Hazel Osmond

Well, last night at the Rendezvous Café in Whitley Bay was a lovely event to mark the end of The Mysterious Miss Mayhew’s time as North Tyneside’s Summer Read.
Great audience, really good questions - had to think hard about a couple of them - and superbly well organised by North Tyneside Council/Libraries. Thanks to all who came along.
Also thanks to the café staff and to New Writing North and the whole Read Regional initiative.
Here I am with Rachel and Steve who were in charge and looked after me beautifully.

Gateshead with writer Caroline Roberts (second from right) and library staff Helen Eddon, far left and Chris Myhill (far right).

Writing is a solitary profession, so I was delighted to be given this opportunity, via Read Regional, to travel around libraries meeting readers and staff. And now ‘The Mysterious Miss Mayhew’ and I have completed nine of my ten events, it’s a good time to reflect on what I’ve learned.

My first visit was to Edgeley Library, Stockport and I set off with my trusty prompt notes, a suitable reading from the book, and handouts for those interested in writing. About twenty minutes into my visit, I realised an important thing about Read Regional audiences - they are enthusiastic about reading and love talking about books. They also ask perceptive questions. Here, it was whether my time in advertising helped me to create the ten, pithy observations made by one of my characters. In Hull, it was about the mechanics of creating empathy for even the most unpleasant characters. In Houghton, a woman asked how I wrote from a male POV. They were the kind of questions that make you think hard about your writing – and I loved it.

Something else I loved was that six of my events have been shared ones. At Gosforth I was with short story writer Carys Davies; at Acklam and Whitley Bay, with Chris Killen. Caroline Roberts kept me company in Wakefield, Gateshead and will do so again, in Hartlepool. I had no idea how any of these ‘two-hander’ events would play out, but they were enjoyable and lively, and exploring the similarities and differences in books and writing methods gave me a valuable new perspective on my work.

Visiting so many places - some familiar, some new - has been rewarding and left me with some great memories – the pace of life slowing on a rare, red hot day in the market town of Pocklington; the smell of the sea in Whitley Bay; the cherry blossom trees on the drive into Acklam, just minutes from busy Middlesbrough.

Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is how the region’s libraries are adapting to change and how hard they work to provide imaginative activities and events for the community. Of course every library I’ve visited has had its own distinct character - from the traditional red brick Edgeley library to the ultra modern Wakefield Library and Museum – and some, these days, share premises with other council facilities, but all have bright and welcoming interiors, notice boards full of details of upcoming events, and active reading groups. This changing face of libraries was really brought home to me in Gateshead which back in the 1980s was my local, fairly traditional library. Sensitively remodelled, it’s now a place of light and energy with facilities that include a Sound Gallery for music and film, a Teenspace, a new children’s library and a coffee shop.  

So a big thank you to New Writing North, to all those who came along to meet me and to the region’s library staff - your warm hospitality and hot tea has been much appreciated.

On the day before I start my Read Regional library visits and talks,  I thought it might be good to start the library theme by revisiting the blog I wrote about my time spent with the  mobile libraries in Northumberland …

This summer, ‘Words Across Northumberland’ (part of the Hexham Book Festival) offered authors the opportunity to travel round on the county’s library vans. It seemed a perfect opportunity to see some more of Northumberland and to talk to users about what they read and what I write.

I was very much looking forward to the experience, having a soft spot for library vans - I remember the one that used to pull up outside our house when my daughters were little. It was a welcome sight when getting two wriggly people to the library in Hexham on the bus just seemed a journey too far. They used to love climbing up the steps and having a root through the books - they thought there was something magical about a big yellow van just arriving on their doorstep stuffed with adventures waiting to be picked up. I suppose I still do.
And the experience did not let me down. It was also, in the words of the Queen (and she’s an avid mobile library user - well at least she is in Alan Bennett’s 'An Uncommon Reader’) - a humbling experience.

My first morning out was with librarian Debbie on the van that visits Birtley, Gunnerton and Humshaugh (all about forty minutes from Hexham). This is sheep and (some) cattle country, gently undulating and, despite the monsoon conditions prevailing on the day, quite, quite stunning - but then I’m biased - it is the area of Northumberland where much of the action takes place in my second book 'The First Time I Saw Your Face’.

You’re unlikely to pass many other vehicles, which is lucky as these vans are big and the roads are narrow and the cloud was so low that it met the rain bouncing back up from the tarmac. However, within a few minutes of setting out we had to stop to let a farmer on his quad bike shepherd a ewe and her two lambs along the road and into a field. Debbie said that in the past she has helped to free sheep from the cattle grids - news that confirmed my views on sheep and on librarians.

My second trip was with the van that visits Netherton and Whittingham - areas of great beauty again and more remote being about an hour from Newcastle and seven miles or so from Alnwick. That day, with Keith at the wheel, we were having a heatwave and the van trundled along like a little mobile oven, with kind relief provided by Jill from the Book Festival in the shape of cold ginger beer. This time sheep were not scurrying about or getting stuck in cattle grids, they were panting under trees, only the lambs careering about in badly behaved drifts.  

So why was the experience humbling? Well, because it showed me that library vans do more than hold books, librarians do more than hand them out and that the mobile library service is providing an essential service that perhaps we don’t appreciate enough.

On both days we stopped at various points in villages and it became clear that those using the service tend to be people with young children and those who are retired. There were exceptions on both days - I arrived at Netherton to find the van surrounded by enthusiastic children from the village school and one farmer drove to meet the van and gather up armfuls of books  - but generally people visiting the van cannot get to other libraries easily or may, indeed, find getting anywhere a problem. Remember this isn’t 'commuter countryside’ here for the most part - we’re talking agriculture, small businesses, working from home, working in the local community. We’re also talking places with limited public transport.

People were helped up steps and to books and if it’s not too soppy a word, I found it touching how much care the library staff took with their readers. Debbie was down on her knees hunting for Westerns that one chap hadn’t yet discovered; Keith scooted about to find authors similar to ones already read and enjoyed. There were conversations about grandchildren and holidays… all the bits of glue that bind communities together - and if someone who usually visited the van did not appear, they asked around to see that they were OK.
The people using the van were chatty and happy to discuss what they read and why. They were interested in what I wrote even if it wasn’t always their 'thing’. There was a general regard for books that was heartening - they’d always want to have one near to hand. And … note to publishers who say people don’t read sagas any more … they do. Lots.

The mobile library offers a gem of a service and is hugely appreciated by those who use it, particularly in isolated communities. But who knows what the future holds? People buying books from the internet, the changing nature of villages, the cuts to budgets being faced by all services … they will all have an impact. What can we do as people who think reading is one of the most satisfying, liberating and empowering freedoms we have? Encourage people to use this fantastic service … it’s harder to validate snipping away at it when it’s well used and well defended. Of course, that’s a rallying cry for all libraries, but perhaps we should shout it even louder in this instance.

So, if you or a relation live in an area that has a library van, is there any way you can use it? Doesn’t matter if you already belong to another library … sign up. And did you know the ones in Northumberland now operate on Saturdays to catch those who work?

Let’s hear it for Library Vans. Believe me you’ll be surprised at the range of books they carry and the slices of community life you’ll experience just by walking up those steps.

Lastly, a big thanks to Debbie and Keith and to the Northumberland Library Service for letting me be part of it.