If I wasn’t spinning my latest yarn or chasing the words across a page of A4, I’d love to be scurrying behind the counter, in a cosy Indie bookshop. Peeping into the latest best seller or admiring the rows of vibrant coloured children’s books with quirky titles and sometimes cheeky rhymes. Aah… if only!
The wonderful Serendip on Broad Street in Lyme Regis, is in a prime, perfect location down on the right, above the peeping sea. With flapping seagulls overhead and the crashing of the stormy, January waves I amble down to one of my favourite places.
The huge window is bursting with books! All shapes and sizes, from best sellers, to the offerings of local authors, and reflects the different seasons and celebrations. Whether it’s Christmas or Easter, Mother or Father’s Day or the popular Fossil Festival, Serendip offers every reader something and one or two surprises.
One of the biggest sellers of 2015 was the unusual book called ‘Norwegian Wood’ by Lars Mytting.
Another popular buy, were the little Penguin books for adults, with titles such as the ‘The Husband’ ‘The Wife’ and the ‘Hangover’.
Meeting Chris Painton, the owner of Serendip with his wife Bee, and Angela, who enjoys working in their book shop three days a week, was a delight. Our engaging conversation, a welcome eye opener into the fascinating world of books.
Chris enjoys general fiction, although he doesn’t tend to read books by the same author all the time, his preference being mainly for biography and history. On his wish list to meet would be Paddy Ashdown, the writer of ‘Cockleshell Heroes’, an intriguing story of a life before politics, and the fascinating David Starkey the eminent historian.
Bee’s preference is for biographies of interesting people such as Gertrude Bell. Angela is drawn to creative nonfiction rather than novels. She read ‘The A303: Highway To The Sun’ by Tom Fort and subsequently planned her own trip with her husband, to visit some of the places. She enjoys reading about real life journeys and adventures, and how they came about, wanting to experience what the authors have, for herself.
The children’s book section on the right at the back is stunning. Favourites such as the Gruffalo or other stories by Julia Donaldson, Judith Kerr’s the ‘Tiger Who Came To Tea’ and Michael Murpurgo tales fly off the shelves. Here I buy books for my grandson Finn, before I sail over to Ireland.
Chris and Bee are so dedicated and passionate about the world of books, that they only close one day a year… Christmas Day. They offer a brilliant hand sell service… something Indi bookshops do so well. Everyone who works there is bursting with suggestions and ideas if you need any help with choosing a title. As Chris says, ‘good service is always the key’.
Serendip has been in their ownership for over five years. The couple changed the interior in 2010 because they wanted to brighten it up. Before then, the original gold lettering and black signs of the shop facade were created in 1980 for the film ‘The French Lieutenants’ Woman’. The arches above the shop that appeared in the film were kept. The much loved name Serendip was the original name for Sri Lanka and translates as ‘a treasure trove’, which of course it is, from the moment you walk in through the door. As someone who loves to potter inside, that is the perfect description for this delightful bookshop, just up from the sea.
