I CAN see how Joan Campbell (Letters, November 8) could envisage the late Donald Pickering as a figure in a Dickens’ novel.

I considered it a privilege to get to know him a little during the closing 12 years of his life, although he was a private man. The adjective I would use to describe him is gracious. I thought of him as “the Sermon on the Mount in action”.

I believe he was a Methodist, a ‘Scouter’, a socialist and an early Amnesty International member. He was also a keen fossil hunter.

On the York retail scene through a large part of the 20th century he ranked as one of its distinctive characters. Deploying some form of unique radar he could unerringly home onto the right book for a customer from multiple, teetering piles.

His endearing habit of eyelid fluttering was often a sign of being deep in thought as he addressed a browser’s enquiry.

In the early 1970s, my wife and I took over the running of Pickering’s Bookshop, Shambles, from Donald and Mary Pickering.

For several months following the changeover, Donald voluntarily came daily into the shop to help us find our feet and introduce us to his regular customers. A quiet, humble man remembered with affection and respect.

Derek Reed, Middlethorpe Drive, York.