End of chapter for bookshop

St George’s store closed for safety reasons

THE St George’s Cathedral has cited safety concerns for the shutting down of its second-hand bookshop.

The shop has been closed indefinitely after 17 years of collecting and selling for good causes.

St George’s Cathedral Dean Michael Weeder said the closing of the shop was not an easy decision, but the safety of staff and the building were being compromised.

He said they had been in consultation about the space for years.

“We had two councils and felt that we wanted to take possession of the Eksteen Centre, which is where the bookshop was located,” said Weeder.

“The offices of the clergy and admin staff are currently located in the eastern boundary in Government Avenue. However, our role is not to be here all the time. So on Friday, for example, the staff are left vulnerable,” he said.

Weeder said a colleague had already witnessed someone cutting the cord of their security gate and stealing from the church.

“From 7pm onwards, the space becomes a crime scene, with drug dealing. Staff have to negotiate past people they don’t know, leaving them vulnerable.

“We have to secure the safety of our staff. The Eksteen Centre is also more accessible for members of the public to see me.”

Weeder added that while moving staff might not solve the problem, it would be much safer and more accessible in the event of an emergency for someone to come to their aid.

Pat Ellis, a member of the church, had been running the shop.

“The shop had been around just over 17 years. Before that there were also 17 years of street sales once a month. It was run by volunteers only, who were an elderly group, with the youngest being about 60 years old,” she said.

Ellis said the shop had an “amazing history”.

“The idea started to contribute to the music fund which was under threat at the time because it was expensive and to support the soup kitchen.”

Ellis said the funds were then dispersed three ways.

“We paid nominal rent to the cathedral, and the rest went to cathedral outreach programmes, the music fund and a third to a separate cause (that had) nothing to do with the cathedral.

“In the first year we made R40 000, over and above we paid to the cathedral. In the past 10 years, we made well over R200 000 a year.”

She described the shop as an “eclectic bookshop”.

“We will miss it, but it is time to move on. Something else will materialise. There is a small possibility we might move to another local church, but they would have to build an outside room for us, so it might take up to a year.”