Arundel independent shop changes hands with new name planned

Former Worthing mayor James Doyle has taken over The Book Ferret in the High Street.

“It was an existing independent book shop, ran by a friend of mine, Sarah, who was looking to move on,” James said.

“I am really excited. Twenty years ago, I worked in a book shop and I’ve been on other paths since.

“I love books and I've been getting back into book selling. It’s really nice to connect with people and help them find a book they want.”

James said the shop had ‘always been famous for its dogs’, and so, will be bringing in his family cockapoo, named Essie.

“She is taking over and has already had a couple of stints as the book shop dog,” James said. “She has acquitted herself very well so far.”

James said Arundel was a place ‘where everybody knows each other’ – which is ideal for an independent book shop.

He added: “Lots of people have been coming in to ask about Sarah and to see what the new guy is like and what I'm going to do with the shop. The cherry on top is it’s a bit of a tourist town.

“When the weather warms up, there will hopefully be a lot more people popping into Arundel for a look around.

“Any independent book shop has the imprint of its owners. Sarah did a brilliant job in setting this up and keeping it going for 13 years.

“It’s going to be evolution rather than revolution. Customers will gradually notice a few changes. But it’s been run brilliantly in the past and I want to carry on Sarah’s tradition and legacy.”

James encouraged anyone looking to buy a book to visit the shop, adding: “It’s good to have a physical presence for people to look at things and browse for what they want – they can also come across something new. They can have a chat about what books they might like. In any shopping area or community, it's the little individual shops that are the reason people go there. Arundel is full of little quirky shops that have their niches. Hopefully I can carry on having a niche too.”

James revealed the name of the shop would change later this year – but remained coy over what it would be.

He explained: “It’s been decided and approved because it is the name of a book. I would welcome some guesses.”