Happy Christmas, all! x
Poems from Mr Nash... Blogging a collection of love poems written between 1959 and 1962 by Cyril Nash, owner of Jon Ash bookshop on Cullum Street in the City of London, and hidden inside books bought by one of his regular customers, Marianne.
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
A Christmas Carol
As it's Christmas, I thought I'd share some images from an edition of Charles Dickens' Christmas Stories published by Chapman and Hall of Covent Garden, and illustrated by F Barnard. It contains the classic tale A Christmas Carol, along with The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. It's not dated and probably not valuable, but it is old and lovely...
Monday, 23 December 2013
A visit to 18 Cullum Street
I was in London yesterday for a festive visit to Dennis Severs' House in Folgate Street, Spitalfields - one of the most Christmassy and magical places you can experience in London in December in my humble opinion! It's like wandering around a giant and opulent dolls' house from a few centuries ago. It's usually only open on Sunday and Monday afternoons, and they only let a few people in at a time, but it's really worth the effort if you like immersing yourself in a world and time away from the present.
I digress!
As we were driving across London, I thought I'd stop by at Cullum Street, to see exactly where Jon Ash Book Shop used to be. As Laurence Worms had kindly supplied me a photo of the shop back in the day (see previous blog post), it gave a little more to go on to find its precise location - my previous visit to Cullum Street earlier this year on a snowy January Sunday was a lot less conclusive. So I think it's this shopfront here, based on the few numbered shops in the street, and the fire hydrant signs in both photos. Pretty tiny! It's now a walk-in dental hygienist, Smilepod, and part of a larger shop frontage. The whole area around Bishopsgate and Fenchurch Street is so packed full of modern glass skyscrapers now, I'm surprised it's not even more unrecognisable, or indeed totally disappeared... Indeed, the road has even changed since I visited in January - bollards now block entry to cars, and the road pavemented over.
I've been stalling doing more on this blog and sharing it online, but I think I might just bite the bullet and get going. We have poems to share, things to find out, and thoughts to write :)
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