Thank YOU! I had such a lovely time, was warmly welcomed and the kids were great.

They are a core part of what I do, and I love doing them as long as well organised. Yes, it's income, but it's also invaluable to meet young people/readers.

very well argued!

Same. I will always favour Indies, big book stores, then the likes of WH Smith, then supermarkets (!), in that order. But truth is, (with reader numbers diminishing) we need the full ecosystem.
A silver lining might be more people going to Indies, but that only works if/ where they exist.