A dog-eared winter awaits for a bibliophile

In this age of not so much creeping globalisation as remorseless, relentless globalisation, the importance of shopping local scarcely needs to be emphasised. Thankfully geographical serendipity makes it easy for your correspondent to do his bit.

My coffeehouse of choice is independent. My record shop of choice is independent. My bookshop of choice is independent. These fine establishments are within 200 metres of one another, a pilgrimage route topped and tailed by the presence of a pub at one end and a pub just around the corner at the other end.

(Admittedly the last regular place of worship along this little camino - the bookies - is not independent, being a Ladbrokes. But one can’t have everything.)