Today, 23 July 2026, is the third anniversary of GANTOB. It is when Gillian Finks first wrote to Bill Drummond and The KLFRS’s The Tillerman to ask for permission to reenact the book Grapefruit Are Not The Only Bombs.
So it was fitting that I took a trip to the Agency for Legal Deposit Libraries to deposit five copies of GANTOB’s 25 Paintings, having received their request a few days ago. Copies will be with the National Library of Scotland, The Bodleian Library Oxford, University National Library of Wales, Cambridge University Library, and The Library of Trinity College Dublin in due course.
I thought I had five copies reserved for this purpose, but I had forgotten I had sent copies to Bill Drummond (receipt acknowledged) and John Higgs (no response as yet). I therefore had to send my own personal copy. That felt like a rather Bill Drummond thing to do.
The four reserved copies had been bashed before I had even received them, so were accompanied with a copy of The Broken Spine pamphlet (April 2026). My pristine copy of the book, from the first print run, was sent with a newly drafted pamphlet, The Missing Ribbon, named after the defining feature of that issue. The new pamphlet updates some points, including the new series of pamphlets for 2026/27.
The ALDL warehouse is in a drab industrial estate on the other side of Edinburgh from my home. I cycled there with 8.5kg of books attached to my handlebars and in my rucksack, appreciating the thistles and ragwort in the sidings. Who would have thought that such a pivotal cultural institution would be situated in such a hinterland.
On the way back I took photos of graffiti. A thoroughly enjoyable way to start our third birthday.
A message from Gaynor marks the day well:
‘Wow really!!
This is the longest iv ever been interested in “stuff”
🎉🎂🍊’
Maureen Katz, 23 July 2026
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