Black Books

I freakin’ love Black Books. For those not in the know, it’s a sitcom starring Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, and Tamsin Grieg, who are individually brilliant as well as being an excellent ensemble. Channel 4 has prevented people like me from embedding clips from YouTube, so you’ll have to click on this link to see some.

But do you know what’s really cool? Yesterday Boyfriend and I were wandering in London, and we ended up here. It’s the shop! The Black Books shop! And it’s really a bookshop too!

blackbooks

Unfortunately it was also a closed bookshop. But in the window there was this little beauty: what looks like an early edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf.

thewaves

I did also manage to visit an open bookshop while I was in the area. The London Review Bookshop on Bury Place (the Black Books shop is on Leigh Street). I was very good and didn’t buy a thing, though there was much to be tempted by. I’m trying to restrain my book buying self at least until after Christmas.

8 Comments

November 23, 2009 by Kirsty in bookshops, places, television
Tagged bill bailey, black books, bookshops, dylan moran, london, london review bookshop, lrb, tamsin grieg, the waves, virginia woolf

8 Responses

Harriet R
November 23, 2009 at 9:59 am

I think this calls for a pilgrimage!
Catherine
November 23, 2009 at 1:02 pm

Black Books is alarming close to the truth!
Nadia
November 23, 2009 at 3:06 pm

I love that show! I have it on my xmas list – I want the whole series on dvd. I think its brilliant that you found the shop from the show and I loved that they had a Woolf book in the window! Especially because I’ll be reading the Waves for the Woolf In Winter reading challenge. And kudos to you for not buying anything – I know how hard that can be! I’m restraining myself from making any bookish purchases prior to xmas, because I am counting on receiving some good reads this year. Loved your post! Cheers!
Simon S
November 23, 2009 at 10:23 pm

I have only just gotten into Black Books and it is brilliant, but then again so is anything with Tamsin Grieg in it… The Archers… Green Wing… Emma… need I say more?
Kirsty
November 23, 2009 at 10:46 pm

And Love Soup, Simon! You should definitely track that down if you haven’t already seen it. She’s fab.
Catherine Pope
November 24, 2009 at 9:53 pm

Blimey, we were pressing our little noses up against the front window of that shop last week, peering at the lovely edition of ‘The Waves’. I had no idea it was Black Books. How marvellous. I now want to go and play the piano with some spoons.
Boyfriend
November 25, 2009 at 11:52 am

It was down to my rather nerdy propensity for finding the locations of TV shows I like that we ended up here. I found the location on the net and, as we were in London on Sunday and we parked in Bloomsbury, I thought we’d have a look. The shop is Collinge & Clark rare and antiquarian books. I have no doubt we’ll be back there sometime when it’s open!
Kirsty
November 25, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Ah, you know me so well. We’re both nerds in our own special ways.