Photo : Gail Downey at Clairol shoot in 1979
Photo : Adrian Fiebig magazine shoot in 1981 ( Gail Downey model ) been builder Peter ’ s last project before he became ill , so she takes some comfort from carrying on what they started together . “ It helps me to feel close to him ” she says . Peter ’ s chair still takes pride of place in the shop , reinforcing his presence there , and the local community has been ‘ incredibly supportive ’ through the toughest of times . But it ’ s undoubtedly Gail ’ s own positivity and open approach that gives the business its unique character and appeal .
Creating the dream
It wasn ’ t long after moving to the Island in 2012 that Gail started indulging her own love of books by taking a job at a bookshop in Yarmouth . The longer she worked there , the more she found herself yearning for a shop of her own . “ I always fancied the sort of place where people could drink coffee and read the books , and I quite liked the idea of selling £ 2.50 fiction right alongside expensive volumes ” she said . It was a vision that simply wouldn ’ t go away , and grew to the point where Gail reckoned she had to give it a go . With limited resources , she started buying books and then got herself a super-duper coffee machine via Wightbay for a quarter of its original price , paying it off in instalments . She enlisted help to bake cakes , and was delighted when local parish councillor and historian John Medland took charge of the history books section and then started running an ad-hoc advice surgery from the shop . “ I was thrilled because the shop was becoming more and more of a resource for the whole community ” says Gail , who also runs storytelling sessions , poetry readings and other live events at the venue . “ When I started out , I really didn ’ t know if Freshwater wanted a bookshop as much as I wanted to run one – but there came a point where I thought : ‘ Yes – this is working well !’
Talking therapy
What Gail particularly loves is the way books encourage people to talk and open up about themselves . “ All day every day , people come in and
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