Running to Bookshops - No More

And so it has finally happened Borders UK has gone into administration and the options for those of us who like browsing in bookshops will be reduced. I am saddened even though it is odd to be writing this about Borders, who, when they first came to Britain, were seen as part of the problem: a big pile-them-high merchant who would squeeze the life out of the small independents. Now they in turn have been squeezed by a bigger pile-them-high merchant in Amazon … so goes life.

I started to like Borders from 2000 when I realised that Waterstone's had radically changed. This was symbolised by the sacking of Richard Topping, their Manchester manager, for refusing to reduce the number and range of titles he carried. Previously I enjoyed Watersone's and thought it had improved the standard of bookselling in the country (I am old enough to remember when the only place to buy books in some towns was W H Smith and if you ordered a book it took weeks to arrive) but I then started to think of their dark-wood shelves and subdued décor as an affectation: a self-conscious referencing of a gentleman's library, whilst the brasher blond wood fittings of the Border's shops, with books piled everywhere seemed more honest. Yes we sell in bulk, it seemed to say but there is a lot of stuff here and we have chairs and a coffee shop so you can take you time sifting through it.

My lingering affection for Waterstone's was then further frayed in 2005 when they sacked a senior bookseller for some fairly mild comments in his personal blog. So it happened that I preferred using Border's (there are no independents in my area). But over the past few years you could see things were not going well and stock started to reduce. No longer were there piles of stuff, shops were rearranged and shelves disappeared. This has been particularly marked in the last year where there has been more space devoted to the offers ( 3 for 2, buy one get one half price, 2 for £10) and non-book items whilst the stock behind has become thinner and thinner.

But why am I writing about bookshops on a running blog?

The answer is that, as unlikely as it might seem, Borders in Watford is a significant part of my running landscape. From my home, along the canal it is about 10 miles away, a nice distance for a longish run, along a route I never tire off. I have been doing it regularly for 5 years with the affection that can only come from familiarity, especially as it is associated with another institution: the family meeting. I meet my wife at the in-store Starbucks (she goes by car and brings me a change of clothes) and we discuss our joint projects and plans, and check off our progress. A lot of it is mundane such as jobs that need doing so the list could be something like downstairs blind - fixed; treating the garden fence - still outstanding; but sometimes we talk more speculatively about what we should be doing and where we should be going. On these topics we rarely reach conclusions but they need to be discussed because the real topic of these meetings is to try to work out how we can support each other better. And that is very important.

Borders brings three things together: browsing, running and relationship maintenance - a strong combination. However things always change and there are many other good locations (pubs for example). Borders might be soon be no more but the meetings will continue and I still like the idea of running to them.