Are you aged between 12-18? Interested in drama? Then come to our new drama group!
Alternate Saturdays, starting 28th January, then 11th and 25th February.
For more information call Hunsbury library (01604 702830) or e-mail rgasson@northamptonshire.gov.uk
Feelings were very mixed about this novel – some people enjoyed it as a superficial read but, if we were looking for a book with more depth, we would perhaps have chosen something else. Gillian Slovo has written many books, but started out as a writer of crime fiction and progressed to novels about more serious issues. This novel is set in Ceylon and England between 1946 and 1972. As well as the class issues relevant in both countries, it addresses the ruptures brought about by colonialism and its aftermath, the problems of race and immigration and how people coped with their experiences.
The novel opens in Ceylon in 1946, and ends in Sri Lanka in 1972, when the country has gained independence. Not only does the country experience great change during these years, but we felt that the characters did too, almost beyond recognition. The two central characters in the story are Evelyn, a beautiful blond English girl, and Emil the handsome, rich son of an upper-class Sinhalese family. Both of them are rebels and, although warned by their families, fall in love and marry. Evelyn was flattered by the attentions of Emil and sees him as a way to get out of an impossible situation. Her family is moving back to England and she has nowhere to go except to be taken in by her sister, whom she doesn’t particularly get on with. Emil’s family disown him after their marriage, but they set up home in Ceylon where they are quite happy until after the birth of their first child Milton, when Evelyn decides that she would like to move to England.
This is really where their problems start, because although Emil has travelled ahead and set up a successful business there using funds lent by his father, Evelyn soon discovers how he is treated by white people. Although very much a rebel in Ceylon, she finds life with Emil in England increasingly difficult to cope with, and her character begins to change. This is perhaps most significant when she prays that her second child will look more like her. We felt that this was the beginning of her own feelings of racism, as it is from this time that she can’t bear Emil to touch her.
Emil on the other hand still has great strength of character, perhaps cushioned by his wealth, not to change throughout the many difficult situations that the author throws at him. We did however feel that some of these were very contrived. Their son, who looks like his father, but who has an awkward relationship with him, is sent away to boarding school by Evelyn. This causes even greater tensions between them, as Milton encounters prejudice and bullying at school. Occasions when his parents visit are full of tension, as Emil refuses to conform and becomes an increasing embarrassment to his wife. Vanessa, their second child, does look more like her mother and is the favourite of her father. Because of her colour she has an easier time, and is able to keep relative peace within the family.
Things come to a head between Evelyn and Emil, when she has an affair with Charles, one of Emil’s junior partners. The marriage ends with Evelyn being thrown out of the family home, and Emil subsequently pretending that she has died. He destroys the Black Orchid of the title, and carries on his life in England. We did feel that Evelyn would never have had an affair with this particular character, but that it was a contrived way for the marriage to end in complete disaster.
Milton is expelled from school, much to the delight of Emil, and comes to work in the family firm. He is now an adolescent brimming with resentment, so their relationship doesn’t get any better. Eventually he finds letters from his mother in Emil’s safe and goes to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, to track her down. He finds a drunken women whom he simply does not recognise as his mother. She has settled down with a tea plantation owner, and is a shadow of her former self. Ironically, she is shortly going to have to leave the country, under its terms of independence and so we are left with the feeling that their relationship can never be as it was. Milton does, however, feel when he looks at Sri Lanka and its people that for the first time, he finally belongs somewhere.
Although we appreciated these sentiments, we did feel that the ending was very abrupt and didn’t tie up all the loose ends. We wanted to know how this story-line developed and about the characters who had been left behind. Some of the group felt that a sequel to the book was needed, but others that a final chapter could have been added. We did all feel that the book had been readable, but we questioned its depth, and whether the serious issues at its heart were well-presented.
Reviewed by Janine Blomley of Oundle and District U3A book group
Looking for a job?
Then come along to the Job Club Xtra on Friday 27th January, 10am- 2pm, at Central library, Abington Street, NN1 2BA.
Job Club Xtra is designed for jobseekers to meet with local companies and discuss job vacancies, work experience and volunteer placements!
To find out more information please contact 01604 361460 or e-mail skennedy@northamptonshire.gov.uk
Please click on the image below for full details of a money advice session at Weston Favell library on the 27th January.
21st January 2012, 3.00-4.00pm
28th January 2012, 10.00-11.00am
These are drop-in sessions, so there is no booking required.
Suitable for 5-10 year olds.
On Saturday 21st January at Weston Favell, between 11.00am and 12.00pm, two Vietnamese students will be demonstrating how to play the board games Lucky Chess and Stone in the Square. The games are suitable for children and adults, and the Friends of Weston Favell library have kindly agreed to donate some small prizes of chocolate and sweets to the lucky winners.
There is also a chance to enjoy the colourful Spring Festival Dance, at 12.00pm and again at 1.30pm. Later on the same day, starting at 2.00pm, join in the parade with the Dragon’s Head through the library and the Weston Favell shopping centre.
Want to kick start your job hunt this New Year? Then why not try…
‘Confidence To Get Back to Work’
A free 6 week course at Weston Favell & Wellingborough libraries starting 18th January 2012
Please click on the relevant links below for full details of these free courses.
A brand new writers’ group is starting this month in Towcester. The group meets every third Wednesday at Towcester library from 7.30pm – 9.30pm. Entry is £3.00, which includes refreshments.
Come along and meet like-minded creative writers, of varying talents, genres and successes in the world of publishing.
“Towcester has so much to give in terms of creative writing, and it’s not celebrated nearly enough,” says Louise Gibney, local writer and Chair of the group. “The nearest alternative group is a good drive away, so we recognised the need for such an organisation. We hope local writers can grab this opportunity with both hands”.
Towcester Writers’ Group intends to meet monthly starting Wednesday 18th January 2012. The group promises to showcase local writers’ work, give writers opportunities to work on their skills through mini workshops, bring in other writers from around the country as guest speakers, and they hope to even hold a literary festival for the town in the future.
For more information, please search for the group’s Facebook page: Towcester Writers’ Group, call the library on 01327 350794 or email towlib@northamptonshire.gov.uk
Corby library [in the Corby Cube] is running a Horrible Histories event about the Brits in World War 2 for children, aged 6-12, from 11am – 12noon on Saturday 14th January.
There will be activities and crafts. Children will have the opportunity to look at World War 2 artefacts on loan from Kettering Manor House Museum. Any child under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.
Free places can be booked by contacting Corby library: tel.01536 203304 or e-mail corlib@northamptonshire.gov.uk
Please click on the image below for details of a job club starting at Long Buckby library on the 13th January.
Sunday 8th - Asian family time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Monday 9th – Reading group. Contact library for details.
Tuesday 10th – Rhymetime: 10.00am - 10.30am, 11am – 11.30am
Wendesday 11th – Homework club: 3.30pm – 5.30pm 8 – 12yrs
Saturday 14th – Horrible Histories: WW2 event for 6 – 12yr olds, booking essential. Contact the library.
Sunday 15th – Language café: drop-in session from 2pm
Tuesday 17th – Rhymetime: 10.00am - 10.30am, 11am – 11.30am
Wednesday 18th – Homework club: 3.30pm – 5.30pm. For children aged 8 – 12yrs
Sunday 22nd – Sunday reading group: 2pm – 3pm, for adults, no need to book
Tuesday 24th – Rhymetime: 10.00am - 10.30am, 11am – 11.30am
Wednesday 25th – Homework club: 3.30pm – 5.30pm, 8 – 12yrs
Please click on the link below for full details of what’s going on in these libraries in January.
Please click the below link for details of all the events going on in Wollaston library this month.
BIG BOOKSALE
Started 3rd January – grab yourself a bargain.
Priced at just 25p for paperbacks and 50p for hardbacks, there is a range of adult, young adult and children’s ex-library stock available. You can fill a reusable jute bag for just £4, with an exclusive price of just £3 for Friends of the library.
There is also a small selection of music CDs and DVDs available to buy for just £1.
If you’re in the Kettering/Burton Latimer area, why not come along and see what we have available?
————————————————————————
Scrabble Club
A friendly group with all abilities and ages welcome.
Wednesday 4th January, 10.30am at the Library
————————————————————————
RHYMETIME is back
Starts Thursday 5th January for under 5s and their parents/guardians
10.30-11.15am
————————————————————————
History of Fashion - part 2
Another entertaining talk by Penny Lucas on Monday 23rd January at 2pm
PRICE: Friends £2, guests £3
Please book your place 01536 723357
Please click on the link below for details of what’s going on in Higham Ferrers library this month.
Come and bring your child to meet a character from Alice in Wonderland at Central library on Thursday 22nd December at 12.30pm.
Corby library staff were asked to host a launch event for the eagerly-awaited ‘Our Corby’ publication, held at the library on Wednesday 7th December.
‘Our Corby’ is an arts and heritage project celebrating the rich history and diversity of Corby and the surrounding areas, and has involved writing workshops and poetry events, a play by Paula Boulton, a community heritage website set up to host archives of photographs, and much more.
The new book contains a collection of some of the work done for the project, including some of the fascinating images hosted by the website, www.ourcorby.org.uk , unmissable poems from acclaimed writers such as Kevin Fegan and writer-in-residence Joel Stickley, work from local writers and more.
Specially-invited guests including the Mayor of Corby, Councillor Gail McDade; Chris Mallender, Chief Executive of Corby Borough Council; Kate Dyer of Corby Community Arts; Chris Sudworth, Creative Director at the Core at Corby Cube, and others involved in the project were there to speak about the publication.
Priced at just £10, the book is now available to buy. It is now available at the library shop, and makes a perfect Christmas present!
REMEMBER!
To help Northamptonshire libraries raise income for the service please consider using the link below to go to Amazon. We currently receive 5.5 % commission on all sales through this link, so every transaction made really does make a difference to your library service! Best of all, it doesn’t cost you anything extra.
Please click here, bookmark this link and use it whenever you order from Amazon, so that your library service receives a donation from Amazon every time you shop!
Playaway review
“It was the dogs’ fault…”
Playaways are a new format of audiobook. They are played on a small digital media player, changing the face of talking books, and the player looks like this:
The benefit of a Playaway is that while audiobooks on CD and tape require the reader to change the disc or the cassette several times, here you can fit the whole book on one small unit. All you need is a pair of headphones and a triple-A battery. Although many are 10 or 12 hours at least, all on the same unit, I thought I’d try one with a shorter story first – Alan Bennett’s ‘The Uncommon Reader’, which lasts just 2 hours 40 minutes.
Walking her corgis one night, the Queen stumbles upon a mobile library van. Borrowing a book mostly out of politeness, she goes back to return it, and takes another book – and then another. Soon enough, she develops a new passion for reading that changes her life, baffling politicians and Royal staff along the way. The book opens with a surreal exchange between the Queen and the French President about the author Jean Genet.
In one comic moment, Her Majesty is upset to discover the visit from the mobile library to the Palace has been cancelled due to cutbacks. We find later that this is engineered by the Royal household, who don’t approve of her reading. To the Queen’s annoyance, she finds herself up against an anti-reading attitude from non-readers, who think it’s selfish, exclusive and even dangerous.
Bennett has been involved in campaigns to promote and protect libraries, and here he is using the Queen as the protagonist and vehicle to promote a passion for books and reading – an interesting move full of comic potential. It’s an engaging, affectionate book, weaving old age and the sense of duty into a discussion around the nature of art. There are several laugh-out-loud moments.
Ultimately, this is a book about what can happen when you develop a love of literature, and the potential of reading to enrich your life. This is not just a short, comic story, but a defence of the nature of books and reading. After the Queen’s security confiscates a book in case it is a ‘device’, the Queen angrily agrees that it is: “A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”
It’s a good book, and I enjoyed it.
As for the use of the Playaway, the best thing about it is the size, which is really convenient – it fits in your pocket. And the buttons are really easy to use. There are only Play/Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward and a volume control. Helpfully, the timer counts down instead of up, so you know how long to go until the end of the chapter, and every ten seconds or so it reminds you which chapter you’re on. When you turn it off and back on, it resumes at the point at which you turned it off.
Some people will still prefer audiobooks on CD or tape, particularly if they want to listen to it while doing something else, such as doing housework or in the car. Wearing headphones isn’t always practical, and wearing them for long periods can get wearing if they’re uncomfortable or if you’re not used to it. But for simplicity and ease of use I’d recommend it.
Reviewed by Ian Loveland
Corby library staff have recently redeveloped an area for a new library shop, expanding the range of items that we sell – including books, reading accessories, and toys and games for children that could make ideal stocking fillers.
If you’re looking for ideas for Christmas presents, why not have a look and find out what the library has to offer? (click on all images for bigger versions)
The library has a lot of resources to borrow, but you can also buy books at the library – mainly local publications, with a variety of books about Northamptonshire available in county libraries. The local publications available in Corby include books like ‘Corby: Past and Present’ by Veronica Ortenberg, and David Black and Clive Smith’s books about the Corby music scene, ‘It’s Steel Rock’n’Roll To Me’ and ‘Alive in the Dead of Night’.
We also sell a range of brand new fiction, non-fiction and children’s books at bargain prices, books about how to research your family history and many more.
The library also sells jute bags for your books, for £2.
We have a variety of children’s toys and games on sale, from activity books and dinosaur toys to more educational resources, such as wallcharts to help your child at school. We also sell various book accessories, like bookmarks, book lights and clips, including animal-themed bookmarks for children.
The items on sale include perfect stocking filler ideas, such as a Christmas colouring set for just £1.50, wooden truck toys (£2.75), furry worms (£1), packs of crayons and activity books (just 20p each) and a Very Hungry Caterpillar card game set (£3.99).
Since it’s Christmas and Santa is coming soon on his sleigh, you can also get jingle sticks for children (£1.99): popular with children, but not so popular with the mums and dads! On a less noisy note, the library also sells Beanie Bear-sized Bookstart Bear teddy bears for just £2.99.
Come and visit us – there’s something for everyone.
