From the Cover: Pat Allchorne Shares Her Rather Different Year

Editor's Note: 

I first heard about Pat through a conversation with Mike Devlin — we were chatting about books when he casually mentioned that she once owned a bookshop with over 40,000 titles. Instantly, I was intrigued. I had to connect with her.

Initially, I reached out hoping she’d agree to an interview for our June 2024 issue. Not only did she say yes — she offered to contribute book reviews. I was beyond thrilled. To have someone with her depth of knowledge and experience join the magazine right as we’re finding our footing feels like a gift. This is exactly the kind of energy and passion I dreamed of surrounding this publication with.

How did I get to writing book reviews for DWC?

Last summer I had a fall; my kitchen has two steps down into the dining room, steps which I have navigated hundreds of times, in daylight and in the dark. One Sunday at the end of last July, putting some knives away on the knife rack, and with my mind on the next thing I had to do – make sure my music for church was sorted out – I slipped on the steps and ricocheted off a solid oak dining table. Ouch.

I had pain in my side; I knew that a cracked rib was pretty painful but not much can be done about it – it heals itself in time. Getting up off the floor, I messaged my daughter to say that I couldn’t sing in the worship group that day as I’d had a fall and was in some pain. I woke my son, who confirmed that cracked ribs were indeed painful, and got in the bath to try to soothe the pain.

My daughter came with my son-in-law on the way to church, and said they would call again after the service, and I was to rest in the meantime. When they came back they decided I should phone 111, the non-emergency line for medical problems.

Cutting a long story short, the person on the end of the line was happy that the damage wasn’t too serious, as I hadn’t blacked out and wasn’t bleeding from anywhere. Next day my daughter and son-in-law came round and said they thought I was in more pain than I was saying, and they were taking me to A & E.

Fast-forwarding again, an x-ray showed four cracked ribs, one of which had punctured my lung, which was collapsing and filling with blood. Emergency dash by ambulance to the larger hospital in Bristol, operation first thing next day to fit a metal plate on the rib which had snapped in half and damaged my lung, and a drain.

I was in hospital for five days, during which time I couldn’t have been looked after better. I came home to have friends from church bringing me a meal every teatime (my daughter was away), changing my bed and washing the sheets, cleaning my house and doing my ironing. I was humbled by the willingness to help, and frustrated at my own helplessness.

During a few months of not very much energy, I began to write regular book reviews for this magazine, and realised how much I’d missed writing. When I had the bookshop, I used to write in the monthly magazine produced by the local paper. I have always loved words, whether writing them or reading them, and the book reviews kept my brain active when the rest of my body was unable to be. Since the end of July last year I have read 79 books, though not all of them with the intention of reviewing. Not sleeping through the night due to pain from my injuries meant that I read in the night as well. My philosophy in life is to concentrate on the things I can do rather than on the things I can’t, and to have something positive to focus on was so good for me mentally.

Phillipa Nefri Clark sent me one of her books to review, and my local library provided quite a few. We are also blessed with good charity shops where I live, and I have picked up some amazing books there, such as “The Women”, by Kristin Hannah. Bookshops have always been a joy to me, and when I ended up running a second-hand one in Warrington many years ago I could hardly believe it. 

When I go into a house without books it seems empty to me, no matter how much else is there. A vital part is missing when there are no books. I have authors whose books I have collected over the years; people such as Tolkien, P G Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett, Ellis Peters, Arthur Ransome and Miss Read, whose books I can – and do – read again and again. When I go on holiday I rent a cottage for a week in a quiet village or by the sea, and take about eight books with me. What joy to have the time to read as much as I want to! 

My father bought my mother a book several times during the year, for birthdays or anniversaries, and the authors were brilliant writers during the forties and fifties. When she died I inherited these, and whenever I read one the quality of writing always strikes me: grammatical, evocative, with characters one cares about. There are books by Daphne du Maurier, Nevil Shute, A J Cronin, Elizabeth Goudge, Paul Gallico – to name but a few. Again, these are books one can return to without tiring of them. 

Books have sustained me through many difficult times in my life, giving me a form of escape from whatever else is going on. I love the feel of them, the smell, the thrill of turning a page to see what happens next – none of which would be the same were I to read online. Sharing something I have enjoyed with others is a good feeling, and I hope to go on writing reviews as long as I can. If you enjoy any of the ones I have recommended, please let DWC know!