February 13, 2012

Planet BB: The Boys’ Brigade Around the World – Volume 2 due this year

Posted by Phil Groom under Guest Posts | Tags: , , |
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David Chant writes:

Planet BB

Planet BB

Following on from the success of Planet BB: The Boys’ Brigade Around the world, a second volume will be published this year. All of the 950 copies of volume one were sold out within a year, making £500+ for Global Fellowship, and over £4,000 for the Christian Children’s Centre, Nansana, Uganda. The orphanage has used this money to pay rent, put on 2 Christmas parties, set up a poultry project and buy food.

Volume 2 will feature many countries not included in the first book, including Malta, Jamaica, China, The Philippines, Bermuda, Macau, South Africa, and many more.

There will also be other features including a fascinating account of a Queen’s Man who did his Gold D of E award in Ecuador, the BB Band music website, Firm Foundations, and more.

This edition will also feature a Subscribers page, listing the name & Company of everyone who subscribes to the book before publication.

By pre-ordering volume 2 (and having your name listed), you will help to ensure the book’s publication, which in turn will help to fund other BB projects around the world.

There is no need to pay now. You will be contacted when the date of publication and the price are announced.

If you would like to participate in this latest venture, please see the Planet BB facebook page for contact details and get in touch.

Yours in fellowship

David Chant
2nd Sutton Coldfield

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February 25, 2011

News Roundup: Celebrating 10 Years Online | Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen | More Shops Seeking New Owners | More Than Another Day of Prayer | New Blog for Caritas Music

Posted by Phil Groom under Cardiff, Christian Book Trade, Christian Bookshops, Christian Music, Independent Booksellers, News, Wesley Owen | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[9] Comments 
UK Christian Bookshops Directory: Discover your local Christian bookshop!

Celebrating 10 Years Online!

GOT NEWS? If you have news you’d like to share about your shop or staff, please leave a comment or contact me direct to be included in the next News Roundup…

Don’t want to comment here? Join the conversation on facebook instead…

Celebrating 10 Years Online

THIS YEAR sees both the UK Christian Bookshops Directory and The Good Bookstall celebrating our tenth anniversaries: UKCBD was launched 10 years ago this month, in February 2001, whilst TGB was launched 10 years ago next month, March 2001 — and what an amazing 10 years it’s been!

We’ve seen STL expand its territory, Prayer-of-Jabez style, only to see the whole edifice here in the UK come tumbling down when they did a builder-who-didn’t-count-the-cost routine; we’ve seen the destruction of the SPCK Bookshops chain in the hands of the gruesome twosome, Messrs Phil and Mark Brewer; we’ve seen dozens of independent bookshop closures; and we’ve seen Christian Marketplace go from being a monthly independent magazine to a bi-monthly, surviving only as a subsidiary of another giant, the Premier Christian media empire.

We’ve also seen the phenomenal rise of online Christian bookseller Eden.co.uk, the emergence of the ebook and yet — in the face of all these challenges — many shops rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of those destructions, an important reminder if ever we needed one that God isn’t interested in our ambitions and empires, no matter how much we persuade ourselves that it’s God’s kingdom we’re building — because our God, the God we meet in Jesus, isn’t ultimately found in huge presences or high profiles but is revealed rather in small and hidden things, babies born in poverty, bookshops in backstreets and market halls, and bookstalls at the back of forgotten churches. We strive for ‘Mission on the High Street’ but God calls us to mission wherever we are, with whatever we have.

5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net

5 Quid for Life

At UKCBD, I’m celebrating 10 years with a simple commitment: over the next year a minimum of 10% of all UKCBD income will be donated to the new up-and-coming charity 5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net. It’s a project that I’ve been privileged to be part of from the outset, emerging out of a friend’s desperation as she poured out her heart over the disruption the current government’s changes to the UK benefits system would have on her. If you haven’t already done so, read about it here: Welcome to 5 Quid for Life; and if you’d like to make a donation, you can do so here: 5quidforlife.org.uk/#donate

For further reflections on the changes the last ten years have wrought, see Mary Bartholomew’s latest Good Bookstall editorial; and as we celebrate 10 years online, congratulations must also go to Luke Bunger and his team at one of those small independents, The Hub, Walsall, as they celebrate their first anniversary after surviving the collapse of Wesley Owen … talking of which…

Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen

THANK YOU to Wesley Owen Birmingham for letting me know about their commentaries sale: 25% off all commentaries; but anyone wanting a slice of the cake needs to move fast — offer ends tomorrow, Saturday 26th February. Available from all branches and online too!

Meanwhile congratulations are due to the inimitable David Chant, former WO Birmingham branch manager, who has moved on into ‘semi-retirement’ from where he should be able to spend a little more time promoting Planet BB. Have you ordered your stock yet? David’s itching to hear from you…

More Shops Seeking New Owners

CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOPS seeking new owners seems to be a trending topic at the moment. This time around we have two, The Ark, Lymington, and Cardiff Christian Bookshop.

The Ark, Lymington

Shop For Sale: The Ark, Lymington

THE ARK is a Christian Bookshop and Café which opened its doors in 2004 and has gone on to serve the local community and churches ever since, but owner Ginny Ayling now wishes to retire and hand on the business to someone else: sale price £325,000, Freehold. Could that someone be you or someone you know?

The shop is well loved and supported by the local people. Describing the shop, the Revd Peter Salisbury, Vicar of Lymington, said:

The Ark is an important part of the Christian outreach in Lymington and is an excellent central meeting place. All the volunteers are from the local churches and the bookshop gives advice and an ordering service, which we use for our personal and church orders. The Café, which is always buzzing at lunchtime, has a very high reputation and offers friendly and personal service plus gorgeous food – I’m usually in there about once a week!

Download the Particulars of Sale or an A4 Sale Poster (both pdfs) if you’d like to know more or would like to help promote the sale.

CARDIFF CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP is currently owned and operated by the Evangelical Movement of Wales, who have reluctantly concluded that they can no longer support the shop. From the shop’s February Prayer Letter:

The Evangelical Movement of Wales has decided most reluctantly that it must bring its support of the Cardiff Christian Bookshop to an end. This is most regrettable since it has been such a witness in the heart of the city for almost 50 years. It is, however, very keen that the work and witness should continue and would actively invite Churches and other interested Christian groups to assume responsibility for it and to come forward with proposals for its future operation. The Movement is continuing to own and support the shop in the short term and the business will continue to function as usual.

The business costs around £55,000 per year to run in terms of staffing, rent and other expenses: download the February Prayer Letter (pdf) if you’d like to know more.

More Than Another Day of Prayer

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK (pdf, 90kb)

JOY MCILROY of Ashburnham Books has been busy liaising with Clem Jackson at Christian Marketplace to draw up plans for another Day of Prayer for the trade — but this year it’s more than a day of prayer: the vision is for a season of prayer to run through Lent, starting on Ash Wednesday, 9th March. Announcement here: Day of Prayer for Christian Trade.

The announcement suggests sharing plans via the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group. Should you choose to do so, please note that that is a closed group, set up specifically to facilitate discussion within the trade away from the public eye — in other words, not the best forum to use if you wish to engage with others beyond the trade…

As with previous occasions I’ll be updating this site’s Day of Prayer page with news and updates as and when they emerge: please do feel free to post details of any plans there and to point members of the general public in that direction.

New Blog for Caritas Music

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, another birthday this month as Caritas Music turned 13 back on February 2nd and have now launched a brand new bright-and-shiny blog for Caritas Music / Eschenbach Editions, where you’ll soon find all the latest news appearing from these two independent music publishers.

Looking Back…

 

January 8, 2011

Planet BB: The Boys’ Brigade Around the World – now available!

Posted by Phil Groom under Book News, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , |
[9] Comments 

David Chant writes:

Planet BB launch at Wesley Owen, Birmingham

Planet BB launch at Wesley Owen, Birmingham

PLANET BB: The Boys’ Brigade Around the World was officially launched at Wesley Owen Books & Music, Birmingham, on Saturday 11 December. Already, pre-orders of around 700 copies have been despatched all over the world! This includes 100 copies to Malaysia, 50 to Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong & Singapore, 150 to Wesley Owen, 50 to Koorong, and many more individual orders!

The website (www.planet-bb.co.uk, designed free of charge for the project) is about to be updated, but in the meantime please send any enquiries to me – bbworldwidebook AT live.com – and I will let you know the best way to order. Depending on size of order, bookshops may get very favourable terms.

All royalties are being sent to Global Fellowship, the BB international wing, to use where they feel appropriate. So far we have raised over £2000 through various non-book sales, all of which has gone to an orphanage in Uganda run by a BB officer. See the Facebook groups, PLANET BB: The Boys’ Brigade around the world and Let’s make this the biggest Boys’ Brigade group in the world. There is also a Facebook Page and to date, between the 3 there are about 5000 members worldwide! We now also have a Twitter account @planetbbbook.

All the Facebook members have been talking excitedly about Planet BB for more than a year, and now they have finally got a chance to buy it! I have already received favourable comments from many BB folk who have received their copy.

As you are aware, not every BB member will be on Facebook or Twitter, so many will not have heard of the book. It did get a write-up in the officers’ Gazette a year ago, but that will be long forgotten now. Can you please announce it to as many BB Companies as possible as this book deserves to be read by anyone involved with the Brigade? A poster is available from the publisher and I am sure if you do a bit of local promotion, sales will be good. Birmingham Battalion announced the launch it its bulletin, and it was great to see quite a few BB people who had not heard of the project before. 20 copies were sold at this one event. Planet BB has been written by boys, officers, Brigade secretaries, and Presidents from almost 30 countries. And don’t forget, the royalties will be going to help the BB in countries where there is desperate need for financial help.

See below for more details of the book and the publisher’s information sheet.

Many thanks for your help,

David Chant

Planet BB: The Boys’ Brigade Around the World

Planet BB - Publisher's Info

Planet BB - Publisher's Info (pdf, 422kb)

  • 136 pages plus 8 page colour photo section
  • 171 photos b/w & colour
  • ISBN 9781858583334
  • Price £12.95
  • The first book to look exclusively at the BB all over the world
  • Countries featured: UK, Republic of Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Borneo, Cambodia, St Lucia & the Caribbean, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Cameroon, India
  • Interviews by UK boys (and girls!) with SE Asian boys (and girls!)
  • Travelogue of Europe by a Malaysian officer
  • Features on Global Fellowship, DofE, and the BB Memorial Garden
  • Collecting BB memorabilia
  • Everyone involved has done it for free, including the design of the logo & the website

From the Archives…

In the News…

 

May 5, 2010

What’s happening at Wesley Owen? David Chant gives us the inside story

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings, Guest Posts, Wesley Owen | Tags: , , , |
[6] Comments 
Wesley Owen Birmingham: Facebook Photos

Wesley Owen Birmingham - Facebook Photos

If you’re anything like me, you’ve no doubt been wondering how things are going for Wesley Owen’s survivors under their new Aussie owners, Koorong. So I put on my Aussie hat (made from genuine ’roo hide) to give myself an authentic Oz presence and invited the inimitable David Chant from Wesley Owen Birmingham to tell us all about it. He writes:

Thank you, Phil, for inviting me to tell the bookselling world all about our first 4 months under new ownership. In December, we were fortunate to be one of the 8 Wesley Owen stores to be bought by Koorong, the leading Australian Christian bookseller.  All the changes in the trade have been well documented, so I will concentrate on how this has impacted upon one of the Big 8!  From day one we were welcomed into the Koorong family by the key personnel.  By January we had received phone calls from Australia, (most of which were made in the early hours of their morning), visitations by many, and regular emails that helped us with the transition from Wesley Owen to the Koorong way.

Birmingham branch was chosen to be to the IT hub for the group.  Their IT guru based himself here for a number of weeks, setting up the PCs, and EPOS terminals.  He then travelled England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, setting everything up.  He finally left the UK after many weeks in the snowy UK – and had missed the Aussie summer!

The EPOS system is superb!  We are only using a tiny part of what it is capable of at present, but that will soon change as new systems are introduced.

We recently received training from another of the jet-setters – and more are coming over shortly. We are taking in so much (and probably forgetting the majority of it!) at the moment, and sometimes go home in the evenings totally exhausted from all we have taken on board.

In recent weeks we have all received numerous pallets of books.  About 200 boxes of lovely stock winged itself to us in April, and I cannot begin to tell you how marvelous it is to walk into a well stocked shop again.  It has been quite a task manhandling so much stock; sorting, pricing and rearranging the shop to fit in all in. But how rewarding!  For example, we now have a Bible section crammed with just about anything we are likely to be asked for.  It’s been some time since I could say that!

The new Wesley Owen Books & Music membership scheme, website, and data base are now being built, so it won’t be long until we are well and truly inducted into the Koorong way.

Having been through such a transition before, (we had been an independent for 105 years before Wesley Owen took us over in 1997), some aspects haven’t been too big a shock to the system.  In fact it has breathed new life and vigour into not only the shop, but also the staff.

We are being ably looked after by our UK based management, as well as the team from Sydney.  It is great to have such a dedicated team watching over us.

Now the fun begins.  We will be undertaking our first stocktake soon, and will no doubt be getting our branch budgets shortly.  Honeymoon period over? :-)

Finally, having invited David to contribute, it would be remiss of me not to mention his personal project, Planet BB: if you or anyone you know is or has been involved in Boys’ Brigade, check it out.

 

February 28, 2010

Planet BB

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Reviews | Tags: , , , , , |
[4] Comments 

Planet BBPlanet BB
The Boys’ Brigade Around The World

David Chant
ISBN 9781858583334 (1858583330)
Brewin Books, 2010 (not yet published: expected April)
£12.95

Category: Youth Work and Ministry
Reviewed by: Phil Groom

Sometimes a book seizes your imagination even before it’s been published, and this is one such book — which means, of course, that this is not a review: it’s a pre-publication plug. As per the subtitle, Planet BB tells the story of the Boys’ Brigade around the world — but more than that, its aim is to raise funds for that work in developing countries.

Its author, David Chant, is the manager of Wesley Owen Birmingham, one of the eight branches of Wesley Owen rescued by Koorong following last year’s collapse of IBS-STL UK, and for the last year or so whenever he’s not been holding the fort there, Planet BB has been more or less his entire life. One thing’s certain: if enthusiasm alone could sell a book, this would be a bestseller. I’ll let David take up the story:

Planet BB has taken up 14 months of my free time. Every evening, day off, holiday has been spent compiling/editing/plugging the book. When the publication was delayed, one of our planned first recipients of the royalties — Christian Children’s Centre — Nansana, Uganda — asked me if any money would likely to be forthcoming so they could put on a Christmas party, get AIDS/HIV testing for the children/decorate the centre. I put out an appeal (or 2!) and was blessed with £300 which I sent to pay for the party. I contacted agencies working in Uganda that secured funding for the Aids programme. So Planet BB is making money and helping children in need already!

There will be BB Companies near every bookshop in the UK. I know there will be a great demand for it. Sadly, UK folk are waiting to see it as they know it will be in the shops (but I do already have well over 100 individual orders at my shop). Overseas orders have been flying in (Indonesia, Australia, US, Singapore, Hong Kong etc) as they know direct from the publisher will be the only way to get copies. The publisher is still a bit jittery after the Christian booktrade troubles, and it looks like I will be asked to put money up front. This is something I do not have a lot of (working in the book trade!) so it is imperative bookshops order copies from Brewin Books.

We have plans to help a BB Company in Ghana, and Thailand. And money will be sent direct to Global Fellowship to use in their current BB projects. Please help the project by ordering copies, and advertising it around your local BB & GB Companies. We have already had adverts in The BB Gazette, Birmingham Battalion newsletter, and dozens of similar publications around the world.

Thank you for your anticipated very large orders.

If Planet BB captures your imagination, head on over to the Planet BB facebook page or follow Planet BB on twitter to find out more. Even better, of course, head on over to your nearest bookshop — ideally your nearest Christian bookshop — and order a copy.

Find Planet BB on facebook Follow Planet BB on twitter

Phil Groom, February 2010

Phil Groom is this site’s Webmaster and Reviews Editor. He’s a regular contributor to Christian Marketplace magazine and is the manager of London School of Theology Books & Resources. Any opinions expressed here are personal and should not be taken as representing the views of London School of Theology or of any other group or organisation.

Planet BB: Official Website | Brewin Books

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