Library Of Birmingham Events

Meet Birmingham Poet Laureate 2012/13

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0100

Meet the talented Stephen Morrison-Burke and find out what it's like to be a poetry ambassador for the city.

Northfield Talkabout is an informal programme of talks and discussions on literary themes at Northfield Library.

Contact Jacquie Deeley on 0121 464 1007 or e-mail northfield.library@birmingham.gov.uk for more information

Sessions are free of charge - everyone welcome

What to do if an elephant stands on your foot... Stories and craft

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:00:00 +0100

Come and join in the fun this half term.

Find us in Hall Green Library Meeting Room

Places may be limited

Parents/Carers of 5 year olds need to stay with their children.

For more information, contact Hall Green Library

Email: hall.green.library@birmingham.gov.uk

Tel: 0121 464 6633

Chinnwag Reminiscence Group

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:00:00 +0100

A great chance to meet new friends and chat about times past over a cuppa.

For more details contact Eric on 0121 744 1711

Sutton Coldfield Library Opening Festival - Family Sessions

Tue, 28 May 2013 15:05:11 +0100

Welcome back to Sutton Coldfield Library.

To celebrate the opening of the library we will be having a week full of events from Tuesday 28 May.

Come and join us for these fantastic fun family sessions!

Birmingham Poet Laureate Stephen Morrison-Burke

Tuesday 28 May, 11am-12 noon

Author and Illustrator Steve Smallman

Wednesday 29 May, 10.30am-11.30am

Storyteller Katrice Horsley

Thursday 30 May, 1.30pm-2.30pm and 3pm-4pm

Horrid Henry Story Session

With a very Special Guest

Friday 31 May, 10.30am-11.30am

For any information please contact 0121 464 2274

Booking is essential as places are limited

Sutton Coldfield Library Opening Festival - Local History Talks

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to Sutton Coldfield Library

To celebrate the opening of the library we will be having a week full of events from Tuesday 28 May.

Come and join us for two fascinating Local History Talks on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 May.

For information please contact 0121 464 2274

Booking is essential as places are limited.

Sutton Coldfield Library - Grand Opening Ceremony

Sat, 1 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to Sutton Coldfield Library.

To celebrate the opening of the library we will be having a week full of events from Tuesday 28 May

Join us for the Grand Opening Ceremony on Saturday 1 June at 11am!

With a special performance from The Four Oaks Cluster Training Choir

Plus Face Painting, Balloonatics, Horrid Henry and Rhythm Junkies Street Dance.

Sutton Coldfield Library Opening Festival - Ugly Bug Ball

Thu, 30 May 2013 10:15:00 +0100

Welcome back to Sutton Coldfield Library.

To celebrate the opening of the library we will be having a week full of events from Tuesday 28 May.

Join us on Thursday 30 May for our Ugly Bug Ball Story and Craft Session

Please note: Parents are required to stay with their children during this session.

For information please contact 0121 464 2274

Booking is essential as places are limited

Annie Murray visits Birmingham Libraries

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:30:00 +0100

Annie will be visiting South Yardley, Yardley Wood, West Heath, Sutton Coldfield, Quinton and Hall Green libraries. Click the dates tab for more information. These events are free and to book tickets please contact the individual libraries.

About The Women of Lilac Street

Troubles in life. Strength in friendship.

Birmingham, almost a decade after the end of the Great War, and the women of Lilac Street have had more than their fair share of troubles . . .

Rose Southgate is trapped in a loveless marriage. Shy and isolated, she makes the best of life, until she meets a man who changes everything.

Jen Green is struggling to make ends meet, with a sick husband and five children to support. Aggie, her eldest daughter, is twelve years old and longs for excitement. But prying into the adult world shows her more than she had bargained for.

And Phyllis Taylor is a widow who has managed to put a dark and traumatic past behind her. But the return of her daughter Dolly threatens all that …

These women find strength in friendship, as they discover that the best way to solve their problems is to face them together.

Praise for Birmingham Blitz by Annie Murray:

‘A tale of passion and empathy which will keep you hooked’ Women’s Own

About Annie

Annie Murray was born in Berkshire and read English at St John's College, Oxford. Her first 'Birmingham' novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written many other successful novels, including A Hopscotch Summer, Soldier Girl and the bestselling Chocolate Girls. Annie has four children and lives near Reading.

Damian Barr at Yardley Wood Library

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

It's October 1984. An IRA bomb blows apart the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Miraculously, Margaret Thatcher survives.

In small-town Scotland, eight-year-old Damian Barr watches in horror as his mum rips her wedding ring off and packs their bags. He knows he, too, must survive. But darkness threatens as Maggie takes hold: she snatches school milk, smashes the unions and makes greed good. Following Maggie's advice, Damian works hard and plans his escape. He discovers that stories can save your life.

Maggie & Me is a touching and darkly witty memoir about surviving Thatcher's Britain; a story of growing up gay in a straight world and coming out the other side in spite of, and maybe because of, the Iron Lady.

Review

“Damian Barr sifts through the wreckage of a horrific childhood and manages to extract humour, generosity of spirit and ultimately joy, and he does it with a literary élan that had me re-reading whole paragraphs, just for the pleasure of it. To say I loved it doesn't begin to convey the mixture of emotions - tears, laughter, anger - I felt while reading it. This book should be required reading for children who need to know that there is life beyond an appalling beginning, and for politicians who prefer to look the other way.”

(Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You)