We are Re-Jigging and eek it’s never ending!

Yep yep – the pictures you see below this post are not now how we look in some part and by the end of the month will not be how we look at all!
yes indeed it’s true we are having a major overhaul and face lift – and yes no more would be comics out there with the ‘well boss you need’ it comments!
So anyway as you can well imagine the place is a bit of a mess as we move all the old stuff out and the new stuff in, rearrange units and change till points and displays, but by the end of the month it will be fantastic!
So far we have relocated all the New Fiction onto nice new units, and a tidy amount of the Secondhand fiction has also been rehomed as well.
We have the sale to end all sales going on at the minute as we have seriously culled both the secondhand fiction and the New Fiction and pulled out anything over 18 months old – these are now for sale at 10 secondhand for £5.00 or 5 New for £5.00.
Whicever way you look at it that’s some fantastic bargains going on there. The authors include Dan Brown, Arthur C Clarke, Audrey Howard and other top authors. Honest this is not dross just overstock we needed to shift to make room for the new units and stock!
So anyway Religious books are moving from their ‘stand alone and cannot be grown’ section in unit 3 over to the main bookstall – this way there is room for expansion – in fact there will be an extra 5 bays worth of space to expand into and some nice gift units and slat wall space as well – This will also put the Christian Books in a much more prominent thoroughfare than they are currently on – and the reason for this??
Because we are not ashamed!
In fact we are not ashamed of anything we do, including our LGBT section which has also been relocated in the move and this is now in a more prominent section as well – situated in the middle gondola of the main Fiction section rather than hidden in the corner!
we are not ashamed and we will not act as if we are – we will not apologise for our beliefs, for our friends or for our outreach!
That said we would like to announce that we are now also stocking Jewish Prayer Books and the Forms of Prayer, and we welcome all our friends from the Lincoln Branch of the Council of Christians and Jews to come by, it was good to meet you and be involved in a very small way with the ‘meditation of Advent and Chanukah’. Thank you.
Ok now also whilst I have your attention, Palm Crosses, Paschal Candles and the rest of the Lent/Easter paraphanalia are on order and in some cases even in stock! so NOW IS THE TIME to let me know exactly how many of what you want putting by!!
Pass the word around please – Lent Books are in and orders are being taken for Palms and Candles.
Thank you!
Ohh we counted how many jigsaw designs we had when we had to move them all for the new units! (These went fantastically well at Christmas and are still going well now, probably as we are one of the few places in Lincoln that does them, and we do them all year round and at very good prices as well!)
Anyway that would be just over the 100 mark! These span the gamault from 1500 piece puzzles down to the 8 piece childrens puzzles, with the most number being in the 500 piece range and then followed by the economy priced 1000 piece puzzles, though my favourites are the ones with the Gold and Silver highlighting – particularly the Indian Maid and Fawn one – just lovely! and then also the Shaped Fish & Dolphin Puzzle. Lots of different brands as well, Gibson Games, Jumbo, King, Paul Lamond Puzzles, Falcon, Heye, Classic Deluxe, Ravensburger and a few more as well!
Then there were the Paint By Numbers, both large, standard and small, and 2 different manufacturers styles in those as well. It certainly makes for colourful on top of the new units.
So anyway when the refit and rejig is done and about ten minutes after I stop doing my own victory jig all over the worklorn minions (who actaully have been working! and I have to admit may have some hidden architectural or interior design skills that have a lot to do with making best use of the tardis like propensity of the strange space in a Unicorn Tree domain! Thanks M1 & M2) then I will get out my camera and take new snappy snappies for you all who cannot come in and see it for yourselves.
See you in the shop soon – I am the one with 2 coffee’s on the go at the minute as one just doesn’t do it in a refit situation.

Shuffle, Sweat & Swines!

So Ok, for anyone not visiting the shop today – and that was quite a few of you! It was unbearably hot in the giant green house that is Central Market today. ( That is why I don’t blame you for not visiting today – i bet you were all in the garden or at skeggy with the deckchair and knotted hankies on!)
Honestly I keep telling everyone about my market garden idea of growing my own Tomatoes, peas and lettuces on top of the shop but everyone keeps telling me I can’t! I think it is just wrong of them – the swines!

Anyway today was swelteringly hot and so as per my usual want I was doing a bookshop shuffle again – this time in unit 3 – Unicorn Tree Christian Books!
Yes that’s right – I was taking out bookcases and putting in slat wall and new units and it looks much bigger, brighter and better!

I have cleared out a lot of floorspace with judicious use of new units and slat wall that allows nice shiny things and gift cabinets to be suspended in the air, and there is also a new card unit that rests on top of nice new half shelving units that tidily display the multitued of candles we now have to keep in stock. It really does look good and not only did it tidy it up, make floor space and more gift and card space but believe it or not we fit in more books too!
Honestly with time and ingenuity I can build a tardis and disguise it as a bookshop!
So anyway we now have lots of gifts in to fill in the space we created – some very nice statues of the good shepherd and some nice standing Crosses as well. And Kids badges and notebooks came in from Hughes and Coleman as well.
Then add to that another delivery arrived and it was Atkinsons Parsons Pocket Books!
timed nicely to arrive with the Marston delivery of SPCK Church Pocket Book & Diaries! So there we go 2009 is here and it isn’t even August.
So anyway then my rep arrives and begins showing me Christmas and Advent books – and believe it or not she even had some Lent 2009 material in her folder! Scary scary thought.
having said that I need to remind people that I will soon be placing my Advent Candle order and so if they could let me know in advance what size, type and colour sets they require then that would be good to ensure their orders are fulfilled!

So anyway I finish the shuffle, empty the boxes, enter them onto the machine and see the rep (by the way did i mention that minion no.1 was off yesterday and today with a summer flu! hence me being so hot, sticky and industrious?? and i had to give up my day off! minions and their germs! and they still expect to take time off to go on holiday working as a guide leader at Poachers later this month and they reckon thats not resting, what kind of minions are being germinated these days – no stamina!) so anyway as I was staying I have finished all this hard work and am just about to sit down and melt quietly in a corner when a delivery of 7 big boxes arrives! and this at gone 1pm!
That would be the Calender and Diary order for the general shop! yes we now have over 14 different styles of 2009 Diary in stock and and 19 different calenders for 2009! and even better yet I already sold some before I had priced them! and still people keep asking me for this years diary – sorry no we don’t have any left in stock – its JULY already – you were supposed to get them in January at the latest, we even had them in February but we don’t have them now as it would appear to be time for next years crop already!!!.
So thats the Calenders and diary’s done – well at least the ones from that supplier, that just left the 3 boxes of stationery, stickers and over 24 jigsaws to do!
Yes we have fresh jigsaw designs in again – at the minute we are averaging selling a small jigsaw a day and a large jigsaw every 3 days! we are puzzled at how fast our lovely customers can do these things! – more trains and vintage cars in this batch than the last one.
Then there was an Ingram delivery as well – full of paranormal goodies, some manga and the new Batman Graphic novel! Lush.
- Talking of Lush and their glitter bath bombs, the new stickers that came in were all glitery too! wonderful Disney Princesses, WTP (that’s Winnie the Pooh – it took me a good 2 minutes to figure that out when trying to match up what I had to the silly invoice -a lot of oh piglets was happening due to silly acronyms!) and Diego & Dora, along with stars and smiley faces – all with a glitter thing going on! Sparkly! -
anyway back to deliveries in today.

We also have a copies of ‘The Shack’ in – we have sold quite a few of these already and this was a top up order just in, along with it came one of Todd Bentleys books – just in time for God channel to take it off screen I note. Hmm I feel sorry for the fill-in pastors as I suppose it could feel a bit like a slap not being worthy of air time if it ain’t Mr Bentley doing the impartation! Still God moves in myserious ways, His wonders to perform! Back to the Shack though, as thats also a book that shows God doing wonders in a different way than we would necessarily expect.
The Shack is a good book and well worth the read – feeling lazy here so instead of reviewing it myself I am including a couple of links for you all to follow to find out more about the book – except to say i heartily endorse the book, it is a great read!
http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/review/9780964729230/william-p-young/the-shack/
This gives the publishers blurb (by the way this site is an excellent site for all types of Christian Book reviews! and is well worth looking at regularly – not least because the bookshop boss that is I does regular reviews for it – nothing like self aggrandisement there!)
http://www.christianbookshops.org.uk/reviews/shack.htm - Phil Groom’s great website offers this review which is independent of the publisher!
By the way just ignore all the buy from someone else buttons on the sites please folks and remember to come back to me, after all we miss you and amuse you much more than they do!

So anyway as you can tell today was a busy day and it really is well worth popping in and visiting the shop, take in the new look at unit 3 and maybe check out a jigsaw or 24!

Anway its late and I am still hot and feeling tired so am going to say tattybye and see you in the shop tomorrow!

www.lincolncentralmarket.co.uk
Unicorn Tree Books, Central Market, Lincoln. LN5 7ET
www.browseawhilebooks.co.uk
www.alsarts.co.uk
htp://unicorntreebooks.blogspot.com

Edited!! opens!

Just to let you all know that the Lincoln shop was open today – with the alarm system blaring!!
I ask that you consider, should it be open again, not to make use of their services – and not just because I want you to use my services – but because of the way that the four long serving members of Lincoln Staff were treated in the employ of SSG and then in their uncharitable dismissal at the hands of SSG, and of course for all the other staff at all the other shops that have been treated in such a shameful manner.
(If you need to know more about the, shameful and morally dubious to my way of thinking, actions of SSG then click on the title to go to Dave Walkers Cartoon Church blog as he has done a fantastic job of reporting on this issue!)

Anyway the shop was manned by two gentlemen – one from York and one from Birmingham.
I was phoned on my mobile phone by one of the gents to ask for the alarm code!!
Whilst one of the original Lincoln – and so uncharitably treated staff – was in the shop, The locksmith asked ‘Should I make the invoice out to SPCK then’ to which one of the young men, not sure if it was the one from York or the one from Birmingham, said yes - the ex-member of staff immediately informed the locksmith that no he should not as SSG are not SPCK and do not have the right to use the name.

I would suggest SPCK really needs to crack down on this one soon – there surely must be something that can be done about this use of the name over the shop, when in point of fact both by SPCK’s own statement and SSG’s Statements this name is not supposed to be being used by the shops!( http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=46788I & http://www.spck.org.uk/ & http://www.thebookseller.com/news/47694-book-chain-drops-spck-name.html ) I know from today that a lot of people do not realise it is not an SPCK Bookshop and that their money is not going where they believed it was, but is in fact going to a whole different charity with a whole different set of aims! come on SPCK at the least you are loosing out on your own potential donors let alone the continued damage to your name and reputation.

The young man from York later came into my shop to again ask for the code. I would tell you the conversation that ensued but I saw red when he told me he worked for “SPCK Bookshop” York, was a member of ‘my team’ and also in the union.

I pointed out all my team had been dismissed by SSG and our union was involved in trying to safeguard their rights in relation to SSG, and that SPCK had no bookshops.

I have to admit there was a certain word that came to mind! union members that act against their union and other union members due to concerns only for themselves – hmm but that is uncharitable so I would like to say here, that I do understand that the gentlemen from other shops do have a need of a wage themselves and that I forgive them for stepping all over my friends who have been so shamefully treated and for not thinking of them when choosing to come into and open a shop where all the staff were dismissed in so wrong a manner.

I do understand the need to earn a wage and am sorry if anything I said caused a feeling of guilt or made the gentleman from York feel bad, two wrongs don’t make a right and I could have been more charitable myself – but then the young man in question could have given some consideration for others and thought how his action might have made them feel before phoning us or coming into our places of work and asking for the codes for the alarms.
One of the other ex-members of staff was also contacted by another SSG employee on her mobile asking for the Codes for the shop! the sheer audacity of these people begger belief – you do not contact members of staff after you have terminated their employment in such harsh manner – this is surely a form of harrasment and not really very acceptable to my way of thinking.

Interestingly though is that although at least three people, not in the employee of SSG and with grievances against SSG, were badgered for alarm codes no one had the codes to the shop as most of us have let such useless info drift from our frontbrain with many other much more pressing issues to think on!
(oops and talking of pressing issues that keep slipping the mind I need to take this moment to wish the Subaru a happy birthday! see not just regular minions get remembered and mentioned on my blog!)
So in the end the power leads were yanked from the main Fire System Zone Alarm box to silence the internal alarms that were set off after the locksmith popped the locks! this in turn set of the very loud and shrill external alarm ( its a failsafe!! hooked up to the main electrics, after all any thief can pop the electrics to a Zone Box!) so anyway in the end a hammer had to be taken to the external alarm box to smash it into silence after a couple of hours, and all this when the shop keys had been sent to the solicitors by the landlord, so they shouldn’t have needed to pop the lock anyway as their solicitors should have been able to give them the keys, and the owners of SSG should have had the alarm code as they had been supplied with it quite a few times!
There is now a glaringly obvious hole in the casing where once there was a perfectly innocent and intact (if occasionally noisy but with good purpose!) Alarm box. I do believe I was also informed of smashed glass in the large window of the back office where online and goods inwards used to be housed, I guess they did not have keys to those locks either!
Sums up the SSG management technique perfectly if you ask me!

However this aside I still could have handled my reactions better and again apologise for what I said whilst he was in my shop and I genuinely do forgive him for the harm and pain caused, I like to believe and am sure that it was not intentional just misthought.

Like I said I offer up humble apologies and do indeed sympathise (well ok I did once I cooled down a little!) with the gents – especially as one did say he felt he had no choice but to go where sent if he was to keep his shop open and the jobs of the others at his shop as that was the bargain he had to agree to to keep the shop open - I suggested he speak to his union rep. as what could possibly be percieved as blackmail, bullying or threats against staff to ensure compliance and make them do things they don’t want to do for fear of being responsible for a whole team losing their job is probably not pucka play!

One of the wrongfully treated ex-SSG staff works for me on a part time basis (the minion known as snowflake or minion no.2) and was in the shop when the gentleman from York came in to try to get the alarm codes again, his words and actions hurt her deeply as she needed and still needs the income that she has been cheated of – she did not in any way resign or quit, she said she would continue working under her old contract as was her right.

I know at least two other staff were also very distressed by this whole situation as I spoke to one almost immediately after I was contacted by mobile by the gentlemen in the shop, and the other made contact later that afternoon, again they did not in any way resign or quit, but said they would continue working under their old contracts as was their right.

Her need now is great, as is that of the other staff now without jobs, and though I offer what hours I can that is not enough to cover her mortgage, and for everything she earns from me she loses in respect of benefits and entitlements, thus unless I, or someone else, can offer her 30 hours a week she will continue to struggle.
As I said back last month – it is my hope to be able to provide employment where possible for my old staff, but I cannot do that yet so if anyone does have a job or three going then please contact me so I can pass on the info to these able people (on a lighter note – Being utterly selfish – I would appreciate it if one of these jobs I know you out there have to offer is mon-friday only so I can keep my excellent Saturday staff please!)
Just to remind, this particular member of staff had worked at the SPCK/SSG shop for over 6 years – the new girl! the other members of staff had all worked there for time frames between this 6 years and going up to 14/15 years! Dedicated, committed and hardworking people who served the Lincoln Christian Community with real commitment and faithfulness in this time.

I know, I worked with them, and we all would most likely still be working there if not for the way we had been treated by these employers. Our commitment to this community never wavered, our faithfulness to the message and job of Christian Bookselling as embodied in choosing to originally work for SPCK never altered, however we are not now there – not by our choice but by cruel circumstances that need never have been. Still we continue to serve where and how we can with a hope for the future!

So given all this, again I would ask you to consider should you support any ventures of SSG?? even if they are still pretending to be SPCK and trading on the good works of that institution and our, and our predecessors, work in Lincoln and for this community??

Speaking of Jobs, I want to congratulate Debbie on her new Job as Dr’s Receptionist, she will do an excellent job as she never does any less! and the Surgery made the right choice in taking her on as she will be an asset to them! Well Done Debbie – you rock girl!
Now come on people we need 3 more jobs here please – at least until I am in a position to and can take some of the staff on more permanently with your kind support!

By the way I want to say a REALLY BIG AND HEARTFELT THANK YOU to Father Phillip of the local Orthodox Church for asking his congregations to support our endeavours here, and also to all the other members of Clergy and their congregations, including Bishop John Saxbee, Rev’d Ian Silk, Rev’d Richard Billinghurst & Rev’d Simeon Bishop to name just a very few who have been so supportive and wonderful as we have endeavoured to get the Christian Component fully up and running. I also want to thank all of the customers who have just “found” us and offered kind words and prayers! This really means much more than you can ever know and I do sincerely thank you all.

“Unicorn Tree Christian Books & Church Supplies” now has its own dedicated stall (Unit No. 3 – just opposite the rest of the bookshop) with Candles, Wafers, Incense, Hymn Books, Service Books, Bibles, Reading Notes, Stationery, Christian Books, Gifts, Cards and More now. Watch this space – PDQ is now in and Church/institution Accounts will be ready to be applied for and opened in the next few weeks!

I would also like to thank DLT, Kevin Mayhew, Alban, Church House Publishing, SCM-Canterbury, SPCK Publishing, Charles Farris, F.A. Dumont & Shinglers of Sutton amongst other publishers & Suppliers for being so fantastic in the last few weeks and helping get things moving.

Okay that’s all for now – see you in the shop on Monday!

(This post has been edited as a safeguard – for the reasons as to why this may have been necessary visit http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/category/save-the-spck, Oops now wait you cant – I guess you better go here instead: http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/series/cease-and-desist-notice-on-dave-walker/ Should I be notified personally and directly by the concerned parties of anything then I will of course let you know and then take any further necessary actions as may be required)

www.lincolncentralmarket.co.uk
Unicorn Tree Books, Central Market, Lincoln. LN5 7ET
www.browseawhilebooks.co.uk
www.alsarts.co.uk
htp://unicorntreebooks.blogspot.com

SPCK CLOSES!

On tuesday my old work team and my friends were treated in a most reprehensible way, they turned up to work at the SPCK Bookshop as it had been (it still said SPCK outside but in point of fact it had been renamed as the SSG Bookshop some months ago by the current owners), to do their daily work at the Charity just to open the email system up and find that their employment had been terminated – effective immediately - by the Chairman of SSG from his base in Texas.
This I find to be a totally reprehensible act – to fire people by email – especially such dedicated people. The irony of it is that just the week before they had been out having a meal that was from the £100 they had been given by Mr P. Brewer when he awarded for the them the first ‘Third Space’ award in the chain. This was explained as being an award for having such an attractive, welcoming and well presented shop! the first two spaces being, our homes and our places of work – places we feel inately comfortable and welcomed – the third space and hence the award is a space other than these two where a similar feeling is invoked!!!
Well there will definitely be no third space awards going to SSG and their owners in my estimation.
So anyway if anyone out there knows of jobs going for some extremely talented and dedicated retailers, who are also skilled in customer service and office work, then please do let me know so I can pass this info onto them.
If I had the ability to give them jobs I would but currently the situation just does not allow for this – however as I am now the only retailer in town doing Christian Books and Church Supplies it is my hope that in the next few months I will have been able to grow this side of the business to such a level as was at the old SPCK and then be able to take on my old staff! so please assist in enabling this (that is if you haven’t got a job you can give them yourselves!) by supporting me in growing this business!
Much more information on the goings on of SSG can be found at Dave Walkers wonderful Cartoonchurch blog here:http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/category/save-the-spck/k/
So thats the most of my news, though if you haven’t been in since the last blog update then there is a music sale on – all cd’s currently half price – this will only be on until the end of this month!
We have Jigsaws out on display and doing well – there will be a new delivery of jigsaws in by the end of the month, and also a full top up of Paint by Numbers, Scraperfoils and the Like at the end of the month too.
If you are a Church then let me know what Paschal product you want! and can you give me a clue as to the main size candles you want for every week use as well. On saturday i will have some palm crosses, baptism candles and votive stick candles in stock, along with basic church stationary ie certificates, registers etc. let me know what you need and i will get it!
Ok blog done for now, please again I reiterate either support me so I grow quickly and can give the spck crew jobs being out of their tree with me again (think of it as recycling! recycling staff now there’s a green initiative for you get behind this lent!), or offer them a job yourselves if you can – they are great people and did not deserve this treatment.
(This post has been edited as a safeguard – for the reasons as to why this may have been necessary visit http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/category/save-the-spck, Oops now wait you cant – I guess you better go here instead: http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/series/cease-and-desist-notice-on-dave-walker/ Should I be notified personally and directly by the concerned parties of anything then I will of course let you know and then take any further necessary actions as may be required)

www.lincolncentralmarket.co.uk
Unicorn Tree Books, Central Market, Lincoln. LN5 7ET
www.browseawhilebooks.co.uk
www.alsarts.co.uk
htp://unicorntreebooks.blogspot.com