Snippets From A Day At My Adopted Library

Did I mention that I have been asked to work on Tuesdays at a library? It isn't going to be forever, but probably until Christmas, and today was my third time working there. I could catch the bus, but it takes over an hour, whereas the train is only ten minutes....although it should be fast as it costs nearly £7 to get there and back!

When I set out this morning I could tell right away that the unseasonable weather was on its way out. The morning was not crisp, but certainly cooler than it has been. Along the little alley-walk that takes me between the back gardens, there was a black kitten sitting up perfectly straight and looking at me. When I got off of the train the other end, there was a great clump of Old Man's Beard shivering in the breeze. Little things, but they make me smile.

When I got to work, I was a few minutes early, and I spent the time looking out of the window. The building the library is in is three stories tall, and the staff room is on the top, so you look out across the rooftops, which is really rather lovely. Down in the library was a poster saying that the library was going to be featured on Flog It! today, at 4:00pm. If you have missed it, it is available on iplayer. The programme is mainly set in Colchester (where there is also a library, and a lovely one too) but there is a section about Dorothy L Sayers, and that was filmed in Witham Library, my adopted library for now. The Dorothy L Sayers Centre is a room in the library, and it was there that I had my interview for my Danbury job, so I always hold it in a special place. Opposite the library is a statue of the lady herself, with a cat, and the house where she lived is just a few doors down from the library.

When I left to walk back to the station, the air was cooler still. The sunshine was welcome, but I can sink thankfully into autumn now. There is a long avenue to walk along, and it is lined with trees. I could tell which kind of tree I was walking under from the sounds beneath my feet. There were scrunchy sycamore keys, and little nubbly prickly seed cases that crunched crisply underfoot, and then swathes of scrunchy leaves to scuff through.

Home again, and thankfully so. Although I work with some very lovely ladies, I am finding it tiring (you are on your feet the whole day). I have whipped up a chicken and rice bake, and then Carl and I together cooked Fiery Hungarian Paprika, Sausage and Cabbage soup ready for tomorrow evening. I am going a dance class tomorrow evening, so I didn't want to come home and cook.

So now it is sips of tea and the scent of dinner cooking, the prospect of a long and very hot bath, and the final of The Great British Bake Off....have a lovely evening!

Oh, but before I go, how lovely....I have been wanting Sophie Dahl's new book ever since it was published, and today it arrived at the library! I hadn't even ordered it, it was just in the new books, so I am going to read that in bed later!

Love

Mimi

xxx