It’s Saturday evening and I am typing this in an advanced state of ‘is it nap time yet?’ after a day at the British Library’s ‘Marvellous Me!’ Family Day. This was the last of our pop-up appearances for the summer and I was joined by illustrator Beth Suzanna and Marina from our Artistic and Creative team. We were making paper portraits using collage in Beth’s signature style which is full of bold colour and opportunities for families to add as much detail as they liked. We had a great day, meeting more than 100 people and seeing some amazing creations – one of the families from our summer play project came to see us, too.
The BL runs three family days a year, and this one is in partnership with the British Museum and the Frank Barnes School for the Deaf – an opportunity for D/deaf and hearing families to learn together. There were interpreters on hand, performances by a signing choir, BSL storytelling and sensory spaces and the whole day felt inclusive and welcoming. I had a wonderful conversation with the mobile evaluator team and will definitely be stealing their ideas – and inviting them to be part of our access panel. We spoke about the need for 360 degree reflection at the end of projects, and the importance of understanding why things go wrong sometimes.
I say this every time, but…. yes, I am absolutely shattered, but I’ve met 100 people of all ages, from babies up to grandparents, and every single one of them reminded me why we do what we do (and why we bloody love it),
In other work news, we had a fundraising event at our new site – the last one before we start the build, which is PRETTY FLIPPING EXCITING – and despite promising myself I would not be completely overexcited at meeting illustrators I failed. It was all fine until Nick Butterworth, creator of Percy the Park Keeper and Tiger and Jasper’s Beanstalk turned up and Tom Gauld, whose cartoons for Guardian Books speak to me very loudly.
There were delicious macarons, and Quentin Blake sent us a special message via monster.
On the less happy side, we also said goodbye that evening to our lovely Head of Comms and Content who is off on a seaside adventure – but I did get to hand over her leaving gift. I will miss her very much!
Other things making me happy this week
- Crochet mice. I like making these!
- Coffee with my LEN (Lovely Ex-Neighbour) Emma after WAY too long. Our midkids (aka Bonnie and Clyde) have been besties basically since birth, and we used to open the gate between our gardens and drink wine while they rampaged.
- A Sunday morning swim
- Finding a lot of Eddie Izzard included in my Audible subscription and laughing out loud on the tube
- The cat being signed off as healthy by the vet. We knew she was better when she savaged a small visiting child but it’s nice to have the official word
Right! My family require feeding… have a good week!
Kirsty x
What I’ve been reading:
The Distant Echo -Val McDermid
That Mitchell and Webb Sound (and various Suzy Eddie Izzard shows) (Audible)
Dead Lions – Mick Herron
Murder at the Monastery – Rev. Richard Coles
What Kirsty did next 