One Weeks Worth of Stuff (and Simon Key)

the week has been a busy one. So busy, in fact, that I haven't done a single blog. So we have some catching up to do.

Monday;
The first day of Film Week. As mentioned before, we were showing films all week in the shop to highlight the Wood Green International Short Film Festival. Readers of this blog voted for 2 of the films, and tonight it was Persepolis. We had all the licenses and we were borrowing the equipment from the film festival itself.
At around 4pm, the screen etc arrived.
It was a BIG screen.
please also note the rather impressive looking sound system, and the huge speakers. We were rather surprised, but managed to set the stuff up and get it all ready by 6.30pm.
I'm happy to say an eager audience showed up and I cajoled the into letting me take a quick snap.. The lady in the middle reading the programme is Hazel. She's brilliant. She does so much to help the local community, and there should be a parade for her, where she's carried aloft down the High Road followed by a dixieland jazz band.
Anyway, it was a great night, and we all had fun.
Tuesday;
Tom Hodgkinson joined us for the evening to talk about the Idle Parent, to answer questions, and he also brought along his Ukulele and led us in a few songs. Tom is one of my favourite writers and also someone whose ideals I very much agree with. He's also a geniuinely nice person. This is the second time he's been to the shop, and this is the second time that I got so into the evening that I forgot to take any photos.
So here, instead, is a picture of Freya on a swing. .
Thanks for a lovely evening Tom.
Wednesday;
We showed 'The Power of Community' in the shop this evening. It's an astonishing documentary that shows how Cuba has adapted and grown since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Peak Oil crisis is very relevant and it seems to me that facing up to this now is the only sensible solution. But, flippin noodle pins, what do I know....
Thursday;
Tonight was the night of The Princess Bride., and another full house. It was a bit of a scary one this, because we suddenly realised the night before that we ddin't actually have a copy of the Princess Bride to show. Thankfully we managed to dig out a copy the with a couple of hours to spare.
Friday;
Napoleon Dynamite was Friday's choice. Probably not a great choice for a Friday, as (and i'm generalising here), people who want to watch Napoleon Dynamite also like going out on a Friday night. Nevertheless, the hardy bunch that turned up had a thoroughly good time...I think.

The week also brought 4 classes from local schools with World Book day vouchers, a bookstall at a local nursery, a rates bill for 2009 that is stinking in a most stinky way, and also a moment a Dave Gorman-like wierdness.

On Saturday, I was in the shop, trying to put it back together again after a week of films, kids and mayhem. Acustomer walked through the door, who looked kind of familiar.
He strode up to the desk,
'are you Simon Key?'
'yes'
'so am I!' he replied.

This lovely man to the right of me (Simon Key)is Simon Key. I'm not sure who searched who out, but we're Facebook friends through searching for people with the same name as us. I have 6 friends called Simon Key.
Clearly at this point it's important to say to those of you who've read this and either gone 'tck' and raised your eyes to the heavens, or inwardly shaken your heads at the sadness and pointlessness of searching for people with the same name,
I don't care.
It was a real pleasure to meet Simon, who'd travelled a long way to say hello,(and also to buy a book). He was charming and friendly and everything you'd expect a Simon Key to be.
I think i'm going to search out some more Simon Keys now and maybe next year i'll throw a big party for all of us in the shop!