Open: variously defined as accessible to all, free from limitations and boundaries, ready to transact business. We are all of those as we get on the move again to join The Guardian’s Open Weekend next month in London. A festival of ideas, culture, politics, science, sport, and entertainment, the 24th/25th March celebration will be marked with 200+ events and a host of guest speakers including writers aplenty: Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson, Alain de Botton, Ruth Padel, David Hare, Rachel Cusk, Chris Riddell, Meg Rosoff, Mal Peet, Judith Kerr, and it goes on. You can read all about it here, where there is also ticket info.

The Book Barge has been very kindly invited to join in, with a prime Kings Place mooring for the duration of the weekend where we’ll be bookselling with gusto and, in the spirit of ideas sharing, asking all our visitors to autograph (what will by then be) a newly painted hull roof with their name - and the one book they couldn’t live without. This will replace our faux lawn and decking combo, much maligned by fellow boaters and now squelched to an untimely death by last weekend’s heavy snow. RIP The Garden. You kissed every bum planted on you with green fluff. And this was sometimes difficult to wash out except on a very high temperature setting and with lashings of Vanish. But we loved you.

In other news, also to do with all things ‘open’, we are sacrificing our Tuesday days off for the entirety of February because, to put it bluntly, we could do with some extra sales. This month is a horrible one for most retailers and we’re feeling particularly bruised at the moment. If you are able, please send a little book-buying love our way either by popping aboard or, for those further afield, by browsing our Hive store here. Or maybe come along to one of our events, which you can diarise here. Either, or, or indeed all, would be very nice.