tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post962423039246474163..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: Condensed Milk, Electricty Substations and BuntySteerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-23972346330184878652013-03-21T19:41:10.315+00:002013-03-21T19:41:10.315+00:00Great - I'm really glad that Camilla's was...Great - I'm really glad that Camilla's was worth a visit. 'Much Ado...' is a wonderful bookshop, but I don't remember them having many Penguins. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-82722783106568570842013-03-21T16:31:54.535+00:002013-03-21T16:31:54.535+00:00Thanks for the recommendation of Camilla's. It...Thanks for the recommendation of Camilla's. It was such an interesting bookshop and I can confirm that it still has an extensive range of very inexpensive numbered Penguins downstairs in the basement, so I had a lovely afternoon browsing through their stock.<br /> Karynhttp://apenguinaweek.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-15668243977437906182013-03-19T14:56:56.734+00:002013-03-19T14:56:56.734+00:00Thank you for the book recommendation, Steerforth!...Thank you for the book recommendation, Steerforth! It does sound right up my street; I shall keep an eye out for a reasonably priced copy.<br /><br />I'm quite partial to a footbridge.Bollopshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08370552901325861855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-41302733819638665702013-03-16T23:29:15.716+00:002013-03-16T23:29:15.716+00:00Richmonde - I'm sure you're right about th...Richmonde - I'm sure you're right about the substations. Perhaps I protested too much, in denial of my own secret sub-station passions. <br /><br />As far as the point about asking direct questions goes, that's a whole blog post in itself. I suppose asking those questions in such a direct manner would make me feel vulnerable, if that makes any sense?Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-21713759894772634382013-03-15T21:18:24.911+00:002013-03-15T21:18:24.911+00:00But what has emotional repression got to do with t...But what has emotional repression got to do with the Englishman's inability to ask a direct question? Ils sont fous, les Anglais!Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-80313281160087955662013-03-15T21:16:23.866+00:002013-03-15T21:16:23.866+00:00Of COURSE there's an electricity substation no...Of COURSE there's an electricity substation nostalgia market. I bet there's a Flickr group... http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=electricity%20substations Some of them are architectural gems! (The only thing about that Kim Il Sung book is the typeface.)Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-82046530858332355462013-03-15T18:54:38.326+00:002013-03-15T18:54:38.326+00:00Sorry, that should read "of old Penguins.&quo...Sorry, that should read "of old Penguins."Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-38055016152672638012013-03-15T18:54:05.312+00:002013-03-15T18:54:05.312+00:00Karyn - I'd strongly recommend 'Camilla...Karyn - I'd strongly recommend 'Camilla's Bookshop' in Eastbourne - about ten minutes' walk from the station. It has (or had - I'd phone and check, as it's five years since I've been there) a huge section old old Penguins.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-89673149745193012532013-03-15T17:43:57.405+00:002013-03-15T17:43:57.405+00:00I was just wondering if you'd recommend 'M...I was just wondering if you'd recommend 'Much Ado Books' to someone looking for vintage Penguins, because I am in England at the moment and trying to visit as many interesting Penguin-stocking book shops as I can.Karynhttp://apenguinaweek.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-44095209983485094142013-03-14T00:20:57.803+00:002013-03-14T00:20:57.803+00:00The condensed milk book could have been useful for...The condensed milk book could have been useful for someone writing about 1930s factory work, or the rise of processed food, or some wider issue involving the building of a condensed milk factory. I suppose I've also trying to justify my ownership of a book on the history of the New Zealand meat industry.helenalexhttp://headsquid.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-80376038546269277882013-03-13T22:48:00.313+00:002013-03-13T22:48:00.313+00:00Zoe - I'd be careful. The last time I wrote so...Zoe - I'd be careful. The last time I wrote something rude about the Kims, it mysteriously disappeared from Facebook. They're obviously monitoring us, so I'd never call the new chap Fatty or draw attention to the fact that although they can launch rockets, they can't feed their own people. <br /><br />As for Opal Fruits, I'm not sure why they've been rebranded as <i>Starburst</i>, unless it's something to do with Europe, in the same way that Marathon became <i>Snickers</i>. It makes me very cross.<br /><br />As for reading all the Buntys when you were young, don't you ever want to revisit the world that made you the person you are today?<br /><br />Bollops - I'm not immune to the charms of electricity substations - I'm particularly keen on the ceramic plates - and have an excellent book called <i>Infrastructure</i> which compares different pylon designs, amongst other things. I'd strongly recommend it - the author's Brian Hayes (sadly not the LBC phone-in host). I often visit Amberley Museum and marvel at its collection of electrical items. <br /><br />I also get very excited by bridges.<br /><br />Brian - Thanks for the link to the inspiring article - I completely agree with the owner and find it heartening that his vision is commercially successful. The only way the bookshops can survive is to recognise that they are indeed a "church of print" rather than simply a retail outlet for books. Sadly, the last company I worked for in high street bookselling - Waterstone's - went in the opposite direction and nearly went out of business, until they were bought by a Russian millionaire. <br /><br />If you ever come to England, I'd recommend 'Much Ado Books' in Alfriston, Sussex - run by an American couple who moved here ten years ago, it's the antithesis of the bland retail chain store.<br /><br />In the meantime, Toronto here I come!Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-80469953452646778732013-03-13T12:19:45.323+00:002013-03-13T12:19:45.323+00:00Last week I spotted a series of mid-20th-century r...Last week I spotted a series of mid-20th-century rubber trade annuals in our local Salvation Army Thrift Store. Yes, rubber trade annuals. They've since been sold.<br /><br />You might be interested in <a href="http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/an-oddly-modern-antiquarian-bookshop/" rel="nofollow">this recent <i>New York Times</i> piece on Toronto's Monkey's Paw bookshop</a>. A wonderful, wondrous place.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-82958153080269214092013-03-13T12:02:00.857+00:002013-03-13T12:02:00.857+00:00Steerforth, was the substation book well illustrat...Steerforth, was the substation book well illustrated with photographs?<br /><br />If so, then I can imagine all sorts of people who might be into it, not least weirdos like myself who find old technology visually appealing. All those slabs, cables, pipes and oddly shaped lumps of metal and ceramics - it's art, dammit!<br /><br />Then there are yer model makers - particularly railway modellers - who want a bit of authentic period detail. Pylon fans and spotters exist; I can see the appeal to them, as a sort of extension of their hobby. Electrical engineers who are interested in the history of their profession. Industrial archaeologists. Collage artists. All sorts.<br /><br />I regularly amuse my local 2nd-hand bookshop owner by my choice of boring old technical book. To me the appeal is obvious, and many of those old photographs, technical drawings and etchings are beautiful. I mean, look at these - they're gorgeous!<br /><br />http://boringoldbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-metallurgy-of-steel-vol-ii.html<br /><br />They're interesting as artefacts as well, I think. All those huge structures and blots on the landscape that we moan about but seem to accept as being inevitable, a part of nature almost - well, these books are a peek into the world of the people who *put* them there.<br /><br />I could go on about this sort of thing for ever but I think I'll stop now before I start to sound like a complete lunatic.Bollopshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08370552901325861855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-7236967075930473822013-03-13T11:54:59.434+00:002013-03-13T11:54:59.434+00:00If I'm typical of women in their 50s, we'v...If I'm typical of women in their 50s, we've already read all the Bunty albums we could ever want (while eating Opal Fruits [inexplicably still in existence but under a new name - was there some terrible Opal Fruits poisoning scandal I missed?] at the launderette in my case). Extremely heartening to learn there are no takers for the Supreme Leader's rubbish. Do the cows perhaps need milking?zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-25426798522877864772013-03-13T09:48:28.325+00:002013-03-13T09:48:28.325+00:00Lucy - Yes, I've noticed a bit of colour co-or...Lucy - Yes, I've noticed a bit of colour co-ordination on some people's photos of their bookshelves. As I'm a bit OCD, I avoid arranging my books and CDs, as I know that that way, madness lies.<br /><br />Greetings cards are a good idea - the market is a bit saturated with humourous captions underneath old photos and images, but I suppose they have to keep refreshing the range. <br /><br />Carol - Poor child! I don't know, but I think they're just ordinary children (if such a thing exists in North Korea). Porky was already a teenager when this photo was taken.<br /><br />Helenalex - Perhaps someone was writing a dissertation on the history of condensed milk, 1925-30.<br /><br />Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-21470895735996999002013-03-13T02:52:43.673+00:002013-03-13T02:52:43.673+00:00At least some of the out of date and incredibly bo...At least some of the out of date and incredibly boring books are going to history PhD students. I have a number of books like that, because they're the only ones that have the boring but specific information I need to make the more interesting stuff make sense.helenalexhttp://headsquid.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-16260307739191442022013-03-13T00:09:41.863+00:002013-03-13T00:09:41.863+00:00Is the current dictator the gormless little oik on...Is the current dictator the gormless little oik on the left? Canadian Chickadeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995693884248628958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-22115750346019269992013-03-12T23:52:13.734+00:002013-03-12T23:52:13.734+00:00I've said it before, but I really do think a s...I've said it before, but I really do think a sideline in comedy greetings cards made from images such as the one of the 'great leader' with some adoring followers could boost your income. <br />It's quite possible that the real reasons people buy some of the more obscure titles are incredibly dull. There's a fashion for displaying books in a rainbow fashion according to spine colour. I've seen a few bloggers picking up books because they're the right shade of violet to complete the spectrum. lucy joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04863146546863419637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-28015661730867472172013-03-12T22:23:43.983+00:002013-03-12T22:23:43.983+00:00Luis - In a sensible world of sane people, that wo...Luis - In a sensible world of sane people, that would be a good idea. But I am an emotionally repressed Englishman and shudder with horror at the idea of asking a question as direct as that. <br /><br />Rog - Perhaps they're all expats who left Britain in disgust at the lack of Bigglesian values since the end of the War.<br /><br />Mrs Jones - No, I will never post a link. I don't like to mix business with pleasure. <br /><br />Re: the Kims, I'm waiting for the Kim Jung II Panini sticker album, but haven't seen anything yet. Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-25857415205562749492013-03-12T20:53:15.340+00:002013-03-12T20:53:15.340+00:00Actually, yeah, I do know someone who might be int...Actually, yeah, I do know someone who might be interested, although they'd be <i>more</i> interested if it had been Kim Jung Il. Have you ever posted the link to your sales website on the blog? Mrs Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06289121990808465890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-40340258469776746062013-03-12T20:49:58.883+00:002013-03-12T20:49:58.883+00:00Could the Australians be expecting something by th...Could the Australians be expecting something by their honourable Cultural Attaché Sir Les Patterson?<br /><br />Big Les flies South, Big Les killed the Radio Star etc<br /><br />We sold a copy of "Biggles in Australia" not long agoRoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430706557035189147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-75897772838895758922013-03-12T20:43:09.970+00:002013-03-12T20:43:09.970+00:00Did you consider asking the buyers why they want t...Did you consider asking the buyers why they want to buy it? <br /><br />You could add an optional field called "I'm curious...why are you interested in this obscure book?"<br /><br />luishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08850897265111013261noreply@blogger.com