The John Batchelor Show

TRADE SEMINARS, HEALTH INSPECTIONS, AND A PROPER DESK Colleague Oliver Darkshire. The guest describes attending a trade seminar in York, noting that booksellers are typically reclusive rather than social. He recounts a health and safety inspection that left the official in a "fugue state" due to the shop's conditions. Finally, Oliver celebrates eventually receiving a desk he fits under. NUMBER 4 1896 iIRELAND

SMOGS, DRACULAS, AND THE SHOP'S RESIDENT GHOST Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Oliver categorizes customers, such as "Smogs" seeking treasures and "Draculas" obsessed with specific themes. He discusses book runners, discovering moldy copies of Edwin Drood, and surviving government apprenticeship inspections. Additionally, he recounts shadowing thieves and the shop's ghost, a former owner killed by a tram. NUMBER 3 1890

APPRENTICESHIP AT HENRY SOTHERAN'S ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSHOP Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Darkshire describes his apprenticeship at Henry Sotheran's, noting the shop's silent atmosphere and his odd interview regarding trombone playing. He details the "higgledy-piggledy" layout where buildings merge and his assignment to a tiny desk, suitable for a "Victorian gentle woman," positioned as the "first line of defense." NUMBER 2 1940 london tube

ONCE UPON A TOME: A MISSION TO EVALUATE A REMOTE LIBRARY Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Guest Oliver Darkshire discusses his memoir, Once Upon a Tome, recounting a "mission" to a remote house to evaluate a library. After a difficult trek through woods, he discovered moldy French texts he couldn't read and sinister spiritual works on exorcism. He also introduces Sotheran's hidden London location. NUMBER 1 1913 Cotswolds

AUSTRALIA'S SUMMER WEATHER FORECAST AND CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Colleague Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis reports that while New South Wales is currently experiencing stormy weather, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts a catastrophically hot summer influenced by stratospheric warming over Antarctica. Despite the heat, Australians maintain Christmas traditions involving outdoor barbecues, street cricket, and visiting Santa Claus, who wears shorts for outdoor events.