Forgot to mention in my first post - I spent ages trying to come up with an interesting name for my blog (it is notoriously difficult). I settled for 'Aisles of Wonder' in the end, partly because I had just shelved the Tempest, and partly because it reminded me of the 2012 London Olympics.
It was originally going to be called 'This Sceptr'd Aisle'. I knew I wanted to pun isle/aisle but I couldn't remember the quote from the Tempest about 'isles'... it turns out that the opening line is "be not afeard; the isle is full of noises" which is not hugely appropriate for a quiet college library! "This sceptr'd aisle" is a quote from Richard II but it ended up sounding a bit archaeic and, let's face it, a bit of a dull blog name.
But the Tempest quote reminded me of the Olympic opening ceremony, which of course opened with Kenneth Branagh and his marvellous top hat celebrating the best of British culture. I particularly loved the children's literature section, and as a book-lover was immensely glad that books were included and celebrated as an integral part of Britain. I'm sure they could have quite easily been overlooked if the Olympic offices were anything like the BBC programme "2012"!
Libraries up and down the country, whether public libraries, legal archives, or museums housing national treasures are full of aisles and aisles worth of knowledge, enough to keep any of us reading and learning for a life time. I am really missing being back at uni at the moment and I actually miss having research and work to do. I'm glad that I'm still in a place that I get to find out new things every day :-) I doubt many other professions could offer that level of awe on a weekly basis.
Hence: Aisles of Wonder!
Meriel x
Looking forward to future posts
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