Christmas tomfoolery

How does Good King Wenclesas like his pizza?
Deep pan, crisp and even!

Who dresses up in wrapping paper and frightens Ebeneezer Scrooge?
The Ghost of Christmas Present!

Scrooge appears in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

What happens if you eat Christmas decorations?
You get tinselitis!

Why does Father Christmas carry an umbrella?
Because of the reindeer!

Why do we put a fairy on top of the Christmas tree?
Because elephants are too heavy!

What's top secret and covered in pastry?
A mince spy!

ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
-- what's Christmassy about that?
Noel!

Why does Santa Claus have ducks on his sleigh?
They're Christmas quackers!

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Christmas carrots

We don't always get the words right when we're singing songs. Here are some of our favourites from Christmas concerts.

"We three kings of porridge and tar..."

"Oh Wayne in a manger..."

"On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me..."

"Noël, Noël, Barney's the King of Israel!"

"...Oh what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay!"

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Things to do and make

You'll find Christmas craft tables in most of our libraries this month. Why not see what you can make?
Thanks to everyone involved in getting everything together for the craft tables and a special big thanks to Barbara for making so very many cut-out shapes for us.

Christmas craft books in our libraries.

We bumped into this page with links to lots of fun things to do for Christmas

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Out of this world!

We had a Doctor Who-themed party on Saturday 6 September 2008 to celebrate the re-opening of Smallbridge Library after extensive rebuidling work.

Guests of honour were some Daleks (we have to say that or they would exterminate us!). We also had a display of props and costumes from Doctor Who and our own little Tardis in the corner of the library.

Many thanks to everybody who turned up and made this such a great day.

Doctor Who books in our libraries

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New telephone number for renewals

From 10th March 2008 you can now ring us on 0845 121 2976 for library renewals and membership enquiries.

Advisors will be available to deal with enquiries from 8.00 am - 8.00 pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am - 5.00 pm on Saturday.

Easter news

Our libraries will be closed on:

• Good Friday 21st March 2008


• Easter Saturday 22nd March 2008


• Easter Monday 24th March 2008

Each library will have a craft activity table for children of all ages (and their parents). Crafts will include Easter egg cards and Easter bunny colouring sheets.

National Year of Reading

2008 is The National Year of Reading, a celebration of words and reading in every form: from novels to song lyrics, from poetry to film scripts.

From April to December events and activities linked to The National Year of Reading will have a monthly theme:

• April: Read all about it!
• May: Mind and body
• June: Reading escapes
• July: Rhythm and rhyme
• August: Read the game
• September: You are what you read
• October: Word of Mouth
• November: Screen reads
• December: Write the future

Look out for National Year of Reading events in a library near you!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly!

Before Christianity came to Britain people used to decorate their houses with evergreens, including holly as part of their winter celebrations.

The Romans celebrated Saturnalia in mid-winter. People would send each other boughs of holly just like we send Christmas cards.

Ancient druids used to decorate their homes with branches of evergreen leaves so that the "little people" who lived in the trees could share in the winter celebrations. That's one of the reasons why people have fairies on the top of their Christmas trees.

When Britain converted to Christianity some of the old traditions carried on, this time to celebrate the Christmas festival.

In the old days you didn't put up your evergreen decorations until Christmas Eve and you couldn't take them down again until Candlemas Eve (2nd February)!

Books with more information about Christmas traditions.

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Cinderella!

You could be the lucky winner of free tickets to see "Cinderella!"

18 winners of the Library Service's Christmas Colouring Competition will be presented with family tickets for an evening performance of the pantomime at the Gracie Fields Theatre on Thursday 3rd January 2008.

Colouring Competition entry forms are available from any of our libraries.

Please note:

• The closing date for entry is Saturday 22nd December.
• Please make sure that you put your telephone number on the form so that we can get in touch with you!

Many thanks to Meredith Productions for the donation of the tickets.

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Wednesday afternoon riddles

It's drizzly weather and I've got a really bad cold so I need cheering up with some daft riddles. Let me know if you've got any that are as silly -- click on "comments" to tell me them.

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Q: Why don't ducks fly upside-down?
A: They'd quack up!

Q: Do restaurants serve crabs?
A: Yes, so long as they can pay the bill afterwards!

Q: What's the difference between an oak tree and a tight shoe?
A: One makes acorns, the other makes corns ache!

Q: What's yellow and stupid?
A: Thick custard!

Q: Where were English kings usually crowned?
A: On the head!

Q: What's the best cure for insomnia?
A: A good night's sleep!

(One for the oldies...)
Q: If King Midas sat on gold, who sat on silver?
A: The Lone Ranger!

Q: What's yellow and always points north?
A: A magnetic banana!

Q: What has 16 legs, a bra and whistles through the woods?
A: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs


Books of riddles in our libraries

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Remembrance Day

Sunday is Remembrance Day, when we commemorate people who have fought and died in wars.

It is also Armistice Day, which celebrates the ending of the First World War (which officially ended at 11.00am on the 11th of November 1918).

• Books about Remembrance Day
• Books about World War I
• BBC History: The Last Tommy Gallery

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