Here at The Letterpress Project we’ll remember Easter 2022 for two things: beautiful warm weather and our first partnership collaboration with Spetchley Park Estate, who open their wonderful gardens to the public throughout the spring and summer months.

Spetchley decided to give their Easter attraction an Alice in Wonderland theme and had engaged a small group of actors to perform a drama based on Carroll’s story to entertain the visitors . We were thrilled to be able to offer Spetchley the chance to host our very own exhibition of Alice in Wonderland collectables and memorabilia – Amazing Alice - as an extra visitor attraction. As people left the exhibition they could then browse our exciting children’s bookstall and take away a bargain read.

It turned out to be a great long-weekend!

Good Friday was a truly perfect British early summer’s day with a clear blue sky and temperatures nudging the middle 20s. The visitor slots were fully booked and the atmosphere was humming with excited children and parents, grandparents and carers.

The Amazing Alice exhibition was housed in the refurbished Heritage Centre and a constant trail of visitors browsed the range of collectables on display and admired the mix of books, dolls, ceramics and ephemera before going on to snap up a book bargain or two from the stall.

Each of the four days had their own special atmosphere and the whole Park remained busy right up until 5.00 pm on Holiday Monday when the event finally came to a close.

So to have such a buzzing Bank Holiday weekend with sun and fun after the past two miserable pandemic years was a real treat for everyone. And, as if to underline the fact that we had been blessed with the best that British weather can do, as we packed the final boxes in the car and drove away, a small splattering of rain began to fall………

I’m delighted to say that Amazing Alice was just the first of our partnership collaborations with Spetchley Park because we’ll be back! On the third Sunday of each month we’ll be running a small book sale in the Learning Centre where visitors will be able to browse a range of children’s and adult books at pocket money prices.

Terry Potter

April 2022