Origami @ Wallasey Central Library

Last Saturday, visitors to the library had the opportunity to experience origami - the traditional Japanese art of paper folding.

The results of the workshop had a distinct seasonal look.

Monies raised at the event went to the Red Cross Japanese Tsaunami Appeal and the Friends of the Library.

Hopefully, the origami workshops will return in the New Year.

Charity Origami Workshop 3rd December 2012

Friends of Wallasey Central Library Noticeboard

The Friends of Wallasey Central Library now have a noticeboard in the library. The noticeboard is located to the left of the main door as you come into the library. We intend to advertise activities of the Friends on the board.

We are also looking at producing a regular newsletter to keep friends informed of activities and events in the library.

Quiz Night 8th December 2011

The Friends have organised a quiz night as detailed on the above poster. (Please click on poster to enlarge)

We hope this will become a regular event to raise monies for the library.

Please note that friends of the library get a discount.

If you wish to submit a team then please contact the library direct.

Friends of Wallasey Central Library Bookstall

The Friends of Wallasey Central Library are now running a bookstall at the library. At present, we are running the stall whenever possible. However, our aim is to run it on a regular day. All the monies raised will be put back into the library.

We are also using the stall to try to recruit new friends of the library.

If you would like to help out or donate books then please contact the friends:

friendsofwallaseycentral@gmail.com

Review of John Hegley @ Wallasey Central Library 30th September 2011

Here is a review of John Hegley's enjoyable performance at the library by Clare Kirwan, Wallasey Central Library:

Comic poet John Hegley made his second visit to Wallasey Central Library this year to start the Centenary weekend's festivities.

After his sell-out workshop in March, he again attracted more than 60 people to his one-man show on Friday 30th September. With a bewildering range of the comic and profound, some escapades involving balloons and the audience being required to impersonate birds on at least two occasions, it was certainly a varied night.

Most famous for his poems about dogs, glasses and brown paper bags - many of which are silly and serious at the same time - he is also a surprisingly good singer, accompanying himself on mandolin. He tried out some brand new material, never before performed, including a marvellous dream-like poem where boats on bedroom wallpaper rowed him into a surreal scenario.

Wallasey Central Library has the most extensive poetry section in Wirral with more than 1,500 poetry books spanning all eras. John was very impressed with our collection and selected some of his favourite poems to read out, bringing unexpected works by Adrian Henri, DH Lawrence, and others to new audiences.

Birkenhead Priory; Talk by Colin Simpson 21st October 2011

Birkenhead Priory: Talk by Colin Simpson
3.00 - 4.00pm
21st October 2011
Wallasey Central Library
Earlston Road
CH45 5DX

Talk on Birkenhead's oldest standing building by Colin Simpson, Williamson Art Gallery.

Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. The remains of the priory are a Grade I listed building[2] and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It was founded about 1150 by Hamon de Masci, 3rd Baron of Dunham Massey for the Benedictine Order.

The Priory was visited twice by Edward I due to its strategic importance being close to the borders of Wales, and also the Irish Sea.

In 1318 the monks from Birkenhead Priory were granted ferry rights by Edward II. This allowed them to build a house in what is now Water Street to store their corn. The house was also used by travellers for shelter if the weather was too bad for the ferry to cross the River Mersey.
The priory's chapter house is consecrated as an Anglican church, and is still used for services. There is a chapel dedicated to the training ship HMS Conway. There is also a museum detailing the history of the site. The chapter house is a Grade II listed building and contains items of Norman architecture. In 2005 the chapter house was restored.

St Mary's Tower was originally part of Birkenhead's first parish church, opened in 1821 in the grounds of the priory. It is a Grade II listed building. Wikipedia

Aileen La Tourette 1st November 2011

Aileen La Tourette
Free
6.30pm
1st November 2011
Wallasey Central Library
Earlston Road
CH45 5DX

Join author Aileen La Tourette in the launch of her new novel The Saint Machine.

AILEEN LA TOURETTE was born in the USA but moved to England over 35 years ago where she currently lectures in Imaginative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University. She has written two books of poetry, Touching Base (2006, Headland Publications) and Downward Mobility (2004); two books of short stories, Oral History (2007) and, with Sara Maitland, Weddings and Funerals (1983); and two previous novels, Nuns and Mothers (1984) and Cry Wolf (1986). She has also written plays for BBC Radio 4 including, My Darling, My Darling, My Life and My Bride, a play about the death of Edgar Allen Poe. Ilura Press

Spooky Tales Around The Foyer 31st October 2011

Spooky Tales Around The Foyer
31st October 2011
6.00pm
Wallasey Central Library
Earlston Road
New Brighton
CH45 5DX

Bring your own story/poem or listen to local writers from "Tales Around the Fire" and "Tugboat Cath".

Wallasey Central Library Centenary Celebrations 30/9/11 and 1/10/11

THE centenary of Wallasey's Central Library will be celebrated next week with a series of special events to mark the milestone.

The library first opened its doors to the public on September 30, 1911 - one of many around the world helped by American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie who provided funding for it to be built.

A specially-commissioned painting of the library and a plaque to commemorate the anniversary is to be unveiled by Mayor of Wirral Cllr Moira McLaughlin.

Councillor Chris Meaden, Wirral cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: "The role Wallasey Central Library plays within the local community is as important now as it was 100 years ago.

"I hope many users of the library, past and present, can join us for the celebrations.

"It promises to be a very special weekend, with events suited to every age group to show just what Wirral’s libraries are all about."

Celebrations will start with a return visit to the library by comic poet John Hegley for a performance this Friday.

On Saturday, there will be a range of activities and events for library-users of all ages starting at 10am. Between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, there will be live music, exhibitions and Edwardian cream teas will be served to visitors.

Winners of the library’s "100 Words" writing competition - which invited people to explain what their local library means to them, will be announced and Mayor McLaughlin will then unveil the painting and plaque.

The original library had been in Earlston House from 1900, next to where the main library building now stands. The then-head librarian, a Mr E A Savage, fought for funding to construct a new, purpose-built library.

Despite having been turned down several times, he eventually secured a donation of £9,000 from Carnegie in 1908 and building work got underway.

Scottish-born Carnegie, who had already funded more than 2,000 public buildings at the time, believed in "helping those who help themselves" and libraries fitted in with those beliefs.

The library was refurbished earlier this year with new windows, revamped exhibition spaces and modernised central heating system.

Tickets for John Hegley’s performance cost £7 and are available from Wallasey, Birkenhead, Bebington and West Kirby central libraries, or can be reserved by telephoning 0151 639 2334.
Wirral Globe

Jane Costello Talk 22nd September 2011

Jane was a newspaper journalist for many years before she became an author, working on titles including the Liverpool Echo – where she started as a graduate trainee – and the Daily Mail.

Until 2007, she was the Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post, a job she held for more than four years. Jane wrote her first novel, Bridesmaids, while on maternity leave and, as well as becoming an instant bestseller, was nominated for the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance.

She followed that up with The Nearly-Weds, which was named by the Romantic Novelists’ Association as Romantic Comedy of the Year 2010.

Jane’s books are now sold around the world and translated into fifteen different languages. She recently returned to the city of her birth, Liverpool, where she lives with her two young sons.

She is currently working on a fifth book. Jane Costello.com

Della Robbia Talk by Colin Simpson 20th September 2011

6.30 - 7.30pm
20th September 2011
Wallasey Central Library
Earlston Road
Wallasey
CH45 5DX

A free talk by Colin Simpson, Williamson Art Gallery.

The Della Robbia Pottery was a ceramic factory founded in 1894 in Birkenhead, England. The business was started by Harold Steward Rathbone and Conrad Gustave d'Huc Dressler (1856-1940). Rathbone, son of a wealthy local business man, Philip Rathbone, had been a pupil of Ford Madox Brown, who was one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement. Dressler was a sculptor, potter and also inventor of the continuous firing tunnel kiln. Giovanni Carlo Valentino Manzoni also joined the pottery in early 1894, leaving to establish his own pottery, the Minerva Art Ware Manufacturers in Hanley in July 1895. Manzoni returned to the pottery in June 1898, staying until its closure in 1906.

The pottery was established as a true Arts & Crafts pottery on the lines advocated by William Morris, using local labour and raw materials such as local red clay from Moreton, Wirral. The pottery had lustrous lead glazes and often used patterns of interweaving plants, typical of Art Nouveau, with heraldic and Islamic motifs. Read more on Wikipedia

A large collection of Della Robbia pottery can be seen at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead.

More Photos of the Japanese Day 20/8/11

Clare Kirwan, who works at the Wallasey Central Library has sent us some photos from the Japanese Day to share.

Japanese Day @ Wallasey Central Library 20th August 2011

Last Saturday, the Friends of the Library with members of the Japanese community on Merseyside held a Japanese Day at the Library to raise funds for the Japan Red Cross Tsunami Appeal and the Friends Group. The day was a great success with over £1,100 raised. More than 1000 people of all ages visited the event.

The people who attended were entertained to displays of Japanese arts and crafts on display, including painting and haikus. There was story-telling for all ages from the land of the rising sun. There were also displays on bonsai plants, samurai armour and aikido.

Many of the visitors participated in calligraphy, painting, haiku and basic Japanese language lessons with many also taking the chance to try on a kimono.

Below is a slide show of all the fun:

The Friends also ran a bookstall at the event which is about to become a regular feature at the Library to raise funds - watch this space!

Many thanks to all those people who turned up and were so generous! Thanks also to the all the people who helped make the day such a success especially Natsuko Isa and Paul Cook.

If you enjoyed the event then we promise similar fund raising events in the future.

Michael Carson Talk 5th September 2011

6.00 - 7.00pm
5th September 2011
Wallasey Central Library
Earlston Road
Wallasey
CH45 5DX

An opportunity to meet one of New Brighton's best known writers as we await the publication of his latest book about his character Benson.

Michael Carson is the pen name of British author Michael Wherly. He is best known for his Benson trilogy of novels, about a young man growing up Catholic and homosexual.

Carson was born in 1946 in Wallasey, in the north-west of England. He was brought up a devout Catholic.

After attending Aberystwyth and Oxford universities, and training at International House World Organisation in London, he spent twenty years teaching English as a Foreign Language primarily in the Arab world. He has lectured in writing at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster. He mentors for Crossing Borders, a project to encourage African writers. Carson won the Writers Inc prize in 2006 for his story All over the Place. He has also worked as a lifeguard.

Carson released a collection of short stories in 1993, Serving Suggestions, published by Victor Gollancz (ISBN 0-552-99586-X), which includes "The Punishment of Luxury". A further collection of short stories, The Rule of Twelfths, was published by Headland in May 2008.[4] Fifty short stories by Michael Carson have also featured on BBC Radio Four. Wikipedia

Michael Carson's books include:

Sucking Sherbet Lemons ISBN 0-552-99348-4
Stripping Penguins Bare ISBN 0-552-99465-0
Yanking Up The Yoyo ISBN 0-552-99524-X
Friends and Infidels ISBN 0-552-99380-8
Coming Up Roses ISBN 0-552-99421-9
Demolishing Babel ISBN 0-385-40431-X
Dying in Style ISBN 1-853-71817-3
Hubbies ISBN 1-853-71678-2
The Knight of the Flaming Heart ISBN 0-385-40651-7

All the above books are available to borrow at the Library. My tip is to start with the original Benson trilogy - Sucking Sherbet Lemons, Stripping Penguins Bare and Yanking Up The Yoyo.

'Irresistible' The Guardian. 'Makes you want to cheer' The New Yorker. 'A Gay Adrian Mole...the funniest novel I've read all year' Simon Callow. 'This book will always be a reminder to me of the courage of purpose, the futility of the oppressor, and, above all, the power of laughter' Michael Cashman, MEP. 'One of the freshest voices on the current scene.' The Literary Review.

Japanese Day @ Wallasey Central Library 20th August 2011

Wallasey Central Library will be turning Japanese on Saturday 20th August.

Visitors to the library will have a rare chance to immerse themselves in Japanese culture with calligraphy, basic Japanese language lessons - and even a chance to try on a kimono!

There’ll also be Japanese arts and crafts on display, including painting and haikus – and story-telling for all ages from the land of the rising sun.

The event is being organised by the Friends of Wallasey Central Library to raise money for the Japan Red Cross Tsunami Appeal and the Friends Group. The will be a raffle to win an Everton shirt signed by the team and lots of other prizes.

The event is being organised by Friends Group member, Natsuko Isa, who said: "I have been wanting to do something good for society ever since I moved to the UK and since the Tsunami struck Japan I have been looking for the opportunity to help those who were affected the most.

“Organising the Japanese Day in Wallasey Central Library is my dream come true. We want as many people as possible come along on the day to have fun with us as well as to have a meaningful time together!"

The Japanese Day takes place between 10am and 4pm, although the library will close for lunch between 1pm and 2pm. For more information, contact Wallasey Central Library on 0151 639 2334.

100 years... 100 words

Wallasey Library is holding a 100 word writing competition with a £100 prize to celebrate their centenary birthday.

The Earlston Road branch formally opened on September 30 1911.

To celebrate the milestone librarians are asking people to write on the subject of libraries.

The judges will be two critically acclaimed writers.

Entering the competition is free for any adult member of Wirral Libraries. If you are not a member you can become one by taking proof of your address to any library where you can also pick up a competition entry form.

Both poetry and prose is welcome and there are first prizes of £50 in each category plus runner up cash prizes. Winners will also be invited to read their work at the official Centenary Celebration which will be held on the first of October.

Suitable topics may be summarising what libraries mean to you, describing your favourite memory in a library or reminiscing on a library in another country. The closing date for the competition is August 25.

Judging the writing competition will be Nick Perring, an acclaimed Wirral short story author who's debut collection Not So Perfect is published by Roast Books. Also judging is Wallasey based poet Janine Pinion who's latest collection The Sea is Dancing Grandmothers is published by Driftwood.

There is also a design a 100th birthday card competition for youngsters. For details on this call the Children’s Library in Wallasey on 0151 639 2334.

There will be a special centenary celebration event taking pace on Saturday October 1 which will feature Edwardian cream teas and music.

For more information on the Library or either of the competitions call 0151 639 2334.