Human chain of volunteers helps bookshop move along high street
About 250 volunteers formed a human chain along a high street to lend a hand to a bookshop moving premises.
Not-for-profit October Books had put a call out for people to help them move from the old shop to premises in a former bank 150 metres along Portswood Road in Southampton.
Shop volunteer Clare Diaper said a number of people signed up but members of the public joined in as they saw the chain forming.
She said about 2,000 books were passed by hand along the chain on Sunday, with another 18,000 still to be moved.
@OctoberBooks human chain today in #Southampton. The local #community helped to buy the new bookshop and is helping to move the books! #communityspiritpic.twitter.com/YxBXiXotTC
— The Southampton Collective (@SotonCollective) October 28, 2018
Ms Diaper said: “It was just amazing, we started with 10 people having to run between shops and ended up with 250 people passing books.
“I get quite emotional about the support we have received, it’s really heartening they want us to stay in the high street and want the high street to be part of the community.”
The shop was founded in 1977 and has been based in Portswood Road for 15 years. Its new premises includes community rooms for local organisations as well as a base for homeless charity Society of St James.
