On Saturday I was out once again, meeting my public. This time it was Borders in Cardiff, a shop in the old David Morgan building on The Hayes. It is a nice shop, large and busy and I was certainly very well looked after by the staff, especially Vicki. However, promotion remains hard work. My grandmother was a hard working and successful market trader in South Yorkshire but I am afraid I dont seem to have inherited her gifts. People out and about on a Saturday dont want to be harassed; they just want to be left alone. They certainly dont want to be approached by a writer with a wild look in his eyes. I can clear an area around me almost instantly, so sales in the Biography section must have plummeted, because that is where they put me between bargain cookery books and Buy One Get One Free offers.I did manage to waylay the unsuspecting on a couple of occasions and I was questioned for a while by one young woman who seemed to believe that the book was in some way about architecture.Even after I had explained it all to her.A way to go, as they say.Everyone who looks at the book is impressed by the production values and is fascinated by the stories, but it is hard to get people to commit their cash in these difficult financial times. Still, it is always interesting to observe the people around you. If nothing else, it helps the time pass.One young woman was pacing up and down in a very agitated state. She was shouting into her mobile phone. It had nothing to do with that! Thats not why we split up! She stamped off and then reappeared a little later , still shouting, and getting very excitable about bed linen. If it was genuine then it was mightily tense. If it was an avant-garde type of street theatre then it was highly effective. Either way I thought it best not to intrude. A book that contains murder might not have been the best idea. On the other hand...In the end I sold four books, which I was quite pleased about. I was only there for a little over an hour. One young man and his partner strode up very purposefully. Yes they wanted a book. His mother had just given him a car so he wanted to buy her a present in return. Stories in Welsh Stone was apparently ideal.I was pleased to oblige. It is important that we all do our best to keep families in a state of harmony. You do wonder though what sort of car it was and what condition it was in.So Jenny, if you do ever read this blog, I hope you will feel that you got the best end of the bargain...Next stop Aberystwyth in Waterstones Bookshop, on Saturday 16 May 2009.