Dennis' book stall in The Shambles market

I woke earlier than anticipated so I got up and went to town to sort out some stuff for my trip. Saturday mornings are always busy in Stroud with the renowned Farmer's Market bringing people in from miles around.  But local people also come out to play and I met several friends as I walked about town.

I seemed to stop every few yards to chat to friends, and so I took longer than I intended and the rain set in. In the other, and original market, at The Shambles, which has been running for centuries, I had a long chat with Dennis Gould who I have pictured sitting behind his stall.  He is always here selling rather rare and interesting political and poetry books, which he loves as he has been a poet most of his life.  

But he also sells his very collectable printed posters which he creates in his small workshop near the bottom of the High Street.  He has very old letterpress equipment and will turn his hand to almost anything anyone wants.  While I was chatting to him a young man commissioned him to create a limited run of a small poster incorporating the lyrics of one of his songs.  Dennis said he could produce it by Tuesday afternoon, which I think is very good service, and it is incredibly cheap.

I've blipped Dennis several times over the years so he didn't mind me taking a picture. The man on the pasty stall was interested in my camera, so we had a long chat as well. Then it was time to go home and get on sorting out my long list of things to do. Sadly it doesn't seem to have got much shorter yet.