... 'd booked a flat in Aldeburgh, but for John, pressure of work frustrated all attempts to get away until the weekend. Driving up without him on the Friday, Mary and the boys (Joseph, then three, and Theodore, 18 months) arrived frazzled and ruefully told their landlady that London life was feeling a bit dreary. "Why don't you move up here? The bookshop's for sale ... ." John soon realised that "book selling is a much less aggressive affair" than surveying. "This book shop isn't really ours," he says. "It belongs to the town which it serves as a cross between a creche and a drop-in centre. ...

• Word Count: 466
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School