Memories of the past, joy for the present

There are certain places that get into your soul, sticking with you no matter how many years you leave between visits. For me, Rochester is one of those places.

I moved there more than a quarter of a century ago (surely I'm not old enough for that statement to be possible?) when I left another town that's also firmly lodged in my heart, so I could climb the next rung of the career ladder. The career has since changed significantly, my love of both of those previous homes continues, possibly in part because of their similarities.

Aberystwyth had gorgeous sunsets over a wide expanse of sea, and an independent new bookshop that swallowed up most of my spare cash. Rochester had gorgeous sunsets over a wide expanse of tidal river, and no independent new bookshop*. I was happy with where I lived but having come to appreciate chats in independent bookshops, I'll admit I was a little lonely when I first arrived in Kent: the beautiful surroundings and my love of books were my main company for some time.

Thankfully, some things change and six years ago – yes, during the pandemic – Store 104 opened on Rochester High Street.

It's an unusual destination in that it describes itself as "an independent, family-run, book, yarn and gift shop". I'll admit, anywhere that puts the word "gift" in its descriptor usually sends me running, but I only looked at the website after my visit, by which time I'd already fallen for the place thanks to its fascinating selection of books and rather sweet cafe (which doesn't even get a mention online, it's a well-kept secret).

My visit to Store 104 was planned so I could meet up with someone in the cafe, so I made sure to arrive half an hour early to give me time to properly look around.

From the door, your first glance is of a large selection of greeting cards to the right, or a small bookcase of gifts that appeared to be mainly notebooks on the left, however immediately beyond is a view of dark wooden bookcases and lots of novels to choose from. A large, wooden staircase takes people upstairs to the yarn, which looked beautiful but is beyond my knowledge base. Instead I continued deeper into the shop, to the non-fiction and then to scout out the cafe for later.

Returning to the novels, I set about choosing my purchase. During my first walk through I'd spotted some Persephones – including one I've been looking out for by Winifred Watson – so I had thought I'd found my book without much effort, but when it came to properly looking I realised the shelves deserved more attention.

The space available for fiction may cover fewer than four bookcases, but the quality on offer is excellent. Many face-forward books were so interesting I could've been convinced they'd been displayed that way just for me, and when I looked along the spines there were even more options that I'd not previously encountered but quickly found myself wanting to read. The Persephone ended up back on my to buy list and I had to choose something else. That something was Air by Christian Kracht.

Later, when my purchase was sat on the table in the cafe, one of the staff got talking to me about another book by the author. I had to confess I'd not previously heard of them, and I enjoyed the praise and brief moment of conversation.

Which leads me nicely to the cafe. I was meeting someone to discuss potential work now I'm in the world of freelance editing. I won't go into the details of the conversation, what I can tell you is that we both had triple cheese toasties and cups of tea, later moving on to more tea and the almond and cherry tray bake. It was all delicious. Top marks are granted for making a simple toastie exceptionally tasty.

[I forgot to take any photos of the food, so a big thank you to reader Helen Drafter who popped in for lunch a few days after this post went live.]

It should be noted the menu is limited. That toastie (with optional extra sauces) really was the only savoury option available during my visit this Monday, however there were lots of baked goods and an extensive selection of coffees and unusual cold drinks. 

What was most important was the space. I was in there for almost two hours so as well as personally feeling comfortable, I was able to witness the comings and goings of others. This ranged from noisy groups of friends to quiet readers, including smatterings of conversations with staff and other customers occasionally breaking out around the room. How I wished I'd found a space like this all those years ago.

When I started writing about this week's bookshop I really hadn't expected it to bring up so many memories of my lonely first years in the town so I hope you'll forgive the self-indulgence. Those years may have been difficult, but without them I wouldn't have fallen in love with this historic corner of England and – more importantly – I wouldn't have eventually come to meet many of the people who ensure Rochester will be forever in my heart. 

I couldn't benefit from Store 104 all those years ago, but I love knowing that if a lonely young Erica arrived in Rochester today she would swiftly be able to find a place within the community.

Store 104

104 High Street,

Rochester,

Kent,

ME1 1JT

*At the time there were two secondhand bookshops in Rochester, and I mean them no disrespect with this statement. I've even written about how much I loved one of them, here, which means I should also draw your attention to my favourite secondhand bookshop in Aberystwyth. (Please excuse typos and broken links if you click through to those blogs, I've opted to leave the past as I wrote it, accepting all mistakes as being of their day.)