Kevin loved Scotland - the shining lochs, the shortbread, the
heather-covered mountains, the kindly people, the shortbread… He made
several shortbread stops as he flew east from Islay, and of course he
had to make a detour to the Tunnocks factory, but before too long he
reached Edinburgh. It was the biggest city Kevin had ever flown over: he
got a bit confused by all the streets and towers and turrets, and
accidentally knocked the top off something called the Scott Memorial,
but he didn’t think anybody noticed.
It turned out Edinburgh had a seaside bit called Portobello, with a wide sandy beach, and that was where he found The Portobello Bookshop. He landed outside, and bookseller Alice invited him for biscuits and questions.
Kevin: What is the best thing about being a bookseller?
Alice:
The people I work with! It's always a pleasure going to the bookshop
and working alongside such brilliant colleagues. Bookselling is also a
very versatile and fulfilling job which allows you (and very much
encourages you) to think creatively. And naturally, being able to find
the perfect book for a customer is always joyful.
Kevin: What's one way you've tackled a problem that your bookshop has faced during the pandemic?
Alice:
I’m not sure I can pinpoint a single problem - obviously the past year
and a half has been challenging, especially that the bookshop had only
been open for 7 months when we went into lockdown. I think it was more
about adapting to the situation, finding ways to run the bookshop online
whilst making the best decisions for our staff and community. We also
started running online events last summer, which have been a great way
to connect authors and readers, and foster the community spirit that was
somehow lost whilst the bookshop was closed.
Kevin: What are three books you absolutely love hand-selling to customers?
Alice: The playful picture books of Hervé Tullet, Elle McNicoll's excellent children's novels, and the very funny picture book Choose Llamas.
Kevin: Who’s your favourite children's book illustrator (other than Reeve & McIntyre)?
Alice:
It’s difficult to pick just one! In Portobello and Edinburgh, we're
lucky to have amazing children's book illustrators who have painted our
shop window: Eilidh Muldoon, who also designed the beautiful mural in our kids' room, Anna Doherty and Emily Mackenzie.
Kevin: What is your favourite biscuit?
Alice: Digestive
Kevin: Ooh, good choice. Simple but oddly more-ish. Do you have a shop pet?
Alice:
We don't but Portobello is a very dog-friendly place, so we're lucky to
have befriended many dogs over the past couple of years!
Kevin: What is the best way for people to buy books from you, if they can't visit the shop in person?
Alice: Just visit our website at theportobellobookshop.com.
Kevin: Thank you! Do you mind if I finish off those digestives?
You can follow The Portobello Bookshop on Twitter - @PortyBooks - and Instagram - portybooks! And follow the tour at #
I remember Merlin being shown on TV as a two-part mini-series over a bank holiday weekend. The version I found on YouTube is a single three hour movie, but I think it might work better in two chunks, as originally broadcast. It still works pretty well, though. Director Steve Barron is completely infatuated with video editing tricks and slightly primitive CGI effects that I’m sure were state-of-the-art when it was made, but he uses them quite inventively, and there are some very enjoyable performances. Since First Knight was such a washout, I guess this is the definitive ‘90s Arthurian film. Like Excalibur , the definitive ‘80s Arthurian film, it tries to tell the entirety of the Arthur story, but since it’s main focus is Merlin it covers a lot more too, and Arthur himself ends up being a bit of a side-character, with the rise and fall of Camelot packed into the second half. At first glance, Merlin seems to be aligning itself with what I’m coming to think of as the Low Arthurian tradi...
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