Banstead Village

I suppose that with so much competition from the likes of Amazon this was almost inevitable. It is however a great pity, for me certainly, I have so many memories of the Ibis Library and those associated with it.

How sad. The Ibis was a fine bookshop, and I’m sorry it has closed after serving Banstead so well for so long. The original owner in the 1950s was the flamboyant author Martyn Goff, who for 34 years was Administrator of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction; he was also Chairman of Henry Sotheran, Britain’s oldest antiquarian bookseller.

It was here, in 1958, that I bought (thanks to a Banstead Secondary School prize) a book that set me on the path to a writing career that served me well for more than half a century. Martyn Goff told me once that the authors Simon Brett and John Trenhaile had separately written to him saying that the Ibis was their first contact with books, too.

I loved the Ibis . I was often in there , reading the books ( and not buying ! ) and Martyn Goff - an exotic figure if there ever was one - was very tolerant of my non-purchasing habits ! But as soon as I received a birthday book token , the Ibis was my first stop. They also sold records and it was from there that my Mother bought the best birthday present I ever got - Then Play On by Fleetwood Mac . Happy, happy days!

Heather's comments above remind me that Martyn Goff was not only a prolific fiction author, but also an authoritative writer on classical music. In 1957 he published "A Short Guide to Long Play", followed by "A further Guide to Long Play" and, later, "Record Choice: Guide to a Basic Classical Record Collection". I don't think he mentioned Fleetwood Mac anywhere, though... perhaps they were his secret passion!

Alongside all his other activities Martyn Goff was also the brains behind the Mann Booker Prize, and was also awarded an OBE. Martyn is generally regarded as a giant of our literary culture.
Writing in The Guardian, John Sutherland said; The current health of English fiction can be explained in two words: Martyn Goff. There are rumours that Goff is about to retire from masterminding the Man Booker prize. It will be a sad day.
A great man in Banstead High Street.

I recall the excitement of it being it opened, but I don't remember the year.

I purchased many records (45's) from the Ibis...seem to remember you could listen to them first in one of two booths opposite the counter.

Bringing things up to date with the sad news of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. Last night, I retrieved my copy of Paranoid (the single) and listened to both sides. It's a copy I bought in 1970 from The Ibis in Banstead, at the tender age of 14, using paper round money earned from Carters newsagent !

Please add your comments about this picture using the form below.

Comments


Your Name


Your email address - this will be shown on the page and will allow the system to notify you of further comments added to this picture.