A Blustery Day

We had a fantastic day out in London on Sunday, despite the rain and the wind.

The first thing on our agenda, after a cup of coffee of course, was the ABC (Art. Book and Comics) Show at the Royal National Hotel. By the time we got there we were drenched, as not all the tube lines were operating and it seemed easier to walk, even in the wet, than try and work out how to get from where we were to where we wanted to be by tube.

The show was great - lots of great comic artwork for sale, lots of comics and some interesting books. I wandered round for a while then went and sat in the foyer with the coats and purchases and my knitting to allow Pete to carry on looking.

When we got out of the fair the rain had finally stopped so we took a tube up to Holborn and walked down through Covent Garden and down Charing Cross Road stopping off in all the bookshops,as you do. In Foyle's I picked up Ghost of Flea by James Sallis, the last of his Lew Griffin novels and the only one I was missing.

A quick detour up Oxford Street and down Regent Street to Hamleys finished our little tour. It reminded us of when the Evilpixie was small and a trip to London just had to include a trip to Hamleys. Sunday was the last day of half-term and Hamleys was absolutely heaving.

It was a good day, despite the wet start. And I'll be back in London again on Friday because I've been shortlisted for the Booksellers Bursary - a writing competition open to all employees of Waterstones. I'm not expecting to win, but the prize of £500 and a Arvon Foundation writing course would be lovely. I'm really just pleased to be shortlisted as I know there are some really great writers among my fellow booksellers. I'll let you know how I get on!