Stand-in

This is my brother James—doesn’t he look handsome in his dress shirt with built-in tie? This is the shirt that he’s wearing when kids his age exclaim, “You look nice, James—but why did you dress-up so much?”


And then my brother explains that it’s just a nifty shirt.



Talking about versatile, what do you think of this English story?

Thinking Outside the Box

When the bright telephone box in the village of Westbury-sub-Mendlip, Somerset, was decommissioned, residents were reluctant to let the iconic kiosk stand empty. Instead, they turned it into a book exchange, providing the local community with a library of ever-changing stock and a village talking point. It is open 365 days a year and is even illuminated at night for anyone wanting a bedtime story. The exchange ensures the phone box will serve the village for many more years to come.

Isn’t the idea of no-longer-in-service phone booths being used as lending libraries wonderful? I think it’s charming, especially since the booths are the British red kind. (Librarians talk about “bookmobiles,” vehicles designed to serve as libraries, all the time, but it’s sometimes the simplest ideas that are the most interesting to me.)

James requested that I add this music, from one of our favorite movies, "My Neighbor Totoro."


Article credit: Country Living (British Edition), April 2010.