by Admin | 14 Jan 2023 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read, reading
The book chosen for the first Cricklereaders of the year is local author Paterson Joseph’s The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. You can hear Paterson talk about his book here.
Published by Little, Brown, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho is a “gloriously written Regency polemic”.
Waterstones says: Meet Charles Ignatius Sancho: his extraordinary story, hidden for three hundred years, is about to be told.
I had little right to live, born on a slave ship where my parents both died. But I survived, and indeed, you might say I did more…
It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man, especially one who has escaped slavery. After the twinkling lights in the Fleet Street coffee shops are blown out and the great houses have closed their doors for the night, Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse. The man he hoped would help – a kindly duke who taught him to write – is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery?
It’s time for him to tell his story, one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life. And through it all, he must ask: born amongst death, how much can you achieve in one short life?
From one of Britain’s best-loved actors, Paterson Joseph, comes an utterly captivating and haunting historical novel, telling the true story of a Great Black Briton.If you’d like to join the group, email cricklereaders@cricklewoodlibrary.org.uk for more details.
Next meeting: Sunday 5 February, 1030-1130
by Admin | 8 Jan 2023 | Cricklesingers
For those who’ve missed it, you’ll be delighted to hear that Cricklesingers resumes on 19 January.
All are invited to attend this evening when we’ll be meeting two potential new Musical Directors.
The weekly rehearsals will then resume from the beginning of February.
There is an affordable membership fee for the choir. You don’t have to have sung before, or be able to read music. We sing acappella harmony and you’ll never have to sing alone, unless you want to.
This is a great way to get into choral singing in a friendly and welcoming environment.
If you have not attended before, please register your interest here.
by Admin | 29 Nov 2022 | activities, Cricklemovers, latest
We’re so excited to offer a free taster class for Cricklemovers on December 18. There will be two half-hour sessions, one at 1000 and a second at 1030. Both are completely free to join and will offer a great preview of the regular classes that will start on 9 January.
by Admin | 29 Nov 2022 | activities, Crickleknitters
The busy knitting ladies of Crickleknitters have been hard at work knitting getting on for 100 baby hats for the Neonatal Ward, Winnicott, at St Mary’s Hospital.
Some of the group went down to present the hats to the unit and they were very warmly received. We’ve also received donations of yarn and patterns for the hats, and the group have been working their fingers and needles to the bone to produce some very cute baby hats. There is always scope to join in if you fancy it. Just drop in any Wednesday between 1300 and 1500. No need to book.
by Library Admin | 21 Nov 2022 | activities
60 min Hatha Yoga class with Ivana on Saturday mornings 10:30-11:30
Classes will typically include physical postures asana, breathing practice pranayama, and relaxation. Classes start gently, with grounding floor poses and breathing practices. They typically continue with warming up postures and follow with standing, balancing, and floor postures with time to slow down and relax the body and mind at the end of the practice. Options and modifications are offered throughout the class to suit everybody.
This class welcomes everyone but it is pitched to Beginners and Level 1 students. It is particularly recommended when returning to practice after a break or when wanting a steady practice to build over time.
Ivana trained in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga with Jessica Stewart and Yin yoga with Jose de Groot. She started practising yoga almost 20 years ago and loved the practice ever since. Not just how strong and reinvigorating the body feels but the calm and the ease of both body and mind after the practice.
The class cost is £10. To book or for more information please email ivanazyoga@gmail.com
Ivana is a very popular teacher, and has a loyal following. But don’t take my word for it – read some of the reviews left by her class members:
“I have been doing Yoga with Ivana for quite a few months now and have thoroughly enjoyed every class. Ivana is friendly and very clear in her instructions and creates an inclusive environment so that you feel at ease and calm in the classes. The themes are changed too which keep the classes interesting. I am so glad I took the first step to begin Yoga with Ivana, it has positively changed how I feel mentally and physically.” Kiran
“Ivana is very warm, friendly teacher. The Saturday class is welcoming, the pace of the yoga is great and explained throughout”. Jane
“I have been practising yoga with Ivana for six months now having, started as a complete beginner. I thoroughly enjoy her classes. The small group sessions that she runs are always friendly and relaxed whilst still providing a challenge physically. She really has a talent for working with each individual’s abilities and needs within the class, and gently encourages adjustments to suit each person.
Classes are planned to have a theme, which means that no two classes are identical, and I have learned so much working with her. I always leave the class relaxed and uplifted and ready to enjoy the day ahead. Ivana is a talented teacher who clearly cares deeply about her work. I thoroughly recommend her classes.” A.M.
by Library Admin | 31 Oct 2022 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read, FRONT PAGE NEWS, reading
The book chosen for the last Cricklereaders of the year is Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead.
Demon Copperhead is a once-in-a-generation novel that breaks and mends your heart in the way only the best fiction can.
Demon’s story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking ‘like a little blue prizefighter.’ For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.
In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn’t an idea, it’s as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn’t an abstraction, it’s neighbours, parents, and friends. ‘Family’ could mean love, or reluctant foster care. For Demon, born on the wrong side of luck, the affection and safety he craves is as remote as the ocean he dreams of seeing one day. The wonder is in how far he’s willing to travel to try and get there.
Suffused with truth, anger and compassion, Demon Copperhead is an epic tale of love, loss and everything in between.
If you’d like to join the group, email cricklereaders@cricklewoodlibrary.org.uk for more details.
Next meeting: Sunday 11 December, 1030-1130
