It hasn't been a very creative time but it's been a time for some pleasant gran-grandson bonding which is really very rewarding. The seemingly endless harsh cough petered out but caused a complication which has amazed us - transient synovitis! The presentation was 'classic' said the consultant in the local hospital where S spent a couple of days playing game-boys and watching films on a very small DVD player (it was quite hard to get him to come home!) Also known as 'irritable hip ' it is the result of an upper respiratory virus in 4-11 years olds, generally of the male sex. Good grief! What strange ills the body is prey to. Not so funny for Sandy as it is very painful and he was refused crutches ('needs to walk on it' they said cruelly) so he is developing one extremely strong leg hopping about. This too will pass. Let's hope there isn't another interesting complication lying in wait.

On the book front things have been very slow and I'm very broke, but any thoughts of re-opening the store were a) depressing me, and b) completely eradicted by the news that the Red Cross is thinking of opening a shop dedicated to secondhand books in the town. This store could probably have competed eventually on the 'rare and antiquarian' front but would need energy of several kinds to rise to the challenge so - I shall bump along on Amazon and hope for the best. As the weather improves and the outdoors becomes more appealing it would be frustrating to have to go back to sitting inside for eight hours a day. As far as I can see the only way to make a living in the 2ndhand booktrade these days is to have an enormous stock in low rent storage, preferably that can be opened as a shop, put thousands on the internet and take the best to bookfairs where folk are still interested in collecting. Belt, braces, brawn and bravado. Exhausting and definitely not a one-woman operation especially when that woman has chronic asthma.

Well, that's my excuse.