Penguin Building 101

It has been absolutely freezing these past couple of weeks. Remember how cold it was back in November? We certainly do, at St. John’s Wood the winter was blisteringly cold. That might go some-way to explain why we decided to pick penguins as a theme for our Papier Mâché Extravaganza. It was just good timing that David Tenant was on TV with his PenguinCam.

While we gathered animal conservation books for displays, penguin DVDs for check-outs and spread the word at our Under 5’s events and with posters around the library – it was my job to create the frame for our Penguin.

The head was easy. Papier mâché a balloon with a few layers and leave to dry. The actual body was made with an n-shaped coat-hanger frame, to which I added ‘ribs’ of stiff newspaper rolls. When the whole thing was vaguely penguin-shaped I gave it an initial layer of papier mâché to cover any access to the wire underneath and give a base for the children to build layers upon.

Once we had the frame – we were good to go! The Extravaganza took place over the half-term week, starting Monday 18 February when the children were invited to papier mâché the body and feet, with lots of penguin-themed puzzles and colouring-in sheets to occupy those who didn’t want to get their hands all gluey.

Speaking of sticky situations – we almost had to end the event early on the first day. The sheer number of children who had come to coat the penguin in papier mâché was extraordinary and the penguin soon began to sag under the weight of glue-soaked newspaper strips (hence her slightly odd final posture) and the so-far nameless penguin had to be escorted away. Thankfully the ever-resourceful Stuart created a miniature papier mâché penguin event on the fly so no one went home disappointed.

On Tuesday we tried again. The morning was spent hastily repairing the shape, but with some careful supervision we kept the penguin out and built up the layers over the four hours of the event. We even managed to add the flippers and a beak.

The penguin spent Wednesday drying, but we had another event to keep the children occupied.

Thursday was the day our penguin was painted! We only had 10 brushes but that was more than enough – children either shared the brushes or took it in turns, watching a penguin video or doing a puzzle while waiting for their go.
Finally, after three days worth of penguin-related fun, we had a completely painted life-sized papier mâché penguin. This picture shows its transition.

All that was left was to name him (or her) and we asked the children to submit their suggestions over the weekend – we received many, from Napoleon to Perseus, Pablo to Pierre, even suggestions like Arnold or Chess were offered. However, we settled on Polo. Polo the Penguin. With Wendy Penguin coming in a close second.

Finally, a big big thank you to everyone who came and participated. Thank you to all who added a little paint or papier mâché here and there. Please come and check out Polo in her new corner of the library – we even have plans to redecorate that corner to make it more penguin-themed in her honour and – who knows – we might even be creating another Papier Mâché Extravaganza sometime in the future. Watch this space.

[Shaun]

Historically Criminal

Last week, Victoria Library was fortunate enough to be host to not one… not two… but THREE crime authors all keen to talk about historical mysteries. Andrew Williams, Mike Ripley and Robert Ryan spoke well and fluently on a subject they all clearly loved.

The atmosphere was convivial even before the talk started with wine flowing and biscuits being nibbled. Mike Ripley kicked off the talk with a short discussion of his tongue in cheek article “Why I hate historical mysteries”.

We then moved onto each author talking a bit about their own works before delving straight into discussing points raised by the audience.With 23 people in attendance the room felt cosy and the talk ran smoothly throughout with plenty of audience participation.

Topics covered the whole spectrum, from how the authors felt writing about irredeemable characters to negotiating the balance between historical accuracy and the needs of the story.  Everyone came away feeling enlightened and a small contingent repaired to the local pub to continue the discussion.

[Nick]

From millinery to potions via snakes and ladders. All in a day’s work.

Maida Vale library was a real hub of activity during Half Term! We held seven events across the week that attracted lots of enthusiastic and creative children.

Two separate sessions on Monday saw children and parents alike making maps inspired by the Hobbit. Then the children were invited to seek out numerous cut-outs of the characters from the film and book hidden around the library.

On Tuesday afternoon, Athen, a Greenpeace volunteer, ran a workshop where young people designed a “Flag for the Future” with a message of peace, hope and community to be entered into a global competition where the winning design will be taken to the North Pole!

Wednesday saw a return to the Hobbit theme with a morning and afternoon wizard hat making workshop, which turned the children’s library into a milliners’ work place. Eric was also serving his own magical potions concocted from ingredients such as Snake’s Sweat & Gargoyle’s Boils, which thankfully just turned out to be unusual mixes of healthy fruit juices. And a dash of spinach…

On Friday children got the chance to make their own snakes and ladders boards, which we then laminated. All the sessions were a great success with nearly 130 children and 100 adults turning up. Luckily we had a Paddington Academy student doing work experience and two other teenage volunteers who showed a lot of enthusiasm and helped enormously with the events.

Now, what shall we do for the Easter holidays…?

[Eric and Simon]

How the Robin got his red breast

Westminster Libraries had an incredibly busy half-term week, with events for children on most days in several libraries.

Local storyteller Laura Collins came to St John’s Wood Library to tell us this native American tale: How the Robin got his red breast. Many of us didn’t know any native American stories so it was fascinating to hear about this oral tradition. Also hearing about how the robin saved everyone from the dark and cold by bravely fanning fire with his feathers was particularly welcome on such a cold wintry day!

We also made our own robins, including Scarlett (age 3), below:

[Amy]

And the winner is…

“So tonight, enjoy yourselves because nothing can take the sting out of the world’s economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues.”

Well, I laughed anyway at Billy Crystal’s introductory speech at the 2012 Academy Awards ceremony. And with the Oscars, as they are usually known, handed out just last night (the parties are still going on), let’s see what Westminster Libraries can tell us about the movies.

Well, every library worker’s heart swells with pride at the name of Margaret Herrick, the first librarian of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (its library is now named after her). It was Ms Herrick who, on seeing the statuette, is said to have exclaimed that it looked “just like my Uncle Oscar” and the nickname stuck… though you do have to wonder what life in the Herrick family was like if a statue of a naked man immediately put her in mind of her Uncle.

This is the 85th year of the Oscars – check out some history on the official Oscars site. It took a while for the current tradition of keeping the names of the winners a secret to become established:

“There was little suspense when the awards were presented that night: the recipients had already been announced three months earlier. That all changed the following year, however, when the Academy decided to keep the results secret until the ceremony but gave a list in advance to newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. on the night of the Awards. This policy continued until 1940 when, much to the Academy’s consternation, the Los Angeles Times broke the embargo and published the names of the winners in its evening edition – which was readily available to guests arriving for the ceremony. That prompted the Academy in 1941 to adopt the sealed-envelope system still in use today.”

The first Brit to receive an Oscar was Charlie Chaplin who received a special award for “versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus”. There have been many more since and you can find a list of some of them in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (linked from the Biography section of the Westminster Libraries Gateway to Websites – log on with your Westminster library card). From the ODNB homepage, go to Themes and then Arts and Culture for a list of Oscar winners, including Vivien Leigh, twice Best Actress winner (Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire) who lived at 54 Eaton Place and Peter Ustinov, Best Supporting Actor winner for both Spartacus and Topkapi.

For more cinema history, why not pay a visit to Westminster Reference Library’s Performing Arts section where they have a large collection of books and journals related to cinema going back to the silent era. Or you could check out our extensive online newspaper collections for some contemporary accounts of past Oscar ceremonies (The Times doesn’t seem to have noticed them until 1934 when Charles Laughton won an Oscar for his performance in The Private Life of Henry VIII).

Check out the Stage and Screen section of the Gateway for links to film sites. The daddy of them all is the Internet Movie Database – using the Advanced Search, you can find out that 22 Oscar winning actors were born in London – how many can you name? And check out the British Pathe site (linked from the History section) for newsreel footage of Oscar ceremonies going right back to 1935.

Sadly, once again the Treasure Hunt Towers invitation to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party was lost in the post so we had to make do with watching on telly and gnashing our teeth as Daniel Day-Lewis over-acted his way to another gong. But it did mean that we had a chance to research some Oscar history during the ad breaks…

[Nicky]

The language of lurve

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

Wise words as always from Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.

And what better day than 14th February to look for love online? If all we find is chocolate, I doubt there’ll be many who are disappointed…

First off, who exactly was St Valentine? According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (which you can read as part of Oxford Reference Online by logging in with your Westminster Library card)

“The commemoration formerly observed on 14 Feb. appears to refer to two Valentines: a Roman priest martyred on the Flaminian Way under the Emp. Claudius (c.269) and a Bishop of Terni (Interamna) who was taken to Rome and martyred, and whose remains were later conveyed back to Terni. Though the surviving accounts of both martyrdoms are clearly legendary, there are indications that each contains a nucleus of fact; and it is just possible that the kernel of truth in the two legends refers to a single person. The traditional association of St Valentine’s day with courtship and the choosing of a ‘Valentine’ of the opposite sex is connected perhaps with certain customs of the pagan festival of Lupercalia (mid-Feb.) at Rome, or with the natural season, not with any tradition concerning either saint of the name.”

So far, so dull. The first recorded association of love with St Valentine is in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Parliament of Fowls –

“For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make”

Or, for the non-Medieval scholars among us –

“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate”

Ophelia mentions the day in Hamlet –

“To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine”

It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the custom of sending Valentine’s cards really caught on. You can find some charming examples of Victorian valentine cards at The Scrap Album and read about how one American family sent them in Susan Coolidge’s children’s novel What Katy Did. Rather less charming was the custom of comic valentines. In Flora Thompson’s Lark Rise to Candleford, Laura the shy post office clerk-heroine received one

“With the picture of a hideous female handing out penny stamps and some printed doggerel which began:
‘You think yourself so lad-di-da And get yourself up so grand’
and went on to advise her always to wear a thick veil when she went out, or her face would frighten the cows. Underneath the verse was scrawled in pencil: ‘Wat you reely wants is a mask.’ She thrust it into the fire”

But how to celebrate Valentine’s Day now? If you haven’t booked a nice restaurant, it may be too late but there’s still time to cook a meal for the special someone in your life. Check out the Home & Garden section of the Gateway to Websites for some recipe sites. Why not try out the Movie Night Valentine’s Menu on the BBC site?

And of course you can’t have a movie night without movies so why not check out the Westminster libraries DVD collection for an appropriately romantic film. If you fancy a comedy, this RomCom list on IMDB might give you some ideas. Or maybe one from this list of gay romantic films. If you think that a weepie is the way forward, you can’t go wrong with Celia Johnson’s doomed love for Trevor Howard in Brief Encounter (a must for Archers listeners). And for ambient music? Well, we at Treasure Hunt Towers will be playing the Walrus of Love, Barry White but in the unlikely event that he doesn’t float your boat, why not have a look at Naxos Music Library which allows you to stream nearly 2 million tracks ranging covering every conceivable genre from reggae to opera. Just log in with your Westminster library card.

And for those of us who are on our own on Valentines Day? Well, why not adapt this charming Japanese custom for the benefit of your friends, colleagues or even [whisper it] the staff of your local library?

 “In Japan and Korea, Valentine’s has become almost an obligation for women to give chocolates, known as giri-choco, to all of their co-workers. A reciprocal day on 14th of March known as White Day has emerged in recent times whereby men are supposed to thank those who remembered them on Valentine’s Day with white chocolate or marshmallows, hence white day.”

[Nicky]

Quick!

Looking for something to read but haven’t got time for a full-length book?
Want a story to help improve your English but find most novels look too daunting?

Then you need Quick Reads!

     

Quick Reads are a series of short books by well-known authors, each specially written to be easy to read. A batch of new stories is published each year, and the six new titles above are arriving in our libraries now. Find them on display or in the SKILLS section, where you will also find titles from previous years.

For details of all the previous titles published see www.quickreads.org.uk

And if you enjoy them so much that you want to buy a copy – they are only £1 each from all good bookstores!

[Malcolm]

The unlikely pilgrims of St John’s Wood Library

‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ tells the story of recently retired Harold, who after 6 months of sitting in his chair, is inspired by an unexpected letter to walk from Devon to Berwick upon Tweed with a plastic bag, a pair of yachting shoes and the clothes on his back. The story of Harold’s journey is formed by the people he meets along the way.

So, in celebration of National Libraries Day and our forthcoming author event with Rachel Joyce, St John’s Wood Library staff asked a few of our retired customers what inspires them to get up and visit us each day.

We received lots of lovely responses  and have just selected a few, but we hope this shows you how the rich tapestry of our community life is woven through these daily interactions.

Vivienne Levan

I have volunteered at the library with the children’s events since 2009 and I have learnt to use the computer since visiting the library. The staff always help me with whatever I need on the computer and request the books I want for me. I consider the library a vital part of my community. I have lived in St John’s Wood for over 40 years and love this place!

Ann Samson

An extension of home, friendly helpful people, further education, a glass of wine after being read to by a local author, and open seven days a week. What more could you ask for?

Mr Gilbert

I started coming into St John’s Wood Library in 1966. At that time the librarian used to bring in his Labrador dog. It was well trained and very quiet – very well behaved. The staff were very nice and helpful in getting the books that I requested. The staff is still friendly and welcoming and I like the range of books that are here.
Downstairs is a lovely place to interact with people as I have been a widower for some years.

Sandra Jadir

My husband and I have always visited to get books, DVD and CDs, but now I am a Gran I have found even more reasons to visit the library. I love bringing my grandson tor Under 5s rhymetime and  we like to spend time reading together in the children’s library.

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We have lots of copies of ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ to lend  and hope to see as many people as possible at the event on Monday 11 February at 5.30pm. If you have a story about the library that you would like to share please email stjohnswoodlibrary@westminster.gov.uk

[Amy]