I’m posting a couple of guest posts this week – not just cos I’m lazy, promise – and the first is from my Mum aka Our Vicar’s Wife, about Honey Pot Books run from the Rectory garage. It may be rather too far for many of you, but anybody who can get to the West Country could be tempted. Over to Mum/OVW!
Honey Pot Books is one of those acorns which grew and grew and grew – turned into a good-sized tree, bearing all sorts of wonderful fruit, and now, sadly, is about to be felled!
It all began 12 years ago, with about 35 books, some empty bookshelves, a garage, and a broom. The garage was transformed into a weekly bookshop, open from 10-12 each Saturday. It offered fairtrade hot drinks, a chance to buy books, and to meet friends old and new. Its committee joined in the adventure – making opportunities to try new things, funding groups in the villages, and supporting activities with children and families. It was all small scale, but, like Topsy (or my oak tree) it continued to grow and develop.
We sold paperbacks at 40p or 3 for a pound; hardbacks 50p or £1, depending on size and condition. Drinks were free – ‘just throw some money in the basket if you want to’. There were jigsaws for the housebound, historical crime series to borrow for the hooked, children’s books (sold at two rates: half price for child shoppers!) were housed variously in a side room, a canary-coloured caravan, a shed and now, back in the garage. At one point we built a Kenyan Hut as part of our aim to link with a Kenyan charity. Akamba Aid Fund, but Storm Frank took away the last straw (well, the roof) and it was replaced by a resurrected shed. We held fund-raising breakfasts, on the driveway – read about the latest one here, held open weekends with literary installations in the garden, and themed refreshments (Mad Hatter). We worked alongside the church year, supporting initiatives designed to keep the festivals lively and relevant – helping with creative workshops and supporting the choir and ‘open the Book’ work in school.
The money we kept raising fed back into books, too – supporting the local book club, which meets in the village hall and helping to pay for boxes of books, in its early days. And we love books – oh, yes, we love books! They poured in – sometimes only fit for retirement, others, with the pages hardly turned, but all with their place in the scheme of things.
So, the Honey Pot Book tree has flourished and still holds a magical assortment of books – BUT – now they have to go. The end is in sight. Retirement = a house move and the garage must, like Cinderella, return to its previous condition. So, for this week and next, it’s Open House at the Honey Pot – open from 10.30 – 4.00 most days, with books flying off the shelves at bargain prices – an art gallery to enjoy, a white elephant stall to laugh at, the hallmark fairtrade hot (and cold) drinks AND a fairtrade shop! We’d love to see you and tell you more about our journey, and about some of the things we have achieved through this venture.
You’ll find us at TA14 6TT, just a couple of miles south of the A303 near Yeovil.
We’d love to see you and hear about your book adventures, too!
OVW and the Honey Pot* Committee
*Why ‘Honey Pot Books? I hear you ask… just ‘because…’
What a delighted post and venture! I’m sorry to miss the Honey Pot grand finale but wish OVW well in retirement.
Thank you – the venture has been such fun – never a dull moment! I am hoping for similarly pleasant surprises in retirement!
What a wonderful idea!
It has been such an adventure! My advice to anyone who asks is ‘start where you are and see where you get to’ – ‘don’t wait for perfection’. It certainly made for fun.
Oh, I wish I lived closer….
That sounds so wonderful…what a great premise for a novel. :D I’m sorry for its loss, but praying there are good things ahead for everyone involved!
I live SO close (TA12) postcode, and I ridiculously won’t have time to go. I’m so annoyed! Such a shame it is closing, it sounds as though it has acheived wonderful things.
What a shame – but thanks for your comment – it’s certainly been enormous fun.
*Argh, achieved