Well, I can feel a new blog coming on…So much to say but so little time…Where to begin? Our Library Annual Meeting takes place on Saturday October 17th (6.00 – 8.00 pm) and we would be delighted if you would like to come along. Sadly,…
National Poetry Day is celebrated in the UK on the 1st October. This month’s challenge is, appropriately, a poetry competition. Your mission (should you choose to accept it!) is to identify 20 famous poets from snippets of their work, and also to find the names…
Courtesy of the Poetry Foundation To Autumn Play Audio By John Keats Toggle annotations Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend…
For some reason, some recent research led me to Ruskin – who led a remarkable life – which in turn led me to his correspondence – he was a prolific correspondent – with the Brownings. Ruskin, was friendly with Mrs Browning but apparently had some ‘issues’…
*When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life: Samuel Johnson I have recently returned from one of my sporadic forays to the Metropolis. My trips to London are usually stimulating and enervating in almost equal measure. (I think that must…
I love a bargain. Who doesn’t? But to be able to pick up five brilliant books for a £1 in the Library’s secondhand book sale – there are plenty of titles still available at 20p, why not come in and have a look – was…
‘Words matter’ has become a mantra of sorts over recent years. I feel as though it may have peaked 3 or 4 years ago, but I look forward to some geeky reader (are you there dear elder son?) providing me with some accurate data on…
Read to the Beat! This summer, Jesmond Library will be offering the Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge 2026: Read to the Beat. We have planned an exciting launch event on Saturday 11 July at 12 noon, featuring local storyteller Chris Bostock – with music, stories…
What happened next…? People have asked for a list of the books which were read during the Jesmond Library Readathon, 26-27 June 2026 Books read: To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee The Elephant’s Child – Rudyard Kipling There is an England – Harry Gallagher…
Friends of Jesmond Library Thirteen years ago, Jesmond Library was scheduled for closure. And, if it weren’t for the hard work and determination of the local community, sadly that would have happened. But instead Jesmond residents came together to form the charity Friends of Jesmond…
The 2026 Teddy Bear Trail This is the National Year of Reading, so this year’s Teddy Bear Trail took the theme of ‘Ted Loves Books’. Jez the Ted’s friends did not hold back! Thirty teddies took part with all of them taking on characters from…
April’s challenge For the National Year of Reading 2026, we are setting a new challenge each month. The April challenge was a picture quiz, imagining what would happen if the illustrator of a book misheard or misunderstood the title and inadvertently used an animal in…
