Things in the library 5th February...

 Things Orwellian... 

The Reading Group read and discussed '1984' this week and it scored very highly (84%) despite having being written in 1947. Many comparisons to be made with current society (fake news etc) but also enjoyed purely as a fiction. Ironically the imagined 'telescreens' are what enables us to keep the Reading Group active despite lockdown. Our next book on 3rd March will be Ben Elton's 'High Society'.

Things to celebrate...

I believe Feb 12th will be the start of the Chinese New Year - the year of the Ox. In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal. Because of its role in agriculture, positive characteristics, such as being hardworking and honest, are attributed to it. Although the family reunion dinners will not be possible I hope that if you celebrate this festival you enjoy your day.

Things about home working ... 

A fascination article here about the changes brought by home working and the inequalities that may come about given that it is broadly the case that wealthier neighbourhoods have more potential remote workers. If working from home becomes the new normal, many restaurants, cafes, gyms and other locally consumed services may migrate away from city centres towards these neighbourhoods. The graph shows (if the figures are accurate) an amazing correlation between working at home and deprivation.

Things about safeguarding...

The NSPCC, with support from the Home Office, has launched a new initiative that will give ten local authority areas access to a package of support and training that will help them to expand the services they provide to children.  Local safeguarding partners can apply to join the programme for free. In addition, the NSPCC will offer free advanced training to agencies within six of the selected local authority areas to support them to provide Letting the Future In, the NSPCC’s therapeutic recovery service that helps children who’ve been sexually abused to rebuild their lives. 

...and continence

NSPCC Learning has published content to help professionals recognise and respond to continence issues that may affect the children and young people they work with. The content covers: the causes of continence issues; the impact these can have on a child’s wellbeing; what to do when challenges related to continence may indicate a safeguarding or child protection concern; how best to support children and young people with continence issues; and information about who should be providing intimate care, including information about vetting and barring checks, privacy and boundaries.

Things to have your say... 

The UK has comprehensive tobacco control legislation in place to help protect people from the harmful effects of smoking and encourage people to quit. This legislation has contributed towards smoking rates falling to their lowest ever on record in the UK.

Yet despite this positive news, smoking still remains one of the biggest causes of death and disability across the UK. Current figures show that smoking kills 75,000 people in England each year. This shows that there is still more work that can be done to address this issue.

The Government have launched a new consultation on current regulations for tobacco, related products and packaging. The consultation is open till 19th March. They want your views on how effective legislation has been in: 

- discouraging people from starting to use tobacco products

- encouraging people to give up smoking

Things to eat...

A Chinese fish dish is apparently a regular part of the New Year celebrations, this steamed sea bass sounds lovely. 

Things in the library 6 Nov...

 Things still open... 

The Illingworth Library will be remaining open during 'Lockdown 2'. The opening hours are 8:45 - 17:00 Mon - Friday but most of our services are available remotely, so there is no need to come into the library if you do not wish to do so. 

We will be issuing books as normal during this time and so will be continuing to charge fines.

If your book is due for return and you are not able to (or do not wish to) do so in person then please renew it to avoid charges. You can renew books by logging in to your library account online http://illingworth.cirqahosting.com/ or by using the library app, by phone or by email.

If you do visit the library please only do so if you are well. You must wear a mask , observe social distancing and use the hand sanitisers and wipes provided for you.

Things to celebrate...

The winner of our library catalogue treasure hunt was Louisa Wallbridge and Tom Mann won a prize for recommending someone new to take part in the Randomised Coffee Trial, both these events were part of our library 70th birthday celebrations. Well done both of you!

Things to read and plan... 

Our next Virtual Reading Group meeting is 2nd Dec where we will be discussing The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier and choosing books to read next year.  It is our Christmas party so members may dress in festive garb, have hats, mince pies and mulled wine…or just turn up online completely normal if  they wish! The meeting will start at 18:30 but may last longer than normal. Contact the library if you wish to be added to the mailing list.

The Silver Sword is taken from accounts of actual events, the silver sword became the symbol of hope and courage which kept four deserted and starving children alive through the years of occupation in Warsaw, and afterwards on the search to find their parents.

Things about society...  

A free, online festival showcases the University of Sheffield’s world-leading social science researchers and their work on tackling some of the greatest problems facing society today.

Join them from 7-15 November for a series of talks, debates, films, podcasts and interactive exhibitions. This is part of the national ESRC Festival of Social Science. Details of events and exhibitions can be found on these links.

Things about disadvantge during Covid-19...

Oxford Brookes University has published a study looking at family life and early child development in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic. Findings, based on the experiences of over 500 parents of under-3-year-olds, include: 90% of families reported an increase in enriching activities (like talking, reading and playing together) during lockdown; however, during, but not before, lockdown socio-economically disadvantaged parents were less likely to engage in enriching activities with their children. 

They recommend that

• Children from disadvantaged families should be given extra support to promote their early development
• Communal outdoor spaces and libraries should be closed only as a last resort in lockdowns

Things about child growth... 

In the news today a study which aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. If you want to read more than the news headlines then the full article is available. their interpretation of results is that the height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks. Some very colourful infographics!

Things to make... 

No big bonfire parties this year for us sadly though we will still be setting off a few fireworks tomorrow and eating some festive fare. Probably we will be streaming the event to our son in the Netherlands, to whom I had to post an emergency pack of stuffing this week so that he can also make our famous pork sandwiches! Given my store of apples I might have a go at these homemade toffee apples.