Carols by Candlelight

Incredibly, it’s time for our annual Carols by Candlelight sing along at the library. Please join us on Sunday 17 December between 5 and 6pm for a lovely sing along of all of your old favourite carols.

Songsheets provided, but if you would like a copy to and print your own (or load onto your tablet), so much the better, just email info@cricklewoodlibrary.org.uk.

We will, as usual, be serving mulled wine and mince pies.

Cricklereaders November 2023 – Winter in Sokcho

A n out-of-season South Korean resort, a mysterious foreign visitor and a young woman whose dual nationality and anguished diffidence mark her out as an anomaly among her community are the main components of French-Korean author Elisa Shua Dusapin’s compact first novel. The book is set in Sokcho, a city so close to South Korea’s impenetrable northern counterpart that it is possible to take a day trip over the border.

Dusapin’s unnamed narrator has returned to her home town from university in Seoul. Working as a live-in receptionist and cook at a dead-end guesthouse run by the grumpy Old Park, she has resisted opportunities for further study abroad as obstinately as she holds out against an anticipated engagement to her vacuous model boyfriend. Winter has encased Sokcho like a snow globe: in this precarious frozen landscape, figures move as languorously as the crabs and octopuses occupying the glass tanks of its vast fish markets. [The Guardian]

This month’s choice sounds amazing! Read along at home, or better still, join the group on Sunday 19 November, 1030 at the library.

Free talk on Fitness Before and After Menopause

Did you know that only 6% of exercise research is done on women?

It is little wonder that much of what we are told about training doesn’t serve us well as women, and particularly as we enter perimenopause and menopause, and our hormones go into flux.

In this talk, Denise Yeats, personal trainer, multi sports coach and leading expert in menopause and fitness, will empower you to:

  • Embrace Change: understand the body’s transitions and adapt training effectively
  • Supercharge Performance: learn how hormonal shifts can be an assed, not an obstacle
  • Boost Confidence: Gain tools to navigate challenges and emerge stronger.

This talk is FREE. To reserve your place (spaces are limited) head over to the event page.

Barclays Online Fraud and Scams Workshop

Barclays Bank have had a (non-cash) branch at the library for over a year now, and are keen to bring more services to the community over the coming months. They will be running an advice surgery for anyone who’s interested in how to identify and avoid financial and banking scams of all kinds.

The Metropolitan Police will be on hand between 1000 and 1200 on Wednesday 19 October, to answer all your questions and offer advice.

September’s Last Friday is Brent Jazz Orchestra Quintet

We’re delighted to welcome back old favourites the Brent Jazz Orchestra Quartet to kick off our exciting autumn of music at the library. The line up will be joined on this occasion by a trumpet and tenor sax, making the full line up

Vito La Sala on trumpet
Stuart Ashton on tenor sax
Shura Greenberg on bass
George Harvey on drums
Pierre Guillot on guitar

And yes, there will be pizza! Don’t miss out! Book now!

See you there.

Cricklereaders October 2023 – Death and the Penguin

The group is reading Death and the Penguin by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov.

Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see his work published, yet the subjects of his obituaries continue to cling to life. But when he opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. He and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.

Join the group on Sunday 15 October at the library, 1030-1130. Sign up in advance so we know to expect you!