Reasons to be Cheerful – Odette Elliott

I woke up this morning to the statement on the radio that “17^th January is officially the gloomiest day of the year”.

It was indeed wet and gloomy outside, but I have a strange affinity with 17^th of the month, as my birthday is on 17^th November. So, since this is my date for the blog, I am searching for Something Cheerful to say.  The 17^th of the month needs a champion.

My Something Cheerful will be to celebrate the fact that Public Libraries and Mobile Library Services exist. They enrich our lives.  One of our daughters lives on the Isle of Mull and how she values the Mobile Library service, especially during the winter season!

The other day I took our little granddaughter to the Public Library in Willesden.  She thoroughly enjoyed browsing, reading and borrowing a few books.  I already had so many books to read at home and I didn’t really want to add to the pile.  However, my eye was caught by a shining, silver book.  On closer inspection, it turned out to be a book about outer space, written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.  (Lucy is Stephen Hawking’s daughter.)   It looked like an intriguing mixture between illustrated facts, amazing photos and a gripping adventure.  It is called “George’s Secret Key to the Universe”.

Of course I borrowed the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.  No.  I couldn’t pass an exam on the wealth of information that it offered, but felt that it had opened my eye to some of the amazing aspects of life.  It is beyond my comprehension that human beings can have so much knowledge about light years, other planets, the timings of comets etc.

Thanks to the Pubic Library, I have been able to enjoy a good story, as well as to reflect and wonder.  This has enriched my life.  Another time I might take out a book on a much more mundane subject. Variety is the spice of life. You will find variety in libraries. I refuse to be gloomy today.  Long live Public Libraries!