Reading Matters.

A large percentage of the population of Silverton are retired and many of them are voracious readers. We have a travelling library that visits weekly but the turnover of books is low and the conditions on the van are cramped and sometimes claustrophobic. A number of people I have talked to lately bemoan the fact that there is no second hand book facility in the village.

From my own observations I suspect that a second hand, or read and return bookshop would prove very popular amongst those with time on their hands or who those in employment who like to spend part of their leisure time with a good book. Given the high price of new books I am sure that many would like the opportunity to purchase good second hand boks at a reasonable price. The late cabbages and kings ran a small scale secondhand book operation and I know that some thought that when the shop closed it could have been converted entirely for such a purpose.

One thing that perhaps should be avoided is the situation in some shops where part of the\ space is given over to the sale of porn. I really dont see the senior citizens of Silverton queuing up to get the latest edition of 'spanking times' or '1001 Things To Do With Rubberwear' but who knows. Perhaps if the opportunities existed for the promotion of such material the next thing we might need in the village would be a chemist to feed the demand for the likes of Viagra and Cialis.