The original Free Book Give Away (not purchase, not exchange, swap, but Give Away) happens now at the Beer Gardeners (which is Not part of GEA).

GEA History

• About 10 or 15 years back I Julian was taking piles of books down, & leaving them in my upturned smokey perspex & other boxes, with a sign marked "Free Books but do Not take the box!"
• Sometimes others gave me books to put in box or brought their own to put in box.
• Alistair gave me some piles of books to give away too, some were individually given away, & soem went in the Free box.
• It got to be a nuisance for me to carry remaining books home, so I asked at bar if we could put them in the cupboard.
• Gradually the pile in the cupboard grew, but most committee members were too clueless to pull the books out on Fridays & put a sign "Free Books" to encourage people to come.
• Hilary Jay (her self annointed alias Sunny) started Selling the books to raise money for the GEA (also selling monthly programs). That degraded the atmosphere somewhatr. Visitors felt less like guest, more like customers being sold to by a the saleswoman less than a pleasure to behold. As usual as with every GEA thing Sunny hijacked though, she seemed to think it was her idea, & must be done her way. - It died - she later left.