The Story of a Book

The book in question is entitled “Cold Comfort Farm” by Stella Gibson. It was published in the 1930’s, and I had never heard of it or the author (who was quite popular in her day) before my friend Liam handed me his copy during our visit to his home in Spain (he was appalled I had never heard of Cold Comfort Farm nor its author). It was one of his absolute favorite books. He made it very clear he needed the book returned. I promised I would. 

I was very careful as I read it, making sure it was tucked in my bag in a way so the pages would not get bent or curled, and I read away on buses and trains through Portugal and Spain, laughing at the satirical story of Flora as she worked on “fixing” the problems of her rough relations living at Cold Comfort Farm. 

I finished the little paperback about an hour before arriving in Madrid, and tucked it into the bus’s seat pocket since my husband was napping in the aisle seat and I did not want to disturb him. When we arrived in Madrid, we had a couple of stops before the airport, but with so much rushing about by other passengers, we remained seated waiting for our stop, the second to last for the route. 

At our stop, I got up as John dashed off to grab the luggage from the hold while I put on my sweater and coat, and dropped my phone. I grabbed the phone and rushed off, as everyone else had disembarked. 

We found the spot to meet out hotel shuttle when I realized the book was still in the seat pocket. My heart sank – how could I have been so careless? Not only was the story precious to Liam, but this particular copy had been given to him by Marion, his beloved mother-in-law, who had replaced a prior copy given to Liam by her partner Veronica (that one inscribed To LIG love Vxx ) who had died, and which had been lost on a prior loan. I couldn’t tell him what had happened until all avenues had been explored to return the book.

As soon as we arrived in the hotel, I looked up the contact information for Avanza bus company. They had an email. Thank God for Google translate. They responded the next day stating I had to call the Salamanca office. I emailed back, explaining that I spoke little Spanish and could not call. They responded promising to look. The next email was in English, reporting that the book had been found and could be picked up at the south Madrid bus terminal. It was now evening of Dec. 6^th, we left for Panama morning of the 7^th. There was no way for me to get to the office and back to the airport in time. 

I replied asking if I could pay someone to mail it to my friend In Teulada? They stated no, and since they did not go to the Alicante region, could not move it any closer. They suggested I try using a courier company called Seur. I found Seur’s website, and contacted them twice, but no response.

I then reached out to my last hopes. Both my niece Caitlin and nephew Sean had spent a year in Spain during college (Sean in 2018/19, living in Madrid for four months). I asked them if they still knew anyone in the area. Sean had remained friends with a young woman named Allie. And she was willing to pick up the book. On Dec. 13^th, the book was on its way. On Dec. 30^th, it arrived safely back home, due to some persistent Avanza staff and a wonderful young woman named Allie to whom I sent a small reward, warm wishes and a prayer of thanks.