Gay's The Word

I was initially dismayed to hear that Gay's The Word bookshop is facing closure. I am a bit of a bookworm, when I'm not reading comics and I have purchased many books from this establishment over the years, though, to tell the truth, I haven't been there in quite a few years.
Gay's The Word was one of the first gay establishments that I ever went to. Having placed an add in Record Mirror when I was 18 and desperate to meet another gay person, I had a few replies and met a guy called Steve and his boyfriend and they took me to Gay's The Word, First Out and Comptons. That was one of the best days of my life as it started my long trek out of the closet.
I still have a great affection for all three places, but have not been to First Out for quite a few years either. I still go to Comptons, but it just isn't the same anymore (for a start I never get sexually harrassed by the bar manager in the upstairs flat anymore, which is a shame as Neil is cute!!). I preferred it when it was one floor, with the bar in the middle and sawdust on the floor (well the last part isn't true but it felt like it!).
Gay's The Word was a weekly stop for me when I was first venturing out and I loved going in there and not having to feel embarrassed at the purchases I was making. I still have a lot of the books I bought from there and re-read them on occassions. It was an early sanctuary for me, until I found more places to visit and gained the courage to actually talk to people. I hope that it does not close, but I think in order to do so it must evolve. If any of this is already being done, I apologise, but, as I said, I haven't been there for years. Maybe if they converted some of their space to internet usage, diversified the stock to include music and other paraphernalia? I hope they manage to turn things around, but if not then they maybe should bow out gracefully and live in the hearts of us oldies like many other places of courage and inspiration.

Long live Gay's The Word!

I may just be visiting next week.