The Spoils Of Adelaide

For anyone reading this blog you'll be pleased to know this is the last post from our recent trip to South Australia.

First here's what I call the "spoils" of our trip; the seven books I purchased.  I already have all of these titles but the covers here are either similar or an improvement on the condition of the existing copies in my collection.

The concentration on Ian Fleming's "Moonraker" was pure coincidence.  The Pan Books cover on the left is rare as it's the first and only printing with this cover from 1956.  The white Pan cover is a great copy.  

The orange Penguin "Casino Royale" was only published in Australia (along with a similar cover by Penguin for "From Russia With Love") so it's not common, especially outside of Oz.  The other two covers were too good condition to pass by.

Finally here's a Still Life series copy of Ian Fleming's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" from early 1970's.  There's no spine creases so I suspect it's never been read.  A paperback nearly 50 years old in this condition for sale at AU$14 is quite scarce so I couldn't pass it up.

That's the end of my Bond book purchases from South Australia, so now here's some photos from our travels:

On the road...

The blue lake, Mt Gambier, once a volcano crater

Umpherston Sinkhole (Balumbul), Mt Gambier.

Church and lake at a winery (Maggie Beer's) in the Barossa Valley.

A couple of beaches near McLaren Vale, some fisherman caves in the sand cliffs and a visit to a winery/craft beer brewery.

Random photos of the Pakistan and Indian T20 cricket teams who also stayed in our hotel for the Twenty20 International World Cup (eventually won by England).  One morning I even found myself in the lift with Virat Kohli who I'd watched on TV the night before scoring 50 runs.

Random photos taken while walking around Adelaide including Rundle Mall.

Chocolates bought while visiting the Haigh's factory.

Photos of the Adelaide Christmas Pageant.  I'd never heard of it before but it's obviously a big thing in Adelaide as it's been going for 90 years.

The journey home including a painted silo and a flooded river...

In conclusion, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend visiting South Australia.  You may return with some great books but you'll definitely return with some great experiences and memories... the spoils of Adelaide.

The Good & The Bad

I've been searching for a trade size edition of Kate Westbrook's "The Moneypenny Diaries - Secret Servant", published by John Murray in 2006, for several years now.  So when I discovered a secondhand bookstore in Queensland (Lawnton Books) had a copy I immediately purchased it.  The book arrived in the mail today.  It's the first new Bond cover I'll be adding to PizGloria.com in 2018.

Earlier today I visited "Out Of Print Books etc" in Caulfield and found that the store is closing down as the owner, Ken, is retiring. I've been visiting Ken's store for over a decade and have purchased many books from him. I'm very happy for Ken but it's still sad to lose another secondhand book store in Melbourne.

When I visited today the usual pile of Bond paperbacks had already been sold. However I uncovered a copy of Kate Westbrook's "The Moneypenny Diaries - Guardian Angel", published by John Murray in 2005. I already had this book in my collection but this copy was in too good condition to refuse.  Ken also allowed me to take a couple of photos of inside his store for posterity's sake.

To celebrate his retirement Ken has discounted all his stock by 50%. Congrats Ken and all the best for the future.

So overall some good and bad news, and by a strange coincidence I acquired two trade size "Moneypenny Diaries" paperbacks on the same day.