The Guitar Case

Of course we're not scared of Irish Republicans.

We've had doxxing, threats, #Bhoycotts and even dog poo smeared on the back of our door handle.

We've had it all.

We're still here.

For now, at least.

We worked out where the dog poo came from the way Sherlock Holmes would, by elimination. My shoes were clean, so was the door glass, the step and the shutter, which left the handle, not the front where anyone walking past would've spotted it, but the back, where you'd only find it if you actually went looking.

We're a bookshop, so it's fitting that a famous fictional character helped us solve the puzzle.

Whoever did it brought their own bag, turned it inside out over their hand like a glove, filled it, then wiped it round the back of the handle and walked off without a spot on them. It was planned, not passing trade.

It wasn't even the worst thing that's happened to us over the years, but that's for the book.

That's what it's like running an openly unionist bookshop in North Belfast and online to the world. It's been going on since 2019, and none of it's stopped us yet.

Think about how delighted the usual suspects would be if that stopped being true, then think about every time Mr Books has made you laugh, or waded in for you against someone who'd been having a go at you first. That's worth something to you, and it's worth something to us too, since it's the only reason any of us keep showing up for no wage.

If you don't care whether that stays true, this isn't for you. No hard feelings, skip the rest.

If you do, here's what keeping it true actually costs, about £30 a day. None of us has taken a penny out of this place, not for twelve years. Health permitting, that £30 a day keeps this running forever.

But we can't bank likes, and there's more we want to do here that £30 a day alone won't touch. Doesn't matter where you're reading this from, it counts the same.

This isn't a begging bowl. We're not asking you to feel sorry for us. Think of it more like a busker's case instead. Nobody drops money into one of those out of pity. They do it because they want to hear the next tune. That's what this is. You're not buying anything back and you're not propping up a charity, you're just saying you want the tune to keep going.

Pick an amount, £5, £10 or £20 a month, and it repeats, that's it. No book turns up, no membership, just the shop still standing because you picked a number and kept picking it.

Only sign up to what you can actually afford.

Prefer to give once instead? That helps just as much, and we're grateful for it either way.

We'll be here either way.

Mr Books

P.S. Don't want a monthly thing sitting on your card? Fair enough, you can still throw something in the case once and walk on. Drop something in the case here: https://bbooks.co/supporter