I was greeted at the door of my local bookshop this week by a smiling bookseller (at least, I think she was smiling behind the mask) offering me either a squirt of hand sanitiser or a pair of blue gloves.
The man taking my order was sporting a face visor. After all, book buying is not a risk-free endeavour these days. Many of us will have taken our first tentative steps towards repopulating the shopping streets of our towns and cities this week.
Most shop workers I spoke to said it all felt like a relief, even with the complications of social distancing. But this isn't just retail therapy in its purest form; it's the unchaining of a key part of the economy.
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