Thank goodness that Covid 19 happened in Spring, rather than autumn or, even worse, in the depths of a cold, dark winter. Since “ Lockdown” the sun has shone (mostly, at least), so exercising and staying fit and healthy has been relatively easy. I’ve cycled and walked many of the lanes around St Albans; my home town. The other day was another where the sun shone in an azure, cloudless sky. So, my Dad and I went out for a walk in the park. Amongst other things the conversation came around to whether bookshops would survive Lockdown, a topic I had previously dealt with in this very blog. Would e-books and Amazon deliveries have convinced people to use kindles and shop online for their books?

St Albans has just two bookshops; a Waterstones, which is reasonably large, but has limited stocks. And there is a recently opened, more niche and independent bookseller. Both have been firmly shut since lockdown and are yet to reopen -I wonder if they will survive? My Dad was adamant that the experience of going to a bookshop and trawling randomly for a book was all part of the experience that would be lost if Amazon take over. He likes the smell of a book, (the smell of a bookshop, too), needs the physical object in his hand and likes to then plant it on his bookshelves, once read, to show friends just how erudite and urbane he really is! I explained that e books are more transportable, just as easy to read and cheaper too. It’s clear to me that there’s a generational divide. He reminded me of a visit we once made to Daunt’s bookshop in Marylebone; it’s all oak panelling with lots of serious looking customers and large tomes on politics and travel. A lot of unnecessary effort, (fascinating and lovely though Daunts is), just to buy a book, when it could be delivered by Amazon or bought online as an e book, was my opinion.

We agreed to differ….

We then touched briefly on the current literary phenomenon of Sally Rooney; she’s not yet thirty and both novels that she’s had published have been best sellers and have also been adapted for the screen by the BBC! She and her books are definitely the zeitgeist..

That, to me, is nauseatingly successful!!

Anyway, that was our hour’s exercise for the day, preceding my daily “time to exercise on the Playstation” routine!