A large and enthusiastic audience was treated to an evening of performance, reminiscence and readings to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday this year. Nick Rawlinson drew on his own experiences as an actor and Shakespeare enthusiast to give us a wonderful one-man show which encompassed the range and emotional intensity of Shakespeare's best loved plays. He stressed that Shakespeare is a writer as relevant for today's audience as for his own time.
Nathan Filer - March 2014 Nathan Filer, winner of Costa Book of the Year Award, delighted a sell-out audience at Henleaze Library on Thursday 20th March when he came to talk about his book The Shock of the Fall. Not only did he read extracts from his book, but talked about his writing journey, from the first sentence to the complete book, and how he managed to fit in time to write alongside a full time job. It was a fascinating evening, much enjoyed by all. Pictured on the left is Nathan surrounded by Sue, Rose, Andrew and Megan, from Bristol Library Services. More photos can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.608684039206929.1073741827.136099976465340&type=1
Christmas with Jane Austen and Friends - December 2013 On Thursday 5th December acclaimed actress Angela Barlow delighted the audience with her talk Jane Austen and Character: An Actor's View. We were treated to music from the Mantuan String Quartet, and enjoyed a selection of Christmas nibbles and mulled wine
Blake for Beginners - October 2013 On Tuesday 8th October Nick Rawlinson treated an enthralled audience to a whistle-stop tour through Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience . His illustrated talk provided a fascinating insight into the possible interpretations of Blake's poetry.
Creepy Crawlies at the Library - July 2013
On Wednesday 31st July we welcomed children's author Kevin Price to the library. Over 100 children showed up throughout the course of the day to hear him read from his four books (Beauty Contest at the Zoo, Crazy Creepy Crawlies, Silly Solar System and Fun and Games at the Zoo). There was face painting and also the appearance of four real-life large creepy crawlies, including one particularly lovely Brazilian black tarantula, courtesy of Bristol Zoo.
The History of Polio - June 2013
We were delighted to welcome Professor Gareth Williams to the Library on Tuesday 25th June. He gave a captivating illustrated talk on the history of polio, the event being one of the launch celebrations of his new book Paralysed with Fear: The Story of Polio (Palgrave Macmillan, £20).
Pictured: Professor Williams with his new book and Freyja from the Durdham Down Bookshop
Jazz & Christmas readings - Dec 2012
This Christmas we took a break from Christmas carols and enjoyed some great jazz music from the Park Row 5, a variety of Christmas readings from our own Nick Rawlinson and our traditional mulled wine and mince pies.
A History of the Downs - Oct 2012
Francis Greenacre gave a fascinating presentation on the history of the Downs
Italian Evening - June 2012
An enjoyable evening organised by the Tutors of Stoke Lodge Adult Learning Service with food, music and poetry readings.
A Christmas Carol
Local actor CHRIS DONNELLY (of TV and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory) read Charles Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol' on the 9th December at 7pm. There was live music from the Trinity Henleaze Singers; great Christmas books suggested by our friends at Durdham Down bookshop; mulled wine, mince pies, gingerbread to buy, and a great raffle - top prize a DVD player
Best of all, we raised £187!
Short Story Seminar - Feb 2011
Fabulous local author Tania Hershman and Ali Reynolds, chair of the judges for the Bristol Short Story Prize shared hints and tips on how to write a prize winning short story.
Fiesta Espanol - Tuesday 2nd November
Bienvenido! Come and join us at the library to share a lively evening from 6.30pm to 9pm.
Complimentary drink and tapas Flamenco music Poetry and singing Quiz and prizes Spanish photo gallery Wine tasting
... What more could you ask?
Tickets in advance £5 from the library (free for children)
Halloween
Make your Pumpkin Treat bag or Creepy spider!
From 10am till 1pm on the 30th October, children were invited to make their own trick or treat bowl at the library.
£2 for half an hour of fun and creativity
STOP PRESS!
Tania Hershman, author of the The White Road and writer-in-residence at the University of Bristol Science Faculty joined us at the Big Birthday Party to read some of her brilliant short fiction!
Library 40th Anniversary
April 22nd saw the 40th anniversary of the opening of Henleaze Library.
Discussion with many famous local authors and read and reading of their work. There was live music, a 70s fashion parade, wine and cheese, the results of the Henleaze's Favourite Book survey, and a very special cake! Thank you everyone for coming along.
April 8th - Easter Week - Paint Your Own Easter Egg!
A great craft workshop for children who had fun painting their own eggs! There were timed sessions with only five places per session, creating a relaxed and focused environment for the children really to enjoy themselves .
Theatre Trip to Midsummer Night's Dream
The Friends enjoyed a fabulous evening watching Chris Donnelly and the superb cast of SATTF in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Tobacco Factory. Some of us got to chat to the cast later, and there are plans afoot to see The Tempest too!
Soiree Francaise
An evening of French wine, cheese, food, fashion, sport, music and fun.
Thank you everyone who attended. We raised over £200 towards our Summer Reading Garden!
A Christmas Carol
A day of readings on a Christmas Theme
Including "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" for our younger library users, and in the evening a fantastic candlelit reading of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" by local actor CHRIS DONNELLY, who is currently starring as Bottom in the acclaimed Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Craft Time
Our ongoing series of craft workshops for children - so far we've been making Christmas cards, and creating Fimo Bugs!