• Patrick is on the Booksellers' Association Council
• the shop and café is open 7 days a week
• the shop hosts a book club and a creative writing course with Faber & Faber
• Patrick has judged the Whitbread First Novel Award
• authors who have visited the shop include: Claire Tomalin, Mark Billingham, Michael Palin, John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, Ian Rankin, Prue Leith, Susan Hill and of course Jeremy Clarkson.
• you can find out about future book signings and other events - just visit the bookshop's site.
  

What a brilliant result! Chippy's own Theatre was included in the Daily Telegraph's list of Top Ten pantos on show over the 2009 Festive Season. At number five in the list "Dick Whittington & His Cat" rubbed shoulders with pantos performed at the likes of The Young Vic, Manchester's Royal Exchange and the Lyric in Hammersmith. The national daily described the panto as, "The perfect antidote to commercial panto: non-starry entertainment in a beautiful Victorian theatre.." The panto has already been recommended by The Guardian.

Hats off to the small troupe of Pippins - the young cast members who took several roles throughout - they treated cast, parents and theatre staff to an hilarious "rip-off" penned by Stage Manager, Amy Southerd late on Friday night.

You can find other reviews of the show at: The Stage and The Oxford Times

Doing some research into the history of the recording studios in Chipping Norton I managed to track down Richard Vernon. In a recent e-mail he wrote:

“Setting up the recording studios with my brother Mike and Dave Grinsted way back in 1971 to its closure in October 1999 was just a fantastic time for me and I hope everyone else who worked or recorded there - it was wonderful to see new bands come to us full of enthusiasm and optimism, many went on to be world famous and if we helped in some small way then that is just terrific.”

The studios (in New Street – now houses) hosted some great bands and  the following unforgettable tracks were recorded there: Nothing Ever Happens (Del Amitri) –  I Should Have Known Better (Jim Diamond) - I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight (Cutting Crew) – Can You Dig it? (Mock Turtles) – We Close Our Eyes (Go West) Bye, Bye Baby (The Bay City Rollers) – Perfect (Fairground Attraction) ) – I’m Gonna Be 500 Miles (The Proclaimers) and Creep (Radiohead.)

Acts such as Doctor Feelgood, Duran Duran, Level 42, XTC, The Bay City Rollers, Status Quo, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Beverley Craven, Fairport Convention, The Olympic Runners, Mark Owen (the list goes on and on) all stayed and recorded tracks and albums right here in Chipping Norton. I think the Town should be proud of that!