Shhh - did someone close the library?

 

 

 

 

Shhh - don't tell anyone.... I've just written a short story to celebrate my granddaughter's fifth birthday next week.

We were doing role play at the top of the stairs the other day  in a specially constructed den  made of cushions, towels and various pieces of furniture from her bedroom. As we stacked up a pile of her favourite books, the talk soon turned to libraries.

What is a lady who works in the library called?' I asked.

'A librarian,' she replied, after a little prompting.

And what does the librarian say when you go in the library?

' Shh...' came the reply.

Shh?' I said. 'What does that mean?'

'It means please keep quiet, Grandma. You have to keep quiet in libraries.'

And so the idea for the 'birthday present' was born. But that's, well, another story...

Meanwhile, I'm  thrilled that  a trip to the library still means as much to my granddaughter as it did to me when I was a young child. Every week my two sisters and I would visit our local library where I first discovered  one of my all-time favourite books 'A Peep Behind the Scenes' a 'turn-of-the-century' story by Mrs O.F. Walton.

 Isn't it  worrying, then, that libraries in the UK are closing every week as local authorities are forced to make 'necessary' cuts.  Free access to books should surely be something for us to pass on to a future generation.  Have you checked on the future of your library lately? If not,  take a look at http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/

Meanwhile,  I would tell you more about my new short story but I can't because..... Shh - I promised not to say a word.

I'm dreaming of a white beach hut...

I saw an interview on television recently that aptly conveyed the joy of reading. An old lady, confined to a wheelchair, was asked  how much books had influenced her life.  'That's easy,' she replied. 'A novel can take me anywhere I want to be, anywhere in the world, with anyone I choose.'

 Listening to those words I realised that I  write for  exactly the same reasons. How else could  I escape the snow and ice, sit on a sandy beach and soak up the sun, all without moving from my desk? Or travel back in time to see how my ancestors lived?

As a child I was bewitched by  'A Peep behind the Scenes,' the story of  12-year Rosalie who works in a travelling theatre at the end of the nineteenth century.  The author, Amy 'Mrs' Walton, cleverly  contrasts   the  make-believe scenes  on stage with the sad reality of the girl's miserable  life.

Most of us have a story to tell, whether read, written or remembered. But if you're not in the mood right now - don't despair. You can always reach for the holiday brochures...