Book Booth Fundraiser

Pre-loved plays

A few weeks ago I finished the first draft of what will be my first novel. It's the story of a young girl who immigrates to Australia from Wales with her family under the Ten Pound Pom immigration scheme offered by Australia's government from post WW2 to the 1970s. It's loosely based on my own experience, but I found myself wishing I could remember the landscape of Wales more specifically than my faded memory would allow. 

And then something happened.

Poetry

My mum rang me to ask if I would accompany her on a trip back home to Wales. 

 Ma is a dynamic Welsh lady who comes in at just under 5 feet, who loves music and singing, who lives with hearing loss (which is apparently the result of her factory-working years, back before they knew the value of ear muffs) and has recently 
been diagnosed with the early signs of dementia. 

This trip will most likely be her final trip home to visit family and friends, to say goodby to her homeland.

 What has surprised me most about dementia, even at this early stage, is the increase in anxiety that small changes and challenges can bring. International travel will be challenging for Ma. I can make it less so.  

But even as I say yes to the trip, seeing its emotional, spiritual and research benefits, I wonder how I am actually going to afford this when I've  taken most of the year off from regular work to write my novel? I've got a little bit in savings but it isn't enough. 

Then I hit upon an idea - it's time for a book cull.

Birography

Books on Theatre

So, on Saturday May 7th, from 9am-1pm I am setting up a Book Booth at 16 Spencer Street, Cowandilla. That's in Adelaide, Australia, so I appreciate that travel might be a little difficult for random readers who don't live in the driest state of the driest continent on earth.. 

Still, if there's a book you're searching for, check out my FB page. I might just have it. 

My arts education and employment means I've got theatre scripts, poetry & literature; biography & non fiction too.

Despite the dementia, Ma is still very independent. But there are noticeable changes in her memory and thinking: she has difficulty remembering appointments, names, words; and some people she once recognised have become unfamiliar to her. Hearing loss also makes communication difficult (as does the Welsh accent, but that’s another story). If you buy a pre-loved book, what you're actually doing is helping make Ma's journey safer and easier. It sounds corny I know, but it's true. Not to mention the obvious: you'll have a fabulous new pre-loved book.

Fiction

Whether you’re keen to browse, pick up a book bargain, have a chat, have a slice of cake (did I mention there will be home-made cake?), or simply marvel at how low the planes fly over our garden, you will be most welcome at Book Booth. 

Everything is under $10.

p.s. The planes are truly spectacular but you might need those ear muffs