BOOKS What Nic Bottomley of Mr B’s is reading this Christmas

BOOKS NIC BOTTOMLEY

Writings of comfort and joy

The books that have stolen our Christmas hearts

“There are books that each year I simply have to read with the children, in order for Christmas Eve to be Christmas Eve”

The other day my colleague sent a message around asking us all what our ‘Christmas comfort reads’ are? He wanted to make a list of the books that we turn to year after year to read when there’s a sliver of downtime between stuffi ng our faces with food and binging on whatever Christmas screen-time fl oats our boats.

The answers came streaming in from my fellow booksellers. Not all were Christmassy, but there was a preponderance of cosy and often wintry crime, and plenty of classics dropped in. We had everything from The House at Pooh Corner (Egmont, £8.99) to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Macmillan, £8.99) mixed in with some Terry Pratchett and Alan Bennett.

Calmer more bucolic fare was also well represented with books like Laurie Lee’s homage to the Slad Valley villages and countryside of his childhood, Down in the Valley (Penguin, £7.99), and Kathleen Jamie’s Findings (Sort Of, £9.99), her wonderful book describing wanderings amongst the landscapes and wildlife of Scotland.

And my answer? Well, I didn’t have one. For some reason it’s just not something I do – going back to the same book each year and fi nding comfort in the same holiday season reads. I think maybe I should, mind you. Goodness knows, if there’s ever been a time for comfort reads it’s at the end of this arduous year.

So what would the candidates be, if I were reaching for something on my existing shelves for respite from the world and its exhausting problems? For me, comfort would be unlikely to be specifi cally festive. I’m more likely to reach for a book by one of my favourite writers that would whisk me well away from chilly Britain.

I might fi nd comfort in watching wildlife and having indulgent family parties and outlandish encounters with eccentric Cypriots, with Gerald Durrell’s My Family and other Animals or its perhaps even funnier sequel “Birds, Beasts and Relatives” (both Penguin, £8.99). Or perhaps comfort (and a bit of entertaining discomfort) in imagining myself hiking across Europe in the 1930s alongside Patrick Leigh Fermor by revisiting A Time of Gifts and Beyond the Woods and the Water (each John Murray, £9.99).

These are books I re-read, or aspire to fi nd time to re-read more often than I do, but not specifi cally in the festive season. I realise though that it’s not true to say I never re-read for comfort at Christmas time. There are books that each year I simply have to read with the children, in order for Christmas Eve to be Christmas Eve. Our reading list each year, before the big man slides down the ‘chimbley’, is set in stone.

There’s Christmas in Exeter Street by Diana Hendry (Walker, £7.99), a book about welcoming everyone into your home (even if some have to sleep in the sink) that is so at odds with social distancing rules that it’s bound to prove even more hilarious this year than ever before. Then there’s The Empty Stocking by Richard Curtis (Penguin, £7.99), a pithy tale of two sisters preparing for Santa with very diff erent expectations – as one is angelic and the other irrepressibly naughty – with a magnifi cent twist.

But it all builds up to two classics for us. First we go for The Grinch that Stole Christmas by Dr.Seuss (Harper Collins, £6.99), mainly so I can read the lines “He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two”. But beyond that, we read it for the fi nal message – a message that might again resonate more this year than ever – that whatever was thrown at it, Christmas “somehow or other…came just the same”.

The fi nale for us is always A Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore (Templar, £7.99), a poem that has been published and illustrated in so many diff erent ways, but which for us has to take the form of the foggy rosy-cheek overload of Robert Ingpen’s illustrations. Never mind that nowadays reading this poem sends the kids to bed wondering what “visions of sugar-plums” means rather than having actual visions of sugar plums.

It’s still such a calming and heart-warming way to prepare the family for sleeping through hooves on the rooftop. Nic Bottomley is the general manager of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, 14/15 John Street, Bath; tel: 01225 331155; www.mrbsemporium.com

Thirty and thriving

2020 marks 30 years of business for BATH KITCHEN COMPANY. As they mark their pearl anniversary, we look at how kitchens created by this independent family business have become the heart of so many homes across the city.

With many of us spending more time in our homes than ever, the kitchen has cemented itself as the centre of our homes. This hasn’t always been the case.

“I established the company in 1990,” retired founder David Horsfall told us. “Back then the kitchen was just a functional space. National chains were homogenising kitchen construction and as prices went down so did customer service, quality and craftsmanship.” David was resolute, “My goal was simple: I wanted to offer a more creative and personal service, designing characterful spaces where families could spend memorable time together. These kitchens needed to be made from high quality materials and be built by local craftsmen.”

Three decades later and Bath Kitchen Company continues to do just that. Now owned by David’s son, James Horsfall manages all aspects of the company’s kitchen design and construction, combining his dad’s oldfashioned respect for quality work with his own contemporary aesthetic.

“We know it’s cliché to say our kitchens are bespoke,” explained James, “but this does describe what we do. We create exciting spaces tailored to individual tastes and lifestyles. Every kitchen we make is unique because every client is unique.”

It’s this level of personal care and attention that has seen Bath Kitchen Company gain national recognition in magazines such as Homes and Gardens, Kitchen Bedrooms and Bathrooms and Period Living. Despite the national attention, they remain focused on the residents of Bath.

“I’m honored to call this city my home. I grew up here and was educated here. I began working for my father straight from school. Even as an apprentice, I’ve always been personally invested in every kitchen we’ve designed and built here,” James told us from his studio in central Bath. “It’s about gaining a deep sense of who the client is, how they live. It’s about giving them time and space to create something truly special.”

And that’s exactly what they do. Exquisitely crafted kitchens that strike a harmonious balance between the aesthetic and practical needs of each client. Deliberately steering away from showrooms and hard-nosed sales techniques, Bath Kitchen Company spends time getting to know their clients individually.

“We’re thankful to all the people across this beautiful city who have trusted us to work in their homes,” James said. “We remain grateful that Bath, with its varied architecture and diverse residents, has been a place in which, for three decades, we could practice and hone our art of kitchen design and installation.”

Here’s to their next 30 years. n

If you’d like to see what Bath Kitchen Company could create in your home, visit www.bathkitchencompany.co.uk, or better still, call James on 01225 312003 for a chat.