Why are we still masking at events? Cos it's kind and reasonable.

When we continue to make masks a requirement for Lighthouse events in 2026, it’s an invitation to be part of collective care.

Getting sick is shite.

Getting Covid, or another serious infection is shite, but for some, however mild it is, an infection can affect care responsibilities for a baby or elderly relative, working a shift you can't afford to miss, a fragile health, an impending surgery, a chemo regimen and much more. For those who are immunocompromised the stakes are so much higher.

The science tells us that we can reduce viral load and the risk of infection if we are in spaces with good airflow, and we wear masks to stop our germs spraying all over the shop.

This is how we ‘live with covid’, this is how we foster disability inclusive spaces - by doing what we can to mitigate infection.

Lighthouse is an indie business, I - Mairi - am the human behind Lighthouse (or the face of it, depending who you ask). I don't want to get sick. I don’t want my booksellers to catch it, because I adore them, and because we can't run our bookshop when we are down a staff member or 3.

I don’t want the readers or writers who come into my bookshop to catch covid or flu or anything else. Or to worry that this is an environment where they are more likely to catch it. It’s not really something I can totally control for, but within my tiny realm I feel not only that I can but that I must, do whatever I can to lower that risk.

When I make masks a requirement for Lighthouse events, it’s an invitation to be part of collective care.

It is me, asking you all, to play a small part in making our shared spaces a little safer for everyone, but especially those for whom Covid and flu pose extra risks.

Of course there are also folk who have medical reasons for not being able to wear a mask - we have booksellers whose hearing aids or neurodivergence make it very difficult for them to wear a mask - it is with their safety in mind too that we try to act collectively.

We will always operate on trust and while we are clear of our expectations around masks, we do not police people wearing them - we don't know what anyone has capacity for, so we make our suggestion and we find that the vast majority of people are very happy to make a room safer for those who most need it.

Masks and precautions also aren't free, which is why we choose to absorb the cost of providing masks for those who don't have them. Trust me when I say that with the awful margins of the book trade it has not been a painless cost decision, but it's also completely worth it.

To all slip on a mask means those of us with care responsibilities can still attend events, disabled or chronically ill readers and writers can still attend events. YOU all can still attend events.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to every person who has stepped up for fellow book lovers to foster materially safer spaces at our events. Not all heroes wear capes, I think you're all brilliant.