Talk:Dark They Were and Golden Eyed (bookshop)

Untitled
Hi - this entry has been deleted twice, but I feel there's enough evidence that the store existed to warrant a page. What do other editors think?

With people like Alan Moore referring to the shop in articles, I'm sure more evidence of its importance can be found. Any contributions welcome. WorthyDan (talk) 12:06, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi - I'm contesting another attempt at speedy deletion, listed as because this is 'an article about a real person that does not indicate the importance or significance of the subject'. Obviously it's not about a real person, it's about a shop that had a key role in the emergence of science fiction in the UK and Europe. Sources are quoted unlike on previous versions of this page and they back this up.

Deleting a page within minutes of creation doesn't allow time for contributors to come forward and contribute fairly to Wikipedia. WorthyDan (talk) 12:13, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Under Construction
I've removed the Deletion template, and placed an 'under-construction' template, which will give you some time to expand the article, Cheers, --Fatal!ty (T☠LK) 12:19, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

I've added a large amount to this article in the last 24 hours, with references; and have found numerous pages on Wikipedia itself which reference the shop - for example, Forbidden Planet Bookshop and Fortean Times. There are also various threads off Wikipedia which link in to the article, mainly on Science Fiction and Comic boards. Are we happy to keep this page up now, as I'm confident that the shop is notable and we have the basis of a good article? WorthyDan (talk) 09:20, 3 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The previous version that I created was fairly extensive, but still got removed, although that had more to do with the fact that its impending deletion was flagged up in the early hours of the morning UK time, and was gone by the time I saw it. Not very ethical. Nick Cooper (talk) 14:58, 4 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks Nick - the speedy deletion tag has been removed and hopefully that, and the fact that this page is clearly under discussion here, will stop it being speedy deleted in future. Please feel free to contribute anything you know that I haven't included, or correct any mistakes I've made. WorthyDan (talk) 15:11, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Tag
This article has many terms that need to be linked (London, yoga, Atlantic, UFO, fanzine). Removing the tag and telling me to do it myself is a less-than-great response to the prompt. Also, please fix the bare URLs for citations. Nothing extraordinary is being requested here, just simple compliance with Wikipedia practice. Thanks. - Boston (talk) 18:06, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Only links that are relevant - explains about overlinking. This is short article; linking every word doesn't help make the article any more readable. If you're now saying there are just those five words you want linked - then removing the tag and saying do it yourself is a fair response. WorthyDan (talk) 18:09, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Derek Stokes
What became of Derek Stokes? Last I heard he'd left London to run a pig farm and had taken up body-building. He and Diane were notoriously irrascible but it was a great shop.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.141.84.48 (talk) 19:06, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Derek lives in Lancaster (NW England) now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.69.12.18 (talk) 06:33, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

Closure and remaining stock
I removed this, which was changed from an earlier version which said FP had bought the stock:

Dark They Were And Golden Eyed closed in 1981, and Comic Showcase bought up the shop's remaining stock.

My recollection is that Forbidden Planet bought the stock (indeed, I helped shift it in Mike Lake's Sherpa van), and that Comics Showcase was not even open at the time. Stan Nicholls says there was no remaining stock by the time DTW closed. Since there is no reference for any of this, I have taken the statement out of the article. James Fryer (talk) 07:26, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Location
I've moved the coordinates from somewhere on Hopkins St (!?!) to the south side of St Anne's Ct. If someone could take a look and either confirm the location or refine it to the actual spot, that would be handy - I've not been able to identify the exact address. Also, does anyone have photos of the shop in its heyday? I've taken some random pics of St Anne's Ct today that would help, but it's not really the same... Le Deluge (talk) 06:09, 15 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I just found this page. I can confirm it was on the South Side of St Anne's Court on the ground floor and cellar. This shop was the successor to one in Berwick Street. It was this shop where I realised the American  comics I used to buy were six months old.(they came over by ship). The shop staff would go there own way and open a rival shop. From St Anne's Court to Denmark Street to Oxford Street as Forbidden Planet and then to Shaftsbury Avenue. I sold my comic collection to Forbidden Planet Oxford Street but they do not seem to deal in second hand comics anymore. REVUpminster (talk) 18:22, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Colloquial Name
I used this book shop regularly from when it moved to St. Anne's Court until September 1979. It was known colloquially to many of it's customers as "Dark and Golden". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.170.138.46 (talk) 11:27, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 3 one external links on Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (bookshop). Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080924152617/http://www.herebedragons.co.uk:80/nicholls/gothique.htm to http://www.herebedragons.co.uk/nicholls/gothique.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080723174210/http://www.thewritefantastic.com/stannicholls.html to http://www.thewritefantastic.com/stannicholls.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080515053946/http://www.readyourselfraw.com/recommended/rec_alanmoore/arcade/arcade.htm to http://www.readyourselfraw.com/recommended/rec_alanmoore/arcade/arcade.htm

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Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 04:03, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

Name correction per Neil Gaiman request
Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (bookshop) → Dark They Were and Golden Eyed (bookshop) – On 17 June 2020, Neil Gaiman mentioned in a Tumblr post that the current title is incorrect - https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/621220673269940224/did-you-know-that-your-answers-to-tumblr-asks-are The references to the shop in the article itself have been corrected, just need to move the page to complete things. Copperthorn (talk) 03:11, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅ I don't see a need for a full discussion, the refs all use the no-comma version, so it's pretty clear the comma was in error. &spades;PMC&spades; (talk) 04:32, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (bookshop) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 04:33, 18 June 2020 (UTC)