From ebb&flo with love…

Love books…book love, call it what you want…or you just want a beautiful wedding gift about love, well read on…

I came across a little local book shop the other day in my adopted town of Chorley and what a little gem it was. Tucked away in a street just off the main shopping are of Chorley it had a quaint, quiet and quirky ambience. It was stocked full of…well…books, haha.

The wording in italics is from the book shop web site itself.

“Each of our books is hand-picked. We want to offer a selection of interesting reading to our customers and for you to discover books you didn’t know you wanted or, perhaps, that even existed. Like all bricks and mortar bookshops, ebb & flo is a place to browse, hold a book, smell that new book smell, have a sit-down and chat about books.

With our speedy ordering service, we can order a book and usually have it for you within a day or two. We can also search for out-of-print books.

We will try to answer your bookish questions straight away, but if we can’t we will try to find the answers as quickly as possible. We like a challenge.

The bookshop is an exciting place for children to explore. We have a den, crafty things to do, story time, events and lots of beautiful children’s books to fire imaginations. We love Chorley and want to be an important part of the community. We have reading groups, workshops, events and meetings, both in the shop and in our upstairs room, which is available for hire. If you’re looking for an unusual gift, card or wrapping paper, we have a great selection in the shop, including Djeco, Melissa & Doug, Shreds and hand-made crafts by Darcey Fleur.”

I have no affiliation with the shop, I just really, really liked the little independent store, it was a delightful emporium of books, gifts, crafts and beautiful cards. I also liked their motto on their Facebook cover photo about independent businesses! I don’t know about you but I find it so refreshing to actually handle a book, smell it and look at the lovely colours and designs of books. For anybody who knows my ‘Behind The Lens’ on my Photography Wedding Site, I have a saying, well I have 2 to be precise.

“Libraries are for getting lost in literally

I love the smell of books…”

As much as I love online ordering (and I do) I’m actually at the point where I see the High Street in decline and I think I would like to do something about it. I saw a FB article late last night about just that. I said years ago that we would hit a point that we would go back to the Independent Shops. Saying that I think there is room for both. I adore the independents, I think they try so much harder and give a better service…that’s just my humble opinion, though?

Anyway if you’re in or near Chorley and love books, then check ebb&flo out.

Peace out for the mo…Nance x

…and You Think You Know People

When I started this blog a while back, I received a message from an old school friend – we’ve known each other for about 40 odd years I think. Anyway, she sent me a message saying that she liked the blog idea and that she wanted to share a poem with me that she had wrote for a speech she made at her own sons wedding…wait, what…”I never knew you wrote poetry”…where did that come from??

Well, lo and behold, this lovely little poem came through and I began to read it to a friend who was sat behind me on my computer and then I choked on the 3rd verse…haha…haven’t done that for eons. I had that bitter-sweet moment when you want to blub but at the same time you think you’re going to be laughed at…it was nice laughter though…

I think poetry is the same as photography, if it can affect you emotionally, then you’re onto a winner in my books. She also does many other types of poetry for a multitude of occasions…just saying 😉

She has allowed me to share it with you and kindly let you use it – just credit her if you do use it…many thanks, Nance x

A Wedding Poem?

One of my favourite poems is the Life That I Have by Leo Marx. I first heard it on the film, Carve Her Name With Pride about the true story of Violet Szabo who was a secret agent during the Second World War, the poem is as follows:

The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours

The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.

A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause

For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.

To me, it is one of the most beautiful but poignant poems of all time…would it make a good wedding day poem in this day and age…well Chelsea Clinton thought so a few years back, she used it in her marriage to Mark Mezvinsky…

Peace out – from: Nancy Lisa Barrett Photography  x