A Horror in Porcelain by Adam Z. Robinson, An Audio Ghost Story, Live Thursday 30 April 2020

With full details of how to listen live tomorrow night:

Hi everyone, Who remembers the curse of Sir Nicodemus Barlow from our story A HORROR IN PORCELAIN? Well, tomorrow night (Thursday 30 April), you can re-live the terror. We're LIVE-streaming a brand new audio version of the tale on our Facebook page. JOIN US! I'll be doing a live introduction and a post-show Q&A. It starts at 8.15pm. I hope you'll join us! Turn the lights down, grab a glass of something tasty and enjoy this terrifying audio offering! BRAND NEW WORKSHOPS From Friday this week I'll be running a new series of creative writing workshops. This series is not in the ghost story genre, but looks at the idea of writing more broadly. They're going to be really fun and will allow you to unleash your inner writer. So join me on Friday at 7pm. Again, just visit our Facebook page at those times and watch the LIVE video. Donations If you would like to support me and help me continue making this content, you can give a donation on my website. Every donation helps me to continue with these workshops and events.   Thank you for your ongoing support, Adam  Donate here Copyright © 2020 The Book of Darkness & Light, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: The Book of Darkness & Light 54 Waterloo Court Leeds, LS10 1QN United Kingdom

Kirklees Council

Here is the latest information from Kirklees:

Foster Care + Business Grants + Autism Show + Local Heroes + Kirklees Library Service

Hello! We hope you are all staying healthy and well and enjoying the sunshine while we still have some!  There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment around how long the lockdown will last and what will happen afterwards and we know that many of you will be feeling anxious. Why not take some inspiration from Dr Beth Healey who spent nine months in Antarctica at the Concordia Station with the European Space Agency, researching the effects of physical and psychological isolation on crew members by reading her 7 tips for staying happy and healthy during a lockdown Remember, we can do this. Together.   Are you getting enough beauty sleep? The lockdown seems to be affecting our sleep patterns in different ways. You may have never had trouble sleeping before but find yourself tossing and turning through the night, or maybe you’re feeling sleepy in the day. Sleep Station gives some great advice to all ages on how to make the most of our sleep and lockdown routine. Tackling loneliness together Even before the coronavirus outbreak, self isolation and lockdown, one in five of us already said we often or always felt lonely. Loneliness can affect anyone - but everyone can help, read six facts about loneliness from The British Red Cross to keep in mind as you support yourself and others through these challenging times. Balanced meals on a budget Now we're all at home more, there’s no better time to get creative in the kitchen. By making the most of the food we have at home, not only will we waste less and save money, we might also stumble across some truly delicious meals! BBC Good Food's cheap recipes will help you to create balanced meals on a tight budget. Pencils at the ready for cartoon creativity! Already dusted the skirting boards and reorganised the kitchen cupboards…again? Maybe it’s time for a new hobby. Check out Sheffield Artist Pete McKee’s free Cartoon Workshop for beginners and unleash your creativity! Perfect for the whole family to do together. Stay safe everyone - get in touch with us over Twitter and Facebook to share your food and cartoon creations from our suggestions in this bulletin and to let us know how you’re staying healthy and happy during these challenging times. Your friends at Kirklees Council

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The show must go on! When the Orchestra of Opera North could no longer perform Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra at Huddersfield Town Hall, they decided that the show must go on - virtually! You might know it better as the opening fanfare from Stanley Kubrick's epic science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey? Watch 40 social distancing musicians perform the astronomic opening 5 minutes in sync from kitchens, living rooms and gardens across Yorkshire! Cue the trumpets Nessun dorma(ish) Opera North clarinettist Andrew Mason was missing the rest of his clarinet section so he decided to recreate them himself, with a little Nessun dorma(ish)! Did you spot how many hands Andrew has? See how it's done Virtual Piano Duet Think you can't play a piano duet from Bizet’s Carmen in self isolation? Think again — Opera North’s amazing staff Martin Pickard and Annette Saunders show you how it's done (with impressive synchronicity!)⁠... Impress me! Check out Opera North’s website for online access to some of their productions and performances. If you use social media, follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag #OperaNorthAtHome.   |  Privacy Policy

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Library Adventures From Home Can books boost mood and banish negativity? Evidence suggests that burying your head in a book can reduce stress and make you a happier person (BookTrust 2013). Reading with your child, of any age, can be a time for closeness, laughing and talking together. We may have closed the doors to our library buildings, but you can still borrow books to make you feel good from our virtual library. Downloads of our ebooks and audio books have increased by over 250% since the lockdown! Find out how to download your next great read for free.  We're still working hard (from home) to add even more fantastic online resources for book-loving families. Check out the new additions on our website: www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk.  Book Review of the Week Kirsty Recommends The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart Book-loving Kirsty (aged 10) has been busy sharing book reviews and organising book swaps (from a safe distance) with her friends. "The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart has the most amazing adventures within its cover as four remarkable children find themselves in a dangerous experience where their lives are at risk. Near the end of this book I found a magical, unexpected twist that made me feel so different when I read the next books in the series. That is another good thing about this book if you enjoy it there are more, including, 2 more adventures for the Mysterious Benedict Society children, Mr Benedict’s book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas and Curious Conundrums (this one will put YOU to the test) and finally, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict." Download The Mysterious Benedict Society for free from Kirklees Overdrive We'd love to publish your reviews in our weekly newsletter. To get involved, send them to socialmedia.lics@kirklees.gov.uk  Booklist of the Week 50+ Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Older Children and Teens Authors have a wonderful talent for making history come alive. History is so much more than dates and facts—it’s stories and real people and how they lived and what they felt. Teaching kids about history through historical fiction is a great way to get them excited, and help them draw connections to their present. These must-read historical fiction books show a wide spectrum of time periods and experiences, and will make history come alive!  Browse and borrow from our Overdrive collections: 50+ Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Older Kids 50+ Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Teens Live Performance of the Week Stute Theatre’s Common Lore Live streaming 7pm Saturday 25th April “A unique and relevant show and an innovative retelling of traditional fairy tales with a contemporary resonance.” Stute Theatre has announced a live stream of its award-winning gig-theatre show Common Lore, suitable for anyone aged 11+. A fusion of spoken word, digital projection, live-looped music and physical theatre, Common Lore touches on issues that many young people today face, such as homelessness, family life, poverty, education and unemployment. This highly visual and impressive one-person show written and performed by Sophia Hatfield will live stream at 7pm on Saturday 25 April and then be available to watch for two weeks from that date. Find out more and get the link to watch the show at www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk/commonlore/ Libby by Overdrive (ebooks and audiobooks) Did you know that Kirklees libraries has a collection of over 20,000 ebooks and audiobooks. Borrow them for free with your Kirklees library card and PIN. View the collection along with details of how to download the Libby app via our Overdrive page at: kirklees.overdrive.com/ PressReader (digital magazines and newspapers) Choose from over 7,000 national and international titles to read online or download for offline convenience. Free access with your Kirklees library card and PIN. Text-to-speech and instant translation options are also available. For more details see our PressReader at: www.pressreader.com Keep in touch Stay up to date with Kirklees Libraries using our social media channels: Facebook@kirkleeslibraries Twitter@KirkleesLibrary Instagram.com/kirkleeslibraries Pinterest.co.uk/kirkleeslibraries A fantastic listing of online resources such as storytimes, author talks, creative writing and drawing workshops, along with much more can be found on our website at: www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk You can also get involved with our newsletters by emailing your reviews to socialmedia.lics@kirklees.go.uk |  Privacy Policy

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Read Kirklees From Home: April 24th - 30th 2020 Welcome to the latest edition of Read Kirklees From Home. You may have read the BBC news item showing that 120,000 people have joined a library in the first three weeks of lockdown. Here in Kirklees: Around 600 people joined Kirklees Libraries via our online form since March 23rd. We have added over 7,500 copies of eBooks and eAudio to our Overdrive website in the last 30 days. Use of PressReader (our digital magazine and newspaper resource) has increased by around 370% compared to the same period last year. We have just secured free access from home to Ancestry Library, one of the world's leading Family History resources, for library members. Read, enjoy, keep in touch and stay safe. Book Review of the week - Octavia's Brood Octavia's Brood. Edited by Walidah Imarisha and Adrienne Maree I just began this on Libby and it's wonderful, an antidote to hopelessness. Octavia's Brood is an anthology of modern sci fi short stories written in tribute to Octavia Butler, the iconic african american sci fi writer who said 'I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.' I'll be returning it soon, check it out. Erica J. Golden. Library Book Collection of the week - Just Added Just Added "Serendipity is the occurrence of an unplanned fortunate discovery" (Oxford English Dictionary). Browse our 'Just Added' shelves with nothing particular in mind. Discover what we've bought, explore which books have been recommended to us or simply choose one because it has an appealing image or design. Use the Libby app to send us your own recommendations or email us a book review via the channels below. Library Resource of the week - Ancestry Library Edition Ancestry Library Edition Free access to Ancestry has now been set up for all Kirklees Libraries members. If you’ve ever thought about finding out about your family history, now’s the time to do it! Know someone who would love to use it bit is not a library member? Use our Online Form to sign them up. You need to log in to your library account at Kirklees Enterprise and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you’ll see a link on the right hand side to “Ancestry Library Edition”. Just click on this and it will take you to our Ancestry Library subscription. Library Event of the week - Virtual Autism Show Facebook Live: How Kirklees Libraries can help autistic people As part of the Kirklees Virtual Autism Show we will be showcasing our current activities, online services and looking at programmes that we run. We wiil be proposing new ideas and asking for your feedback to help us develop our offer for autistic people. This will be one of three webinars which make up the first ever Kirklees Virtual Autism Show 2020 www.kirklees.gov.uk/autismshow #virtualautismshow2020 Live Performance of the week - Common Lore Stute Theatre’s Common Lore Live streaming 7pm Saturday 25th April “A unique and relevant show and an innovative retelling of traditional fairy tales with a contemporary resonance.” Stute Theatre has announced a live stream of its award-winning gig-theatre show Common Lore, suitable for anyone aged 11+. A fusion of spoken word, digital projection, live-looped music and physical theatre, Common Lore touches on issues that many young people today face, such as homelessness, family life, poverty, education and unemployment. This highly visual and impressive one-person show written and performed by Sophia Hatfield will live stream at 7pm on Saturday 25 April and then be available to watch for two weeks from that date. Find out more and get the link to watch the show at: www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk/commonlore/ Libby by Overdrive (ebooks and audiobooks) Did you know that Kirklees libraries has a collection of over 20,000 ebooks and audiobooks. Borrow them for free with your Kirklees library card and PIN. View the collection along with details of how to download the Libby app via our Overdrive page at: kirklees.overdrive.com PressReader (digital magazines and newspapers) Choose from over 7,000 national and international titles to read online or download for offline convenience. Free access with your Kirklees library card and PIN. Text-to-speech and instant translation options are also available. For more details see our PressReader at: www.pressreader.com Keep in touch Stay up to date with Kirklees Libraries using our social media channels: Facebook@kirkleeslibraries Twitter@KirkleesLibrary Instagram/kirkleeslibraries Pinterest/kirkleeslibraries Get involved with our newsletters by emailing your reviews to socialmedia.lics@kirklees.gov.uk. Recommend titles using the Libby app or use any of the channels above. We'd love to hear from you. Library buildings may be closed but we're still here for you. We've created, and will be updating, a selection of useful resources - information, education and entertainment - on our Wordpress blog at: www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk Kids into reading too? Don't miss our library adventures bulletin. Sign me up   |  Privacy Policy

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Foster care in Kirklees – changing young lives At this difficult time for all of us, foster care in Kirklees has never been more vital. We have more than 200 amazing carers and we provide high-quality support to the carers’ community, but we always need more people to get in touch. Find out more Almost £60million paid out to Kirklees businesses We've paid out almost £60million in grants to local businesses but Leader Shabir Pandor has pledged the work to help is far from over. Read more Supporting vulnerable autistic residents in a time of crisis This year’s Autism Show was due to be held in Huddersfield but due to the coronavirus lockdown and social distancing, it was decided to turn the event virtual and offer support to people online whilst they were safe and well at home. Find out more Auntie Pam’s to the rescue for homeless young mum A young teenage mum with two small children was recently left homeless when her mum turned her out on the street. The challenge was to rehouse this vulnerable family as quickly as possible in furnished accommodation. Read more Kirklees Library Service adapts to lockdown Like many public services, Kirklees Libraries have had to adapt to our current way of life but one thing remains consistent – the commitment of staff and volunteers ensuring our communities continue to receive a high quality service, online. Find out more Subscription Services   |  Privacy Policy

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