My day at the Earlsdon Festival

On bank holiday Monday I took part once more in the Earlsdon Festival, Last year it was the best experience I'd had as a bookseller so this year had some way to go to beat it.

That's my wife it is

Did it beat it? Weather wise no. I came home bright red last year yet this year the sun only broke in sporadic outbursts, but it didn't rain! How about bookselling wise though? Well, YES! My stall was a little bit more organised and I could even show off my Big Comfy Bookshop banner. Once more I spent 6 hours the day before working on the set-up and creating bunting, whilst my wife cut out home made bookmarks, and it was all worth it. Even before the gates opened for the public I had sold half a dozen books to other stall holders and it continued none stop til around 1pm, where the lunchtime lull kicked in, for 10 minutes!

The afternoon heaved with people up until around 3.30, then it started to trail off. One mistake I made last year was I didn't bring enough replenishing stock, so this year I bought 4 boxes worth, and by the end of the day all that was gone! My wife Heidi came along for the ride and helped out and I'm so glad as it was ridiculously busy.

The highlight for me though was meeting so many new people who new about the shop. Every 10 minutes someone would say "I recognise that logo!" or "So when are you moving to Fargo then?" or "I saw you on twitter and have come to say hello". The whole experience filled me with even more optimism that the shop will be a success. 

I hope to attend next year too!

Michael