Tuesday 2nd July, 2013, 7pm – 9pm

Tim Lott will be running a Creative Writing Workshop on Tuesday 2nd July, 7pm-9pm here at Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford.

Tim Lott has written eight books (including White City Blue, Fearless and The Scent of Dried Roses and won a number of literary awards. He teaches creative writing at London’s Faber Academy, and the Guardian Academy.

This brief introduction to novel writing will cover the basics principles and tools needed to complete a fully fledged work of fiction. Tim is very highly regarded and his workshops are very popular, if you want to find out a bit more about him, please have a look at his website: http://www.timlott.co.uk/

The cost of attending this workshop is £30. Please register quickly if you are interested as there are only 20 places and it is anticipated that this will be very popular. To register, please email oxford@blackwell.co.uk or telephone 01865 333636

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Blackwell’s are proud to announce that once again, after the success of previous productions such as The Odyssey and Doctor Faustus, Creation Theatre will be treading the boards in our very own Norrington Room, with their production of the well-loved classic, Jekyll & Hyde. Saved by their most generous benefactors and supporters, following the wettest summer in 100 years, Creation will return with their forthcoming production of Jekyll & Hyde. This show will see the company exploring a new approach with an intimate performance to 100 guests each night.

 The Norrington Room will be transformed into a spectacular theatre as Creation delight and astound with a story of Good vs. Evil in the body of one man. Taking as inspiration the esteemed work of one of our greatest authors, Robert Louis Stevenson, one actor will embody every role in this tale of gothic horror. Refreshments will be available on the evening, and our expert booksellers will be on hand, should a book take your fancy from the Norrington Room’s almost 3 miles of shelving.

 The show will run from Saturday 8th June to Saturday 6th July. Dates and times: Tuesday & Wednesday, 7:30pm. Thursday – Saturday, 7:30pm & 9pm. Running time of one hour. Tickets are available in advance or on the door. Please be aware that seats are limited to 100 per performance, and therefore booking is advised. Seating is allocated. Performances are suitable for adults and children from the age of 8. Seated tickets are £16, standing tickets are £10. Book your ticket online at http://www.creationtheatre.co.uk/booking/how-to-book

Poet John Elinger (Sir Christopher Ball, former Fellow and Tutor in English at Lincoln College and then Warden of Keble College) lives in and knows Oxford well as does the artist Katherine Shock. Together they pay tribute to the city they love in seven series of seven poems and paintings in the new Signal Books publication and many of the paintings can be found at Blackwell. (Others will be shown during City Week from 4-12 May at Site 154 in the Woodstock Road). The Book is available from 1st May.

From Thursday 23rd May until Saturday 1st June, the Philosophy section of the Norrington Room will be transformed into our very own Opera House, as Opera Anywhere perform The Mikado from Thursday 23rd May to Saturday 25th May at 7:30pm and then The Pirates of Penzance from Thursday 30th May until Saturday 1st June at 7:30pm. With talented opera singers performing some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best loved classics, in one of Oxford’s most magical venues, opera enthusiasts and book lovers alike are in for a treat.

Blackwell’s and Opera Anywhere will also be hosting singer’s master-classes, that will concentrate entirely on Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, taking place on Tuesday 21st and Tuesday 28th May at 7:30pm. Budding young soloists will be trying their G&S arias out in 20 minute sessions with members of Opera Anywhere’s professional cast, who will be giving advice and critiques- giving a taster of what is to come in the G&S shows for the rest of the week. Whether you’re an aspiring opera singer yourself, or simply a lover of Gilbert & Sullivan, we’re certain our Gilbert & Sullivan Master-classes will be prove to be fantastically entertaining evenings.

Opera Anywhere are known for performing unique versions of operas, both old and new, in unusual and interesting locations. With over 3 miles worth of books, the Norrington Room will certainly provide the perfect setting for a night of Gilbert & Sullivan’s finest. As Blackwell’s Music Shop has moved over to the flagship Blackwell’s shop on Broad Street, Opera Anywhere’s series of performances form one of the first in what we hope will be a long line of music events in the Norrington Room.

Make sure to book your tickets in advance for what promises to be a spectacular run of performances.

For £5 audience tickets for the Opera Master-classes, book online at http://www.OperaAnywhere.com or call 0844 8700 887.

Tickets for The Mikado and Pirates of Penzance range from £10 to £16. For the Box Office, please call the Creation Theatre Box Office (number 01865 766266 from 10am-6pm Monday – Friday) or buy online at http://www.OperaAnywhere.com.

New shop floor space has been opened up at the flagship bookshop by removing a staircase and opening up a room that was previously a large stock room, as well as freeing up the ‘Oxford shop’ – the room on the other side of The White Horse pub

The Music Shop’s new home looks great and provides yet another reason for people to visit the world-famous Norrington Room – one of the world’s most magnificent rooms of books, built in 1966, which has two and a half miles of shelving and is built beneath the Trinity College quad

The Music Shop specialises in classical CD recordings, music books, printed music, instruments and other accessories and is one of the most respected such places in the UK
But it’s not just classical music – the shop stocks printed music and books covering all genres of music, and the recordings department has sections on Classical, Jazz, World and Folk music, as well as local artists.
There is a single sheet download service available in the bookshop

It also stocks instruments and instrument accessories including Acoustic guitars, Ukuleles, Violins, Strings, Sticks, Reeds and Rosin; plus a range of music themed cards and gifts

Just like many Blackwell’s Bookshops, Blackwell’s Music prides itself in the abilities of its staff to offer expert advice. Peter McMullin, one of the most experienced members of staff is recognised both locally and across the industry as being one of the most impressive and knowledgeable specialists in his area – he recently won an award to this effect, being named Printed Music Retailer of the Year at the 2011 MIA Awards

Blackwell’s Music has an especially good relationship with a range of institutions and schools

The Music Shop has a long and proud history in Oxford
The original Blackwell’s Music Shop was located in Holywell Street
It as on the right of the King’s Arms Garage. Before a garage for  housing vehicles for customers/guests staying at the pub, could have been stables and courtyard area, where Shakespeare’s King’s Players  parked their carts and horses when they performed several times at this place, and became the most popular place in the area for them in the 17th century. (The main entrance to the pub was in Holywell Street).
Blacking of horse leathers was carried out here in the yard in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1955 the King’s Arms passageway coming between the two rooms here where Blackwell started the Music Shop. Sir Basil Blackwell had been so impressed by the sales of the 1954 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music that he felt music merited a separate shop.
In 1955 Mr F. J. Dymond was Manager, and under his management the business expanded considerably.
In 1970 a spacious new building was designed by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia to fit in with the street scene.
Over a mile of shelving was constructed to house the ever-increasing output of standard music literature from publishers all over the world.
The stock at this stage comprised at least 25,000 different items of printed music and 4,000 different books on music, both in English and other languages.
The staff were now twenty-one in number.
Sir Adrian Boult who conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra officially opened the new shop in 1970 on the 9th November. He studied here at Christ Church 62 years before.
The Music Shop then moved to 23-25 Broad Street in 2000
And now a new chapter…

To celebrate the move we have a vibrant programme of musical events planned. These events include:
The Sixteen – Saturday 13th April at 4.30pm
The Sixteen, established 32 years ago,  is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ensembles. Comprising both choir and period-instrument orchestra, The Sixteen’s total commitment to the music it performs is its greatest distinction. A special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th-century music, is drawn from the passions of conductor and founder Harry Christophers, who will sign CDs for half an hour after the event.

Out of the Blue – Friday 26th April at 5.30pm
Out of the Blue is an all-male a cappella group from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University in England. The student-run group sings an eclectic mix of songs, focusing on covers of modern rock and pop hits.

Oxford Belles – Saturday 27th April at 5.30pm
The Oxford Belles are Oxford’s sassiest, original, all-female a cappella group, made up entirely of Oxford and Oxford Brookes students.

Opera Anywhere are an opera company which specialises in site-specific opera. At the end of May, there are bringing two productions to Blackwell’s Bookshop: one week of The Mikado followed by a week of The Pirates of Penzance.

We look forward to welcoming you…

 Blackwell’s is proud to announce an evening to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Helen & Douglas House, in conjunction with our ‘Medical Matters’ Medical Week.

On Tuesday 26th February at 7pm, we will be joined by Clare Edwards, the Deputy CEO and Director of Clinical Services at Helen & Douglas House. Clare will be talking about palliative and specialist care at Helen & Douglas House, supported by case studies of the many children, young adults and families that use the hospice for respite, emergency and end-of-life care. Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. Emily Harrop, and Nurse Consultant, Karen Brombley will also be present to offer their expertise on the subject.
In 1982, Helen House opened in Oxford as the world’s first children’s hospice, and they have been supporting families from Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties ever since. To mark their 30th anniversary, they have put together a photo exhibition, ‘We Are Thirty’. It documents life at Helen House and Douglas House, and features 30 children and young adults who use the hospice houses, as well as families who have used the hospice in the past. We will be displaying the exhibition throughout Medical Week and on the evening itself.
We will also be holding a raffle with plenty of fabulous prizes to be won, all the proceeds of which will go to Helen & Douglas House.
So please join us in celebrating and supporting this extremely worthwhile cause.

Tickets for this event cost £4, £3 of this will be donated to Helen and Douglas House. Tickets are available at our Customer Service Department, Blackwell’s Bookshop, 48-51 Broad Street, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 333623.

We had boxes and boxes of these in every department and would use them to look up whether we stocked a book and also to place orders.

It was a simpler time

You can see from this card that we sold 362 copies of this Penguin edition Propertius: The Poems (the reorder quantities continue on the back of the card), it went into a reprint in November 1989 and that we initially subscribed 80 copies!

Our world has changed…

Lucy will be joining us on Tuesday 5th February at 7pm to talk about her new book with broadcaster, David Freeman. Tickets cost £3 and are available from our Customer Service Department, Blackwell’s Bookshop, 48-51 Broad Street, Oxford. Telephone: 01865 333623.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and so the thoughts of some of us turn to love and intimacy. Some of us will be in relationships, some of us are looking for a partner, but all of us need to be reminded that long-lasting love must be worked at, consciously, every day.

To begin with, we need to recognise that we often have unmet needs or hopes left over from childhood. Without realising it, we could be trying to repeat a childhood relationship in which we felt unloved or rejected or disrespected. By unconsciously repeating the same kind of relationship as grown-ups, we are trying to repair it. By taking responsibility for what needs we bring to our present-day relationships, we can stop blaming our partner for failing to meet that need.

We also need to pay attention to what happens in the bedroom. For example, porn is having a negative effect on relationships. Recent research has shown that women of all ages are feeling under increasing pressure to look a certain way in the bedroom, and that men speak of being bored by ‘ordinary’ sexual activity. As a result, couples are becoming increasing dissatisfied with their love lives.

But of course, porn is not an accurate representation of intimate relationships. So even if we are newly married, we need to find time to talk sensitively to each other about sex in general and our sex life in particular. Sex isn’t about recreating the same excitements which existed at the beginning of your relationship, but about maintaining a sexual journey, which fulfils and nourishes you and your partner.

Criticism corrodes relationships, so we need to keep cross words to a minimum. It’s helpful to bear in mind how we would feel if someone criticised us all the time. Even if we grew up being criticised in childhood and therefore believe we can’t help ourselves, we do possess the capacity to change. By catching ourselves about to criticise, we can make a choice about whether to carry on doing so. Instead of always looking for the negative, we can try competing with our partner to be the one to say positive, encouraging things, and do loving or helpful things.

Above all, whether we are currently in a relationship or looking for that someone special, remember that the more we put in, the more we put ourselves on the line in a relationship, the more rewarding our intimate relationships can be.

© Lucy Beresford, Happy Relationships