Half-Term Excitement

Friday 12th February 2016



Happy Spider Coaster on my desk

You can feel the excitement in the air - half-term is nearly here. Some children seemed to have finished at lunchtime today. While it means there won't be any classes in the library - there will be lots of children. Usually we'd have had a craft activity for them - but there are so few staff around now we don't get to do that anymore. I remember when Tracy and I had a Halloween craft session where we showed the children how to make spider drinks coaster and hanging skeletons. It was great fun! The coaster is still here on my desk right now :-)

One memorable kids' activity we had was when two Roman Soldiers came for the day! They were fantastic! They were in full costume and in between entertaining visiting classes from the two local schools - they just roamed around the library all day talking to everyone who came in. The customers were fascinated with the props they'd brought with them - such as the stick that Romans used to wipe their bottoms with! It was such a fun day. They gave me a tiny pair of leather Roman Sandals - which had their website embossed on them! Ancient and Modern!!

Poseable skeleton

This half-term I'll just have to make sure there are plenty of colouring sheets out and maybe fish out the old board games from the back office. Though I guess most of the kids will prefer to be on the computers playing games anyway.

Had a couple of new library customers today - I got them signed up as they wanted to print from the computers.

One was trying to send a CV off for a job application and the other guy was printing out colourful tattoo designs. That is a popular activity here at Silverdale :-)

Mr. C was in - checking up on a local news story. He'd been told by someone in the bookies that a man had gone into Boots in Newcastle and slit his own throat. We checked the local news sites and it turns out that the poor chap had died. How horrific for the staff and shoppers too. It must have been horrendous.

The tiny leather Roman Sandals

There were some last-minute customers as I was closing down the systems - a man with three lively children. He'd checked the catalogue on his phone and saw that we had a book he wanted so he'd rushed in to get it. It was the autobiography of Shane Ward - which I found and he went off happy :-)

View from Outside

Thursday 11th February 2016

Phew - it was busy today! I was going to go outside while the sun was shining to take a picture of the exterior of the library to put on this blog. It was home time before I got the chance! So here is what it looks like as I lock up at night. I will get a good sunny shot when I can :-) It is a pretty library really!

As you know by now, Thursday is Poets day - one of my favourite groups that use the library. Caroline was early again - but luckily I'd got the room ready and her hearing loop and box of literature in the room ready for them to use. The sun was streaming through the windows and it was quite hot in their rooms. In fact, Caroline reported after the class that everyone was quite slow today. Maybe the heat or the fact that they are ready for their half-term break. They won't be here next week.

TV crew in Silverdale

I had an extra early lunch today as Cheryl had to come to cover my break from Newcastle. As there were two staff off sick from there - she had to get back by 1pm. So, I had my lunch around 11.45am to give her time to get back there and get some lunch herself. It seems that there were some interviews going on for the supervisor post at Cheadle that didn't get filled by existing staff. Strange as the closing date for applications isn't until 21st Feb - so I don't know why they are interviewing already. Who knows!?

My Blast from the Past today is when I had TV and radio crews in Silverdale the day that Children's Laureate Julia McDonald came to entertain the local primary school children. It was such a fun day. They performed Room on the Broom for her and she tried out some of her new material on them. We were even on Midlands Today - where Julia was passionately defending libraries and the importance of them to children's education and development. She was just great!

One, two, three...six thousand

Monday 8th February 2016

Today is the day we have to start our stock count. I had been a little anxious about how I was going to manage to do it - especially on a busy Monday when I'd be interrupted all the time. I need not have feared though - as my wonderful boss Terry arrived first thing this morning to help me out! He stayed the whole morning - so we made a start on the counting. I did the fiction and large print and he did the children's and non-fiction. By 11.30 we had done the whole lot! I can't remember the exact figure - but there are over 6000 books in my library.

Better Wi-Fi - sorted!

I even had time to do my banking and take the loot into Santander's in town - before he had to go on to Knutton library at 1pm.

Terry was surprised how many mums and babies came for Coffee Tots. In fact the Health Visitors are worried that the numbers may exceed what is safe to have in our meeting rooms. The official limit is 20 in the big room and 16 in the smaller room. They have the whole space with the partition open. So, do you count babies as one person - or maybe half? We have to decide how we work it out!

I've also had my Wi-Fi updated. There was a problem that no-one in the rooms at the bottom of the library could connect to the Wi-Fi point behind the counter - so it has been beefed up and placed at the end of the room. The chap got up his ladders and didn't take long. It's been flashing blue ever since!

The computers have been very busy too. Mrs D - an American who now lives in Silverdale, was trying to research car insurance. She told me that she'd spent 40 minutes this morning on the phone to just one company. It was so much easier on the internet. Lots of people come in to print out their car insurance documents - as they never seem to send them to you anymore.

Naked Miner - who is he?

My Blast from the Past today is a picture that has been hanging by the counter ever since I have been at Silverdale. The Mysterious Naked Miner!
There are many photos from Silverdale Pit (no longer open - it is now a new housing estate and a country park) which are on loan from the Borough Museum in Newcastle. Most local people are fascinated by them as there is usually someone they know on them. My dad was at Silverdale for 12 months before he retired.

However, no-one has ever claimed to know who the naked miner is! I wonder if I will find out before I leave?

National Libraries Day

Saturday 6th February 2016

Design your own bookmark

It has been a busy, busy morning!

Firstly, it is National Libraries Day - so we'd usually have some kind of event to get young ones excited and involved. Sadly, with single staffing I had to do something that didn't take any staff input. I was sent some bookmarks to cut out - so that I could let kids have a go at colouring them in on their own. I wasn't sure how that would go - but the ones that came in today were actually pretty enthusiastic!

It's a good job too - as I was really busy at the counter - I had a few queues today.

Madison came in with her dad and had a go at the snake bookmark - and she made a fantastic job - it was ever so realistic. Then she told me that as well as two dogs and two cats - she also has a snake at home. When I asked her how big it was she stretched out her hands really wide!! That's why her bookmark looked so good :-)

I asked her dad if it was okay to take a photo for the blog and he said it was fine - so you can see for yourself!



Madison and her snake

It's a shame her twin brothers didn't come in today - I'm sure they would have enjoyed it too. As a special treat - when she asked if she could stamp out her own books - I let her have a go.

Thomas came in with his mum and wanted to take his bookmark to decorate at home. A few others had a go too. The boys from last week came back in again  playing their circle game on the computers.. One had lost his card - and blamed his baby brother for chewing it.

There was also a chap on the computers for the last hour and it looked like he was catching up with a bit of War and Peace on the BBC iPlayer,

Mrs S was also in today. She is registered blind and loves our talking books. She always asks me to choose her some new ones. She likes a bit of crime - BUT - it has to have a detective in it. It's her first question when I say "his one looks like a good one" :-) "Yes - but has it got a detective in it?" She certainly lets me know the next week if it turns out there wasn't!

My Blast from the Past is still on a crafty theme - it was when the gardeners from Biddulph Grange came to Silverdale to show interested customers how to make themselves a hanging basket -  last summer.

They brought a van full of plants and moss and wire baskets - and all for free! It was great - and I was allowed to take part too! We all took our baskets home and they flowered all summer :-)

Making amazing hanging baskets

Book Sale

Friday 5th February 2016

It's Friday - which means a 1pm start today. First job - sort out the room for the Knit and Natter ladies and get the tea on! They start to arrive the minute I unlock the door and when I take their tea and biscuits down to them, they are already sorting out a tricky stitch problem for one of them. She said "If you hear screaming - then it's because I just can't get it!" I left them to it!

Did you want any Katie Flynn?

Another regular came in - he never borrows books but just comes in to peruse the Book Sale trolley. I have quite a few on there at the moment as there has been a lot of weeding going on recently. Next week we have to do a complete stock count - so Farida from Newcastle has been helping to get rid of old and grubby stock - or things that are just not going out.

Today he found so much on there that he had to ring his wife to ask what she had read out of the ones he'd found. "What would we do without mobile phones?" he said sheepishly when he'd finished his call.

It was a pleasant afternoon. Had to help one guy on the computer to upload a scan of his driving licence as he was completing an online CRB type check. We use our multi-tasking networked photocopier for this - and I have a spare memory stick for anyone who needs to upload CVs and the like to online forms and applications. I just make sure they delete everything and give it me back at the end. I have been told that I have saved people's skins many times :-)

There was student in printing out applications for university and another regular who had forgotten her headphones so borrowed a spare set from the counter.



Love this tattoo design

We do have a lot of different things printed out and photocopied.

My Blast from the Past today is a photo of a design that someone printed out for their new tattoo - then left a copy of it in the machine. I really like it - love Rosie the Riveter - so I pinned it to my noticeboard behind the counter.

This must have been over two years ago as Tracy was with me. Anyway, a few weeks ago a young chap came in and saw it on the wall behind me - then proceeded to lift up his shirt to show me that he had the exact same tattoo!! Very nice it was too :-)

Historical bloodlust...

Thursday 4th February 2016

My first task of the day is to get the room ready for the poets. I've brought them some Kit Kats today for their tea break. Caroline is extra early this morning, as there were no accidents, road works or random people parked across her driveway today. Nice to have chance for a longer chat before her poets start to arrive. We are resolving to meet up after I have left Silverdale, and are trying to find interesting arts events to go to in the area. We once went to see a couple of plays about the Staffordshire Horde at the New Victoria Theatre, which were brilliant.

Mr. C was in to pick his horses. He informs me that he has booked his flights to go to Greece once more, in May, to visit his son. He's definitely getting adventurous :-)



Mr N loves a gory story

Another very frequent customer is in today and I manage to get him to pose for a photo. Mr N. is quite a voracious reader and it is a challenge keeping him supplied with the kind of books he likes.

He is into historical adventure and crime. He likes them with plenty of blood and gore in them and isn't happy unless there is a disembowelment within the first few pages. He has gone through so many authors and series. I am constantly on the look out for new ones that he would like. He usually has about half the reserve trolley filled with books I've ordered for him. I wonder exactly how much he has spent on reservations since I've been here? Nine years of them!?

He was excited today because he could see that I had the latest Simon Scarrow book waiting for him. He is only allowed to read one book a week at the moment as he has eye strain from too much reading! So, he's taking it steady until they get better.

He is so nice, he brings me chocolates quite often. He always asks "How are you for chocolates?" I have to leave one in the box so that I can say I still have some left! Otherwise he'd be bringing them in all the time!

Mr. N's waiting requests

I get to have another chat with Caroline before she goes back to Cheshire. She reported that they had a good session today and almost all of them had done the homework she had set them last week. They were asked to either write a poem about something obsolete or they had to open a dictionary, stab a word without looking then incorporate that word into a poem. Sounds like they had fun with it. I can always hear laughter as they read out their work to each other down in the room.

She showed me a very clever poem one had written about Daleks - inspired by a card he had received:


He'd drawn his own version showing a dalek using a Stannah stairlift!!

Tracy and Berni

I had a delightful afternoon in the company of Cheryl from Newcastle. She stayed all afternoon - not just over lunch - so I had the chance to catch up with a few backroom jobs. Also, between us, we managed to take a reading from the People Counter - with stats for a whole year. It involved USB ports, software and a very long wire!! Cheryl had to make sure no-one tripped over it while I fiddled about with the computer trying to get the info they needed in Stafford. I think it was successful! Well, we had a very big excel file anyway :-)

My Blast from the Past today is from when Tracy and I started working together at Silverdale, all those years ago. She came from Wolstanton Library after that was closed down and I was new, after working in the prison library service for a while. We both started around the same time - which was lovely as we learned it all and got to know our new customers together. I always looked forward to coming to work - Tracy was a fab and fun colleague :-)




Only two months left...

Monday 1st February

Can't believe it is February already, That means only two months more at my precious Silverdale. It was only a half day today too - as I had my consultant appointment at the hospital this afternoon. It's four years since I had my cancer treatment - and I am down to check-ups every six months now. This should be my final year - as you get discharged after Year 5.

The morning was a typical Monday one - Mr. S aka Crossword Guy was in with his clipboard. Today he was stuck on a town in the Auvergne area of France - turned out to be Vichy. The new PEEPS parenting class was back in - with some rather fractious babies today! The organiser came out of the room at the end and apologised for the noise. It was fine - quite tame compared to Coffee Tots! She said she was off home for a lie down!

Mr. C was in too - had a chat while he waited for the bus to Newcastle to appear. We were chatting about the Real Marigold Hotel programme on BBC2 - where some celebrity pensioners go to see of they can live in India. He was amused by Miriam Margolis's left-wing tendencies.



My photo today is of Mr and Mrs G, who always come in together. Mr. G is into crime and Mrs G. loves a good family saga. Neither of them have been well recently - but they are always concerned about my health and future.

They were happy to pose for a photo for me - Mr. G even took off his hat :-)  I'm going to miss them so much!




Voodoo Librarian

Today's Blast from the Past is rather a spooky one... this is a present I received from one of the ladies in the Lace-Making Class - which has been happening for years on Tuesday afternoons. It was made by the lady's sister and won a competition for crafts (or something)

It is meant to be a Librarian - but it scares the heck out of me. In fact, since it has been in the library things started going downhill with the funding etc.. but I was always too superstitious to throw it away. It might find it's own way back...