celebrations.
It then was carried over the Forth Road bridge on a bike by record holding long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont.
Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh described how the torch arrived in the city at about 5pm and rested there overnight. Edinburgh Castle was the focal point for the celebrations, which is straight up the hill from The Fruitmarket Gallery. Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at the Gallery, headed up there after it had closed, hoping to catch sight of the flame:
‘There were lots of rumours among the crowd as to which direction the torch would take and people were running this way and that after it as though on some huge treasure hunt. I was fortunate and I caught up with it outside the Old Bank of Scotland, where the changeover took place.’
The town was ‘jam-packed’ with tourists and locals all jostling to see the torch, said Iain. ‘You couldn’t cross the Royal Mile and had to take a two-mile detour – it was just a solid wall of people. I’ve never seen Edinburgh like that. Even during the Festival, when the city is full, people are walking in different directions to different events. Here everyone was walking in one direction – towards the torch.’ Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us wit
70 days8,000 runners8,000 miles800 bookshops
Today, the torch travels more than 400 miles as it makes its way from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Western Isles to Aberdeen. The torch started the day with a brisk ride on a quad bike and a few laps of the athletics track at Lewis Sports Centre before being flown to Inverness. It wasn't until late afternoon that the torch arrived in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
Vicky Dawson, manager of Yeadons of Banchory, said she was ‘absolutely astonished’ at the reception the torch received in the town.  | | The torch arrives in Banchory |
‘It was a Scottish local holiday and the town had been quiet all day with hardly a soul on the street and then at 4pm all hell broke loose. It was perishing, but the village was filled with people like you’ve never seen before – more folk than turn up even for the big country fairs. Mackies, a local ice-cream manufacturer, had sent a coach load of its staff down for the event.’
Vicky was astonished by the enthusiasm for the torch and the patriotism it provoked. ‘It came as a complete revelation to me. We don’t usually show the Union Jack here, but it was being waved, and all the kids had hand-made golden torches that they’d made at school. The night that the Jubilee beacon was lit on the hill behind Banchory you could hear the national anthem for miles around. Things like this don’t happen in Scotland.’
And this patriotism has translated into books sales. ‘In Scotland, books about Great Britain and London are not generally what customers want, but here in Banchory both Jubilee and Olympics titles are selling well.’
Craig Willocks, manager of Books and Beans, Aberdeen, didn’t see or here anything of the torch as it arrived in the evening after the shop had closed and it had headed off from the BP headquarters before he opened again the following morning. He did witness the city’s enthusiasm, though:
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 20 of the torch was the last day of the Olympic Torch Relay on Irish soil. The torch was carried by 67 torchbearers on its 187 mile journey, from the foot of the Slieve Donard Mountain near Newcastle to Moorfields and then by ferry from Larne Harbour to Stanraer where the relay starts its journey around Scotland.
Ian Campbell, manager of Beulah Bookshop in Newcastle, Northern Ireland told us that the torch went past Newcastle at eight minutes to seven in the morning and Ian, who lives 12 miles away, wasn’t there to see it.
‘I didn’t expect people to be spending money at that time in the morning. They’re more likely to be thinking of a cup of coffee than getting their credit cards out.
Ian said he didn’t have a tremendous interest in the torch, but had heard that ‘there was very large crowd there to witness the event.’
Ian teaches part time in a local school and he said that a couple of the pupils went with their families to join the crowds. ‘For kids to get up at 5am to see the torch shows the enthusiasm young people have for it,’ he said. ‘One of the girls got to hold the torch so she was excited to have been there even though she’d been freezing all day.’
Despite the cold and rain, Ian felt that the torch helped to get everyone in the holiday spirit. ‘It brought thoughts of sunny days ahead, and the whole thing was has made more special because there was a sense that it would never happen again in our lifetimes.’
Athough Ian missed the torch at Newcastle, he had been caught up in on Sunday at Carigfergus. ‘I was in one of the cars dawdling along at 5 miles per hour. I didn’t see the torch which was ahead of me.'
An hour later the torch arrived at Downpatrick, and travelled past Eason and Sons in Market Street on its way to Meadowlands.
Lorraine Coates, manager at Eason and Sons, told us how the bookshop had opened at 7am to accommodate those who wanted to buy magazines etc. ‘It was a wet old morning and so people were glad of somewhere to shelter,’ said Lorraine.
The rain didn’t deter the crowds, though, and Lorraine described the turn out as ‘excellent.’
Later in the day, the flame (carried by torchbearer Eorann O'Neill) travelled by boat across Lough Neagh from Antrim Harbour to Ballyronan Harbour and was accompanied by a flotilla of boats. Having crossed Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, the torch then continued on land to Moorfields.
The final convey from Moorfields to Larne Harbour marked the end of 5 days of the relay in Northern Ireland and Dublin.
Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 19 of the torch relay saw the flame travel cross the Irish border at Newry before being taken around Dublin and returning to Belfast via Newry (again) and Lisburn.
The day started early with Belfast boxer Wayne McCullough (silver medal winner at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) handing the torch to his fellow boxer and friend Michael Carruth from Dublin (he'd won welterweight gold the same year).
Once in Dublin, the torch was carried through Croke Park by the Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin. Other sportsman carrying the torch in Dublin were Ronnie Delany, who won the 1500m gold for Ireland in the 1956 Games in Melbourne, former Ireland international footballer Paul McGrath, jockey Ruby Walsh and former Olympic silver medallist Sonia O'Sullivan.
Bob Johnston, owner of The Gutter Bookshop didn’t expect to see the torch, but caught a glimpse of it on his way to work – an experience which he said ‘made my day’.
‘The Olympic torch arrived at 9am. It was met by our president Michael Higgins and then travelled into the town centre at Phoenix Park before going on to Stephen’s Green, where a big party was being held in its honour. Our little bookshop was on route, but I wasn’t expecting to see it as I thought I’d be beavering away inside.
‘As it happened, I came in late that morning as we’d been involved in a writing festival in Dublin and as I passed Temple Bar, I caught sight of all the crowds and of the flame as it disappeared toward Stephens Green, carried by Jedward, who seem to appear at all such occasions.’
The twin brothers with Olympic flame-effect hair cuts were cheered on by thousands of adoring fans as the torch passed through the city.
The Winding Stair, another Dublin bookshop joined in with the fun and we'll be adding more information from the shop soon. However, a couple of other independent bookshops we spoke to in Dublin didn't feel the event had the X-factor. They told us that they were completely uninterested in the it, complaining that it disrupted traffic and made staff late for work.
After 5 days travelling around Ireland, the Olympic torch returned to Belfast where David Torrans, owner of No Alibis, Belfast (who had already filled us in on events when the flame first arrived in Northern Ireland), told us that one member of his staff, who has signed up as a volunteer helper at the Games, had definitely entered into the spirit of the Olympics: ‘I asked her to come into the shop at 5pm this evening to help out and she flatly refused. She said that she had to be in town to see the flame being lit at 6pm!’
'She still has a job though' joked David.
Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 18 of the Olympic Torch Relay passed through Omagh, visited Enniskillen Castle and travelled into the Marble Arch Caves on the journey from Londonderry to Newry.
Alison McDermott, manager of the Carlisle Bookshop, Omagh, had considered closing the bookshop on the day the Olympic torch came to the town as it coincided with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which she thought might keep people at home. In the end she decided to stay open as normal and the crowds gathered in numbers that were ‘very big by Omagh’s standards’.
‘The torch arrived at 10am, but the crowds had been gathering outside the shop since 9am. There were street entertainers organised by the Council, and the children were being given freebies – balloons and flags etc. Many were wearing themed t-shirts, but I’ve no idea where they came from. I was standing outside the shop and some members of the staff were upstairs where they had a good vantage point. We saw the torch go by carried by a young boy. For the first leg of its travels through the town, it had been carried by a 93-year-old man – we had all age groups covered.’
Alison managed to see the torch twice, as she had been in Portrush on Sunday, where it appeared before crowds of thousands.
The whole weekend was a combined Olympics and Jubilee celebration, with the beacons being lit on Monday night, but on Tuesday, the Olympics took precedence. ‘In Omagh, while the torch was in town, the focus was on the torch,’ said Alison.
‘It was a good event and everyone enjoyed all the razzmatazz, but I’m not sure that it benefited the town from a business point of view,’ adds Alison. ‘Once the torch had gone, the showers came and the crowds dispersed.’
Alison has not ruled out seeing the torch again: ‘A Swedish friend of mine had her parents in-law over for the weekend, and they remembered seeing the torch when it passed through their village in 1956.’
From Omagh, the torch went on to visit the Marble Arch Caves which are situated just outside Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. The flame was carried by members of the relay security team into the caves, which are described as a 'fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers and form the only UNESCO Geopark in Northern Ireland. The final torchbearer of the day was 17-year-old Ryan Cinnamond who was greeted by Sebastian Coe in Newry and watched on as Ryan lit the cauldon to mark the end of the stage of the relay and the start of the evening celebrations. Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've miss
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 17 saw the torch cross over the Carrick-a-Rede ropebridge (careful with that torch!), onto the Giant's Causeway (a Unesco World Heritage Site) which is made up of 40, 000 hexagonal basalt columns which protrude from the sea.
It then continued on its route along the north coast of Northern Ireland before being taken onto an eight-man coxed boat on the River Bann and passing under the Old Bridge in Coleraine before being transferred back to dry land. Kathy Thompson, manager at Eason and Sons in Coleraine, told us that, ‘The torch didn’t pass in front of our shop – it would have been good if it had. It came to the other side of town, on the other side of the bridge. There were plenty of people in town to see it. The local radio station was out there and there was lots of music and celebration.’ From Coleraine, the torch headed for Londonderry. Nat Roche, manager of the ShipQuay Bookshop in Londonderry told us that ‘The torch coming was a major event for us. Being in Northern Ireland, we’re slightly divorced from the Olympics, so when the torch arrived here, it made people here more aware of the Games and more a part of the event.
‘There was a big turn out in Londonderry and everyone was in support of it. Our shop had closed before the torch arrived and we waited around for half an hour in the hope of seeing it, but it had been held up on route.’
Luckily, Nat was able to catch up with the torch in the evening, when he attended the torch celebrations at St Columbus Park. ‘There was a big concert in the park. It was a very good event and the weather held out for us.’
Despite being modest about his sporting credentials, Art Byrne, owner of Foyle Bookshop in Londonderry was equally enthusiastic about the event: ‘I wasn’t there. I’m not very athletic and not interested in the Olympics, but a big crowd turned out for it and in general it was a success.
‘The torch event united the community in Londonderry, which is not a very united city. There was a small protest by the dissident republicans, which was blown up out of proportion by the media so that the success of the event took second place. But it was a success, it was a good day and a sunny day and the crowds enjoyed it.’ Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
On Day 16 of the Olympic Torch Relay, the flame started its journey from the birth place of the Titanic in Belfast. The torch was set to travel 126 miles between Belfast and Portrush visiting Stormont, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Carrickfergus Castle on the way.
David Torrans, No Alibis, Belfast – one of only a few independent bookshop still remaining in Northern Ireland described the early start from Belfast, ‘It rained. It rained an awful lot. And, to be honest, the Olympic spirit was not present in the shop too much. It’s so busy that I haven’t had the opportunity to follow the flame.’ [We will hear more from David on Day 19 when the torch returns to Belfast.]
Rugby Union's Trevor Ringland was amongst the torch bearers in Larne. The former Ireland winger was chosen for the Lions tour of New Zealand in 1983 and played in the first rugby World Cup four years later.
Army medic Kylie Watson from Ballymena, carried the torch in Portrush, she's one of only four women who have won the Military Cross for twice risking her life under heavy fire to treat two soldiers in Afghanistan.
The route followed the dramatic County Antrim coastline before visiting the golf course of Portrush, home of golfers Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, and the evening celebration on the beach.
Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.
It's Jubilee weekend, and we're taking a quick break from the Olympic Bookshop Hop to celebrate. I'm an ardent republican who seems to have unwittingly raised ardent monarchists, hence I am celebrating the Jubilee on behalf of my three eager (and loyal) young subjects. The children have not forgiven us for taking them camping over the (madness of) the Royal Wedding last year (no TV, no wifi, hurrah!) and we were planning to do the same this year for Jubilee weekend but the children had other ideas. Not only have we spent the past week on a non-stop Jubilee parade of lunches, parties and bonnet-making...
...but our house now looks, thanks to E's determination, like it's hosting its very own Jubilee street party...
Tomorrow we have ambitious plans to seee the flotilla or, to give it its proper title, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, so watch this space, I will report back Sunday evening...
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Nigel Webberley, owner of Webberleys Bookshop, Stoke-on-Trent told us that you needed to be up very early to catch the action on Day 13 of the Olympic torch relay. Unluckily for Nigel: ‘The torch came past at 6am and had gone by the time we arrived there so we didn’t see anything of it. The places where it was of interest were the local schools in smaller towns and villages along the route. Congleton, in particular was gridlocked. I know this because I have to drive through Congleton. It was full of parents with gangs of children, all enjoying themselves.
‘The event was really for children and Stoke isn’t really accessible to children at 6am.’
The torch continued on its route and reached Runcorn at a more sociable hour, where Liz Howard, owner Curiosity Bookshop, told us that, ‘It was wonderful. Our shop was covered with balloons and Union Jacks. There aren’t many shops on the High Street, and the bank next door (HSBC) wasn’t allowed to put out bunting as it was thought “politically incorrect”, so we stood out.
 | | The Curiosity Bookshop in Runcorn joining in the fun with the worlds' local bank next door |
‘It absolutely poured down on the day – and I don’t mean the odd shower – but it didn’t dampen our spirits. No one minded the weather; we just got on with it. ‘I was surprised by the length of the parade – I didn’t realise that there’d be so many vehicles. The children were all very excited. Before it arrived there was two hours’ of entertainment, with clowns on push bikes, and French onion sellers playing ukuleles and singing French songs. There was also drum band from a local high school, wearing blue and silver satin outfits and getting drenched.  | | Clowning around in front of another local bank in Runcorn - this one with flags. |
‘This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often in Runcorn so I was out there taking photographs. Someone asked me why I was taking pictures before the torch arrived, so I said that I wanted to capture the street with people in it!’ Before the torch arrived, Liz was joined by Mrs Philpott, who had been there at the 1948 Olympics and saw the Olympic flame being lit at the stadium then. ‘We gave her a chair and she sat by the edge of the road with her mac and umbrella and was thrilled to see the torch for a second time in her lifetime.’
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
From an overnight rest at Chester Racetrack, the torch started its journey carried by 16 year old badminton player Jennifer Moore. Did you know that the finest shuttlecocks are said to be made from the left wing of a goose? That's right - no joke.
Carrie Morris, co-owner (with her husband Tim) of Booka Bookshop in Oswestry waited eagerly for the torch's arrival, ‘It was very, very exciting – a huge success. There were 10,000 people lining the streets, wearing red, white and blue, waving flags and cheering. It was a great atmosphere.
‘There were lots of school children from all the different primary schools in the area and they were sitting and standing on the pavement, watching and cheering and waving too.
 | | Photo taken by Tim from Booka Bookshop in Oswestry |
'Ours is a café-bookshop and afterwards it was full. We had a busy, busy day.' Carrie’s only disappointment was that the Oswestry leg of the relay didn’t get much TV coverage. ‘The focus was very much on Much Wenlock down the road, because of its historic links with the Olympic Games.’  | | Even the mascot Wenlock (or is it the other one) is keeping one eye on the road as it passes through Oswestry on its way to Much Wenlock (did I say Wenlock?). |
Anna Dreda, owner of Wenlock Books, Much Wenlock said that the torch was greeted by a crowd of 10,000 at Much Wenlock, which had squeezed into the narrow streets.  | | Anna sent us this photo taken by local artist Beverley Fry (www.beverleyfry.co.uk) showing the waiting crowd |
Anna said that the torch relay had a special significance for the town, as Much Wenlock is where the modern Olympics started. Her shop
70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
There ain't no river wide enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no mountain high enough to keep the torch from you! Today we saw the torch cross from Anglesey across the Menai Straits (ok it's not really a river), pass through some Welsh valleys and up Mount Snowdon (carried by Sir Chris Bonington) before being taken to the races at Chester.
Clare Glass, manager of Waterstone’s in Llandudno wasn't in the shop, but didn't miss out: ‘It was my day off, but the torch happened to go past my house so I saw it then.
‘In Llandudno, it travelled along the prom and I heard that a lot of people turned up. The town really got behind it and there are still British flags flying.
‘We had a dump bin outside the shop featuring Olympics and Jubilee titles, but on the whole the shop had a quiet day. We were expecting some of the crowds to come into the town, but after the torch had passed, they all went home.’
Donna Morris, store assistant at WHSmith, Rhyl said, ‘The torch was a few streets away from our shop so I didn’t see much and to be honest, I didn’t have much interest in it at first, but then I heard the crowds cheering and the loudspeakers playing Chariots of Fire and a shiver went down my spine, and I really got into it.’
A spokesperson at Bluecoat Bookshop in Chester wasn't won over by the fun of the event and didn't hang around: ‘The torch came in the evening and we’d gone by then. I had no interest in it whatsoever. The roads were closed for the night and that was bad enough.’ So there you go - make all that effort Sir Chris and what for? Well it worked for Diana Ross. Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.
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Sorry, readers, writing this post is depressing even me! So I searched for some encouragement online. I Googled "unmarketable manuscript" and found the phrase in Sophy Burnham's For Writers Only: Inspiring Thoughts on the Exquisite Pain and Heady Joy of the Writing Life from Its Great Practitioners (Tarcher Books), a book I happen to own but haven't read in years. I pulled For Writers Only off my bookshelf and read Burnham's own rejection story. Burnham, who is a bestselling nonfiction author, spent four or five years working on a novel. When she finally finished it and sent it to her agent, he responded, "This is unmarketable. . . . Burn it. Every writer does one or two of these. You're a talented writer. Go write something I can sell."
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0 Comments on Olympic Bookshop Hop - Day 28 - Alnwick to Newcastle as of 1/1/1900
I hope there are more Wild Wild Midwest conferences, too, since I didn't get to go this year. Enjoy!
So glad you found a new place for Girls Write!
Have a fabulous time, Carmela--and thanks for the link to the Crystal Kite awards. And I hope to see you at SCBWI's summer conference some year!