Thread by @LRBbookshop

oh god oh god pierce brosnan is in the shop. I repeat pierce brosnan is in the shop

didn't recognise him for a moment (he has a white beard) but it is definitely him

going to the loo. no wait he's coming back up again

he's coming towards the counter

!!!!!! "excuse me, is poetry on this floor or downstairs" !!!!!!!!!

he's so craggy it's unbelievable. craggy as you like. craggier in person than on screen if you can imagine that

oh god he's coming back up the stairs. he's behind me rn. have moved a folder full of invoices in front of tweetdeck so he can't see what i'm tweeting

!!!!!! "there's a few books I'm after - you couldn't give me a steer could you?" !!!!!! yes you bet

updates may become sparser from now on - following him downstairs (!!!!!) - will only be able to tweet when i am checking title info on basement PC

"so the first book i'm looking for is 'Afterwardness', by Mimi Khalvati. I just loved 'the weather wheel' so much"

(had to tell him it wasn't out until october but he was very understanding)

"was there were anything else you were after mr... sir" (oh god i almost called him mr brosnan. got to pretend i've not recognised him)

"yes. there's a lively young poet called stephen - sexton is it? I read his pamphlet from the Emma Press but I hear he's got a full collection out. forward prize shortlisted, if i'm not wrong."

he's not wrong at all and it's a wonderful book (penguin sent us a proof) - 'if all the world and love were young' - but i had to tell him it wasn't out until the end of august. bah

"how about the latest Selima Hill? - 'I May Be Stupid but I'm Not That Stupid'."

"sorry sorry it's not out until aug 26th" where's he finding out about all these books anyway

"oh i know" he says, "the new dorothy molloy from faber! i've got the individual volumes but it would be nice to have them in the new edition. wasn't she a marvellous poet." she was but it's not out until the beginning of september

"hmmmmmm" he scratches his chin, exactly like he does in the films "what about Nisha Ramayya? 'States of the Body...'

"'...Produced by Love'. But i'm afraid that's not out until the 30th september either"

"well how about Helen Tookey - City of Departures". I breathed a palpable sigh of relief.

"yes! we have got it! and yes it's amazing! good choice". charlie had been observing this interaction morosely. "we've *not* got it", he said shaking his head. "i just sold our last copy"

"then what about the new kei miller?"
"not out until mid-August"
"jacqui saphra's new one?"
"about the same but we might get it a little earlier"
"chantal maillard's *killing plato*?"
"end of december. look i'm really sorry about this"

"do you have those chris mccabe ones where he explores the london cemeteries?"
"yes! yes we do!"
"the one for tower hamlets?"
".. not out till halloween"

"alice oswald's *nobody*?"
"yes we d-"
"got to be the cape edition though"
"mid-august"
"anne carson's 'norma jean baker of troy'?"
"next february"

"well, it's been very nice chatting with you. i must remember to stop by the next time i'm passing." a smile flickers across his rugged jawline exactly like in the films. "you've been very helpful"

got to say something got to say something this may be my only chance. "if you don't mind me saying, i thought you were cracking in "the thomas crown affair"'

"thank you", he grins ruggedly. "not many people mention that one"

ok he's gone. adrenaline pumping wildly through my body. what a job bookselling is! there's nothing like it