talking in the library

This just amused me when I was looking for a pic

Seems wrong, doesn’t it -  having a discussion in a library?  But that is what I did last night.

OK, all is not quite as it seems – I decided to go and see whether the Reading Group at Walthamstow Central Library was something I might find interesting.

They meet at 7pm on the last Tuesday of every month, and it appears I went on a night when they had the least number of people turning up ever (probably the summer holidays – everywhere seems to be a bit sparse at the moment).

It’s quite good as they provide the library with the name of the next book they want to read, and the library provide enough copies for everyone, and then they hand it back at the next meeting, and pick up the next lot.

They had just finished reading The Time Traveller’s Wife, which I had read and enjoyed – but when it first came out, so I could barely remember any details at all.  It was really interesting to be able to discuss everyone’s different takes on the book – and especially one person who didn’t like it at all and hadn’t finished reading it – but then she had already decided how it was going to end…and it doesn’t.  After listening to the rest of us discussing, she realised that she might find it interesting after all, LOL.

So, I came home with my copy of Ben Okri’s The Famished Road, which I have to be honest, I had never heard of, but am looking forward to reading.

Just thinking about going again in a few weeks though has made me realise that I am going to tackle the book differently.  Knowing that I am going to be discussing it makes me think I should take notes etc – which seems a bit ‘bookish’ to me, and something I haven’t done since school – which was a LONG time ago!

There’s a Walthamstow Book Club that I am also interested in going along to – but I don’t know when they are next meeting.  Is two book clubs just greedy??

mad as a milliner

Surreal? The Girl? Never!

Tonight we had to go to our ‘Parent review’ meeting.  I hate the name of that because it makes it sound like we were due to be scrutinised.

Perhaps that’s what it is – maybe they make us go into the school periodically to sit on the tiny chairs, and feel like naughty school kids to make sure that we’re decent parents, take the correct amount of interest in our children and aren’t thick as two short planks ourselves in which case it would be understandable that our kids were too!

Anyway, going to these meetings is always really embarrassing as The Girl’s teachers are always really gushy about her.  She has things the right way round – she is perfectly behaved with everyone.  Except for us.  Her teacher today said “I wish I could have a whole class of her – she’s an absolute joy to teach!”  Pah…bloody sucky goody-two-shoes teacher’s pet!

So we made the right noises, I told her some of my concerns, she put them all to rest, we discussed SATs to no avail – still don’t know yet whether she’ll be doing them in 3 weeks or not, The Girl was perfectly behaved and then we walked home.

Her ‘creativity’ that she was so applauded for certainly came out as we were walking.

The Girl:  I’m sorry that I behave at school but not at home.  i’m going to really try to change that

Me:  You said that before…in fact every time we see your teachers.  You’ve never managed to change.

The Girl:  We-ell…that could be because I’m a Mad Hatter

Me:  No, it could be because you can’t be bothered

The Girl:  No.  i’m pretty sure that it’s because I’m a Mad Hatter

Me:  Yes.  You are a mental milliner

The Girl:  What’s a mimmiler?

Me:  MILLINER

The Girl:  Ok – what’s that?

Me:  Someone who makes hats

The Girl:  Ohhhhhhhhh.  *then in a sing-song voice, prancing around*  Look at me, I make hats.  I’m a milliner.  I’m so crazy.  I make hats out of leaves. *pulls a couple of leaves off a nearby tree*  but not this one (throwing it away) – this one is no good because it only speaks Spanish.

Now.  Is it surrealism or creativity.  I’m unsure.