From Dream to Nightmare to – where do we go from here? November 19, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in News.Tags: Authentic Media, Biblica, Buyers Consortium, Christian Bookshops, Christian Retail, IBS-STL, STL, STL UK, Trade buy-out, Wesley Owen
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It seems only a short while ago that I posted about daring to dream. But sometimes dreams turn to nightmares and the whole world comes crashing in.
It’s not my dream I’m talking about this time: it’s the hopes and dreams of my friends and colleagues in the Christian book trade, particularly those working for STL, Wesley Owen and Authentic Media. Because everything fell apart around their ears this week as their parent company, Biblica, decided to pull the plug on their UK operations.
The announcement was made on Monday and you can read it in full over on the UKCBD blog as well as a whole host of other places including Christian Marketplace, the Church Times blog and STL’s own blog. It’s a sad story of incompetence in high places as some buffoons — they called them “IT consultants” — took STL UK on a one-way journey into a new software system called SAP back in October last year. Unfortunately it didn’t work and everything went pear-shaped in the warehouses, shops weren’t being supplied with goods, customers walked away and cash flow trickled down to … well, not quite zilch, but to the point where they couldn’t pay their suppliers so their suppliers stopped supplying which meant more bookshops weren’t being supplied … and I think you can see where this is going. Very, very sad: add a downturn in the economy and crunch, down comes the entire edifice.
The plan is to find a buyer “within the next few weeks”, otherwise things start closing down. Unpleasant for all concerned, to put it mildly.
I’m spearheading a blog campaign to stage a trade/community buyout which has generated a certain amount of interest, but whether or not the level of interest will be sufficient remains to be seen. At the moment I’m waiting for the latest accounts and financial reports from the company, which I requested on Tuesday. No response yet from either Biblica or Baker Tilly, the company contracted to handle negotiations.
So time will tell. We watch and wait. Please pray, please take a look at the discussions so far, throw in your own ideas, pray some more, think about whether or not you’d like to become part of a buyers’ consortium — let me know as soon as possible if so, please — then pray some more.
Some interesting ideas over at Clayboy’s place: head across and throw in your own thoughts there too, please; and watch this space…
Gordon Brown, I Salute You November 9, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Current Affairs, News.Tags: Afghanistan, Gordon Brown, Respect, Sun Newspaper
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… and to all those jackals in the press heckling him over his handwriting and a simple mistake that anyone could have made, I say: you are but jackasses braying. Back off and give the man a break!
Gordon Brown, I salute you!
Related Posts (all far more eloquent than my brief salute: h/t to David Keen for pointing these out)
- Afghanistan letter controversy: Gordon Brown has my sympathy and my support: Matt Wardman, 10/11/2009
- Bloody Shameful: Lanky Anglican, 10/11/2009
- Where the Sun don’t shine: Nick Baines, 10/11/2009
Nearly Famous October 31, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in News.Tags: Biggleswade, Biggleswade Books, Biggleswade Chronicle, David Marriott, Henlow and Langford, Sue Groom
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Thank you to the good people at the Biggleswade Chronicle (yes, David, Biggleswade really is for real) for featuring both Sue and me in this week’s issue, welcoming Sue to the area and bigging up my dreams for a new bookshop for the area.
Sue made page 21 and online, I made page 31. That’s definitely nearly famous in my book.
Biggleswade Chronicle, p.21
Biggleswade Chronicle, p.31
Daring to Dream October 27, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Bookshop Ramblings, Watching and Waiting.Tags: Biggleswade, Books, Bookshop, Reading
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I dreamed a dream.
I dreamed of people reading: an older man in his armchair, laughing uproariously at Bill Bryson’s latest; a young man, marching along, head in his book, enthralled, enchanted, oblivious to the world around him; a woman, relaxing with a new romance — or was it a crime story or a thriller she was absorbed in? Two children, excited as they discovered new worlds, new possibilities.
Who were these people? I don’t know: they could have been me, they could have been you; but all of them were loving and enjoying their books, real books printed on real paper.
Where were these people? They were everywhere. But as I looked, I could see them close to home, not far away at all: in my street, in my neighbourhood; and so another dream was born and began to take shape: Biggleswade Books.
Can that dream become reality? I hope so; and I hope that you, gentle reader, will share my dream…
Burning Boxes in the Twittersphere October 20, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Theological Reflection.Tags: Authentic Media, Cornerstone Books, David M Keen, Evangelicalism, Keira Knightly, Supersimbo, Thinking outside the box, Twitter, Unicorn Tree Books
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Boxes! Boxes, boxes, boxes — but at last we’ve unpacked them all and Sue & I are getting settled in our new home. Sue was officially licensed to her new post as Priest-in-Charge of Henlow & Langford last week, first Sunday services now over & done and I’ve survived the endless round of, “… and this is Phil, our new priest’s husband.” All in all, it’s been great to be welcomed by such a lovely bunch of friendly people.
Back to the boxes, however: you’ll be pleased to know we haven’t burnt them — most are going back to the removals company whilst the odd few that aren’t fit for reuse are going for recycling (Bedfordshire is very hot on recycling).
But I decided to celebrate yesterday by flattening a virtual box in the twittersphere, and posted:
notbovvered Thinking outside the box isn’t good enough. You need to step outside the box and flatten it. Permanently.19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
which led to some interesting conversations…
supersimbo @notbovvered burn the mutha!!19/10/2009 from web
authenticmedia @notbovvered There’s a box?19/10/2009 from Seesmic
Kercal @notbovvered Sadly I stepped out of one box, into another box and am watching the latter being flattened with me still in it.19/10/2009 from web
~~~waves of empathy for Kercal, everybody!~~~
Since authenticmedia seemed a tad bemused, I identified the box for them, but they either didn’t get it or didn’t want to:
notbovvered @authenticmedia Yeah. It’s called Evangelicalism – and you guys are in it!! <crooked grin>19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
authenticmedia @notbovvered Question still stands…there’s a box?19/10/2009 from Seesmic
notbovvered @authenticmedia just because you can see the sky doesn’t mean you’re not in the box…19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
supersimbo was more willing to engage:
supersimbo @notbovvered now that i see what you were meaning, is it possible to define “evangelicalism” as a box? It means so many dif things now….19/10/2009 from webnotbovvered @supersimbo Too late, mate: you’ve done gone and burnt the mutha! Nuthin but smoke & ash now…
19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
supersimbo @notbovvered yea but i burnt the box we have put it in, not the actual thing “evangelicalism” or whatever it is………..19/10/2009 from web
notbovvered @supersimbo Sounds kinda like setting fire to a fart to me… (oops, naughty word: slapped wristie!!)19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
supersimbo @notbovvered phil is not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!19/10/2009 from web
Quite right, supersimbo, I am but a mischief maker 
— but let the conversation go on. Not sure how Keira Knightly got involved, but she did. If you understand, please enlighten me: there could even be a free book in it for you…
davidmkeen @notbovvered now you have to guzzle a bottle of wine and throw Keira Knightly in the air19/10/2009 from TweetDeck
davidmkeen @notbovvered so the box is full of free books then?19/10/2009 from TweetDeck
unicorntreebks @notbovvered box thing – is it ok then if I store what was in the box on the bookshelves for all to see the diversity and range??19/10/2009 from web
notbovvered @unicorntreebks I’d suggest putting it out for sale rather than storage (and I suspect there’s more than evangelicalism in your boxes!!)19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
cornerstonebks @notbovvered @unicorntreebks @supersimbo @authenticmedia I am not convinced by boundary-less existence outside boxes. It is a myth!19/10/2009 from web
supersimbo @Cornerstonebks that may have been my point about burning a box with stuff in it but the actual thing we thought we burnt is still there 
19/10/2009 from websupersimbo @Cornerstonebks ie: effects of evangelicalism, methods, failures etc are in the box but the actual thing is too big to be contained in a box19/10/2009 from web
… which kinda brings us to the end of the conversation, with thanks to everyone who joined in and apologies to anyone whose tweets I’ve missed. Had I known it was going to spark such a stimulating dialogue, I’d've come up with a hashtag like #evangelicalbox — so if you, gentle reader, choose to take up the challenge of my final question, perhaps you’d care to use it?
notbovvered What do posh chocolate and evangelicalism have in common? Both come in a box with lots of varieties and… [complete within 140 characters]19/10/2009 from Twitterrific
The 140 character limit only applies if you’re twittering: comments left here can be as long as you like, I guess. My own answer is “… and a ‘best before’ date that’s long since passed for evangelicalism.” If you think otherwise, feel free to tell us why…
Farewell to Jesus September 20, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Christianity, Theological Reflection.Tags: Jesus, Left Behind
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Jesus
This is Jesus.
He’s been a good friend these last couple of years, always there watching over me. He was there before me; he’ll be there long after me, I guess. But he isn’t mine and I can’t take him with me.
He’s standing on the mantelpiece in our bathroom. Yes, I do mean mantelpiece: our home — the home we’re about to leave — is a old vicarage converted into upstairs and downstairs flats, and when this room was refitted as a bathroom, they left the fireplace in place.
He’s standing on a blue cloth because I’ve just given him a shower: he was getting a bit dusty. But other than that, he hasn’t moved since the day we moved in: the bathroom mantelpiece is where we found him and it’s where we’ve left him. I think he’s in good company with the cream cleanser and my deodorant.
I’ve thought about moving him around a bit: maybe stand him on the TV digibox, see if he improves our reception; or by the wireless router, see if he gives us more bandwidth; but on the whole, I kinda like him where he is.
He watches over me when I perform my morning ablutions (Sue will tell you, it is a performance), but he doesn’t intrude of interrupt, just stands there quietly.
He’s not really my kind of Jesus: the Jesus I read about in the Gospel was a Mediterranean peasant, a wildcard who stirred things up, annoyed the powers-that-be, led a group of rebels. I can’t imagine this Jesus leading a group of rebels. I guess one thing this Jesus and the gospel Jesus have in common is they wear their heart on the outside: this Jesus wears his heart on his breast; the Jesus of the Gospels wore his heart on his sleeve, all his emotions raw and open for all to see.
Another thing — the thing that stands out most to me, the thing that has prevented me just throwing him out, the thing that makes me hope whoever moves in here after us will want to keep him too — is he’s got no hands.
Every morning — every time I visit the bathroom — he reminds me of that old saying: Christ has no hands on earth but ours.
I don’t know whether I can live up to that challenge: to be Christ’s hands here on earth. But with him standing there, I know I can’t escape it. Even in the bathroom.
Getting Back on Track September 18, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Life.Tags: Thank you, Twitter, UKCBD
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If you’re brave — or foolhardy, take your pick — enough to follow my twitter stream then you might just have noticed that I’m getting back on track with a few UKCBD updates.
Let’s say that what with preparing to move house (Monday 21st), seeing friends’ lives torn apart, changes at work and what has felt like a death sentence hanging over us this week, now thankfully reprieved, I’ve been a tad distracted recently…
But mostly, this morning, I’d simply like to thank everyone who has shown solidarity with us, through comments, through prayer, through simply being there: you, my friends, are amazing: thank you.
The Longest Day September 17, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Watching and Waiting.3 comments
September 17, 2009
Watching, waiting, hoping, praying…
Today will be the longest day of my life so far, of Sue’s and my life together so far: I want it to be over; I want it to have never begun; and I cannot even tell you why.
It is a day that ought not to be…
Please pray with us; pray that we wake from this nightmare and discover that’s all that it ever was; and pray for yourself: though I know many have faced such days and survived, may you never face a day like this.
Screaming inside… September 15, 2009
Posted by Phil Groom in Christianity, Life Issues, Poetry, Theological Reflection.Tags: Breast Cancer, Cancer, God, Prayer, Screaming, Waiting on God
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The Scream
… as another friend is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Watching, waiting, hoping, praying… wondering at the futility of praying to a God who seems to have already opted out of the situation … is not the God we cry to for healing the same God who — if s/he is the God so many Christians, so many passages of the Bible, so much of the Church crack him/her up to be — could have prevented the situation?
That God is a myth, a fantasy, a desperate hope … like Father Christmas at Christmas time as we all collude in a massive pretence for the children … we know it’s not true, but we want the magic …
Another friend I spoke to asked me — if the God I wanted to be real, was real, what would that God be like? This poem emerges from that question …
The God I want God to be
would not allow
such things to be
The God I want my God to be
would sit a child
upon her knee
and gently speak
then set her free…
That child would learn
to walk alone
yet never lonely be
that child would soon
become full grown
and fully adult she
would dance
and sing
and joyful be
and tears of grief
would never flow —
she would not know
such things could be.
… and still, deep inside, I scream, and the echo of that scream, repeated by a billion other voices, haunts my dreams…
