The Booklovers

"Among the finer things of life there are few luxuries that can provide the same lasting pleasure as a beautifully bound book, hand crafted in linen or leather." Googling 'temple' with 'book' took me to this line from the website of Temple Bookbinders in Oxford. This shop certainly has many examples of that fine crafting, and also many more ordinary books, old and new. It was founded in 1867 by the great great-grandfather of the current proprietor, David Halewood. A large framed photograph inside the shop shows his father as a baby seated on the old man's lap, with the two intervening Halewoods standing either side of the chair. Extraordinary that amid all the modern hurly-burly of modern central Preston, and through all the turmoil (and frequent grossness - pun intended, sorry) of those 144 years, this little place just carries on doing what it does.

I nipped in today having been tasked to negotiate the purchase of an original Culpepper herbal. David gave me a fair discount, but I had to go back with a cheque book because of problems with the card machine. (Earlier I'd been in the post office reading a notice about them no longer accepting cheques.) In the end I made four trips across the road to the shop, each time getting a cry of 'spare any change?' from a friendly beggar. On the last trip I had my head down, irritated at the prospect of being hailed yet again by this chap who clearly had no short-term memory for faces, when I suddenly heard 'you're doing a lot of walking, lad'!

That's enough rambling about one blip. I like the Rasta who came unplanned into the shot.

The Booklovers