Past Events

  1. BOOK TALK

    SOCKS Imaginative Mending
    By Celia Pym
    Thursday 30th April
    6pm-7pm
    £5 Book online or in the bookshop.

    Celia Pym will be talking about her mending project ‘Socks’ that formed the work for her latest book.

    In Summer Term 2024 Celia Pym taught the whole of Surrey Square Primary School in Southwark, Central London, how to darn a sock. All the children from Nursery Class (the four-year-olds) to Year 6 (the 11-year-olds), as well as several of the teachers, staff and family members. SOCKS Imaginative Mending describes the project, why it happened, how it was planned and the impact it had. It also celebrates the socks and stitches themselves with photographs of every mended sock – more than 500 in all. An encounter with craft and ‘making’ gives a child a key to opening their creative imagination. This book illustrates the joyful case for why craft learning  must be embedded in the school curriculum.

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  2. MENDING

    SOCK Mending Drop-In Session
    With Celia Pym
    Thursday 30th April
    2-5pm
    Free, all welcome

    Holes in your socks? Bring them along to the SOCK mending meet up. Celia will be on hand to help you with your sock mending. Or if you are experienced, you can help others!

    Mending curious? Never mended before no problem – come by and have a go at mending a sock. Spare ‘industry’ waste socks will be available to practice on

    All materials and tools provided. Beginners to experienced menders welcome. Please come by for an afternoon of mending and hanging out.

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  3. WORKSHOP

    Workshop: Hedgerow Healing & Home Remedies
    Saturday 28th February
    11am-1pm
    12 Places available
    Free, book a place

    Join us for a workshop exploring the rich traditions of hedgerow healing and home remedies that have been passed down through Romani and working-class communities. We will dip our toes into the practical and nurturing ways these communities used plants for food, medicine and wellbeing.You’ll learn about common hedgerow plants, their healing properties and some folklore surrounding them. Such as Elderflower for headaches and Hawthorn for heart health. We’ll also discuss how these remedies were shared and adapted within communities through word-of-mouth and lived experience.

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  4. STORYTELLING

    Story Comes, Story Goes
    Friday 13th March
    6.30pm–10pm
    Free

    Our March storytelling theme is ‘arrivals and departures’ for our final evening of hearthside storytelling and music. Join us on this fateful Friday 13th for tales from storytellers' Hannah Brailsford, Nicola Werenowska and Mer Richardson, with music by Song Circle with Sarah and Ethel Fled, plus open Mic spots. Hosted by Fae Well and Matthew Linley. Doors open at 6.15pm and we start at 6.45pm. There are three parts and two intervals.

    Brought to you by Matthew Linley, Mer Richardson, Faye Rathe and Eleanor Brown, and funded by Tendring Shared Prosperity Fund.

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  5. MUSIC

    Between the Shelves
    Foxpalmer & Si Connelly
    Friday 20th March 2026
    Doors 7.30pm
    Tickets £5

    Between the Shelves’ is a live music evening for listening to talented musicians performing their original material in the intimate setting of the bookshop.

    ‘I’m all about the live performance. Those are the moments I want to distil, and my most honest moments are with an audience. They become part of the show. My records have all been pretty different so far. Ranging from alt-rock to country folk, my live shows should be described as direct and honest.’ Si Connelly.

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  6. WORKSHOP

    Straw Craft Workshop
    Saturday 14th February
    11am-1pm, Free
    Delivered by Lucy Hook-Child @corndollyfolklore

    Join us as we learn how to make a classic Countryman's Favour to give to our sweethearts, or keep close to our own hearts! We will provide an opportunity to have a go at a classic working-class heritage craft and reflect on the folklore behind these customs and the state of our seasonal relationships with the land, past and present. 

    "In days gone by it was the custom for a country lad to take an evening walk with his lass in the fields at harvest time. He would weave for her a buttonhole of plaited straw, and if they were courting, she would wear it over her heart as a token of her love. At the annual hiring fairs at Martinmas, men and women might have worn a simple plait decorated with a wisp of sheep's wool or horse hair, as a badge of their trade, ie shepherd, waggoner, etc."  - www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk

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