Redbridge Libraries

17/09/2020

Kindness Matters guide

Chillout with Redbridge Libraries

The Covid-19 pandemic has created big challenges for our mental health and overall wellbeing, whether we're isolating at home, dealing with loss or trying to live with the changed circumstances.

To help, every week in Chillout with Redbridge Libraries, we’re highlighting an option for chilling out and/or improving wellbeing.

Kindness, or doing good, often means putting other people’s needs before our own. #DYK kindness matters? Evidence shows that helping others can benefit our own mental health and wellbeing in many ways such as: improving our mood; reducing stress; improving self-esteem. Thinking of the needs of others can also take us away from ourselves and our own concerns. This week, we recommend the Mental Health Foundation’s Kindness Matters Guide. It shows the positive impact helping others can have on your mental health, including some tips and suggestions to encourage you. So, have a read and think about doing something kind for a friend or a stranger today: https://vrcl.uk/3c9BRlk. They also have inspiring suggestions for random acts of kindness during Covid19: https://vrcl.uk/3cabLyp

#LibrariesFromHome

How can kindness help yourself and others? Our guide to being kind.

17/09/2020

#TheGreatCourses with Lab Central
"Renaissance": discover centuries of exhilarating change in Europe, focusing on often-overlooked areas, including the role of women, the lives of the poor & elite and home & family life.
https://redbridge.kanopy.com/product/renaissance-transformation-west
#LibrariesFromHome

17/09/2020

Sexual Health Week 2020: Get your RSE in gear!

Calling all #teachers! Brook is UK's leading sexual health & wellbeing charity for #youngpeople. They believe in a society where all young people are free to be themselves & know the education they receive at school plays a vital role in that.

So, for Sexual Health Week, Brook wants to help you get your RSE (relationships & sex education) in gear! They want to equip you with the tools & confidence to deliver inspiring inclusive RSE that young people will love. You can view their programme of #SHW20 events & useful resources here: https://www.brook.org.uk/shw/

Brook wants to equip you with the tools and confidence you need to deliver inspiring, inclusive relationships & sex education that your young people will love.

16/09/2020

Reiki Meditation Session twenty four 16 09 20

Reiki with Stephanie Mugo

Stephanie Mugo, our instructor for regular Friday reiki meditation sessions at Redbridge Central Library has moved her sessions online during lockdown. These online sessions have been created to provide much needed support at a time of crisis.

Stephanie extends an invitation to join the class to anyone who feels they could benefit from:

• a mental break,
• a breath of fresh air,
• gaining more focus,
• reducing the pressure of fear,
• feeling more relaxed,
• reconnecting with yourself,
• feeling a sense of calm inside and more…

The sessions are on Wednesdays at 2pm and last one hour.

All you need is a device to connect to YouTube, a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for one hour, and something to keep you warm and comfortable for the duration of the session. It’s good to keep a bottle of water by your side to sip between meditation activities.

Stephanie is asking for a voluntary donation of £3/session. If you feel aligned with this please contact Stephanie: [email protected]

But if you cannot afford it don’t worry - the videos are accessible at all times to everyone.

Here’s the link to the live session on Wednesday 16 September at 2pm: https://youtu.be/Bhn6z5mIMWg

You can also type “Stephanie Mugo” in the YouTube search bar and then go to the videos and find the live stream and previous sessions by date.

15/09/2020

Must-Read Classics
Literature of 1920 and the 1920s

Our #eBook and #eAudiobook platforms are the perfect avenues to explore those classic books you may not have had the opportunity to read. You can access them via our #VirtualLibrary: https://vrcl.uk/Virtual-Library

Why not step back 100 years & discover literature published in 1920 with:
Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles
F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise;
D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love;
Sinclair Lewis's Main Street;
Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Dolittle;
Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence;
Yevgeny Zamyatin's We.

Or you could try some writing set in the 1920s. The allure of fashion, literature, music, and party culture that surrounds the 1920s is still very much alive today. Discover the brief period in time when war had ceased in the West and economies were improving with:
The Diviners by Libby Bray
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Passing by Nella Larsen
The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Anything Goes: a biography of the Roaring Twenties by Lucy Moore
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Whose Body? By Dorothy Sayers
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

(Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay)

15/09/2020

We're thrilled to be part of this collaboration with our Lab Central team. Hope you'll have a go at the Escape Neverend Isle challenge?

U Can Too are hugely excited to share 'Escape Neverend Isle' a story-based online challenge for families with 10-14 year-olds.

During this experience, parent and child will work together to explore the story, spot clues, share knowledge, solve problems & ultimately escape the island!

Escape Neverend Isle is a Tech Ilford project collaboratively created by U Can Too & Lab Central at Redbridge Libraries created for everyone to enjoy.

Setting the scene:

"You are a famous zoologist with a special interest in mythological creatures and after a terrible storm that wrecks your expedition ship, you find yourself in Neverend Isle. Legend has it that this island is the home of the last living population of colossal fire-breathing dragons."

Dare to escape Neverend Isle?
Visit:

https://sites.google.com/view/escapeneverendisle/home

14/09/2020

#CodingFromHome with Lab Central
Try Cargo-Bot today! One of the best free games for kids 6 yrs+ to learn basic coding skills. Control a robotic arm to move crates into the displayed configuration. It is much tougher than it looks, and lots of fun!
https://altermanchess.wixsite.com/cargobot

13/09/2020

Virtual Library • Vision RCL

Roald Dahl wrote ‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men’ in Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

Like to #read some Roald Dahl books? We’ve lots on #eBook and #eAudiobook in our #VirtualLibrary with #BorrowBox: https://vrcl.uk/Virtual-Library. But they are very popular!

#RoaldDahlDay #RoaldDahlStoryDay #LibrariesFromHome

13/09/2020

Part 1 of 3: A deliciously disgusting reading of Roald Dahl's The Twits story for ages 6 - 12s

“Mr. Twit was one of these very hairy-faced men. The whole of his face except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose, was covered with thick hair. The stuff even sprouted in revolting tufts out of his nostrils and ear-holes.”

It’s #RoaldDahlDay! If you’re a fan of Roald Dahl’s “The Twits” you might like to watch a disgustingly delightful #reading. The classic tale of the gruesome twosome is presented in an unabridged theatrical reading of 3 Parts filmed at the Unicorn in London: https://youtu.be/W4yDqcD2qsw

#LibrariesFromHome

Next up! Watch episode 2: https://youtu.be/OWol-uJ_gb4 and 3: https://youtu.be/wLfYquWDcFA Imagine the worst people you can think of, can you do that? Good. ...

11/09/2020

#STEAMfromHome with Lab Central
Prepare to show off your STEAM projects by taking part in the next National Skills Day - Wed 7 Oct. It’s going to be great fun whilst building your confidence at this time. Check out the requirements now and book the date!
https://ncw2020.co.uk/october-7th-skills-day/

11/09/2020

#ComicHeroes with Lab Central
This is an action-packed volume of Dungeons & Dragons! Join them, captained by the powerful mage Dwalimor Omen, as they seek to dispose of dangerous magic items that threaten the Realms!
http://ow.ly/ZawS50Bo1f0
#LibrariesFromHome

11/09/2020

Litter Picking • Vision RCL

It’s the Great British September Clean from 11 to 27 September. Earlier this year #KeepBritainTidy was astounded by support for the #GreatBritishSpingClean in March/April. With more than 680,000 volunteers promising their time, the enthusiasm and excitement generated exceeded all their expectations. However, events were postponed due to #Covid19.

Now that #lockdown is easing, you can get involved and show support for their #GreatBritishSeptemberClean - safely, of course. Join the Volunteer Litter Picking scheme across Redbridge: https://visionrcl.org.uk/events/litter-picking/

#GBSeptemberClean

Litter Picking in Redbridge Parks and Green Spaces We know the majority of Redbridge residents take pride in their local area, and want to see our parks and green spaces kept litter free. However, litter continues to be a problem across the borough. Even with bins being emptied more frequently, some...

10/09/2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has created big challenges for our mental health and overall wellbeing, whether we're isolating at home, dealing with loss or trying to live with the changed circumstances.

To help, every week in Chillout with Redbridge Libraries, we’re highlighting an option for chilling out and/or improving wellbeing.

This week, we suggest visiting the Reading Well website for helpful resources and advice to support you to look after your #health and #wellbeing during #Covid-19 - including signposting to online health information and self-management resources from Reading Well partner organisations such as Mind, Alzheimer's Society, Carers UK, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK: https://reading-well.org.uk/news/stay-connected

#LibrariesFromHome

10/09/2020

#TheGreatCourses with Lab Central
Think visually in mathematics, solving problems in arithmetic, algebra, geometry and probability with the help of imaginative graphics designed to give you many eureka moments of mathematical insight.
https://redbridge.kanopy.com/product/power-mathematical-visualization
#LibrariesFromHome

10/09/2020

Enjoy #book festivals? Our friends at Pen to Print at Barking & Dagenham #Libraries are hosting their #digital ReadFest until 25 September. If you’re a fan of #writing, #poetry, #storytelling and all things #books then this #free #online festival is for you.

You can find out more about #ReadFest & access the brochure & tickets here: https://pentoprint.org/readfest/

09/09/2020

Technologies of the Human Corpse - An evening with John Troyer

We have 3 spaces just come available for tonight's online book event - The event starts at 7pm. Please send us a private message with your email address so we can send you joining instructions. #engaginglibs #deathpositivelibrary

We all need to talk about death more. Join us as John Troyer talks about his bestseller, 'Technologies of the Human Corpse.'

09/09/2020

Reiki Meditation Session Twenty Three 09 09 2020

Reiki with Stephanie Mugo

Stephanie Mugo, our instructor for regular Friday reiki meditation sessions at Redbridge Central Library has moved her sessions online during lockdown. These online sessions have been created to provide much needed support at a time of crisis.

Stephanie extends an invitation to join the class to anyone who feels they could benefit from:

• a mental break,
• a breath of fresh air,
• gaining more focus,
• reducing the pressure of fear,
• feeling more relaxed,
• reconnecting with yourself,
• feeling a sense of calm inside and more…

The sessions are on Wednesdays at 2pm and last one hour.

All you need is a device to connect to YouTube, a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for one hour, and something to keep you warm and comfortable for the duration of the session. It’s good to keep a bottle of water by your side to sip between meditation activities.

Stephanie is asking for a voluntary donation of £3/session. If you feel aligned with this please contact Stephanie: [email protected]

But if you cannot afford it don’t worry - the videos are accessible at all times to everyone.

Here’s the link to the live session on Wednesday 9 September at 2pm: https://youtu.be/vvBnjcjDGAM

You can also type “Stephanie Mugo” in the YouTube search bar and then go to the videos and find the live stream and previous sessions by date.

08/09/2020

Must-Read Classics

Our #eBook and #eAudiobook platforms are the perfect avenues to explore those classic books you may not have had the opportunity to read. You can access them via our #VirtualLibrary: https://vrcl.uk/Virtual-Library

India has produced and offered some of the finest literature to the world including epics like ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’. Indian writers of the twentieth century and beyond have also created works that have garnered much attention and appreciation globally.

For example, Mulk Raj Anand (1905 to 2004) a prominent #Indian author of novels, short stories and critical essays in English, known for his realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the poor in #India. Along with Raja Rao, R.K. Narayan and Ahmed Ali, he is considered a founder of the English-language Indian novel.

The son of a coppersmith, Anand graduated with honours in 1924 from Punjab University in Lahore and pursued additional studies at the University of Cambridge and at University College in London. While in Europe, he became politically active in India’s struggle for independence and shortly thereafter wrote a series of diverse books on aspects of South Asian culture, including Persian Painting (1930), Curries and Other Indian Dishes (1932), The Hindu View of Art (1933).

A prolific writer, Anand first gained wide recognition for his novels Untouchable (1935) and Coolie (1936), both of which examined the problems of poverty in Indian society and set an entire generation of educated Indians thinking about India’s social evils that were perpetuated in the name of religion and tradition.

Untouchable is the extraordinarily powerful story of Bakha, a proud and attractive young man, who is an Untouchable - an outcast in India's caste system. It is a system that is even now only slowly changing and was then as cruel and debilitating as that of apartheid. The novel is set in the fictional Indian town of Bulashah and vividly recreates one day in the life of Bakha, sweeper and toilet-cleaner. Anand pours a vitality, fire and richness of detail into the account that earn his place as one of the twentieth century's most important Indian writers. Through its plot, the novel argues to eradicate the caste system in India. Anand’s prose translations of Punjabi and Hindi street-talk into a sympathetic English style have led many to call him India’s Charles Dickens.

Coolie portrays the picaresque adventures of Munoo, a young boy forced to leave his hill village to fend for himself and discover the world. His journey takes him far from home to towns and cities, to Bomboy and Simla, sweating as servant, factory-worker and rickshaw driver. It is a fight for survival that illuminates, with raw immediacy, the grim fate of the masses in pre-Partition India.

In 1945, Anand returned to Bombay (now Mumbai) to campaign for national reforms. Among his other major works are The Village (1939), The Sword and the Sickle (1942), and The Big Heart (1945; rev. ed. 1980). Anand wrote other novels and short-story collections and also edited numerous magazines and journals, including MARG, a quarterly art journal that he founded in 1946. He also intermittently worked on a seven-volume autobiographical novel entitled Seven Ages of Man, completing four volumes: Seven Summers (1951), Morning Face (1968), Confession of a Lover (1976), and The Bubble (1984).

08/09/2020

September 8 is #InternationalLiteracyDay celebrated annually to raise awareness & remind people of the importance of #literacy. UNESCO declared this day as an opportunity to highlight improvements in world literacy rates and reflect on the world’s remaining literacy challenges.

According to United Nations, globally, at least 773 million adults and youths still cannot read and write, while 617 million children and adolescents are not achieving minimum proficiency levels in #reading and mathematics.

International Literacy Day is celebrated to encourage awareness towards literacy so that people from around the globe can know their social and individual rights. Literacy is considered to be a necessity for social and personal development.

The theme of International Literacy Day 2020 is “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.” The theme highlights literacy in a lifelong learning perspective and mainly focuses on youth and adults. During COVID-19, in many countries, adult literacy programmes were not included in initial education response plans so most adult literacy programmes that did exist were suspended, with just a few continuing virtually, through TV and radio, or in open air spaces, according to the United Nations.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/literacy-day