AN ALVERSTOKE ALPHABET - AAA

It came, it went and it is!  The BOOK and the BOOK LAUNCH that is!   It came – on the Friday - in time for the BOOK LAUNCH on Saturday 24th September!  For those who weren’t there on the day it was a MEMORABLE scene.  The church was wonderfully decorated for the Harvest Festival; it was a lovely sunny morning; there were lots of beautiful ladies wearing beautiful hats and lots of men wearing, in some cases, VERY snazzy waistcoats; there was Pimms in the pews and  there were nibbles in the nave; there was the Mayor of Gosport and there was the Michaelmas Fayre to look forward to for the rest of the day!  There was also one joke:  Question: “Why was the teacher cross eyed?!  Answer: “Because he couldn’t control his pupils!!” 

It went - in what seemed a flash – one moment we were all arriving, the next it was all over and our BOOK had been well and truly LAUNCHED – at least we thought so!!

There are lots of copies now in the Parish Centre, adjacent to Sue Simpson who will sell you a copy for £15.

We have now sold, or have orders for, a total of about 600 books – so there are only 400 to go!!

We would like to say an ENORMOUS thank you to EVERYONE involved with the BOOK – all the astute authors; the reviewers; the unbelievably, amazing Designer; the Design/Production Team; the ladies who dispensed the Pimms and nibbles; the lifters and shifters of the books – which are VERY heavy; the Distributors of the BOOKS at the LAUNCH inside the church; the Church Administrator, Peter Camp; Sue Simpson who took all the pre-sales orders and Penny Harris who did the job when Mrs Simpson was on holiday, and everyone else who hasn’t been mentioned so far, not least the sponsors and those who have actually bought the BOOK!  “An Alverstoke Alphabet” will be on sale at all the local Bookshops; the Tourist Office and the Local Studies Centre, as well as at the Parish Centre on weekday mornings.  So, go on, treat yourself – you know it makes sense!!  It is absolutely super and it will make the MOST PERFECT Christmas present EVER!!

                                                Richard Thorne