Jane Austen: Behind the Bonnets
Many will have seen the films and luscious TV adaptations of Austen's works - beautiful costumes, affluent country houses, the carriages. And at the centre of it all, an attractive…
Canada’s sesquicentennial: 1867-2017
'On the 1st of July 1867, as soon as the clocks told midnight, in most of the towns and villages from the Atlantic shores of Nova Scotia to the north-west…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: 20th Anniversary
Just in case you didn't know ..... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, written by Rowling, was published twenty years ago on 26 June 1997 and fans across the globe…
Artists at War: Stanley Spencer and the Second World War
In Artists at War: Paul Nash and the First World War, we looked at the role of official war artists and in particular the work of Paul Nash. In this…
Books Are Good For Your Health!
Reading Well is a partnership of Libraries, the Reading Agency and the Wellcome Trust. It is intended to promote the benefits of reading for health and wellbeing and has two…
The Eiffel Tower: a quick tour
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous and most visited landmarks in the world. It opened on 31 March 1889, 128 years ago today. History and background It was…
Artists at War: Paul Nash and the First World War
When war was declared on 4 August 1914 many artists - the profession was then still predominantly male - began to enlist. The Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC), which provided…
Middlesex: the county that vanished?
The Oxford Companion to British History describes Middlesex as "one of the smallest, oldest and strangest of counties". Counties Counties (also called shires, hence Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire) have a long…
U.S. Presidential Inaugurations: from Lincoln to Trump
As president elect, Donald Trump, makes his final preparations to become the 45th president of the United States at midday on Friday 20th January , a day that will surely…
‘Home Sweet Home’, says CEO, Paul Martin
Following his visit to Richmond upon Thames Library Services on Thursday 29 December 2016, Paul Martin, Chief Executive Officer serving Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, shares his views on libraries and…