VIDEO: Sue Porter of Linghams on balancing books and the future of the local high street

On Monday, re-opening day, we spoke to Sue Porter as she prepared to welcome back customers to her independent book shop, complete with new look cafe.

After taking over Linghams, Sue worked hard to make the store one of the most important places for publishers to launch books outside London.

The pandemic meant that her popular author events, like so much else, had to be held on platforms like Zoom, and obviously that won't change for some time - though perhaps later this year it will be possible to meet in the company of the kind of well known writers and personalities Linghams is capable of attracting.

Sue was glad to be back in something approaching normal business, but is also urging everyone to remember that the local independent sector is not guaranteed to emerge from the woods just yet.

Thanks to the Heswall Nub News state of the art video recording equipment - otherwise known as a smartphone with a cracked screen - you can find out what she had to say at the top of this page.