Friday Photos – Burnet’s Books

Suzie Eisfelder

Friday Photos is a chance to highlight a bookshop or something to do with books. Seeing as we’re all stuck at home and it’s really hard to get out and about to visit many bookshops I took the liberty of putting out a call on Facebook. Angela was good enough to send me some photos. I’m also starting to email bookshops, and am starting to receive positive replies.

Burnet’s Books is, or possibly was, in Uralla. It’s a little town south of Armidale NSW. The town has a rail museum and a woolshop as well as a bookshop, cafe and I’ve no idea what else. Part of that depends on what’s actually survived self-isolation. It’s been a terrible time for many businesses and so many people have had to go out of business. It’s been bad enough in the city but little country towns are dependent on tourism. I decided to send Burnet’s Books an email asking for more photos, I especially wanted one of the outside. The email has not gotten through and the url I have for them doesn’t work. I can only speculate what that means, but as there are a few options I won’t. What I’ll do is comment on the two photos I do have.

This photo is really good. I understand Angela is a talented photographer but I’m sure the place really does look cosy and homely. With all those couches you could easily sit down and check out a book or two to be certain of which ones you desperately needed to buy.

Angela tells me this bookshop is the only place where she was been waylaid by the Letters of Jane Carlyle on the way back from the Ladies. I’ve not heard of these books before but a quick google shows how important they must be. They are letters to and from Carlyle and her husband, but also letters to and from some very important people, some of them were literary. They include Charles Dickens and George Eliot.

There is also a cafe attached to the bookshop. Whether it’s attached or next door is hard for me to say, not having been there. I’ve included this photo of Angela’s husband with her permission but I’ve rubbed out the face of the man in the background. The other photos she sent me which I’ve not included would make someone a good study, they are fabulous still lives of the two people behind Ian.

Thank you to Angela Cockburn for sending me the photos. Angela is the Presenter at Fine Music Sydney: Fine Music Sydney, Script writer for Murder By Design which will have some Murder Mystery podcasts coming soon.


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