The perfect bookshop

Were we to understand this trip as a battle for hearts and minds, it could be said things have moved up a notch, and the territory has shifted to the heart.

Yesterday, the parade and fireworks.

Today, a place no one could resist: the Montague Mill 2nd hand bookshop. 'Books you don't need in a place you can't find'.

A disused sawmill deep in a fir and maple wood, ancient and elegant armchairs placed beneath open sash windows, and everywhere the sound of water rushing over stones. We were all instantly in love.

Imagine these seats,

with this soundtrack;

A room for Nancy and Natasha.

A cafe where you can get, as Azah did, a curry sandwhich. He'd never heard of such a thing either.

A book that goes someway towards making women's role in politics visible. Abigail Adams, for example, wife of John Adams, the second President of the US and one of the Founding Fathers, beseeched him thus in 1776:

And by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire that you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hand of the Husbands.

Although he ignored her plea, he did commend her for being 'so saucy'.

In this room, the best treat of all.

In the white shorts is Connie, from Indonesia. He has already bought way more books than will ever fit in his two allocated boxes.

He also, kindly, was looking out for migration books for me. He found one called Rocking the Boat, which he thought might be about boat people. Actually, it was about something much closer to home.

I'm sorry the photo is so bad, but I hope you can make out the footnotes.

In this way you were also present in the bookshop Dad.

A genuine pro-life, paid-up NRA supporter of the right to bear arms Republican, Mike. I couldn't have liked him more.

He is the Luke Danes of Massachusetts. Conservative but solid, an outdoors guy. We had a very enjoyable conversation about abortion, something that doesn't happen very often.

The bumper sticker on his truck says "Vote your sport".





And, nasturtiums to go with Rita's yellow cardi.