Britain's iconic phone booths reinvented - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

"This is Westbury-sub-Mendip, which is quite small village.  We've got about 350 houses in it," said resident Sue Reece.

 

In April, 2009, the tiny village found a way to think big.

 

"BT (British Telecom) decided that they wanted to reduce the number of kiosks.  They recognized that the famous red design it was associated with England.  It was a design icon. So they made an offer to parish councils, which is sort of the local group representing the interest of the local villages, they made an offer that the parish council could purchase the kiosk for one pound which is about $1.50," said Bob Dolby, who lives right next door to the phone box.

 

"And, at that time, I was a member of the Westbury-sub-Mendip local parish council, so we paid our pound and we became the proud owners of the kiosk," said Dolby.  "BT removed all of the telephone equipment, and we were left with literally an empty box.  We had no idea what to do with the kiosk," said Dolby.

 

"In August of (2009), we received information from BT that they were organizing a national competition, that had some success in persuading councils to purchase the kiosks, but obviously, not as much as they were anticipating.  So, they organized a competition with national and regional prizes for the most innovative conversion of the kiosk.  We still have no idea what to do," said Dolby.

 

"At the end of August in that year, we decided to have a tea party on the square.  So, that was an opportunity for me to say to about 30 people drinking tea and the occasional glass of wine, an opportunity to say if anyone's got an idea, we could enter the competition and we could win some money for the village.  So, there were lots of suggestions.  One was to convert it into a shower.  But people thought it was too public.  We could have had an information unit with maps.  But then, a neighbor, Jan Fisher, had the brilliant idea to convert it into a book exchange," recalls Dolby.

 

"People just come and bring their books or DVD's, CD's, and swap them over," said Reece.  "People tend to put books in there that are worth reading rather than rubbishy things," laughs Reece. 

 

"The idea is very simple, if you have some books that you no longer require, come and leave them in the kiosk.  If you see anything there that appeals, please take it," said Dolby.

 

"It really does work.  Bring a book, take a book. Fantastic!" said Fisher.

 

"It is open literally 24-7.  There are no locks.  There's a little light in the roof, so if you are an insomniac," said Dolby.

 

"You could come at 3 o'clock in the morning and choose a book," said Reece.

 

The transformation of the phone kiosk caught the attention of a newspaper reporter in nearby Wells.

 

"She wrote an article, which appeared in the local paper.  I thought that's great, that's the end of the story, we had our 15 minutes of fame.  The following morning, at about 8 o'clock, the telephone rang and it was the BBC radio station from Essex which is about 200 miles from here asking for information about the book exchange," recalls Dolby.

 

"Obviously, in the world of media, information is spread very rapidly.  So, that was the first interview.  That afternoon, film crews from the BBC television and ITV, the commercial channel, arrived here and filmed it.  And the thing took off," said Dolby.

 

"Most of the UK papers at some stage have done articles.  We've had film crews from the Middle East, one of the most exciting was a film crew from Moscow, a Russian gentleman and a lady assistant who took over the square for the best part of the day filming everything that moved, interviews with radio stations in Adelaide, Australia, most recently an article in the Lithuanian press," said Dolby.

 

"There are university students writing about it in their thesis.  It's just escalated and escalated and going all the way back when the local journalist first wrote about the story, she took it to her editor and said 'I'm not too sure about this.' But he said, 'this story has legs.' And, here you are today.  (WTHR) is the first American TV station to cover this story," said Dolby.

 

Now, book exchanges are popping up across England including the village of Shipham.

 

"We've used it as a library because as a village, we didn't want to lose it because they are our icons, I think for our country.  We certainly didn't want to lose it.  For a whole pound, as a parish council, we decided to buy it from BT and then we asked the village through the newsletter, could they come up with some ideas as to what we could do with it, rather than lose it," said resident Tina Dodd.  

 

"So, we did have various ideas, and the one we thought was the best one was the same as Westbury-sub-Mendip had done, was to convert their phone box into a library.  So, it doesn't cost anything.  You just come along and you put one book in and take one book out.  So, it goes on," said Dodd.

 

"It's handy.  There's lots of books in there.  Lots of different types of books that perhaps you wouldn't normally read," said  Shipham resident Sue Clifton.

 

The book exchange inspired Jan Fisher to write a children's book which she read to us while sitting on a bench not far from the book exchange in Westbury-sub-Mendip.

 

"Once up on a time in an old village square in Somerset, there lived a red telephone box called Beatie.  She was a happy little box and never lonely because she had lots of visitors who made telephone calls to their family and friends.  She loved to hear the coins clunk into the box and listen to their conversations," read Fisher.

 

"Over the years, people gradually stopped using the box, and instead ignored her completely.  And used their mobile phones.  This made Beatie a sad and very lonely little girl.  One hot summer afternoon, the people who lived in the square set out their picnic tables and sunshades close to Beatie for a street party," read Fisher.  

 

"There were colorful starch linen clothes, the very best china, and plates piled high with the tastiest of savories and cakes.  People were eating and drinking and talking quite a while when suddenly it went very quiet.  And everyone gathered around Beatie, they all seemed very excited.  They were talking of another use for her which was quite unsettling.  Lots of ideas were put forward.  And one lady called Jan suggested using her for a book exchange," said Fisher.

 

"The local dignitaries liked the idea and soon a man called Mr. Bob was put in charge.  He rearranged the inside of the box to accommodate a host of wonderful books with a basket on the floor for the children.  Mr. Bob gave Beatie a nice new red overcoat of the brightest red you ever saw.  The inside was cleaned and windows were polished to a shine by Mrs. Bob," read Fisher.

 

"As the grand opening day approached, Beatie felt so proud to be useful again.  Mr. Bob took a photograph of the event with a cue of village people waiting to go in and swap their books.  This picture was placed in newspapers everywhere.  Television and newspaper reporters came from all over the world to visit Beatie to take pictures and talk to Jan and Mr. Bob," read Fisher.

 

"Now, there are a lot of book exchanges in telephone boxes all down the country following this idea in Westbury-sub-Mendip, upon that hot summer's afternoon. Just think, it started with a tea party here in the square.  Now, Beatie is a very happy little girl.  She has lots of visitors and with Mr. and Mrs. Bob right next door to keep an eye on things, she's lonely no more," finished Fisher.

 

The book exchange has become an unlikely tourist destination.

 

"It's put us on the map.  We are in a tourist area.  There are no hotels in the village itself.  Most of the bread and breakfast places have information and their visitors will always come and have a look at this," said Dolby.

 

So now the red telephone booth isn't just a photo op.  It is no longer irrelevant because of modern technology.  In many places across England the famous red telephone booth has a new use thanks in part to a tiny village that answered the call.