Last Monday, we were in Margate for a family break and went over to Margate for a couple of hours, to see the old part of the town. The old town is just a few streets – very different to the seafront and not far from the Turner Contemporary gallery. It’s packed with independent shops, cafes, and restaurants, and also has the Margate Museum.
The Turner Contemporary was closed on the Monday, as was the Margate Museum (which only opens on weekends). So we just wandered around for a bit, had a cup of tea at Wildes with Sarah, Matt and Noah (my sister and her family), and visited the independent bookshop The Margate Bookshop in Market Square.
I’m always very excited to visit bookshops wherever we go! I bought three books – the third of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold books, Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (I’m currently reading the second novel, Tales From The Cafe), bell hooks: The Last Interview and Other Conversations, and I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee (a therapy memoir).
It’s a beautiful and cosy bookshop and I’m always glad to support independent bookshops when I can. Wildes was also fun – great decor, plants, food and drink offerings.
I also spotted Positive Retail, one of a small chain of reselling shops, which looked really interesting (but was sadly closed when we were there). I’d like to go back one day and explore a bit more and visit the gallery – there’s also a secondhand bookshop around the corner, The Old Bank Bookshop.
Cats and Chocolate 