Are You Sitting Comfortably- October’s book pick with Angela Reed
“The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne” by Freya North
This month’s AYSC guest is the author of 15 bestselling novels including Sally, Pillow Talk and Little Wing – Freya North is one of the UK’s best loved authors of contemporary domestic drama. Freya’s books are awash with relatable characters who tug at the heart strings.
We have teamed up with the wonderful Angela Reed and their book club to bring you this month’s AYSC book chat with Freya North.
There isn’t much that can beat snuggling up on a beautiful sofa with a soft blanket, plenty of cushions (obviously the more the merrier), a cup of tea and a good book; possibly the only feeling that tops this bliss is sharing the love of reading with fellow bibliophiles.
This October AYSC allows me the even greater joy of mixing my passions for interiors with my love for reading. I met Kate through Instagram but prior to this online friendship have spent many a happy hour trawling through the hallowed rooms of both Angela Reed (contemporary interiors) and T Reed and Sons (antiques) in our nearest market Town of Saffron Walden.
“I started the Book Club because it is a wonderful thing that I love to do, at home. I have a particular chair that I read in and it is an integral part of my life, at home, with family.
I would love for you to enjoy this with me too. Whether you like a good holiday read, or a curl up on the sofa with an epic novel. Let’s find pleasure in reading together
The beautiful Kate Reed (co-owner of Angela Reed).
Enjoy Rebecca F’s synopsis of this wonderful new book from Freya North in readiness for our chat with Freya on Tuesday 29th October live on Instagram and then read more below about one of my favourite Interiors shops: Angela Reed.
Freya North’s latest novel, The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne, is quirky and SO loveable. It tells the story of a young Eadie Browne, that’s Eadie with an ‘a’. Youth, love, friendship – this is a coming-of-age novel which speaks of all the messiness and soul searching of growing up. Be prepared to take a trip down memory lane. Even if you didn’t grow up in the 80s, there’s plenty of the triumphs and tragedies of teen life that will take you back.
Eccentric Eadie Browne and her unusual parents live at 41 Yew Lane which looks out onto the local cemetery. Bullied at school – but protected by her two best friends, Celeste and Josh, and her many imaginary friends lying six feet under next door – Eadie muddles her way through primary and secondary school.
Leaving home for Manchester as a student in the late 1980s, Eadie is immersed into metropolitan life, a far cry from the small Garden City she’s left behind. There’s a freedom and energy which student life offers – Eadie soon realises that she can be who she wants to be, do as she pleases, and no one back home needs to know. Buzzing nights at the Haçienda nightclub and finding a whole new life on the sticky dancefloor, Eadie is swept along, blissfully unaware of the dangers and reality of it all. Until, one night, her past comes hurtling at her with ramifications which will continue into her adult life.
Now, as the new millennium beckons, Eadie is turning thirty and her marriage teeters on the verge of collapse. Travelling back from north to south for a funeral she can’t quite comprehend, Eadie contemplates all that was then – and all that is now. What will the future hold for Eadie Browne? Can she tie up all her loose ends?
I absolutely loved this heartfelt novel which is full to the brim with nostalgia. There’s so much wisdom and tenderness in the telling of Eadie’s story and I can’t wait for Rebecca and I to chat to Freya all about her own student days up in Manchester and the inspiration behind The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne.
Join us on Tuesday 29th October at 7pm on Instagram when we’ll be talking to October’s guest author, Freya North @freya_north_author
Sofas from Angela Reed that make you want to dive straight into them! I managed to restrain myself…well I maybe had a tiny loll in their Dolly Chair…how could I not when it worked so well with my dress AND book?!!!
Saffron Walden is one of the most beautiful market towns in England, a market square filled with divine stalls that sell produce from veg to Oysters, antiques to hats, rich coffee and sourdough to plants and so many cheeses! It also boasts timber framed buildings leaning perilously close to Georgian Beauties and a wealth of independent shops.
One of the first shops that I ever stepped into was T Reed and Sons, a treasure trove of antiques that has become part of the town’s “furniture” since 1880. In 1980 the Reed family branched out into contemporary interiors and folk from Essex, Cambs and Suffolk flock to fill their homes with candles, cushions, lamps, rugs, and enormous squishy sofas of utter jumping joy, beds of sweet dreams and local ly produced pottery and paintings.
We feel really proud to be working with this historic company on this month’s AYSC, sharing our love of history, interiors and a ruddy good book. Kate is the latest Reed to extend this beloved business and has just completed work on a truly jaw dropping Foodhall of delights. It’s like Fortnums but without the awful train journey to London!
Kate has also managed to bridge the difficulty of maintaining a local small business with modern online shopping and Angela Reed now welcomes happy interiors lovers in person and the World Wide Web.
My picks for Rebecca F from this heavenly Angela Reed foodhall:
For history geeks like me I had to include the history of the Reed family below. I just adore how business can evolve – moving from taking locals in their Char-a-banc to the seaside to creating a Foodhall that means a one stop shop for me for Christmas this year!!!!
1880 – Thomas Reed
Thomas Reed returned from London to marry his childhood sweetheart, Alice, and started selling Coal before branching out into Antiques and furniture.
1900 – George Reed
Thomas’s son George joined the business and T Reed and Son was born. George bought the town’s first Char-a-banc and used it for deliveries and also to ferry the locals to the seaside.
1950 – Kenneth and Clifford
George’s sons, Clifford and Kenneth joined the business and opened a further antique’s shop in Church Street. T Reed and Son shop still flourishes today, selling antique and preloved furniture.
1980 – Martin & Angela
Martin and his wife Angela branched out into modern furniture, opening Furniture & Things in Church Street to compliment the offering of T Reed and Son. After a successful 20 years, they had extended the footprint of Furniture & Things to 11 showrooms on the Church Street site.
2010 – David & Kate
Martin and Angela’s son David returned to the fold, after a successful career in Premiership rugby, rebranding the shop and changing the name to Angela Reed.
Present Day
David extended the shop to house a further showroom and opened the Angela Reed café in 2014 and then opened a smaller shop in Cambridge which sadly closed during Covid.
During the pandemic, David’s wife, Kate, joined the business and now works across all areas of brand, PR and Communications. Between them, they relaunched the website to enable everything to be sold online.
They have recently just launched the Food Hall to stock pantry foods, food gifts, kitchenware, bakeware and cookware.
