Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Our town of Bicester is quite big and, like many towns across this land, is growing quite quickly – like a dropped ice cream melting on the pavement with the imperceptible creep as it spreads out across the fields and meadows which surround the town. Growth in these parts is inevitable, but it wasn’t always like this for Bicester was a small town, not much more than a large village until the beginning of the 20th century. The modest, but attractive Market Square at the convergence of Sheep Street, The Causeway and London Road – and not much else. Or so it seems, a quick walk about the town and in 20 or 30 mins you might think you’ve seen all the interesting landmarks and to a certain extent you will have – the robust, but elegant St Edburgs, the Dovecote, the higgledy-piggledy nature of the buildings on those streets fanning out from the Square, the former hunting lodge at The Garth with the Courtyard opposite. But scratch beneath the surface and there’re small details, easily overlooked, which tell some interesting stories about the town and it’s past – the forthcoming 2023 calendar which we produce in conjunction with the Bicester Local History Society is a wonderful collection of some of those small details – the tiny steps built into the wall of the Old Post Office so the town Bobbies could peer in through the windows to make sure all was well at night; cheeky gargoyles poking out tongues as the worshippers came to pray; Victorian graffiti at the same church courtesy of the most unlikely social artists – the bellringers, the beautiful and almost completely hidden Chapter & Verse House. There’s a little more to Bicester Town than just a village.
To Summer by William Blake
O Thou who passest thro’ our vallies in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched’st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy, thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o’er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy vallies, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our vallies love the Summer in his pride.
Our bards are fam’d who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.
Music always features strongly at Coles, be it the music playing in the shop, the books we stock and read and also our connection with Signed Editions by some great musicians – and this week music features strongly – there’s mind-bending going on with ‘World of Twist’; the Fairbrass boys cut straight to the quick; music journalist Nige Tassell rewinds the tape to the mid eighties to find out whatever happened to NME’s C86 Kids; Ella Mills is in the kitchen (delicious!) and David Lagercrantz, Val McDermid and Jess Kidd weave the Tales; the coming generations of the royal family will give us Kings and Robert Jobson explores the character of the man who will become King William V and finally, as the new football season get’s itself off and away, we aim for the top corner with at a few great Coles Signed Edition ‘footy’ memoirs.
If your youth was lived in the late 70s and 1980s then it’s likely you jumped around to some fabulous and pioneering music, and one of the characters who produced much of that was Trevor Horn – his memoir is coming in a few months and we’re now taking pore-orders for the Coles Signed Edition – it’ll be a fascinating insight into what lies behind the sounds of a generation. Not all, but some football players make great football managers – Martin O’Neill is one of the most articulate readers of the game and his forthcoming memoir is sure to be a must read.
It might be a fair assumption to assume that we look to the great novelists for the best writing and in many cases that is true, but increasingly authors of non-fiction are dazzling with some beautiful narrative writing – particularly in books which explore history and travel. Non-fiction books should inform, but also tell a story too and that means writing which captivates and entertains the reader – if we think of non-fiction books as places to go to learn, then why not make learning engaging through great writing? Seeking out great writing is why bookshops are such great places to go and have a browse – take a book off the shelf and read a little and see if it captures your imagination, if not, no problem, try again, but if it does, then bingo! In the coming months, we’ll be adding extracts of books to our website – it’ll be just like browsing in the shop.
The full Newsletter can be found HERE
