SECOND hand books play a major part in the community life of Westbrook and Hood Manor, as well as influencing the fortunes of the Wizard, the canal boat which takes disabled people on trips.

St James's Church's book shop in Egypt Street and the Wizard, are both enjoying a relaunch.

The shop is appealing to people to donate the 500 books a week. The boat is about to take to the water again at Stockton Heath, having sunk last summer. Safety improvements and renovations costing £500 have been carried out and it has been repainted, free, by Thorn Marine of Stockton Heath.

David Marshall, vicar of St James's, said: "The bookshop will enable us, in l997, to run more than £6,000 worth of community events such as firework displays, a lunch club, coffee mornings and a community newspaper.

"Profits from the bookshop will also fund free trips for the disabled on the Wizard, which it was originally set up to do."

The bookshop has around 10,000 books in stock most of the time, but these are sold at the rate of roughly 500 a week, so there is a constant need for more.

With the relaunch of the shop, volunteers have scrapped the junk shop image and made it look more like a bookshop.

The boat, which is kept at Stockton Heath, is cared for by Clive Smith, who is its captain and also the church treasurer.

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