Crewe and Nantwich are often spoken of as one, which is unsurprising given that the two towns form one parliamentary constituency.

In reality they are miles apart and very different places.

 

We arranged to pop into Nantwich Bookshop at 46 High Street as part of our efforts to support independent book sellers. We find a thriving community hub with a coffee shop and a cafe. At Christmas the loft of the ancient building that the bookshop is housed in becomes a Santa’s Grotto for the children of the town – an example of how innovative this bookshop is.

 

Whilst there I meet a local independent councillor and the daughter of a prominent cabinet minister in the 70’s and 80’s. 

 

The lovely owners are kind enough to give me two books to thank me for my hour of book signing. The first, James O’Brian’s ‘How to be Right’, is for my wife, Carolyn. I choose Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’, one of those books I’ve always meant to read and now will.