Saturday, 20 July 2013

Urmston Book Shop



I visited this delightful bookshop on a warm Thursday afternoon a couple of weeks before the schools broke up for the summer. It was deliciously quiet in there. A backdoor was open and a refreshing breeze made both the shop and the café bearable.
I first met owners Frances and Peter Hopkins when they supplied the books for the Prestwich Bookfest. It’s clear that they work very hard, and that owning an independent bookshop is very demanding and is about more than selling books.
The bookshop hosts several reading groups, holds book launches and photographic exhibitions and occasional film nights. There is a back room and this is sometimes hired out for meetings and workshops.
The café is tiny but a real treat. There are just a few what I would call proper bistort tables and attractive olive-green folding chairs.  The cakes are pretty but delicious, too. They are supplied by local independent enterprises - The Bear Who Bakes, Elaine’s Creative Cakes and Urmston cakes. I settled for the lemon drizzle and one of the best cups of tea I ever drunk.
My purpose was two-fold in visiting the shop that day. I wanted to buy some books for a course I’m teaching next year. I also wanted to check out the café and see if it passed muster. I’m pleased to say the café is joining the project.  It’s good also to support an independent bookshop Sure, I buy books and sell my own via Amazon – and don’t have a guilty conscience about that. But it’s good to go into a bookshop and browse – especially when you’re looking for picture books.
I hope the Hopkins will be able to carry on for many more years.             

Urmston Bookshop

The Urmston Bookshop, Urmston 

72 Flixton Road
Urmston
M41 5AB

0161 747 7442






Urmston Bookshop provides the following Creative Cafe Project activities:

  • book launches
  • film nights
  • book clubs
  • reading groups 
  • story times
  • photographic exhbitions
  • creative meetings 
  • literary newsletter  
Urmston Bookshop  
Read reviews here
Urmston Bookshop revisited 

Friday, 5 July 2013

The Angel Cafe Salford



1 St Philips Place
Salford

Manchester M3 6FA
Area: Salford University Campus
0161 833 0495




 The Angel Cafe Salford provided the following creative cafe activities:
  • provides a space where creative practitioners and their audiences can network
  • facilitates book crossing
  • hosts book launches
  • provides meeting space for community project facilitators 

      The Angel Cafe