#Waterstones Affiliate

[rosemaryhelenxo]

The Cat And The City by Nick Bradley Book Review + Other Book Recommendations | Press - Affiliate

I am thrilled to grow and evolve my exclusive influencer discounts, specially curated for my fellow beauty and lifestyle fans – with this, I am now an affiliate for Waterstones! With this new partnership it means I can bring you special content, a heads up on any amazing deals coming out and other exclusive goodies! As a bookworm myself, I am very very excited to begin this great…

[emilyccannings]

New Waterstones Deals - Affiliate Post

Constantly updated post where you can find all the great deals at Waterstones

I am an affiliate of Waterstones. They send me emails about offers and what promotions they are doing each month. I am creating this as a constantly updated post where you can find all the great deals at Waterstones. This week is Mental Health Awareness and as somebody who has been through a lot herself. It is great to see Waterstones curating a list of recommendations around this topic. Click…

[betterthanapokeintheeye]

30 gifts for 30 days of November

Day 5!

Here is the fifth of thirty Better Than a Poke in the Eye recommended gifts for the book lover in your life even if that book lover is YOU!

Day 5’s recommendation is the Good Omens Tarot Deck and Guidebook

My Grandmother would happily tell you she was a Witch, and I inherited her gorgeous tarot card set when she moved off this mortal plane.

She loved nothing more than to spend time looking at new Tarot card sets and I am sure she would have been delighted to see a set based on one of my favourite books/tv shows. 

Featuring beautiful illustrations by Lúthien Leerghast of iconic angels, demons, Witchfinders, Professional Descendants and more, this set contains both Major and Minor arcana.

With a comprehensive guidebook by the wonderful Minerva Siegel, this set comes packaged in the beautiful gift book.  

If you love Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s devilishly divine world, then you will love this. 

R.R.P. is £24.98

You can purchase it through our online bookshop or through any of our affiliate links.  

Better Than a Poke in the Eye Bookshop .org

Amazon UK

Waterstones

Foyles

WHSmith

Blackwells

Forbidden Planet

[theliterarymess]

⭐JOINT BOOK VOUCHER GIVEAWAY!⭐

Do you want the chance to win a £20 Amazon or Waterstones voucher? If so, this Joint Giveaway on Instagram is for you!

To give back to the bookish community, and to celebrate our new bookstagram accounts, @zyra_catherine_reviews and I are co-hosting a giveaway!

The rules are simple:

1- Head to our instas and like this post

2- Tag 2 bookish friends who would also like to enter

3- Follow zyra_catherine_reviews and theliterarymess on Instagram (and please do not unfollow - we will be checking!)

4- Tell us what books from your wishlist you want most. AND if you’d prefer an Amazon (for Ebook/Kindle readers) or Waterstones (for physical book readers) voucher

This giveaway is open to UK residents who have a book related account. It is in no way affiliated with Instagram, Waterstones or Amazon.

The giveaway will close on the 31st of July 2023, so you have a whole month to enter!

For extra entries, share this post to your story and tag us so we can see!

[richardwaserstein]

Richard Waserstein

Richard Waserstein is the Advisory Board Member at Premonition.

In August, D.R. Horton filed plans with Palm Beach County for a multifamily property with 85 residential units on the land.The seller of the Jupiter assemblage is a company affiliated with Bay Harbor Islands-based real estate investment firm Waterstone Capital. Waserstein, led by Richard Waserstein, spent more than $5 million assembling the land in 2019.

Blackstone Group sold a Residence Inn by Marriott in Boca Raton for $14.25 million to a group of South Florida investors who plan to redevelop it into a mixed-use project.

The New York-based private equity giant sold the 120-room extended-stay hotel at 525 Northwest 77th Street to Shane Neman, principal of Neman Ventures; and Richard Waserstein and Mauricio Bello of Waterstone Capital. The deal equates to $118,750 per key.

[iambookmad]

GIFTED: Sistersong by Lucy Holland

GIFTED: Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Happy monday pals! I am here with something a little different today; a book spotlight. Sistersong by Lucy Holland has quickly become one of my most anticipated releases for 2021. I was sent this gorgeous finished copy by Black Crow PR, and I didn’t realise it would be this shiny. I’ve been loving the books that Black Crow have been doing the publicity campaigns for, and I jumped at the chance…

[finnlongman]

Thinking again about some of the nice things readers and reviewers have said about The Butterfly Assassin 🥰

You can buy it now from Bookshop UK*, Amazon*, Waterstones, or the local bookshop of your choice!

* Affiliate links; I earn a small commission if you buy via this link and will love you forever.

[hislopchino]

Sphere launches new collectible series with Have I Got News For You quiz book

https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/sphere-launches-new-collectible-series-with-have-i-got-news-for-you-quiz-book

Sphere has signed Have I Got News For You: The Quiz of 2022 and a second quiz book for publication in November 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Emily Barrett, Sphere publishing director, acquired world rights to the books, which are the first in a new collectible series, from Hat Trick Productions.  

The publisher’s synopsis of the first book reads: “After a long uncharted year of chaos on the home and world stages, readers can challenge themselves to live through it all one more time, with rounds in the 2022 book including London’s Hottest Party Venue, Backbench MP or Charles Dickens Character?, It’s a Royal Cock-up and ’Have I Got News for You’ regular features: the Missing Words and Odd One Out rounds.  

“An ideal Christmas gift which will feature over 1,000 questions and plenty of gags on everything from politics to pop culture, Have I Got News For You: The Quiz of 2022 (and 2023) will keep readers entertained for hours and serve as timeless souvenirs of their respective rollercoaster years.”

Barrett said: “‘Have I Got News For You’ has been running for over 30 years with each episode in its prime-time Friday night slot being watched by millions; it’s a coup to be bringing such a powerhouse of a brand to the Sphere list and we’re delighted to be working with Hat Trick.

“The ideal gift for fans of the show and other quizzers besides, I have no doubt this book will be one of the biggest quiz titles this Christmas and will have a suitably special campaign to establish and support it."

Since the comedy quiz show about the news began in 1990, comedian and television personality Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, broadcaster, satirist and editor of Private Eye, have been the show’s regular team captains.

Richard Wilson, head of comedy and entertainment at Hat Trick, added: “After 32 years of making a TV news quiz, someone had the brilliant idea of doing it in book form. I can’t believe we didn’t think of it before.”

From HIGNFY’s official Twitter account : Our 2022 quiz book (the first in a brand-new annual series) is coming out in November and you can pre-order your copy now

 You can pre-order your copy on all these links down below:

Official Link: https://geni.us/hignfybook

Book Depository (imo,the best option to pre-order for people outside the UK): https://www.bookdepository.com/Have-I-Got-News-For-You-Quiz-2022-Have-I-Got-News-For-You/9781408727102

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/have-i-got-news-for-you-the-quiz-of-2022/have-i-got-news-for-you/9781408727102

Blackwell’s (An alternate website for people outside the UK who want to avoid Amazon affiliated websites): https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Have-I-Got-News-For-You-The-Quiz-of-2022-by-Have-I-Got-News-For-You/9781408727102

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Have-Got-News-You-Quiz/dp/1408727102

Official release date: 10th November 2022

Publisher: Little,Brown

Imprint: Sphere

[libraryinthecountry]

★ ★ INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY    ★ If you could go on a book shopping spree, what section of the bookstore would you go to first?        Happy Friday, y’all!    I’ve teamed up with some incredible bookstagrammers to bring you a fantastic giveaway!        ★ ★ GIVEAWAY //    - 1 winner to win a $100 gift card to Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, or an Indie bookstore of your choice!         ★ TO ENTER //    - make sure you’re following each host:    ⁑ me (@libraryinthecountry)    ⁑ @lifeinlit     ⁑ @tata.lifepages     ⁑ @literaryxqueen     ⁑ @yelli3_reads     ⁑ @thedarklingone     - like + save this post    - Answer the question of the day + tag a friend (only one comment per participant)    - Share in your stories and tag ME!         ★ FOR EXTRA ENTRY //    - comment on the other hosts’ posts and follow the rules on their photo too!        ★ RULES //    - Giveaway will end March 10th at Midnight EST    - OPEN INTERNATIONALLY    - not affiliated with any bookstore or Instagram    - must be 18 or have parents permission        ★ A NOTE //     We will only contact the winner through one of these profiles. NEVER give your credit card info to anyone!         ★ HASHTAGS //     #bookstagram #bookworm #bookphotography #bibliophile #booklover #bookaddict #instareads #bookblogger #bookobsessed #readersofinstagram #bookish #booksbooksbooks #beautifulbooks #booktag #prettybooks #goodreads #bookdragon #bookstack #bookcart #shelfie #tbrcart #bookcommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/CMC7WxJAOvX/?igshid=10srkqiw8fke9

[booksandtea]

Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin Genre: Fantasy | Horror | New Adult Length: 336 pages Published on 2nd April 2019 by Titan Books Purchase*: Amazon | Wordery | Blackwells *these are affiliate links Sarah Maria Griffin: Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads Received for free from publisher in exchange for an honest review + bought 2 copies myself

Synopsis: The house at the end of the lane burned down, and Rita Frost and her teenage ward, Bevan, were never seen again. The townspeople never learned what happened. Only Mae and her brother Rossa know the truth; they spent two summers with Rita and Bevan, two of the strangest summers of their lives… Because nothing in that house was as it seemed: a cat who was more than a cat, and a dark power called Sweet James that lurked behind the wallpaper, enthralling Bevan with whispers of neon magic and escape. And in the summer heat, Mae became equally as enthralled with Bevan. Desperately in the grips of first love, she’d give the other girl anything. A dangerous offer when all that Sweet James desired was a taste of new flesh…

Screams into the endless void about how this brilliant book with a theme of obsession is my current obsession. I first finished reading it on a Saturday night in March, I started re-reading it again the next morning.

I am not okay.

I love this book. [hi look at me being a mess on twitter 32 times]

I first heard about Other Words for Smoke when I attended an Waterstones Q+A Event of Sarah Maria Griffin and Christina Henry. Hearing these two talk was so much fun and I knew I’d have to read some of Sarah’s work because she had me awe-struck ok.

I reached out that night to Lydia about a review copy of OWFS and the rest is history. I’m history. I’m dead.

It’s like returning home, there’s a comfort I find in this book. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it.

OWFS follows twins, Rossa and Mae, as they spend two summers with their Great-Aunt Rita, her teen ward Bevan, and a larger than life cat Bobby. In a house that is strange than meets the eye with a Sweet James, an owl living in the walls demanding his hunger be quenched.

There are two main sections to the book; the first Summer where the twins are 14 and get sent to avoid family disrupt. And the second Summer when the twins are 17 and return to Rita’s to escape their family divorce, older and more prepared to face the different type of horror that Rita’s house holds.

“How strange was this mutual, silent agreement that maybe something was badly wrong in Rita’s house, that they’d seen something awful there that they couldn’t quite name, but  somehow they felt more able to manage that wrong than their parents.”

There are also some inbetween chapters which give us background development and the history of Rita, Audrey, Bobby,  and James. As well as some key scenes from the twins in their years between the two summers.

(Its in this part that there is forced outing which I wasn’t a fan of, but its addressed and I’m happy with how Mae stood up for herself)

Rita is the best authority figure I’ve read about. She’s both motherly and caring but also a power to be fearer. She nurtures Mae’s exploration with magic and tarot reading, she helps shape Rossa into a more confident being.

“…if this thing was evil, then he was good, and he must be able to overcome it. He just had to find the courage – he knew it was in their somewhere, but he couldn’t grasp it.”

Rossa is the character I struggle most to talk about as realistically, I think I’m most like him. Or I would be in that house, faced with that danger and horror. I can’t see me ever being brave, I can see me struggle to keep a float, wanting to keep my sister safe, but not having the courage to face it. And feeling a bit of an outsider to the others in the house who’ve all formed a strong bond.

I think he is at his strongest when he’s not at ends with Mae. The two together have a great dynamic together in the book and I lived for the two supporting each other through the toughest times, and their sibling banter.

“A troupe of sunflowers, standing tall and there – there suddenly like a jewel on the lawn, Bevan sprawled out under the sun on a tartan blanket, her flat stomach to the sky. Her legs a hundred miles of tan.

Oh no.”

Bevan’s blonde hair and “her unfair, impossible legs” help Mae develop the strongest and ever-consuming of crush’s. Mae’s chapters were honestly my favourite to read because SMG has nailed down that First Crush obsession, how it engulfs your every fibre, and you want to do everything to leave a good impression – even allow them to pierce your ears, which terrifies you.

Bobby is a good soul whilst Mae battles with all these feelings engulfing her. He is larger than life, and more than what he seems. But his secret is something earned when the twins are ready and it takes Rossa a little longer to be welcomed into the coven.

“Love is the realest thing, Mae. The world around you will become realer the more you feel it. Doesn’t music sound better already? Isn’t there more meaning? There’s a reasons you had that song on loop. It’s deepened.”

Bevan is also a storm. Mae knows this, accepts it, and both loves and fears her. Bevan is ready to set the world on fire with her anger, confidence, and naivety. Her misplaced trust in Sweet James for a share of his power and “affection” is the moving force of the plot for OWFS.

You can’t read this book and not pick up on how Sweet James is a representation of toxic relationships. He manipulates and controls Bevan to cause harm to others, and later hopes she can set him free from his chains. He is nothing to be desired.

I found it very therapeutic to be able to reflect on how abusive he is as an outsider, whilst reading about how enticed and dependant Bevan is on him and his power. How broken she is when he’s stolen away. It really is terrifying.

“…and you thought you understood all the way that he could scare you, bargain with you.”

But I wouldn’t have wanted their relationship to have been portrayed any differently as they really hooked you in. To be honest, all the characters do in this book.

The only character I haven’t spoken about yet is the queer and forever young Audrey. Her path is one we are introduced too in the second half of the book mostly. Her role is so very important, not only because it contextualises the story with the Magdalene laundries, but also she’s very interwoven with Rita and the separate paths they are both on to be hopefully be together.

I really could talk about my love for this book all day, in fact in real time I have. But honestly this is the perfect blend of fantasy and horror which I’ve been highly recommending to everyone who will listen.

I’m almost done with my second reread (I had to limit myself) and I will be annotating Beth’s copy later on. I also have my another copy going around my USA friends who’re annotating it for me.

Like I said this is pretty much my life right now.

This review probably isn’t good enough. I don’t do my intense feelings enough justice. I don’t do Sarah’s amazing writing justice.

Please read this book. Also, message me when you do.

“You lonesome?” she asked absently. “Are you? replied the cat.”

5 stars / 5 stars

If you enjoyed this post consider supporting Northern Plunder PATREON | Ko-fi | Twitter | Book Club | Blogs & Tea | RedBubble

Review: Other Words For Smoke by @griffski | #Gifted @lydiagittins @TitanBooks Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin Genre: Fantasy | Horror | New Adult Length: 336 pages…

[rosemaryhelenxo]

Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle Book Review + Other Book Recommendations | Press - Affiliate

I am thrilled to grow and evolve my exclusive influencer discounts, specially curated for my fellow beauty and lifestyle fans – with this, I am now an affiliate for Waterstones! With this new partnership it means I can bring you special content, a heads up on any amazing deals coming out and other exclusive goodies! As a bookworm myself, I am very very excited to begin this great partnership…

[emilyccannings]

EmilyLovesLondon - Get Rec'd Episode 11

Hi All Here is this week’s podcast of EmilyLovesLondon – Get Rec’d episode 11. I have broken down the episode in case their is a particular film or section you want to listen to. There are links to the IMDB pages and a trailer. For the books there are affiliate links to ⁠⁠⁠bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠ or Waterstones: Intro – 00:00 – 00:58 Films – 00:59 – 13:53 Heretic – 00:59. – 03:39 – ⁠⁠⁠⁠IMDB⁠⁠⁠⁠ –…

[betterthanapokeintheeye]

30 gifts for 30 days of November

Day 9!

Here is the ninth of thirty Better Than a Poke in the Eye recommended gifts for the book lover in your life even if that book lover is YOU!

Happy Publication Day to our Day 9 recommendation which is Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch by Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent.

We have yet to receive our copy of this book, so whilst it has made our list, we will be writing a review once it gets here, so look out for that on our socials.

R.R.P.  £25

You can purchase it through our online bookshop or through any of our affiliate links.  

Better Than a Poke in the Eye Bookshop .org

Amazon UK

Waterstones

Foyles

WHSmith

Blackwells

Forbidden Planet

[bronva]

Top winter reads to get you in the festive spirit

Top winter reads to get you in the festive spirit

They’ll have you hooked like a bauble on a tree (Picture: Getty/Waterstones) This article contains affiliate links. We will earn a small commission on purchases made through one of these links but this never influences our experts’ opinions. Products are tested and reviewed independently of commercial initiatives. It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the fireplace is roaring, the tree is…

[elizadoolittlethings]

The Monday Interview: Mark Gatiss - Top of the League

The Monday Interview: Mark Gatiss - Top of the League��

Published: 19:14 Updated: 19:27 Sunday 16 November 2008

ALTHOUGH it's bad form to ogle someone else's husband, I can't help admiring Mark Gatiss's rather sexy legs. They seem to stretch to his neck, meeting a scruffy beard that adds a raffish edge to his air of sexual devilry. 

This tastiness is a far cry from the grotesques he's so often portrayed, from his days as a member of The League of Gentlemen, to frizzy-haired, gap-toothed Glen Bulb of Nighty Night, and Doctor Who's maniacal Dr Lazarus.

This dishiness is very on-message, since we're here talking about his third mainstream novel, Black Butterfly, starring charismatic spy extraordinaire Lucifer Box, whose adventures in bisexuality are every bit as breathtaking as his undercover work for monarch and country. Each Box novel visits a different era, allowing Gatiss to pay homage to some of his favourite authors. The Vesuvius Club, set in the early 1900s, evoked Conan Doyle. The Devil in Amber found Box battling Nazis and Stalinists, and was Gatiss's homage to Dennis Wheatley and John Buchan. Preparing for Black Butterfly, set in 1953, heimmersedhimself in Ian Fleming and contemplated the machinations of John le Carr's spies. But for all these acknowledged influences, Lucifer Box is a spy like no other. Gatiss explains: "I am a gay man who loves James Bond films and snooker – all kinds of working-class pursuits. I didn't set out to deliberately respond to themasculinity. I'mfascinatedthat somanyspieswere or are gay,but I also like the idea, which le Carr showed, that the real job is much more prosaic." Surely a great spy would be ruthless enough to shag anything? "Yes, and also back in the day, the natural people to approach were people who were already lying about themselves.When homosexuality was illegal these people already had a different identity. What's interesting is that simultaneously to recruiting known homosexuals, they were also perceived as a security risk, precisely because of the blackmail thing.The recruiters must have known and actually relied on it, but it was always a worry." "Black Butterfly" is the French nickname for depression, but here it's also the name of a nefarious drug that imbues people with a euphoric sense of infallibility – before propelling them to grisly ends.When Box is poisoned he believes that he's young again – and behaves accordingly – until the antidote is administered by the object of his affections, a dishy CIA operative called Kingdom Kum. With a respectful nod to JaneMarple, I suggest there must be special challenges in writing about a geriatric spy. "I've never been specific, but he's obviously in his late seventies. I thought the thing to do was mention every now and then how much it hurts (to leap about], but if you keep going on about it then readers stop wanting to go on the journey. You have to believe he's still in good shape even though he's very old. "I was thinking about whether therewouldbeany sex scenes and how to handle it; itmademethink that maybe I couldgetawaywith this idea of thedrugmaking him young again. "The bit when he's on the drug was my favourite part to write. I carried a notebook around and wrote in a stream of consciousness way. I found it really liberating. I'd open my eyes on a beach – what did I see? What colour are my eyelids when closed with the sun on them? I was filming in Morocco and noticed a beetle that was like a sculpture rolling down the dunes. I was trying to create very vivid snapshots." Proving that the lines between life and art blur,whilewritingBlack Butterflyhewas sent theDoctorWhoscriptthat foundhimplaying a man in search of eternal youth. "I thought, 'Oh, there's a message here,'" he jokes. At 42, he must be increasingly aware of his ownageing? "I'vebeenhavingthose thoughts since Iwas 20! Evenwhen Iwas a childI always wanted to be older. I realised just in time that it's a mistake and to enjoy my youth while I hadit. If Imeetsomeonearound20,who's a bit like I was, I want to say, 'Get out! Have fun.' Becauseyourknees start togo,myeyes aregoing. Ithappens overnight. In the car, trying to read the A-Z, I'msuddenly like my dad!" He also says he had a youthful morbid streak: "Mymumused to say I had an old soul. As long as I can remember Iwas looking backwards. I remember my mumorganised a singalong for pensioners in about 1970, and I used to love singing the old Blitz songs." He smiles. "They are called Emos now, and before that they were Goths. They didn't have a name for it when I was one, but I was that black-wearing teenager and yes, I wore a little eyeliner. I was really into horror. On the less negative side, I was fascinated by the idea that peoplehadbeenhere beforeme. Ihave a print Julia Davis (the writer and star of Nighty Night] gave me of (my neighbourhood] around the time my house was built, in the 1760s, and it has cows on it, yet it's recognisably the same street. I love that idea of the changes." This historical bent dovetails nicely with his delight in wordplay. The Box novels are peppered with silly names, which often occur to him in the bath, a site he finds conducive to deep thinking. Thus Lucifer's sister is Pandora Box, and his Black Butterfly nemesis, Melissa ffawthawte, is affiliated with nefarious baddies A.C.R.O.N.I.M. My own favourite is the "cadre of psychoanalysts-cum-mercenaries known as the Jung Turks".

Both times we've met, Gatiss has patiently explainedthat itonly looks as thoughheworks night and day, but I'msure you'll agree his output is impressive. In addition to the novel, he recentlywrote (andappearedin) an episode of Poirot, filmed the upcoming TV programme Purves & Pekkala, written and directed by Annie Griffinandfilmedhere in Scotland,and the sitcom Clone, which stars Jonathan Pryce. He's busy writing episodes of the next full season of Doctor Who, for an as yet un-cast (or so he says) Doctor.Knowinghowmuch he coveted the role, andthat he's close friendswith all involved, I try teasing an indiscretion out of him, but Gatiss remains frustratingly closedmouthed. "I haven't a clue. I found David's announcement incredibly moving. I knew he was going, but I love the fact he did it in the interval, dressed as Hamlet, and he was accepting the award, but he had to find the moment to tell everyone. He's going at the top of his game which is always the best and themost difficult thing to do, because I know he loves it." Is there a Hamlet, a Lear, or another classic role he longs to play? Without hesitation, he says, "Oh yes, Richard II. It's a very underrated play, a fabulous part – beautiful. He was a very weak king but there's this fantastic poetry about his desire to stay on the throne despite being incredibly compromised. It has that wonderful line, 'I have wasted time and now doth time waste me.' I'd like to do that." Amidall this activity, Gatiss foundtime, last spring, to get married. He and Ian have been together for nearly a decade, so I wonder if marriage changed their relationship at all. "I feel subtly different," he says. "I don't know what it is, but it's nicer. It was a lovely, very moving day. I was most moved by the notion of our families coming together. My brother said it's the best wedding he's ever beento. Itwasamazing to think that our families were so completely at ease with the whole idea of a gay wedding. And then there was the incredible irony that it took place in Middle Temple underneath a portrait of Sir Edward Carson, the man who prosecuted Oscar Wilde. So when I did my little speech the first thing I did was flick him two fingers. 'This one's for Oscar.'"

Black Butterfly is out now from Simon &Schuster (15).Mark willbein conversation about his work on 18 November at 6:30pm at Waterstone's (Sauchiehall Street) in Glasgow, 0141 332 9105; 19 November at 7pm at Waterstone's (Union Bridge) in Aberdeen, 01224592440; 20 November at 6pm at Waterstone's (West End) in Edinburgh, 0131 226 2666. For more details, contact the stores or log on to: www.simonsays.co.uk

BACKGROUND A FEW things that might surprise you about Mark Gatiss: • The League of Gentlemen won the 1997 Perrier Award for comedy, the first sketch group to win since the awards were inaugurated in 1981. • A massive fan of the show, Gatiss started writing Doctor Who novels (four to date) when he was a penniless actor. • Growing up in County Durham, he lived opposite a psychiatric hospital, where both his parents worked and where he toiled as a gardener during his first year at college. He and Ian are the devoted 'parents' of Bunsen, a Labrador retriever. • He's starred opposite Julia Davis twice –as Glen Bulb in Nighty Night, and again as Johnnie Cradock in Fear of Fanny. • In 2003 he was the script editor for eight episodes of Little Britain. • As French poet Louis Aragon, he played opposite Ewan Bremner's Salvador Dali in Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dali. The cast list included Stephen Fry (Andre Breton), Vic Reeves (Paul Eluard) and both members of The Mighty Boosh! Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/the-monday-interview-mark-gatiss-top-of-the-league-1-1147037

[orbemnews]

After the Pandemic and Protests, a British Rapper Spotlights Black Businesses LONDON — For Aimée Felone, whose children’s bookstore in London stocks tales with ethnically diverse characters, the Black Lives Matter protests last summer were, in a word, overwhelming. “We had attention like we’ve never had before,” Ms. Felone said. People across the country clamored for books about antiracism and sought out Black-owned businesses like her store, Round Table Books, as a way to help reverse years of economic racial inequality. In early June, the store’s sales went through the roof. But pandemic restrictions had shuttered the store’s warehouse. After two weeks, the four-person team was struggling to fulfill online orders. A publishing company affiliated with the bookstore, which Ms. Felone also co-founded, sold out of every book it had published. New customers grew impatient. “The sales were wonderful,” Ms. Felone said. The problem was “the additional stresses that I think a lot of people don’t realize they’re putting” on the small Black businesses they are trying to help. Nearly a year after the peak of the protests, which may have been the largest social movement in U.S. history and quickly spread across the globe, businesses are looking for ways to convert that chaotic surge of interest into regular, reliable sales. In Britain, one effort was created by Swiss, a British rapper. He calls it Black Pound Day, and the idea is simple: Once a month, people should spend money with Black businesses. “It’s to bring money in and to try and circulate it within our community,” Swiss said in an interview. “You can’t always rely on the government,” he added, “so we’ve got to turn to ourselves and make solutions for ourselves. Black Pound Day is one of those solutions.” Black Pound Days are held on the first Saturday of the month — the next one is May 1 — and there are some signs the idea is working. The first Black Pound Day, in June, caused a sudden jump in sales for participating companies — with some exceeding their previous month’s revenue in one day, according to a study conducted by Jamii, a company supporting Black businesses, and Translate Culture, a marketing agency. Just as important, companies that have kept promoting themselves on Black Pound Day have continued to be rewarded each month with higher sales, said Khalia Ismain, the founder of Jamii. The concept is a variation of other efforts to increase wealth among Black people by pooling resources. In the United States, the tradition dates back to Black banks founded after the Civil War, when Black Americans faced segregation and exclusion from financial services. More recently, people who migrated from the Caribbean after World War II to help rebuild Britain and work for its new National Health Service — known as the Windrush generation — dealt with discrimination by bringing over a form of savings and lending known as pardner. Small groups still use it to save together outside the banking system. Swiss, 38, whose real name is Pierre Neil, grew up in South London. His grandparents had come to Britain from Barbados and Jamaica. At 17, he found fame with So Solid Crew, a garage and hip-hop group with dozens of members. In 2001, their song “21 Seconds” topped the British charts. But the group’s reputation was always entwined with gang culture and violence — a point Swiss pushed back against in “Broken Silence,” a song he co-wrote describing how the group felt that it had been mistreated by the media and government and unfairly blamed for its low socioeconomic status. “I’ve been making socially conscious tunes from back when I was a teenager,” Swiss said, adding that he was inspired by the rappers Tupac and Nas. Today in Business Updated  April 29, 2021, 6:16 p.m. ET Swiss said he had mulled over the idea for Black Pound Day for years, noting how few businesses that Black people appeared to own. Even if Black Pound Day is a simple idea, it is chipping away at a complicated problem. Just 5 percent of small and medium-size businesses in Britain have Black, Asian or other ethnic minority owners. A study by the British Business Bank, a state-owned bank supporting small businesses, and the consulting firm Oliver Wyman found that entrepreneurs who come from an ethnic minority background face systemic disadvantages, and that the average annual revenue for a Black entrepreneur was 10,000 pounds less than it was for white business owners in 2019. There are numerous barriers to entrepreneurial success, but one of the most stark is how difficult it is to get funding. Just 0.02 percent of venture capital money invested in Britain from 2009 to 2019 went to Black female founders. That’s 10 women in a decade. Those barriers contribute to large income and wealth gaps between Black and white households in Britain. The total wealth for a median household headed by a white British person (including property, investments and pension) is £313,900 ($436,000). For a Black Caribbean household, it’s £85,900 and just £34,000 for a Black African household, the national statistics agency estimates. Ms. Ismain, the founder of Jamii, which offers a one-stop shopping site for Black businesses, said her organization and initiatives like Black Pound Day sought to remind consumers to keep Black businesses in mind even when antiracism protests weren’t front-page news. “When it’s not trending, you don’t always think about it, you fall into old habits, and if you can’t find alternatives to things you are already buying anyway it’s just not very sustainable,” Ms. Ismain said. “That’s the thought process behind Jamii — making it super easy to find businesses.” For Afrocenchix, a hair care brand for natural Afro hair, Black Pound Day has been transformative. Every month on Black Pound Day, the company gets two or three times its normal sales. To promote the day, it offers customers free delivery and a packet of tea and biscuits — a.k.a. cookies in the United States — with their order. “We got trolled a bit on the first Black Pound Day by lots of people telling us we were racist and not British,” said Rachael Corson, a co-founder of Afrocenchix. So in response, she said, she and her co-founder, Jocelyn Mate, thought: “What’s more quintessentially British than tea and biscuits?” Since the first Black Pound Day, they have doubled their number of customers, and in 2020, Afrocenchix’s sales were five times that of the previous year. “It made a huge difference in terms of brand awareness for us,” Ms. Corson said. And the influx of customers and revenue should help Afrocenchix’s founders with their next goal of overcoming the venture capital fund-raising odds. They are trying to raise £2 million. For others, the advantages of Black Pound Day have dipped with time, and they speculate that consumer interest has been spread across more Black businesses. But Natalie Manima, the founder of Bespoke Binny, a housewares brand sold online, said the attention her company had gotten since people sought out Black-owned retailers during last summer’s protests had been “life changing.” The interest “didn’t end,” Ms. Manima said. “It’s not the same barrage that it was, but I have not ever gone back to pre-protest level of sales.” She recalled the day in early June when she woke up to hundreds of orders for her products, which include lampshades, oven mitts and blankets. It took her a few days to track the source of the surge — a list of Black-owned businesses circulating on Instagram at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. Because Britain was under lockdown, the manufacturer of her products was closed, as was her daughter’s nursery school. So Ms. Manima was packing orders herself, late at night and early in the morning, until she sold out of everything and had to pause taking orders. But once the manufacturers reopened and her business was running smoothly again, customers have kept coming back. She has since moved into a larger office (twice) and hired a team. “I have gone from a one-woman show to this, and I know that it’s all down to what happened in June,” she said. That said, the experience at Round Table Books, the children’s bookstore, is a testament to how hard it can be to permanently alter people’s spending habits, even with the help of initiatives like Black Pound Day. The store has been shut all winter in line with government restrictions. It sells books online, but it’s still hard to compete against giants like the British bookseller Waterstones and Amazon. “When you don’t have the physical bookshops open, I find that a lot of the attention goes to the bigger brands,” Ms. Felone said. But she said that the store will reopen in early May and that she still supported Black Pound Day. Source link Orbem News #Black #British #businesses #Pandemic #protests #Rapper #Spotlights