IT was party time when Haslemere Bookshop celebrated both its third birthday under new management and also National Book Day 2017,

A big draw was Surrey-based children’s illustrator Arthur Robins, whose drawings for T S Eliot’s Macavity the Mystery Cat poem have sparked a huge fan following.

Partygoers also enjoyed having their faces painted by Lucy Cornwell – whose day job is working for publishers Harper Collins – tucking into the bookshop birthday cake and listening to live music by Haslemere musician Dan Gordon.

“Haslemere Bookshop has been around for many years,” owner Ian Rowley said. “I hope it will be at the centre of the High Street for many years to come.

“Our party coincided with National Book Day, which is all about supporting local independent bookshops.

“The numbers had dropped but have now stabilised and are increasing, so the outlook is positive and we hope to be around for many more birthdays.

“Arthur did sketches of cats and dedicated them to the children and adults there.

“We are all about supporting other local businesses and the cake was made by Clare from Clare’s Cakes.”