“A glamour hangs over the glittering booth, and a tantalizing air of clever new things”. Selfridges? Abercrombie & Fitch? No – Henry James describing a WHSmith railway bookstall in 1888. Today a good bookshop still provides a focal point for its community, a peaceful haven to while away spare hours, and a stimulating environment [...]

Here’s an interesting initiative, with which all consumers will feel considerable sympathy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000276271 ). Amazon’s focus seems to be to strip away those impenetrable, hermetically sealed transparent plastic clamshells that are used to package so many electronic accessories and toys. There is a clear consumer, and environmental, benefit from this but of course it must [...]