Walrus, Eric, And Paris.

When I was a supply teacher, in the early 90s, it was not unusual to return to the classroom after lunch and find an enthusiastic pupil waiting to put up a sign for me. This was before interactive whiteboards and so much taught using screens. Many notices were fixed with blutac onto the drywipe board. And these three signs were very popular, and all meant roughly the same thing.
WALRUS  was Writing and listening, reading and understanding
ERIC meant Everybody reading in class
PARIS meant Please, all read in silence
I expect other schools had similar acronyms, for that blessed quiet 20 minutes at the start of afternoon school, when children had their heads down reading and teachers and classroom assistants could get other tasks sorted. It helped to give children the idea that doing some reading every day is a good idea - at school, and then hopefully again at home [maybe with support from family members] 

One phrase popular at the moment is "My chapter book" - ie the book from which I read a chapter each night. Steph tells me that this one is George's current favourite. 
As we get older, it is sometimes harder to maintain a regular reading habit - life so often gets in the way. I am being much more disciplined lately - no screens after 10pm. So no sitting up in bed 'doomscrolling' or even reading magazines or flicking through Facebook or Pinterest. Instead I am going back to a chapter or two of a library book each evening. 

I am very grateful for the Norfolk Library Service, and especially the mobile van which comes once a month to the next road.
Our local Mobile Service is celebrating its centenary this year. The driver told us that their great celebrations got overtaken by all the hype about the Castle refurb- but they had a party for staff, and got a whizzy new electric van, which has a timeline of photos dating back to 1925 along the side.

Thank you to all the team, especially our local driver, Mark [aka BookMark] So many of the elderly folk in our village cannot  easily get into Dereham  or Norwich, but the monthly van brings the books they want to the end of the road.

On Thursday we were on the van, and my friend Jane told us this great story;
Last summer she had been picking flowers and pressing them inside some books. Inadvertently she'd used one of her library books. A couple of days after the van visited, she had a phone call from Dereham Library "Please can you come in and collect something?" Mark was sorting out the returned books on the van, and found the pressed flowers. He worked out that Jane had borrowed that book - so he carefully removed the flowers, put them between two sheets of card, and left them in the town library - having asked the staff there to phone Jane and tell her where they were!! That is the sort of Gold Star service we get round here!! 

Screens are useful, and the ability to find information quickly can be a blessings - but lets not ever forget the benefits of the printed page. And always remember the importance of passing the habit of reading on to future generations. 

Thank you for all the kind words yesterday. The service went well at Church, and Bob and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon. Things are resolving slowly, and I will explain later.  But your love and prayers are greatly appreciated ❤️