Phone Box Library #69 Wix, Essex

Via the Harwich and Manningtree Standard we learn that the sixty ninth phone box library has recently started in the Essex village of Wix.

The village has a population of around 800 and can be found in the Tendring district of Essex. It lies in a small valley about three km south of the Stour Estuary.

It appears that parish councillor Sue Lusher has been the main driving force behind the phone box library, although Postmaster Efty Anwar was responsible for painting the box.

There are five shelves, so maybe 100 books. It remains to be seen whether Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code is in attendance, but there is a large Reader's Digest World Atlas and an awesome book about Ancient Egypt.

Rather courageously, the parish council have resolved that the phone box is to be kept locked and for access you need to request the key from the post office which is open from 09:00 to 17:30 on weekdays, 9:00 to 12:30 on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

I think this is the first instance of a phone box library that is locked.

The nearest public library is in Manningtree, about 5 miles away, however the village is also served by a mobile library for half an hour every fortnight

Thick Creamy Podcast 20-04-2012

I've been somewhat incapacitated with a really snotty cold for the past couple of weeks, phlegm everywhere, and rather sadly missed a whole load of awesome gigs last weekend, I think I missed the Cosines, Hong Kong in the 60s, Knickers, Allo Darlin and many more. However, I'm feeling a lot better now, and last night made it to The Wilmington Arms for Which Way Is Up.

There were three bands, Manflu, who were spunky, Omi Palone who were okay and Dignan Porch who were awesome.

I almost went for the whole gig without talking to anyone, but then some couple standing at the back wanted to go outside for a cigarette and needed me to look after their bags for them.

Anyhoo, here's a podcast featuring my recordings of the show, interspersed with me being a sassy John Peel style DJ and basically making up lies.



Feel free to download it, and put it on your iPod and listen to it, then forget about it until you have your iPod on random in fives years time and get rather mortified by my dulcet tones.

Phone Box Library #68 Bodsham, Kent

Via KentOnline we learn of a new phone box library, the 68th.

Bodsham is a tiny village near Wye in Kent, wikipedia has it that there'a population of around 300 people, but that's including the village of Elmsted and by the looks of google maps Bodsham is little more than a kink in a country road with two farms, a pub and primary school.

As well as five shelves of books and magazine, the phone box also has CDs and DVDs and sells jars of green tomato and apple chutney in aid of the Vanessa Grant Trust whichhelps support handicapped children in Kenya.

The nearest public library appears to be Wye Library about five miles away.