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With the help of local award winning author Thomas McMullan, we will be hosting our second open-mic poetry night here at Store 104.
Tickets can be purchased for £5 here & include a drink (either wine, beer, or a soft drink) with your ticket.
If you wish to participate as a reader, please email eleanor@store104.co.uk for more information and to secure your place.
The event takes place on the 29th of June, from 6:30pm - 8:30pm.
]]>Date: Wed 7th June 2023
Time: 6:30pm- 8:30pm
Location: Store 104
Whether you are writing a novel or a screenplay, character is key. This two-hour interactive session will introduce you to the basics of writing compelling and complex characters. You'll explore approaches to crafting multilayered characters, and learn how dynamics between characters can propel a story.
This event is free but has a capacity of 15, so to secure a space please email hello@store104.co.uk.
]]>Join Alexia from Art of the H-art in a 1.5 hour workshop to learn how to make a Macramé Bottle Holder while being mindful.
Is the daily hustle and bustle overwhelming your mind?
Are you learning to meditate and be mindful but find you are struggling?
Why not try another form of mindfulness as learning a new craft.
Join macramé artist Alexia from Art of the H-art in a 1.5 hour workshop to learn a new craft and watch the "noise" disappear as your mind engages with learning a new skill.
Class suitable for beginners.
Just come along with your smile and willingness to learn and materials will be provided for you.
At the end of the class you will walk away with a boosted confidence, a clear head and practical and beautifully boho bottle holder. Great for the warmer summer days, for festivals, or dog walks and well, whether you carry a bottle of water or wine, that's your choice!
**Puppy not included or attending the class!
The workshop will take place on Sunday the 4th of June, 12pm - 1:30pm.
Tickets cost £39 per person, includes a hot drink from Leonard's café.
Drowned. Buried by sand. Decimated by plague. Plunged off a cliff. This is the forgotten history of Britain's lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages: our shadowlands. Historian Matthew Green tells the extraordinary stories of how these places met their fate and probes the disappearances to explain why Britain looks the way it does today.
Britain's landscape is scarred with haunting and romantic remains; these shadowlands that were once filled with life are now just spectral echoes. Peering through the cracks of history, we find Dunwich, a medieval city plunged off a Suffolk cliff by sea storms; the lost city of Trellech unearthed by moles in the Welsh Marches; and the ghostly reservoir that is Capel Celyn, one of the few remaining solely Welsh-speaking villages, drowned by Liverpool City Council.
Historian Matthew Green tells the extraordinary stories of how these places met their fate and probes the disappearances to explain why Britain looks the way it does today. Travelling across Britain, Green transports the reader to these places as they teeter on the brink of oblivion, vividly capturing the sounds of the sea clawing away row upon row of houses, the taste of medieval wine, or the sights of puffin hunting on the tallest cliffs in the country. We experience them in their prime, look on at their destruction and revisit their lingering remains later as they are mourned by evictees and reimagined by artists, writers and mavericks.
By exploring the lost causes and dead ends of history - places lost to natural phenomena, war and plague, economic shifts and technological progress - the precariousness of our own towns and cities, of humanity, becomes clear. Shadowlands is a deeply evocative and dazzlingly original account of Britain's past. 'A haunting and miraculous work of resurrection, stinging in a perpetual present'.
Join us for an immersive visual talk with Matthew. There will be an opportunity to taste medieval wines served in the Winchelsea custom of engraved coconut shells.
The event takes place on the 19th of April 2023, here at Store 104. Tickets cost £15 - includes a copy of the book (RRP £10.99).
Sadia Azmat is a comedian who loves sex. She is also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. The two are in a lifelong relationship, but it’s complicated.
Sadia has many different sides to her, she is the good Muslim sister and the loud and proud comedian, she is the quiet and loving friend and the horny and outspoken one. So why does everyone put her in a box and expect her to choose between one or the other?
In a life of ups and downs, swings and roundabouts, Sadia has learnt the hard way that she can embrace her sexuality and be a proud British-Indian Muslim. From discovering her sexual identity after seeing a copy of Asian Babes in the corner shop to rejecting an arranged marriage and feeling distanced from her culture; from her experience dating white and Asian men to her tumultuous relationship with her headscarf, Sadia is unafraid to spill the honest truth.
Finding the funny in every experience she has, Sex Bomb explodes with personality, warmth and joy. For anyone who has ever felt different or alone; allow this book to fill you up and propel you forward, because we all deserve to feel like a Sex Bomb.
Funny, sex positive and conversation-shifting, this memoir is for fans of Everything I Know About Love, Wrong Knickers and The Right Sort of Girl.
‘Hilarious, raw and poignant. I couldn’t put it down’ - Jena Friedman
‘This memoir is a testament to embracing who you are – sexual fantasies and all – regardless of the (often patriarchal) societal expectations placed upon us’ - Glamour
Sadia Azmat is a British Asian stand-up comedian and writer from East London. Through a chance encounter with a comedian in a call centre, she was introduced to the circuit, and now she is a regular stand-up. In 2018 Sadia launched her critically acclaimed BBC podcast ‘No Country For Young Women’ which was named one of the ‘Best audio of 2018’ by the Observer and was an Apple Top pick for 2018. Sex Bomb is her first book.
Join us here at Store 104 for an evening with Sadia, including readings and a Q&A. Light refreshments will be included.
The event will take place on the 30th May, 6:30pm - 8:30pm.
This Spring, we’ll be running another beginner’s knitting course. Over three 2-hour sessions Patrick will take you from having never picked up needles before to working on your first project.
The class will run from 6pm-8pm in Store 104, refreshments from Leonard's café will be provided. Dates for this course will be the 31st of March, 7th of April and 14th of April.
The course will be £75 and you’ll also receive a pair of needles and a ball of yarn to practice with, alongside a discount to use on materials for your first project.
Please note that this course is suitable for complete beginners, if you already know how to knit and want to expand your knowledge then keep an eye out for upcoming workshops!
We at Store 104 are delighted to host an evening with Sophie Mackintosh: Booker Prize-nominated author of THE WATER CURE
The event will consist of a reading from the novel, followed by a conversation between Sophie and Thomas McMullan (Betty Trask award winning author of The Last Good Man), followed lastly by an audience discussion and Q&A.
The event will take place here at Store 104, on Thursday 9th March 2023, 7pm.
Tickets for the event will cost £15 and include a hardback copy of the book (which retails at £16.99). We're offering couples tickets which are £20 which includes admission to the event for two people and one copy of the book.
About CURSED BREAD:
CURSED BREAD floored me in its first page and didn’t let up for the rest of its strange, hot, festering journey. It always feels like a true privilege to be allowed time with Sophie Mackintosh’s brilliant mind and her third novel just confirms that she is only getting better and weirder and wilder. A knockout. - Megan Nolan, author of ACTS OF DESPERATION
Sensual, luminous, transcendent... This tale of obsession, desire and betrayal has a timeless, dreamlike quality. It confirms Mackintosh as one of our finest young writers. - THE BOOKERSELLER, Editor's Choice
Everything Sophie Mackintosh is so febrile and tactile, when you read her books you feel as if you live in them. The world felt so eerie after finishing CURSED BREAD. I didn't feel quite the same as I was before, but in the best way. - Annie Lord, author of NOTES ON HEARTBREAK
Elodie is the baker's wife. Plain, unremarkable, ignored, she burns with a secret hunger to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, listening to their coded conversations, longing to possess them. Meanwhile, beneath the tranquil surface of daily life, strange things are happening. Six horses are found dead in a sun-drenched field. Widows see their husbands walking spectral up the moonlit river. A teenage boy throws himself into the bonfire at the midsummer feast. A dark intoxication is spreading through the town, and when Elodie finally understands her role in it, it will be too late to stop.
About Sophie Mackintosh:
Sophie Mackintosh is the author of two previous novels, THE WATER CURE and BLUE TICKET. Her first novel was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018 and won a Betty Trask Award 2019. She has also won the White Review Short Story Prize and the Virago/Stylist Short Story Competition, and has been published in Granta, The White Review and TANK magazine among others.
About Thomas McMullan:
Thomas McMullan is a writer and artist. His debut novel, THE LAST GOOD MAN (Bloomsbury) won the 2021 Betty Trask Prize. His short fiction and poetry have been published in 3:AM Magazine, Lighthouse and Best British Short Stories, and his journalistic work has appeared in publications including the Guardian, The Observer, Times Literary Supplement, Frieze and BBC News. He has also worked with theatre companies and games studios in London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles, including Roll7, Punchdrunk and The Chinese Room.
Neil is an author, professional creative, and live speaker with a CV covering everything from The Guardian to writing for the glove puppet Sooty. He is the author of 29 books, contributor to almost 20 more and and has written scripts for radio and television including the Sony Award nominated radio play Mr Lennon. Neil can't recall a time before he was fascinated by the paranormal and has written extensively on the subject including three books on his fascination with UFOs.
About the book:
"This no-nonsense guide to one of our most enduring mysteries presents a short history of the strangest encounters, looks carefully at explanations from the blunt to the truly bizarre, offers insights into the strongest evidence that we are being visited by beings from another world and sources the best sceptical arguments that it can all be explained rationally."
The event will take place on the 9th of February, at 6:30pm, here at Store 104. Tickets will cost £12 and will include a copy of the book (which retails £9.99).
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You may have noticed recently we have been stocking beautiful bouquets of flowers from Barnfield Blooms - a local no-dig flower farm.
This Christmas, we will be hosting a wreath making workshop with Debbie. The class will cost £50 per person and will include all materials required and a glass of festive refreshment.
Numbers for this event are limited. To book a space, or for more information, please email: eleanor@store104.co.uk
The event will take place on the 15th of December at 6:30pm here at store 104.
]]>Store 104 will be hosting a book launch of Popping Corn: A bilingual English and Spanish edition of “Poemitas de maiz” by Spanish poet Mendigo Diego, who will read his surrealism-influenced poems in the original Spanish, whilst ITV News editor Kevin Harrison will read the English versions.
The event will be presented by poet and artist Bill Lewis, one of the six Medway Poets and one of the thirteen original founders of The Stuckists.
After the readings, there will be a chat open to the public on the influence and current relevance of the language of modernism.
Tickets for this are free but spaces are limited. To secure a place, please email eleanaor@store104.co.uk.
The event will take place on Thursday the 17th of November, at 6:30pm here at Store 104.
]]>We are lucky enough to be hosting another jewellery making workshop with the fabulous Annie from House of Law. You will get the chance to design and make your own sterling silver ring at the workshop.
Refreshments are included and the price of the workshop is £75.
To book your place, call or text Annie on 07501025703.
The event will take place on Thursday the 8th of December, at 6:30pm here at store 104.
]]>After a very successful first event with Willy Francis, we will be hosting a second Bigfeets event this Autumn half term! The event is aimed at children ages 6-11 and involves a wide range of activities, such as storytelling, sleuthing, and arts and crafts!
Tickets cost £3, Book here!
]]>This autumn, Store 104 will be hosting a creative writing course with award-winning local author Thomas McMullan. This course is ideal for beginner writers, or for more experienced writers seeking to develop their skills.
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This autumn, Store 104 will be hosting a creative writing course with award-winning local author Thomas McMullan. The course will cost £150 per person and will run for eight weeks. Sessions will last two hours, taking place here in the store on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm until 8:30pm. The course take place from the 4th of October to the 22nd of November.
This course is ideal for beginner writers, or for more experienced writers seeking to develop their skills. The sessions will involve exercises that are designed to help bring out your creativity, and to introduce crucial elements of various kinds of creative writing - from crafting compelling characters and snappy dialogue, to playing with imagery and perspective.
Each session will also involve discussion of pieces of writing, understanding different literary techniques with an aim of applying these to your own creative work. You will learn to respond to writing thoughtfully and will produce your own pieces in a range of different forms, from fiction to poetry.
The eight week course will consist of:
A Google Classroom will be set up for the duration of the course. This will allow us to share material and chat outside of the sessions. It also means any questions can easily be answered either by Ellie here at Store 104 or by Thomas.
There are twelve places available on our Creative Writing Workshop, and tickets can be purchased here.
Thomas McMullan is a writer and an artist. His debut novel, The Last Good Man (Bloomsbury) won the 2021 Betty Trask Prize and was praised as ‘A Scarlet Letter for our times’ by Margaret Atwood. His short fiction and poetry have been published in 3:AM Magazine, Lighthouse and Best British Short Stories, and his journalistic work has appeared in publications including the Guardian, The Observer, Times Literary Supplement, Frieze and BBC News. He has also worked with theatre companies and games studios in London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles, including Roll7, Punchdrunk and The Chinese Room.
Some of you may know Thomas through our book club, or perhaps attended our Q&A event with him back in November of last year. However, we have attached his website here with more information regarding his work: Thomas McMullan. You can also find Thomas’ award winning novel on our website by following this link: The Last Good Man at Store 104.
Praise for The Last Good Man:
‘A Scarlet Letter for our times: The Last Good Man, by Thomas McMullan. Zamyatin's We meets Lord of the Flies meets De Toqueville meets cancel culture meets spite and malice meets Jesus. Should words be power? Justice or Mercy? What price rage?’
- MARGARET ATWOOD
‘An extraordinary and disquieting work of imagination, and as original as any novel I've read in recent memory … The Last Good Man makes visible the dark matter of our troubled zeitgeist, and the cruelty that animates moral community’
- ROB DOYLE
‘A dark, compelling novel about the only two things humans really have to fear: each other, and being alone ... McMullan has a sureness with violence that puts him in the company of Sarah Moss and Benjamin Myers...The Last Good Man is viciously captivating: frightening to be around, impossible to put aside.’
- THE GUARDIAN: *Book of the day*
‘A gruesome, disenchanted debut … McMullan combines the well-worn conceits of provincial claustrophobia and rural gothic with our contemporary politics of collective outrage, call-out culture and alternative facts … A fast-paced, engaging novel.’
- TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
‘[A] brilliantly unsettling parable about how we police our societies through violence, language and shame.’
- THE INDEPENDENT
‘Innovative and timeless... eerie and atmospheric’
- THE IRISH TIMES
‘An arresting debut…a clean, crackling novel.’
- THE METRO: "
‘A visceral and disquieting debut novel about the power of words...should be read by anyone who uses the internet.’
- NEW STATESMAN
‘An impressively taut, thoughtful novel... He writes with a muscular lyricism; the book’s moral gaze is both pitiless and ambivalent.’
- 3:AM MAGAZINE
‘[A] thought-provoking debut... A shivery sense of menace exerts steady fascination in McMullan’s dark allegory of the social-media age.’
- MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘The Last Good Man is an essential and commanding slice of folk horror — a wholly successful exercise in world-building that straddles an uncomfortable line between reality and fantasy.’
- LUNATE
We would like you to join us for an evening author event with Ixta Belfrage to celebrate the launch of her first solo cookbook, Mezcla.
We would like you to join us for an evening author event with Ixta Belfrage to celebrate the launch of her first solo cookbook, Mezcla.
We are incredibly excited to be joined by Chef Ixta Belfrage on the 21st of July for an evening of all things food. She is going to be taking us through & demonstrating a recipe from her first solo cookbook, Mezcla followed by a Q&A hosted by our very own Medway 2011 Come Dine With Me winner, Patrick.
She is best known for her role in Ottolenghi's Test Kitchen. She co-wrote Flavour with Ottolenghi, she has written for the Guardian & has her very own Dispatch menu. Now, that's a seriously good résumé.
The cookbook in question is a brilliant array of various influences from Ixta's life. Pulling from her Brazillian heritage, her time spent visiting her Father's family in Mexico & growing up in Tuscany.
We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the book in advance. Let me tell you, I have already tried my hand at about 50% of the recipes in this book and they are all brilliant and all serve a different craving or occasion. I wouldn't be able to pick a favourite though, you'll just have to try them all for yourself.
Please do come and join us for an evening of everything food.
Lots of love,
Lib & Patrick
Store 104
Tickets are £20 which includes a copy of Mezcla (RRP £26) which gives you a saving of six pounds and you get to come along to this evening. It's a win-win. Please note, you will receive your copy of the book at the event.
If you're brining a partner/house mate/family member and you only need one copy of the book, please buy one ticket for yourself and send us an email at time of purchase to hello@store104.co.uk to book a +1's ticket which is free.