Mostly Books celebrated its twentieth anniversary yesterday.

The shop window, which is usually home to one of its distinctive painted displays, currently features How the Oceans Work by Dr Lucia Perez Diaz. Copies of the book are on display alongside a display for Paint Abingdon Pink. Framing the door is an arch made from balloons and books, looking like something oceanic.

Twenty years ago, on 1 July 2006, the doors opened for the first time. There were still books in boxes and shelves were being sorted as customers wandered in. It was the hottest day of the year. There was Wimbledon and World Cup Football, but people kept coming through the door on that first day, delighted to find Abingdon had another bookshop (the town already had The Bookstore).

Champagne was offered to customers, although many preferred water in the heat. One customer asked whether they could buy a Pride & Prejudice deckchair like the one in the window. Another volunteered to run toddler story sessions. And the card reader gave up in the heat of the afternoon. The customer whose payment was being processed emptied the contents of her purse, and was given a staff discount so she could still leave with her books.

By the end of that first day, the shop had sold books, cards, mugs and cookware. The premises had previously been the second outlet for Added Ingredients, trading as “& More Ingredients”, and some of that cookware was still being sold alongside the books. After months of planning Mark and Nikki Thornton had a bookshop.

Eleven years later, in June 2017, the keys of the bookshop were handed over to a new owner, Sarah Dennis, who has now been in charge for nine years. Yesterday’s anniversary brought Mark and Nikki back to visit Sarah. See Anna’s Book Blog at https://annabookbel.net/mostly-books-is-20-years-old for a short report and picture.