Copenhagen: Oxfam’s verdict

A singular and crucially significant political event has been and gone. My worry is that a lot of us have more or less missed it. The general consensus seems to be that the Copenhagen Climate Summit has been a dissappointment. For certain it hasn’t delivered the unilaterally sanctioned agreement that Oxfam and others had hoped for. But there were some small signs of progress, and the issue must not be allowed to wither. I would urge everyone to read Oxfam’s intial report here and to try to stay abrest of developments next year.

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The Art Of Stella Watson

I didn’t intend to post again before Christmas but as I sandwich-break I notice that our sometime photographer, James, has been in and photographed some of the wonderful posters that Stella Watson has made for us over the last few years. Stella is on a mini-break from her volunteering at the moment and she is sorely missed. We intended to post these images on here as an overdue testament to her talents, so here they are….

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Best wishes to you for the holidays!

Last post until after Christmas. I’m stealing two minutes..

*bells jingling in background, James is sitting in a large red chair, pipe in hand, fire burning to his right, chestnuts roasting*

Well, here we are. And it wouldn’t be Christmas for me without three things: having a cold, festive card stocks diminshing and Johns snack-trip to the shops on Christmas Eve (volunteers – if you’re in Glasgow on the day, call in for some pop and a plate of food otherwise we take it home and I have a calorie-mountain to contend with as is). In fact, I don’t think I had a cold last year, so just the two things then.

*back door rings. donation. reality-check. Roll-wrap to put out. Fiction to fill.*

Best wishes over the holidays everyone!

The bookshop team.

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Copenhagen, Borders, Christmas

The Copenhagen climate summit is here and controversy is already at hand. Following the leaked (and suspiciously well-timed) emails there is now a leaked document suggesting that big countries have already made tacit aggreements that, if pushed through, would benefit them most. Considering what is at stake, it’s no surprise to see tensions escalating and power plays being made by all the interested parties. The next couple of weeks will no doubt be fascinating and we should hope that sensible resolutions are found. In Oxfam’s words:

“It’s no exaggeration to say that the outcome of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, 7 – 18 December 2009, will affect everyone on the planet.”

More on that here.

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Many Glaswegians are sad to see Borders go into administration. The Glasgow store occupies a significant building in the centre of the shopping district and has become a one-stop shop for international magazine and newspaper browsing as well as having (in this bloggers opinion) a superior selection of non-fiction to Waterstones.  If there is no successful bid, let’s hope something imaginative pops up in it’s place. Not that I’m sympathising with the competition struggling (!), but it does seem like a significant vacuum will exist in it’s absence.  You’ll all just have to spend more time in the incomparable Oxfam Books on Byres Road…

Finally, the Christmas machine is well and truly in motion. It’s momentum and gathering pace all the way now. Our card and food ranges seem to be going well this year so fingers crossed it continues.

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