Poor old St Valentine may be over-commercialised these days; many of us march straight past the supermarket displays of hearts, flowers and pinkness – but St Columba’s Hospice has come up with a novel way of sharing the love with you. ‘There’s nothing new under the sun!‘ I hear you cry – but no, I didn’t say new….
If you travel on Lothian Buses this weekend, look out for one of St Columba’s packages. Tied with pink string and adorned with hearts, they will contain romantic novels and collections of love stories – St Columba’s hopes that you’ll read them and either leave them for the next person to enjoy, or pass them on to your friends. All the books come from St Columba’s Bookshop in Montague Terrace, Goldenacre. Trading Company Coordinator Barbara Brockie hopes that the free parcels will help raise awareness of St Columba’s, make people’s journeys a little more interesting, and encourage them to visit the bookshop, saying ‘We have such a huge variety of books at Goldenacre – it makes sense to share them!’ Lothian Buses, she adds, have been hugely supportive of the idea – in fact the charity has been leaving these little gifts on buses every few months or so for a while.
So if you find a book on your bus this weekend – enjoy! And if you miss your stop, don’t worry – the bus will turn round and come back in the end. No.s 23 and 27 even go to Inverleith Row, handily enabling you to call in at the shop, where most books sell for just £1 and there is a also a selection of new toys and gifts.
St Columba’s is a charity offering treatment and support to people with life-limiting illnesses and their families. It has six shops dotted around Edinburgh and the Lothians; the bookshop is open 10am-4pm Monday to Saturday, and from 1st March it will also be open 1-4pm on Sunday afternoons.
