Maesteg,It's Indoor Market And Books In The Early Morning

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

For reasons I won't bore you with by explaining yesterday (Monday) I took daughter to school. As it's a Welsh language school it's half an hour from where we live near Maesteg and thought as I was near there might as well save some time by doing the odd bit of grocery shopping in the town rather than having to go to Bridgend later.

The view from a Maesteg car park as at 8:45am on a Monday morning

I had decided not only to go do this shopping but also to visit Maesteg Indoor Market which as I've explained in an earlier post is threatened after one hundred and thirty five years of loyal service to the community is threatened with closure by the local Labour, yes Labour council.

Most of the market wasn't yet open yet. But the book stall was left open for all to look at.

So I did

My Penguin book budget was £4.15. In the event I bought four books. The first wasn't a Penguin paperback and on the surface seems like an odd choice for me to pick.

Caitlin Moran - How To Be A Woman

I had seen on the television chatting about her recent book at the Hay-On-Wye literary festival around May/June time and was impressed. Had been looking for her books in the local Bridgend local libraries but to no avail. So was pleased to see this. Even though as a fifty two year old man it seems like the last thing I should read.

Then I saw two gold spined paperbacks of the German writer Gunter Grass. They were:

Gunter Grass - From The Diary Of A Snail

Gunter Grass - Dog Years

I haven't read a Gunter Grass book before and was excited to have got these. Did get The Tin Drum once but for some reason mislaid it. These things happen.

The last book I bought was this.

1130 - John Buchan - The Thirty-Nine Steps

Now to be honest I'm in two minds about this. The collector in me is pleased to have got a pre ISBN edition of his most famous book, and I won't deny it.

But.....

I remember once on Twitter that John Buchan was accused of being a bad writer who got lucky with The 39 Steps. Based on another book of his that I read can only for the moment agree. It was called Prestor John. Not only was it awful but even taking into account the attitudes of the time it was written it was stunningly racist. I read it with my left wing sensibilities and thought "something will happen to make this right". But I was incorrect. It was of the far right but completely, totally wrong.

The four books together cost £2. I left the money on the counter and walked away. Only then did a lady working in the local café tell me that she'd look after it for the stallholder. The stalls in Maesteg indoor market working together for the general good. A sort of Socialist attitude against the heartless  Labour Council. A microcosm of how the world has gone mad.

Until the next time.