Today I wandered along to the bank to deposit a cheque and to our wee (and fabulous) grocery shop to pick up some fresh bread, a Mother's Day card and a bottle of vanilla essence. The highlight of the trip though was in between stops wandering into the local bookshop. Whenever I have a chance, I drop in; I'm not in the position (or even the inspired mood) to purchase anything at present but I like to support small businesses by making them look busy ... or so I tell myself.

Anyway, my local bookshop is shown on the left-hand side. No, I don't know why there is a giant "42" in the photograph or why the dog is fixated on it ... I can only imagine that the dog is querying 42 being the answer to the question.

It's always lovely to have a browse amongst the new titles, make a mental note of ones to add to the collection at a later date, and to scour the second-hand stacks for those telling green covers; nothing from my watch list today unfortunately - I may have had to raid the piggy bank if there was! I am also on the hunt for what I imagine will be an elusive green Virago copy of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, one of my favourite books, let alone Virago. Alas, I re-emerged empty-handed as I so often have of late but just now is not the time for buying books but for reading them.