8 minute read
BOOKS Recommendations to get your gift shopping started
by MediaClash
BOOKS NIC BOTTOMLEY
Present tense Nic shares his selection of the some of the best books to give as gifts
Advertisement
One of the trickiest aspects of retailing is getting several months ahead when it comes to buying and promoting books. When sales representatives show me spooky books in May, my stunted retail brain fi nds it diffi cult to fast forward to Halloween and imagine excited trick or treaters wanting to read about witches and spiders. Similarly, when the catalogues in July off er snowtinted country house mysteries and anthologies of wintery tales, I fi nd it diffi cult to remember how much demand there’ll be come Christmas shopping season.
This year’s diff erent though. Had you noticed? This year, Christmas retail season is upon us in the blink of an eye. First, because it’s November already (somehow). And secondly because this year it’s important for us shop folk to give everyone the opportunity to spread their Christmas shopping out and get it done earlier than usual, so we avoid big crowds and clamour at a time when keeping safe is still the most important thing.
With that in mind, here’s a themeless scattergun charge through fi ve of my favourite books to gift in the festive season ahead.
Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (Hamish Hamilton, £14.99) is the exquisite follow-up to their inspiring Lost Words which encouraged so many of us to make sure that our children do not lose their connection to the natural world. The vast scale of their fi rst book has been replaced with a pocked-sized hardback, but the combination of Morris’s stunning artwork and the evocative writing remains. The text this time comes as poetic ‘spells’ that remind us of the quiet majesty of the creatures in our countryside – barn owls, foxes, peregrine falcons, rabbits and so many more.
Sticking with poetry and those true ‘Christmassy’ books, there is one excellent anthology to look out for that I think will prove as a tonic to many readers in the season ahead. A Poems for Every Winter Day edited by Allie Esiri (Macmillan, £14.99) brings together traditional and modern verse from Robert Burns to Joseph Coelho in a truly escapist and calming collection for the season.
Over the years golf-lovers, compared to cycling nuts for example, have been poorly served when it comes to gift-books. Until now. Lofted by William Watt (Hardie Grant, £22) is easily the best visual book on golf I’ve ever seen. Dispensing with the hackneyed old perceptions of golf and instead focusing on the more inclusive modern game, Lofted takes us to the most intriguing and obscure locations from Himalayan foothills to windswept Scottish islands. Essays on the history and landscape of each course are accompanied by images for golfers to pore over as they work out how they’d navigate the epic sand-traps, ravines, and near lunar landscapes of some of the world’s most remarkable layouts.
In a year where travel has been ruled out but wanderlust might remain, The Flightless Traveller by Emma Gregg (Quercus, £22) may make the perfect gift. Not only is this a beautifully presented book that makes the browsing reader wistful for the open road, it’s also one with sustainable journeying at its heart. Whether the trips described are short or long they share one thing in common – no fl ights are involved. Near-to-home adventures on foot or two wheels come to the fore, in combination with many enticing European itineraries accessed by rail or road. True, even after lockdowns ease, a couple of the epic trans-continental suggestions will be out of reach to all but the time-rich. But it doesn’t harm to dream and the overall message is timely and crucial – that the world can be at our fi ngertips even without costing the Earth.
And whilst the state of the planet is on our mind, it’s worth remember that at 94 years of age David Attenborough has once again contributed one of the most vital books of the year with A Life on Our Planet (Ebury, £20). As the subtitle tells us, this is his own witness statement of the changes to our planet’s eco-systems in his lifetime of observing and educating us about nature. It’s also his urgent call to arms for putting things right and therefore maybe the most vital book for all of us to read this Christmas.
Nic Bottomley is the general manager of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, 14/15 John Street, Bath; 01225 331155; www.mrbsemporium.com
CHARITY CHRISTMAS CARD POP-UP IN BATH
CARDS FOR GOOD CAUSES is open until 23 January…
The festive season truly gets under way in Bath when the Cards for Good Causes charity Christmas card shop opens at 8-10 Old Bond Street, Bath (previously Radley) on 24 October. The new location for 2020 is just a short walk from our usual pop-up space at St Michaels Church. Buying Christmas cards through Cards for Good Causes is the best way to get access to the widest selection of Christmas cards available, as well as a fantastic range of seasonal gifts and products, while supporting a range of national and local charities.
Staffed by a team of local volunteers, the Bath pop-up shop is part of a network of more than 300 temporary shops run by Cards for Good Causes, the UK’s largest charity Christmas card organisation. It represents more than 250 charities including Cancer Research UK, Barnardo’s, WWF, Alzheimer’s Society and RNLI as well as a number of local charities such as Julian House and Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.
The not-for-profi t organisation has a huge selection of charity Christmas cards and seasonal gifts, and 100 per cent of its proceeds are donated to local and national charities. Last year, Cards for Good Causes raised over £5 million for charity, and has aspirations to do even better this year with charities needing vital funds more than ever in the current Covid-19 crisis.
Shoppers will be able to choose from hundreds of different Christmas card designs, as well as traditional advent calendars and candles, wrapping paper, gift tags, napkins and stocking fi llers. Created especially for this season, local Christmas card designs depict Bath Abbey at Christmas time.
Jennifer Saunders, shop manager for Cards for Good Causes says, “Buying charity Christmas cards is one of the simplest ways to support good causes this festive season and we stock one of the widest ranges of Christmas cards anywhere. The proceeds from every card or product sold make a vital contribution to the work of the charities that we partner. Come and fi nd us at 8-10 Old Bond Street, Bath and get ahead in your Christmas preparations by getting your cards early.”
In the past ten years, charities have received more than £40 million from Cards for Good Causes, representing at least 70p in every pound, out of which the charities pay for the production and distribution of their Christmas cards and any VAT. ■
Shop Opening Hours: 10am–6pm, Monday–Saturday 8-10 Old Bond Street, Bath BA1 1BW For further information visit www.cardsforcharity.co.uk or follow them on Facebook or Twitter
THE ADVENTURE STARTS HERE!
Adventurous learning is at the heart of KING EDWARD’S PRE-PREP AND NURSERY as Stuart Boydell, a Year 1 teacher explains…
King Edward’s Pre-Prep & Nursery School is known as the school for adventurous minds where every day is different and every day is brimming with creativity and fun. Whether the children are busy turning their classroom into a Victorian school room, making cosy dens for hedgehogs in Forest School, or in an imaginary boat sailing around the world with a penguin looking for different penguin colonies, the children are continuously involved in learning through exploration and creative thinking.
Everything the Pre-Prep School does is aimed at giving the children the highest quality learning experiences. Learning takes place through a programme of carefully-crafted cross-curricular topics aimed at giving every child the best opportunities to develop a passion for learning. A love of reading and learning through stories are often at the heart of the children’s topics which lead them on adventures to medieval castles, lands roaming with dinosaurs or an exploration of new cultures and places around the world. Specialist teachers, trips and visiting guests enrich the topics by helping the children to create stunning art and pottery exhibitions, traditional cultural dances or cuisine and musical performances.
Beyond the broad curriculum, King Edward’s Pre-Prep School offers a wealth of extra-curricular and enrichment activities which are carefully chosen to widen the children’s enjoyment and want for learning beyond the school day. The after-school specialist-run activities include Art, the Bertinet Cookery Club, Choir, Dance, Drama, Fun Science, Gardening, Individual Music Lessons, IT, Pottery and a wealth of different sports clubs.
The first exciting steps along the road for a child’s personal, emotional and academic development within King Edward’s School starts in the gentle environment within the Pre-Prep School. It is there that children and their parents forge close friendships that continue to grow with the children as they move up through the King Edward’s family of schools.
As one parent said, “the Pre-Prep is a little piece of school heaven.” The journey of discovery and learning starts in the beautiful setting of King Edward’s Pre-Prep & Nursery School. The adventure really does start here! n
King Edward’s Pre-Prep & Nursery, Weston Lane, Bath BA1 4AQ; 01225 421681 pre-prep@kesbath.com. Before and After School Care available. Drop off from 8am. Latest pick-up 5.45pm; www.kesbath.com
14 & 15 Walcot Buildings, London Road, Bath BA1 6AD t: 01225 920 210 kelly@thebathframer.co.uk www.thebathframer.co.uk
