Have you ever been to a pound shop?
I still remember, as if it were just yesterday,
my very first time in one.
It was right after I arrived in Scotland.
Imagine a recent immigrant, still without a job
and already on a very tight budget,
in a place where everything costs only a pound.
I found it an absolutely marvellous idea,
especially after discovering a well-stocked bookshelf.
Of course, I did not know a single word in English then,
so there was no chance of reading any of them,
but the mere fact that I could have some for the future
was enough, like a beacon of hope
that sooner or later everything would fall into place,
because where there are books,
there is home.