After a quiet January catching up on the busy-ness before Christmas, we are back online with some great events in February; an open invitation to our Annual Get Toegether of Members (AGM), Bring Your Own Book and a real treat with the launch of Twyford Rising with author Helen Beynon, which we are sure will be a sold out event. And don’t forget contributions for the October Books review show where we are asking you if you would like to create a song, play, poem or story to be performed later in the year, when we can get together again. For all events see below for more details
We also have some REQUESTS FOR HELP AND ACTION
If you have a stash of book sized padded envelopes at home please do drop a few off at the shop, much needed for our continued deliveries
Let others know about Fairtrade fortnight 22nd February to 7th March and that we stock Fairtrade items
Do please send us recommended lockdown reads that you woud like to share with others, details here
We are continuing with reduced hours in February (Mon/ Wed/ Fri/ Sat, 10am till 4pm) with some workers still on furlough. So the shop will only be open for purchases of food and household products and for click and collect services. Books can still be ordered here and collected in store. We will continue with a one customer only in the shop policy.
Warmest regards
Clare, Jamie, Jess, Jaquie, Amy and Jonny
It is the time of year when we invite our October Books members to share the celebrations of the last year and look forward to our next steps. With the year we have had your support and input in imagining our future is more important than ever and so we are extending the invitation to all our customers, rather than just our members. We are doing this because we will be talking about our plans to convert to a Community Benefit Society and issue of Community Shares in 2023. If you have invested in October Books it might be worth your while attending. Please do watch this video from a previous session which will give you some background on what this is all about.
You will also have the opportunity to meet new Committee members Andy Cawdell and Mark Wakeling and our new team member Jonny Moreland. Do come along and say hello, we look forward to seeing you there.
Bring Your Own Book is the book club with a difference, where you decide which book you would like to talk about. Fiction or non-fiction, childrens books you have read and reread or new titles you have discovered in lockdown…. do come along and share with other book lovers.
Or do you prefer writing book recommendations rather than talking about them? Then please do send us your lockdown reading recommendation.
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Author talk: Twyford Rising by Helen Beynon BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE
Thursday 25th Februray 7pm
Join us with Helen Beynon via Zoom for the launch of her book, Twyford Rising, which tells the story of the protests to stop the construction of a motorway through Twyford Down. This was the first time environmental direct action on this scale had been taken in the UK and is acknowledged as the birthplace of the modern environmental movement.
The book tells the story of those protests in the words of those who were there, weaving together memories of local residents, new age travellers and young environmental activists, perhaps you? Including photos from the time, the book and the event is sure to be a trip down memory lane and will provide ideas and inspiration for contemporary campaigners.
We are setting up this event with an opportunity for conversations and connections after Helen has talked about the book. It feels that now is the time to talk about the legacy of the Twyford protests and what we can learn from them today. So do come along and share.
October Books Review
Submission call
Calling all writers and performers!
We want to put on a Community event and we are asking for submissions of songs, poetry, drama, and fiction to help us usher in the eventual end of Lockdown! What did you Love, Loathe, and Learn? We want to hear your experiences, whatever they may be.
The deadline for submissions extended to 28th of February, 2021.
For more details see here
OB online ordering – welcome to the future!
Huge thanks to all of you who have supported us by continuing to make purchases online with us, we really appreciate your support. Details below of how you can continue to order with us even though we are not fully open at the shopOrdering books
For collection from the shop: order directly with us
For delivery directly to your door: order via our storefront at BookshopOrdering non-book items
For click and collect or local delivery: order via our online shop
Please just let us know if you would like non-book itmes delivered.If you’re self isolating, cautious, or perhaps just prefer to order online we wanted to ensure that there are options that suit all.We look forward to hearing from you.
We are an independent, community bookshop based in the Portswood area of Southampton. We are a co-operative and any money we make is ploughed back into the business.
October Books,189 Portswood Road, Southampton, SO17 2NF