Tash Berks has been running a second-hand book shop on the corner of Arwenack street for fifteen years. It's called Bookmark some locals call it 'Buzz Corner'.

Just across the street from Bookmark is a newsagent that her parents owned and It's where Tash was born. Her parents branched out in retail to own several shops in Falmouth including The Globe Pub. The retail experience that flows in her blood was forged in her formative years in Falmouth.

There was a spell of working in London and Israel before Tash returned to take over and run Bookmark. She says "it changed my life."

Listening to Tash you realise that she relishes the challenges of trading in second-hand books. However, there is something more important and meaningful that drives her with a passion.

Tash believes in creating a flourishing high street which she links to the very sense of community that is Falmouth.

She says:

"As shop keepers, we have a responsibility to stay open and make the high street a success for everyone. It's like a jigsaw picture and if some pieces are missing it takes away from the whole picture."

Tash believes that when shops fail to open, people notice and shoppers begin to think about going elsewhere. The street loses part of its energy.

Tash explained:

"When we serve something higher and bigger than our own businesses we gain a stronger sense of purpose in what we are doing. This helps to give us strength and commitment to the success of the street and the whole of Falmouth."

Tash told me that in the age of sail Falmouth was a bustling busy port and the hub for nearly all European trade. Much of the charm and energy from that era remains and she has a passion to keep building on that legacy.

She smiled and said:

"Many of my customers are local people as well as passing sailors, artists, poets and holidaymakers. I like to think that as well as selling second-hand books and the odd piece of high-end art, I also sell a slice of the community."