Barter Books and “Keep Calm and Carry On" …. This image has now become totally banal but here is where it came to light.

During World War II the British government produced three posters to be used to improve morale in the face of desperate times in the UK. Two of the posters were printed and distributed but the third never saw the light of day until it was displayed by the owners of Barter Books in Alnwick (pronounced Annick) after being discovered in some boxes of old books bought at auction. They hung the poster, patrons loved it, they made some more, the rest is history.

The two posters that did make it into production and display during wartime were “Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might" and “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" – not quite so snappy and memorable are they?

Barter Books is a total delight and alone well worth a trip to Alnwick; with nothing but old books, housed in the classic Victorian station building with a large scale model railway along the top of some of the shelves. There are sitting areas and a cafe that winds through the old waiting rooms and station master’s office. Great place for a couple of hours of rummaging and lunch.

In another of life’s amazing moments, in the jumble of old maps and travel books, the first one that Mick pulled out was the 1971 Ordnance Survey map of Sutton-in-Ashfield where we both were brought up and where we met as four-year olds. When I checked out, the man at the till said “Oh that’s funny, I was born there" and we were transported with a conversation about places we knew and people we’d met. Crazy times.

Here is a lovely video about the Keep Calm story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXFRbCI

And link to Barter Books if you are ever in the neighbourhood. http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About%20Us/The%20Bookshop.php