33 hours Up Norf

📮 A countdown and a book haul

My pals at The West Kirby Bookshop

Hello Powells,

This (mid) week, despite being on a tight deadline, I went up north for 33 hours. What is the meaning of this, I hear you exclaim. Are you mad?! you ask in a rhetorical fashion. The answer would be yes, clearly I am. But I also had tickets to see a favourite New Orleans singer of mine in Chester so, I put my deadline aside, put gas in the tank, my foot to the floor and sped up there with Stefan at my side.

The 33 hours elapsed as follows:

Hours 1-3 ~ Mostly driving. Stopped off at country pub for a ‘cheap’ dinner. Stef had steak and ale pie, I had tandoori chicken. One drink each. Total cost £60. I assumed we had been incorrectly charged for an entire extra cow but apparently the bill was correct. Gone are the days of ‘cheap dinners in pubs’.

Hours 3-4 ~ Arrived at parents house. Made conversation. Drank peppermint tea.

Hours 4-11 ~ Sleeping. Nothing to report other than the bed frame squeaks every time you breathe but the pillows are exceptional so can’t complain.

Hours 11-12 ~ Clean teeth, body and cereal bowl after using. Leave house for first rendezvous.

Hours 12-14 ~ Meet86 year old auntie Shirley in a cafe called Hannah’s, confusing as I have a REAL friend called Hannah who owns a cafe in the area but it isn’t called Hannah’s. I am momentarily perplexed and unsure where I am meant to be going. Auntie confirms her location. I find (fake) Hannah’s cafe and take a seat. It is as hot as New Orleans inside the cafe and I regret wearing a vest. I have two pots of tea and chat lots.

Hours 14-15 ~ Auntie and I bump into Stefan, who is sat in the window of a more modern cafe around the corner (which serves decent coffee - his words, not mine) and has an indoor temperature more on a par with Wales. We go in. Chat some more. I am suddenly overcome with hunger and am forced to buy a cake.

Hours 15-16 ~ Second rendezvous. Visit my pals Jordan and Dan in The West Kirby Bookshop. They’ve recently moved to a bigger space and put in a gargantuan effort to get it all ready. I had the pleasure of being given a tour of the premises when it was still a building site (without copper pipes - long story) and so I was astounded to see it now, in all its brand spanking glory. It really is spectacular and I insist you visit. Naturally, I bought (too many) books:

Didn’t realise they were mostly all green.

I DEEPLY regret not buying this:

One for my list to Santa.

Hours 16-17 ~ Pit-stop at parent’s house for a tuna sandwich before driving to Chester. Nothing to report on the drive.

Hours 17-18 ~ Mooched. Mourned for the closure of the indie bookstore I used to buy my Flower Fairies books from as a child. Stopped for a drink. I chose a glass of something sparkly and fizzy to match my natural god-given demeanour.

Hours 18-20 ~ Went for dinner at an Italian called Fatso’s, or something similar. Menu was huge. I short-circuited over my choice but the waitress saw my distress and helped me by breaking it down into 3 multiple choice questions categorised as: Starter, Main and Dessert. In the end I ate a caprese salad followed by meatballs and one scoop of hazelnut ice-cream. I was impressed with my appetite. Must be all the swimming I’m doing.

Hours 20-24 ~ Musical repertoire. It began with a female singer called Zoe Bestel who I liked very much as she laughed as she sang and played a ukulele. Next up was a folk signer called Caitlin Gillian who sang songs about hares had a banjo and was accompanied by a violinist. I drew a few pages of hares as she sang and then dropped my pencil when I was clapping and had to stop. No pencil = no drawing. Last up was Sabine McCalla who had come all the way from New Orleans to sing in a church filled with approx 13 people drinking warm wine. I enjoyed it immensely, no idea what she thought.

The hares I drew before I dropped the pencil, which was later found under Stefan’s chair.

Hours 24-24.5 ~ Drove home. Nothing to report other than it was dark.

Hours 24.5-30 ~ Sleeping. Nothing to report other than I lost an ear plug. May have swallowed it.

Hours 30-33 ~ Drove back to Derbyshire in heavy traffic but thankfully no rain. Stopped twice: once for a wee in some free public toilets in Whaley Bridge (clean, natural light, decent loo roll. Toilet rating 5 out of 5) and then once again at the new GAILS which has opened in Buxton. Gails is a favourite London cafe eatery of mine because, despite being a chain, they do great pastries and regulate their indoor temperature so it is pleasant and not boiling hot like the surface of the sun. This time I had no problem choosing from the sizeable menu and delighted in eating a pain au chocolate the size of a small dog, whilst drinking tea from a pot.

Hour 33 ~ Arrived home to… BOOKS! My online book haul from Tor Freeman, my Pen Powell Pal from last week had arrived and there was a surprise package of Polish (?) co-ed’s of the 3rd Montgomery BonBon I illustrate. Made more tea and as kettle was boiling regretted not buying a second pain au choc. Wasted no time getting straight into the studio where I have remained ever since.

All available to buy from Tor’s website

More green books!!

Don’t forget in approx 7 hours (5pm UK time) I will be live on Substack potentially drawing frogs with Pen Powell Pal Kyle Beaudette. I will try not to shout (why is my voice so LOUD?!)

Yours, squinting at the light at the end of the tunnel,

Powell x