Tuesday, February 10, 2009

premier book shop's last hurrah


the end of an era. good old premier book shop is closing down and it feels like the death of a good old friend. shopping for books will never be the same again; never mind if there are other book stores that are huger, have better displays and yes, even offer better bargains.

the quietly amused mr.shanbhag had a stranglehold on my heart - from cheeking me for picking up chicklit on wind-down weekends to saving the latest alexander mccall smith to stocking the latest harry potter- which i could pick up for my son and his friends without the angst of queueing up at dawn-, to keeping my selection hastily called out on the phone ready to pick up enroute to the airport - premier was the place which i loved for its sheer unpretentiousness.
it was like visiting a slice of the past - a golden opportunity to push aside the curtain and step back into mellow times 

its goodbye finally - for a while now , my friday evening/ saturday afternoon book buying binges at premier followed by a pint or two at the nightwatchman next door  - with the tastiest masala peanuts- had been winding down. can't help missing the haze of smoke in this good ol' pub as unfussy as the bookshop next door, with great music and v proper waiters who kept an eye out for you.

the times, they are a-changing....  
 

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