I just got back from spending a couple of days in a beautiful village in North Wales.
On my first day, I found a bookshop that was split into two downstairs rooms between two buildings, fiction through the left door and non-fiction through the right.
So I went in through the right door and there was a woman sat reading a newspaper who I took to be the owner. I started looking through the sections and immediately found Teachings of Gurdjieff by C. S. Nott. Bingo! Let's see what else there is... two Castenada books, Marciniak, Alan Watts; I soon had a pile of books in my hands, but knew I didn't have enough cash on me to buy them all. So I said to the woman, "Is there a cash machine in the shop across the road?"
She hesitated, and then said, "Urm, yes."
So I said thanks and continued to look around. After a couple more minutes, the woman stood up, picked up her handbag and left. I realised she didn't work there at all. "Weird", I thought. So where's the clerk?
I went next door into the fiction section, but it was just another similar sized room with no counter, no till, no clerk.
Then I noticed a sign, "Please pay next door". I thought, "What sort of game is this?"
When I went back next door, I noticed like a cupboard door in the corner of the room, and then saw a little sign next to it:
It literally took me about ten seconds to process this. I was thinking, "Which books does that apply to???" and all manner of things, but it soon dawned on me that it was what it was. There was a little notepad next to the door where I could see customers had listed the books they'd bought and for how much.
I went across the street, got some cash, came back, listed my books, put the money through the slot in the door and walked out just amazed.
I had a chat to the guy who was running the B&B I was staying at. He said sometimes the place is even left open all night!
It was a quite magical experience, really. A concept far removed from everyday existence in a ponerised world.
On my first day, I found a bookshop that was split into two downstairs rooms between two buildings, fiction through the left door and non-fiction through the right.
So I went in through the right door and there was a woman sat reading a newspaper who I took to be the owner. I started looking through the sections and immediately found Teachings of Gurdjieff by C. S. Nott. Bingo! Let's see what else there is... two Castenada books, Marciniak, Alan Watts; I soon had a pile of books in my hands, but knew I didn't have enough cash on me to buy them all. So I said to the woman, "Is there a cash machine in the shop across the road?"
She hesitated, and then said, "Urm, yes."
So I said thanks and continued to look around. After a couple more minutes, the woman stood up, picked up her handbag and left. I realised she didn't work there at all. "Weird", I thought. So where's the clerk?
I went next door into the fiction section, but it was just another similar sized room with no counter, no till, no clerk.
Then I noticed a sign, "Please pay next door". I thought, "What sort of game is this?"
When I went back next door, I noticed like a cupboard door in the corner of the room, and then saw a little sign next to it:
It literally took me about ten seconds to process this. I was thinking, "Which books does that apply to???" and all manner of things, but it soon dawned on me that it was what it was. There was a little notepad next to the door where I could see customers had listed the books they'd bought and for how much.
I went across the street, got some cash, came back, listed my books, put the money through the slot in the door and walked out just amazed.
I had a chat to the guy who was running the B&B I was staying at. He said sometimes the place is even left open all night!
It was a quite magical experience, really. A concept far removed from everyday existence in a ponerised world.
