Headline November 08, 2018/ '' ' BOOKS LOVERS BARGE ' ''

'' ' BOOKS LOVERS BARGE ' ''

ON THE WORLD STUDENTS SOCIETY - just no one cried! They all, stood up and tall, and despite their grave personal predicaments-

They faced up to some of  their finest hours, struggles and accomplishments. And then destiny came calling : *The World Students Society will go on to float the boat of the world*..............

''The two of us - [Paddy Screech/Oxford and Jonathan Privett, the sidewalk Professor] were just  sitting there on the towpath and crying.''

THINGS WENT DOWNSTREAM FAST.......Forced by the berthing laws to move every two weeks, they often found themselves on parts of the nine-mile long Regent's Canal with industrial buildings and no customers.

''In the summer, we would make enough to keep going for brief periods, but in the winter it was like  Samuel Backett play, all blue faces and long coats, barely enough money to get by, borrow from friends, cut down on food,'' Mr. Screech said.

''For years, it just felt like it was going to sink''. Then it did.

A friend used the sea toilet on the book barge and left an inlet open, and the boat sank to the bottom; even their prized copy of  ''OI' Man River'' was lost. Shortly after, the boat Mr. Privett lived on sunk as well, and he lost all of the family photographs.

''The two of us were just sitting there on the towpath, crying,'' Mr. Screech said.

Finally out of money and short of hope, they reverted to the playbook from Mr. Privett's past and decided to squat - tying up the refloated barge on the canal at Paddington, near a busy rail station in a neighborhood being redeveloped rapidly.

''We just packed stubbornly outside the  tube station    -we squatted there and thought we'd see what happened., and for the next six months ostentatiously stayed there,'' Mr. Screech said.

To their surprise, they discovered they had what Mr. Screech called  ''an invisible community of people silently watching us,'' patrons who had found them over the years, including some prominent authors and others with big social media presences.

As the can trust peppered them with legal notices, fines and threats to have the barge lifted out of the water and broken up, their supporters got busy, too.

One rallying cry of a Twitter post, from the science-fiction author Cory Doctorow, was retweeted a  million times, Mr. Screech said. The canal defense responded defensively.

''We are absolutely not trying to shut down the book barge. Word on the Water, and there is nothing stopping it from continuing to benefit from its roving trade license, which allow it to pop up at different locations.''

Eventually the authorities gave in and agreed to give them a permanent berth, at the current location, just as it was being redeveloped into a mixed-use area with trendy shops and restaurant and plenty of foot traffic, known as Granary Square.

A crowdfunding campaign raised the money to make the move. Now they run easygoing operation, often not even monitoring customers who climb aboard the barge, but remain in their folding lawn chairs out on the towpath.

''You can't buy heroin with books,'' Mr. Screech said. ''Our problem is reverse shoplifting,'' Mr. Privett said. People are constantly sneaking their books onto their shelves, without asking for payment, he said. ''Sometimes we find one we know for sure wasn't there before, and it's even signed by the author.''

Their roof has an open mike for any musician or busker, and petry slams and readings there can sometimes attract hundreds.

Mr. Screech and Mr. Privett have a collection curated to appeal to the many tourists who pass by, but also a hardcore of radical and leftist readers; Professor Naom Chomsky and Jack London are big sellers.

''Basically my formula is half are the best books that I've read, and the other half are the ones I want to read,'' Mr. Privett said

Many people have suggested that the men sell trinkets and cards, or especially coffee and drinks, but they resisted such commercialization.

''I didn't study English Literature for three years to serve coffee,'' Mr. Privett said. Mostly, he said, they're in it for the ''lifestyle perks'' - for example, ''an unlimited supply of books,'' which in turn leads to limitless book conversations.

''Do you know how much I'd have to earn to have this many books?'' he said.

With respectful dedication to Mr. Paddy Screech and Mr. Jonathan Privett and then the -

Grandparent, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare for Global Elections and ''register'' on : wssciw.blogspot.com - The World Students Society and.......... Twitter - !E-WOW! - the Ecosystem 2011:

''' World Journal '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless