It’s been very tough for everyone and one of the saddest things we’ve had to do without, I feel, are bookshops and libraries.

When you go into a bookshop you go into a magic place, full of joys and pleasures, challenges and memories.  And until you go in you may not know where these gems are hidden.

Of course, we can, in theory, buy books online, but unless you know what the book is and who wrote it, you can’t.  Good books often have to be looked for and the best place to find one is in a traditional bookshop.

There are many ways of choosing books.  You could have been recommended something by a friend.  You might have read a really good review, or a favourite author could have produced a new book.  All these are excellent ways of obtaining something lovely to read.  But to my mind, the most exciting way of finding something new, possibly discovering a new author, is when you wander into an independent bookshop (possibly run by a wonderful girl with long hair done up on top of her head and intellectual glasses, or better by an intellectual man, same as the girl without the long hair on the top of his head.). This person will really know their stock, they will have read a lot of the books on the shelves, and will suggest something you would never have thought of.  This book will be so wonderful you feel like you’ve been given a jewel. Lovely!  Browsing in a book shop.  Such joy!

The other lovely thing is seeing family again.  We met up with our family on the Wye on the first day it was allowed.  The weather forecast was amazing.  Sadly, the Ibiza temperatures we were promised did not transpire until we were on the way home and we froze to death.  Did we care?  No we did not!  We’ve been zooming and Face Timing but that doesn’t show you how much they’ve grown and chatting in a group on line doesn’t reveal how many amazingly long words they’ve learnt since you last saw them in the flesh.

So, good times are coming!  I’m planning a trip to the pub and I have a hair appointment booked.  Maybe it’s good for us to do without these things for so long.  It makes us really appreciate them when they come back.