The Betty Book

The story I am about to tell you happened in the middle of London. The story did not happen to me personally but to a close relative of mine.

He was out shopping and wanted to buy a book, he wandered down a little alleyway and there was a few shops but no people walking about which for the heart of London isn't normal as it is so busy.

There was a barber shop and a spiral staircase leading downwards to a small very old bookshop. Inside the bookshop he approached a little old woman with white hair and seemed to be around 50 to 60 years old. He enquired about a book which she went to look for. While waiting rather a long time for the old woman to return, he found a old battered book called "The Betty Book". The woman returned and told him she did not have the book he asked for so he bought the Betty Book instead. He found this very amusing for Betty was his wife's name.

The woman charged him ?10 for the book and he paid then left. He decided to go to get a drink but when he arrived at the pub he found that he had 2 ?10 notes instead of 1, he felt bad for not paying the woman so decided to go back and give her the money. He turned down the same alleyway and walked down the spiral staircase only to find the shop was not there? He climbed the stairs and walked into the barbers, he told the barber that he had just been down to the bookshop and had not paid the woman, the barber looked at him at then told him that the bookshop had been closed for at least 40 years, he even described the old woman down to last detail. My uncle left shaken and to this day still will not even talk about the book.

Recently I have seen the book and it has a weird similarity with names and dates to my families history.

Thank for reading this story.