Spotlight 30: Change and Transformation

We've all had to adapt to some dramatic changes this year. With more on the way soon, we've chosen to focus on the theme of Transformation.

Outside of items on dealing with current changes, today's Library Spotlight also features magical metamorphoses, butterflies, coming-of-age stories - and zombies.

This too shall pass

In this Waterstones podcast, psychotherapist Julia Samuel discusses how we can develop healthy ways of coping with change against the backdrop of coronavirus.

The interview includes many helpful suggestions for responding to uncertainty emotionally, socially and creatively, along with recognising the opportunities that it presents.

One of Julia Samuel's suggestions for working through our thoughts and feelings at times of change and crisis is to start a journal.

If you're curious about finding out more about journaling and giving it a go, this article has some great tips on getting started. There's also advice on writing a "gratitude journal" during uncertain times here.

Discover something new with our Adventure Book Festival

As covered in the podcast, lockdown has offered the opportunity to reflect on ourselves and what changes we might like to make to our lives in the future. We may be thinking about trying out different outward-bound hobbies, or striking out on new adventures once things are safer.

Tickets are now available for our Adventure Book Festival - a series of fantastic free online events, running from 13 - 23 July. From talks on fell running, mountaineering, and wild swimming, to creative writing workshops for adults and young people, there'll be lots to inspire and explore!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see the full programme and to book your place on these live events.

Creativity During Corona

Write about a change in your life that affected you. Perhaps try writing in the 3rd person (he/she rather than I) - it could make you look at the situation differently. Turn it into a poem or a short story, the beginning of a novel or your memoirs.

In this week's final Creativity During Corona post, Claire from Central Library shares some poems and writing prompts on the theme of metamorphosis.

Visit our Facebook page to try out today's creative writing activities and read some "Instructions for Not Becoming a Werewolf"...

Create a caterpillar collage

Naturally, one of our favourite stories about metamorphosis is The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Hear Eric Carle read his classic picture book and learn how to create a colourful butterfly in the style of the original illustrations in this video from the Puffin Festival of Big Dreams.

Theatrical transformations

In the mood for some theatre this weekend? Here are two experimental takes on classic stories featuring magical and monstrous transformations.

An ingenious theatrical "remake" of George Romero's 1968 horror film, imitating the dog's Night of the Living Dead REMIX won rave reviews when it toured the UK earlier this year. Blending theatre, film, archive footage and Barbie dolls, this is a unique, often entertainingly weird play.

Against a backdrop of political turbulence, a group of strangers are forced to take shelter in an isolated farmhouse during a zombie apocalypse. But the living can be just as big a threat as the undead.

Aimed at audiences aged 15+, Night of the Living Dead REMIX is available to watch online here.

Also free to watch now, a recent acclaimed production of A Midsummer's Night Dream is currently available on iPlayer as part of the BBC's "Culture in Quarantine" programme.

Performed at the Globe in 2016, Emma Rice's production shakes up Shakespeare's magical comedy, switching character genders and bringing in touches of Bollywood and bawdy cabaret.

Watch this modern take on A Midsummer Night's Dream here.

#BookQuizFriday

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a giant insect.” Who wrote this famous opening line? 

What words are written on the label of the shrinking potion in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Fancy testing your book smarts? For the latest Friday Book Quiz we've conjured up some questions on magical metamorphoses in fiction.

You can find the full quiz on our Twitter page. The answers and a new quiz will be revealed next week.

Festival of Debate

Sheffield's Festival of Debate is coming to close with a "Question Time"-style event tonight (Friday 3 July). But you can still catch up with this year's free online talks.

The 2020 festival has featured many thought-provoking discussions on achieving social change and adapting to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 epidemic.

This year's events are available to watch on the Festival of Debate website.

Now in the eLibrary

We're currently planning how to reopen our services in a way that is safe for all.

In the meantime, our eLibrary is available 24/7, with thousands of eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and comics for readers of all ages to enjoy for free. Find out how to join the library and access the eLibrary on our website.

Today we're highlighting some great YA novels. Click the titles to discover recent bestsellers and stories of self-discovery with the power to change perceptions and perspectives.

One of Us...
Discover Karen McManus's
thrilling bestselling series

Solitaire
A "Catcher in the Rye
for the digital age"

The Conference of the Birds
Miss Peregrine's
Peculiar Children return...

Read Becky Albertalli's
Love, Simon novels
here

                

I Am Thunder

The Million Pieces
of Neena Gill  

Birthday

Things a Bright
Girl Can Do

  

Patron Saints
of Nothing

Browse our full collection of eBooks for teenagers here (audiobooks can be found here).

Ethel Haythornthwaite and the protection of Sheffield's 'Golden Frame'

If lockdown has shown us one thing it’s how important our green spaces are to us.  Use of public parks has increased massively and the Peak District has become a visitor hotspot again after months of limited access.  Green space has always been important to people’s physical and mental wellbeing and the establishment of Sheffield’s green belt and the Peak District National Park are both linked to a Sheffield group, formed almost 100 years ago, whose tireless efforts ensured the preservation and protection of some of the favourite green spaces we know and love today...

Proposed boundaries of the Peak District National
Park drawn up in 1939.

This map (pictured) shows the proposed boundaries of the Peak District National Park, drawn up in 1939.  The clue to its provenance is written on the front in spidery handwriting: Property of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, Endcliffe Vale House, Sheffield 10.  Endcliffe Vale House was a once-splendid mansion (long since demolished), home to the Ward family - Thomas W. Ward was a famous Sheffield industrialist who made his money as a scrap metal merchant; the firm Thos. W. Ward is perhaps best known for its First World War ‘employee’, Lizzie the elephant, who was put to work carting machinery, scrap metal and munitions around the city.  However, the map did not belong to Thomas Ward, but to his daughter Ethel.

Notice in a local paper announcing the marriage
of Ethel Ward and Lt. Gallimore, 1916.

Ethel Basset Ward was born in Sheffield in 1894, one of five children.  She was first married at the age of 22 in 1916 to Henry Burrows Gallimore. Captain Gallimore was killed in France in May 1917. She was heartbroken and became very ill. Her family tried to help her by taking her for restorative walks in the countryside, which they knew she loved.  She soon became enamoured of the rural beauty surrounding the city of Sheffield, and decided to focus her attentions on protecting that green space from development and urban sprawl.

The first minute book of the Sheffield Association
for the Protection of Rural Scenery, 1924. 

She vowed to try to protect the Sheffield and Peak District countryside and in order to do this she formed a society called the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Rural Scenery, which, in 1927, became the Peak District and South Yorkshire branch of the CPRE (Council for the Preservation of Rural England, later renamed Campaign to Protect Rural England). The original minute book at Sheffield Archives details the first meeting at Endcliffe Vale House.  Among those present were Ethel Gallimore, G.H.B. Ward representing the ramblers' interests, Gertrude ward, (Ethel's sister), and Alan Ward (her brother).  Sir Henry Hadow, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield University was elected President, and Ethel, who had both instigated the meeting and provided the meeting place, was elected Honorary Secretary, a position she occupied for the next 56 years.

A publication issued by CPRE in 1934.

At this time, the 'Green Belt' did not exist and the Peak District was not a designated National Park. There was a lack of guidance and control over the design of buildings in the countryside and no statutory planning control - up until the first Town and Country Planning Act was passed in 1932, Local Authorities incurred hefty penalties of compensation if planning permission was refused to protect amenities. The work of the local CPRE was three-fold:

1. To draw public attention to the beauty of the Peak District and the threat uncontrolled development posed;

2. To lobby Local Authorities and developers to use materials for buildings appropriate to their setting;

3. Organising the purchase of areas in the Peak District for safe keeping by the National Trust to prevent unsuitable building development.

 

Ethel pictured with her second husband, Gerald
Haythornthwaite.

The group's first major purchase (by public subscription) was that of the Longshaw Estate (750 acres) in 1927. Thereafter Ethel was behind a long line of acquisitions, battles and victories. She became a force in the conservation world, joined from 1937 by her second husband, Gerald Haythornthwaite. Together they formed a formidable partnership.  They were meticulous researchers, dogged campaigners and single-mindedly dedicated to their work. Their archive documents their method and approach, their specialisms and expertise, their influence, passions and concerns. Their papers also offer a fascinating peek into the issues and threats to the countryside which they faced in the 1920s and 1930s, many of which are still relevant today.

'A blight on the landscape' - cars in the Peak District

Their case files in the archive reveal a long list of battles fought over the land:

·        They conducted a survey of areas suitable to be included in Sheffield’s Green Belt (4,600 acres), approved by Sheffield Council in 1938;

·        They stopped a 200 mph racing circuit being built just north of Dovedale.

·        Organised successful national opposition to a steelworks being built in the Edale Valley;

·        Set up a Peak District Advisory Committee giving free advice on proposed buildings and providing suitable designs for a nominal fee;

·        Waged a 12 year campaign to prevent a motorway being built across the park to Longdendale;

·        The establishment of the Peak District National Park in 1951.

Gerald and Ethel Haythornthwaite riding part of
the boundary route.

The history of the Peak District National Park is closely tied to the history of all Britain's national parks.  From the Victorian era there was an increasing demand from the public to access the countryside.  This led to a growing conflict with landowners.  There was a major flashpoint in 1932 when there was a mass trespass of Kinder Scout.

In 1936, a voluntary Standing Committee on National Parks (SCNP) was formed to lobby Government on the matter: the CPRE was part of this and Ethel Haythornthwaite later sat on the Hobhouse Committee.  It was resolved at its meeting in May 1937 that the association should pro-actively map the areas which were suitable to be included in the park; a group of local experts set to work. They examined maps, explored the proposed boundary on the ground and engaged in many discussions and disputes before the boundary was finally agreed. It is thought that Ethel circumnavigated the whole route on horseback before committing it to the map!  In 1951, the Peak District was the first area to be designated as a national park.

The 190-mile boundary walk. 

Ethel died in 1986 aged 92; her husband Gerald died some 9 years later in 1995. The Haythornthwaite’s work to protect and preserve the outstanding natural beauty of the Peak District continues to this day. New developments - housing, road building, quarrying, off-roading, overhead pylons and cables, and more recently, fracking, threaten to damage or destroy huge areas of green space.

The history of the CPRE (now called Friends of the Peak District) is meticulously documented in its archive at Sheffield Archives.  The minute books are rich in detail about decision making, the 160 case files are packed full of interesting debate and strongly-worded correspondence about proposed developments, many of which did not go ahead (and some that did).  There are also some fascinating early maps which represent the start of what we now know as the Peak District National Park and the mapping of Sheffield’s Green Belt - the ‘golden frame’.

Although much is housed at Sheffield Archives, there are more archives still stored with the Friends of the Peak District awaiting transfer to Sheffield Archives.  Following a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, an archivist has been employed to sort and catalogue a whole room of material - is estimated there are around 10,000 photographic slides included in the collection and the archivist and a group of local volunteers are meticulously recording the details of each photograph with a view to getting them digitised in time for 2024 which marks the 100^th anniversary of that first meeting instigated by Ethel Haythornthwaite at Endcliffe Vale House.

The list of items in the CPRE archive can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/ycqvwa6b (more to be added by the HLF project)

Our Research Guide on Sheffield’s Green Belt can be downloaded here: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/libraries-archives/access-archives-local-studies-library/research-guides/green-belt

All images © CPRE archive at Sheffield City Archives.  

Spotlight 29: Cookery

For our second Family Library Spotlight, we've lined up a feast of stories, rhymes, recipes and more on the theme of cooking. Starting with a selection of activities for children and ending with some items for older readers, there's something here to meet everyone's tastes!

Check back on our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the week for more treats linked to this week's theme.

Sweet songs and tasty tales

The star of many of Sheffield's library and Concerteenies events, music man Martin Harwood serves up a fruit salad symphony. Join in with The Mango Song!

You can check out more of Martin's regular singalong sessions on his Facebook page.

Next up, we love this poem about Chocolate Cake from We're Going on a Bear Hunt author Michael Rosen. A lot of us (not just children!) will be able to relate to his story of not-so-sneakily helping yourself to an extra treat from the kitchen cupboard...

If you'd like another helping of rhymes and songs, be sure to tune in to our Facebook and Twitter pages at 9am this Friday for another fabulous Rhyme Time with Laura!

Don't just eat your greens - grow them too!

Growing your own veg is a great activity for families to do together, and a fantastic way of getting children to think about where their food comes from.

The Kids in the Garden blog has plenty of advice on how and when to grow different vegetables. There are also tips on how to grow fruit and veg in plant pots around the home - no garden or allotment required!

From an inventive approach to planting strawberries to salad you can grow on your windowsill, there are even more gardening ideas and crafts to try out here, on the National Children’s Gardening Week website.

This lovely story about picky eaters from Vivian French, Oliver's Vegetables, shows how rewarding it can be to grow your own food.

For lots of information on eating healthily and cooking together, take a look at the Food: A Fact of Life website's free resources for children and young people. 

Create your own rainbow of foods

Beki from Highfield Library has a brand new crafty activity for children this week, "I Can Eat a Rainbow!"

Especially when it comes to fruit and veg we're often encouraged to eat food in a variety of colours, and this is a great way to think about all the different foods that are out there for us to enjoy! Here's everything you need to create your own rainbow of foods.

                     

Click the images for a larger view

We'll be featuring this activity on our Facebook page this Tuesday. Please share your colourful culinary rainbows with us!

Veggies assemble!

At our library story times, one of our favourite foodie reads is Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet's Supertato series of picture books. If you've yet to meet this superhero spud and his nemesis Evil Pea, you can listen to the first story here.

From publishers Simon & Schuster, here are some great Supertato activity sheets to download and print!

Dress up your own Supertato!

Wordsearch

Colour in some super-veggies!

 

Maze

 

Cook up a book-themed feast

Have you ever read about a delicious meal in a book and wished you could be eating it alongside the characters?

The Little Library Cafe can help you to do just that, with recipes recreating some of the most memorable dishes from classic novels and children's fiction.

Why not have a go at making Miss Trunchbull's gigantic chocolate cake from Matilda, a pumpkin pasty from Harry Potter, or even green eggs and ham (you'll never know whether you like them or not unless you try them)...

Visit the recipe gallery here. Just click on the book title below any dish for the full recipe!

There are lots of sweet treats for families to bake together here on the BookTrust website, including Nadiya Hussain's recipe for some delicious rainbow fudge.

Discover a smorgasbord of free recipes on our eLibrary

Looking for a little more inspiration in the kitchen? You'll never be short of new recipes to try with our eLibrary.

You can now borrow the latest issues of Olive, BBC Good Food and EasyCook - and keep them for as long as you like! We also have two years' worth of back issues for each magazine, all available for free.

You can also find a selection of recent cookbooks in our eBook library:

The Joyful Home Cook

Ainsley's Caribbean Kitchen 

    

Bosh! Healthy Vegan           The Doctor's Kitchen

 

Food for thought

In this Waterstones podcast, Lara Williams, Michael Palin and food critic Jay Rayner chat about eating around the world and how great meals bring us together.

Several of the books recommended in the podcast are available in our eLibrary, including:

The Supper Club - Lara Williams

An Echo of Scandal - Laura Madeleine

My Last Supper - Jay Rayner (audiobook)  

Creativity During Corona

Think of a note left in someone’s lunch you have prepared – what would you write, and who to?

In the first of this week's Creativity During Corona posts, Claire from Central Library has served up a great selection of poems on the theme of cookery, together with a new batch of activities to spark your imagination and get you writing.

Check out the latest post on our Facebook page.

Do you have a taste for adventure?

Tickets are now available for our upcoming Adventure Book Festival! From 13-23 July, we're running a series of free online talks and workshops.

Events include a talk from Black Car Burning author and fell runner Helen Mort and an adventure writing workshop for young people, hosted by our Writer in Residence Nik Perring.

Check out all the festival events on our Eventbrite page - places are limited, so be sure to book your tickets in advance! More events will be announced this week.