Supsliskans in lock-down. Week 7. 27 April - 3 May

Week 7:  27 April – 3 May

Ian 27 April 2020

Well, all of you ... 

We do seem to be reverting to type, all this discussion of libraries and librarians. In Topsham the antiquarian bookshop has for many years been putting on very attractive window displays with books selected by the colour of the binding or dust jacket; maybe J. K. Rowling, who studied French in Exeter University, got the idea from there. Also the library of Sabine Baring-Gould at Lewtrenchard Manor in Devon, which we look after on behalf of the American owners, was arranged largely by colour. And on our travels in northern Spain we came across libraries where the books were shelved from the bottom shelf to the top, although, mercifully, on each shelf the arrangement was left to right. On tackling the staff about this we were met with complete disbelief that it could be done in any other way. Librarians in more conventionally arranged libraries in Spain equally expressed disbelief that such apostate librarians could exist in their country. As for notable librarians, there is of course the German writer Lessing, librarian at the wonderful ducal library in Wolfenbüttel from 1770 to 1781, and the great Goethe himself was director of what is now the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar as part of his wide range of official duties. 

There was a stir in the close over the weekend with an attempt to organise activities for the 2.6 Challenge which replaced the cancelled London Marathon on Sunday. We are not usually up for these sorts of things and hate seeking sponsorship but, not wishing to appear curmudgeonly, we decided to sponsor each other a pound a kilometre for our ride to Topsham to deliver Julie her groceries. We calculated that the door to door distance was just under five miles - about seven kilometres. There and back both both of us would be about 26 kilometres. It proved to be the busiest day we had experienced with many cyclists, joggers and walkers out taking their Sunday exercise. Julie invited us in for an arms-length cup of tea with the croissants we had bought en route. She was in good form and when talk turned to Trump and his suggestion that Americans might take disinfectant internally as a cure, she said he was clean round the bend. But then, perhaps she was being ironic. On the way back I took a picture of delivery girl Jill beside the canal. The bridge behind her at Countess Wear was used for military exercises for the Pegasus Bridge operation during the D-Day landings in 1944. With the canal and river Exe passing close together the topography is very similar to Ouistreham at the mouth of the Orne near Caen.  

Well Boris is back in harness today - we await decisions on the lock-down with bated breath and will probably be looking at New Zealand's experiences with interest. We oldies will probably be locked down indefinitely though. So, more combined letters for Peter Miles, who appreciates being kept in touch, and these will be added to the blog in due course. Maybe we should acquire burqas so as to be able to mingle inconspicuously when the rest of society is set at liberty - a suitable alternative to PPE, perhaps; we are all being urged to improvise, although I do appreciate that this suggestion is not politically correct. Like Trump, I was being ironic!

In the meantime, take care everyone, Ian

Lesley 27 April 2020

Morning all,

Your Trump, NZ and burqa comments and efforts in the 2.6 Challenge particularly made me smile, Ian.  Leadership styles in every walk of life are being noticed more, hopefully to some good in short, medium and long term.

I 'delegated' my 2.6 Challenge to support Ovacome, the charity of which I am a trustee, to my son, daughter-in-law and four children between 11 and 5; they decided to do 26times run round the garden, 26 up and down stairs and 26 minutes on the trampoline although my son swapped 26 minutes on the trampoline for 26 minutes walking round the garden!  As far as  know I'm their only sponsor!

However 'best' of all in my mind, is a fellow Ovacome trustee who sponsored himself to drink 2.6 glasses of wine throughout the day at £10 per glass donation to our funds with the comment, "going to be the most expensive wine I'll ever drink."

Enjoy this next week, Lesley

Jane 27 April 2020

Dear All,

From bottom to top (but left to right), using Library of Congress, was the way books in St Andrews University Library were shelved in the 1960s. German, at PT, went right to the top of the bay so a ladder was required. Very few of us wore trousers in those days . . .  As Edinburgh Public and University Libraries also used Congress, Dewey came as a complete surprise to me when we started in Sheffield. 

We have settled into a routine here - David researching St Andrews history on his laptop before breakfast, walk for both of us to buy newspapers in the little Sainsbury's round the corner, followed by coffee, and crossword (me), Bargain Hunt if we can find when it is broadcast, then both of us on our laptops after lunch. Afternoon tea has been taken in the garden in the recent sunny (although windy so not necessarily warm) weather, and we are much enjoying the peace and quiet there without noisy student parties all round about. The University is going to have a huge deficit, no doubt caused partly by relying on fees from the three quarters of students who come from abroad, and the fact that EU students have paid no more than Scots. With projected numbers to rise to 10,000, more than the resident population of the town, some of us are hoping that expansion plans will not be fulfilled, and we can reclaim the streets and housing. We dread the return of all the students since many of those still around appear to have little regard for keeping their distance from the elderly.

 I have been trawling through the British Newspaper Archive for rum-running 1920-1934 and sending findings to the person in St John's Newfoundland who is hoping to write a book on Scotch whisky during Prohibition. Every time I send something, he comes back with pictures from his archive - a receipt signed by my grandfather, one of the 'Edenhurst', a ship he mentions in a letter as bringing his '1st order', and lots of other ships and people involved in the whisky trade in St Pierre et Miquelon. The Scotsman has excellent 'Shipping Intelligence' each day, listing arrivals and departures at Scottish ports. But there are only 6 mentions of whisky in the cargo 1922-1924, then no more until 1930. No cargo is mentioned for the 'Edenhurst' when it left port, but the cases of whisky can clearly be seen in the stern when moored in St Pierre.

Elder son sent pictures of teddy bears propped up in windows in Amsterdam, so I have put four toys won at various times (fluffy dog from Portrush Fair, pink elephant from St Andrews Lammas Fair, and donkey and cloth dolly from the Teddy Tombola at granddaughter's school's Christmas fair) in our windows downstairs. Students obviously do not notice them as they go past looking neither right nor left, and there are not many small children about. But I live in hope that someone will be amused - although it is more likely that they will decide that the owner of the flat is indeed potty.

So lunch beckons again.  It is home-made spicy parsnip today!

Love to all, Jane

Janet 28 April 2020

Dear All

Yes, it's fun thinking of all the different ways people can arrange things, especially in these days when some have time on their hands. We never seem to have a minute here - if we're not gardening or doing laundry we're trying to find an on-line slot for ordering groceries or else chatting on the phone, emailing or Skypeing with all and sundry. We had an on-line (Zoom) U3A meeting this morning and have just had our regular Tuesday afternoon Skype session with our Grandson, David, where he plays us his accordion and reads us a story.

Vis a vis your idea of adopting a burqa, Ian, I must admit having thought only the other day that, actually, they might be quite practical in our current situation, with their built-in face mask facility. Probably more comfortable than a run-of the-mill face mask that you have to keep fixing onto your ears, and washable, too.

I certainly agreed with whoever it was who said the Boris letters, on their own, were a waste of time and postage. What would have been more use would have been if they had come printed on the back with a cut-out-and keep pattern and instructions for making a washable face mask of one's own. Instead, here is a link to a US health information website that gives a selection of ideas and patterns for DIY reusable masks. I do feel that once the time comes for popping out to the shops or meeting up with friends and neighbours comes again one might be advised to wear some sort of face-covering - both to protect others from one's own coughs and sneezes and to shield oneself from unwanted droplets. Here is the link:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Do hope everyone is keeping well. Best wishes, Janet.

Pat 28 April 2020

The latest on our shelving theme. An amusing topical one. Must have taken someone a very long time to source and assemble.

Love to all, Pat

[This brilliant item was produced by artist and printmaker Phil Shaw, see:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bookshelf-art-tells-a-story-for-our-time-gmmkc7m8c

and various other links and I forwarded it to library friends across the UK and Europe]

Ian 29 April 2020

Hello Everyone

I simply had to forward this one to library friends - with apologies for those of you who have seen it already. It has just arrived as part of an email exchange between old library school friends in Sheffield where the conversation had turned to the arrangement of books on shelves - by colour, by size, even from bottom to top, as we had seen in Spain. But this one by title wins hands down! You may have to download it to enlarge it. 

Hope you are all continuing to survive the lock-down. I survived my first on-line meeting today, chairing the annual meeting of a local charity. Dreadful echoes and either everyone remaining silent or all speaking at once. I feel drained and welcome this light relief. 

Stay safe, all of you, Ian

Val 30 April 2020

Hi, everyone!

Good to hear how you’re all doing …….. & here are two takes on the virus which you may not have seen.

UK Army against Covid-19 and Tom Jones Parody

On the librarian theme, the only (tenuous!) contribution I can add is that Brenda Moon’s sister, Mary Moon, was headmistress of the school I went to in Manchester from 1983 to 1994!! 

I, too, have been doing a great deal of gardening, tackling parts that have never been tackled before!  The weather has turned distinctly chilly again, so I’m on inside jobs now. Chris goes for a very long walk daily which my back won’t allow & then either helps me or works long hours on his laptop & has conference calls with clients & colleagues. Our highlights, of course are our Teams video calls with the whole family which are slightly chaotic with four lots of us on at the same time!

Hermione has progressed from just lying wriggling on her back 4 weeks ago to rolling everywhere & emptying bookshelves ……. Books feature very largely in our family & they start early!!  But at least we can watch her doing it albeit remotely.

It is heartbreaking not to be able to be there in person & ditto for our 9 & 7 year old granddaughters too who are also in York, although we are getting long & very chatty real letters through the post from them which is lovely.

Meat is delivered to our front doorstep by our local butcher & veg, fruit, milk etc  likewise by a local farm shop cum restaurant at Cross Lanes.  So many small businesses have adapted to the situation magnificently. We are very lucky.

Hope you are all keeping well & everyone you know.  Hoping to be “let out” as soon as practicable. Love, Val xx

Lesley 30 Apr 2020

Superb Val - many thanks. 

Especially the bit in the Tom Jones parody about staying away from Cornwall and Inverness!  Exactly, what our daughter said, "If we just have to treat the Highland community (NHS Highlands is the largest NHS by size but only just under 322,000 population) we should just about cope. An influx of others will make it so very much harder."  She reported on last Saturday's Facetime that Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, where she works, saw its first drop in new patients and she is able fit in video clinics with the most seriously ill of her 'usuals', bringing in a few for additional tests where critical.   

I had the plaster removed from the wrist just over a week ago, so she'd got fabric, pattern and cotton ready for me to pick up to start sewing scrubs as part of my physio ... jolly material, not just the standard blue!

Hope you are all staying safe, Lesley

Janet 30 April 2020

Dear All

We are probably finding out more about old friends and colleagues in these on-line conversations than we have in all the years gone by. In respect of Val's remark about Brenda Moon's sister, Mary, I can report that I used to see her quite frequently in the 1990's and early 2000's. She was a fellow Manchester graduate and one-time resident of Ashburne Hall, as I was, and used to attend reunions there. I also knew her as a fellow member of the Court of the University of Manchester. In addition, she was a member of the board of the Students' Union Disability group which monitored my work as University Special Needs Coordinator for Students with Disabilities. She was a lovely woman, quiet and unassuming, but clearly with that underlying steeliness one needs as a headmistress. Manchester High School for Girls, which she led in those days, was just near to Ashburne Hall. But I haven't seen or heard from her for a while. do you have any news? 

I am so glad to hear you now have your wrist back in action, Lesley.
Best wishes to everyone, Janet.

Jane 30 April 2020

Good news about the wrist, Lesley.

Presumably like us you have had a letter and leaflet, similar to the Boris Bumf,  from Our Nicola. We had one through the letter box on the street door yesterday. 4 more were delivered today! All right, it includes telephone numbers and email contact addresses in case of emergencies. But if people do not know what to do by now, I don't see them reading a letter and a leaflet. (Coated paper so no good even as loo paper.) Much better use of taxpayers' (i.e. yours and mine!) money would be a washable face mask and details on how to download the track and trace app if it ever comes. David doesn't even have the sort of phone necessary. And relaxing the alcohol rules would be good so that I can buy essential supplies of gin, whisky, sherry and red wine during Tesco's elderly hours. O N may not be talking about Independence at the moment but this letter is a subtle hint that it is not off the agenda. On the other hand Fatty Salmond is said to be writing a book which will bring down the whole SNP lot in government at the moment. Could be interesting.

Grumpy will now go and have a cup of tea.

Love to all, Jane