Rupert Bared: or, "That Rupert Everett...Who Does He Think He Is?"

Rupert Bared, or “That Rupert Everett…Who does he think he is?”

Many of you may have enjoyed watching the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? and in particular the episode featuring the actor, Rupert Everett…
What you will not have seen on the programme, sadly, were Rupert’s historic family roots in Erith. (The production team did, in fact, spend a long time researching the Erith Everetts at Bexley’s Local Studies & Family Centre but –alas - they didn’t make it to the final version…).

Every time `Who Do You Think You Are?’ appears on TV, loads of us think: “Hmmm...I should get round to tracing my family history…where do I start?” Well, the answer, dear reader, is right here at the tips of your fingers and in your local library: Family Trees books, please.
Remember, too, that our Local Studies & Family History Centre will be a good place to start, and don’t forget, all Bexley’s libraries have great collections of history books for further research on all manner of subjects…Look at `em all!

Rupert bared:
And, as for Rupert himself – well, you can read his own Bohemian life story in Red Carpets and other Banana Skins: there'll be no mention of Erith in it but - I dare say - it will nonetheless contain plenty of note!...
Have you read Rupert? Do tell, using the comments box below…
Or, can you recommend a good book for local historians? Your family trees suggestions, please…

TTFN

The People of the Book...Or: "If only books could talk..."

Bexley library users – a wise and erudite bunch, as you’d expect – recently voted for their `Best Book of the Year`…(Louise, a Sidcup reader says “a massive thank-you, Bexley Libraries, I`ve just finished your prize-winner, it’s the best book I've ever read!”)

They chose a novel by Geraldine Brooks called `The People of the Book`. It’s a wonderful, sweeping, life-enhancing story and its central character is … wait for it…a book!
A rare medieval manuscript, passed down the generations, hidden, repaired, stolen, coveted. What a story it tells, and it leads the Blogbrary to think…If a Bexley library book today could tell a story of its life, what would it say? Or, even more illuminating, what would it report back about the people it’s been borrowed by and living with? If only books could talk!…
(Be warned, dear readers of a delicate disposition, Library staff do find some very odd things which have been used – we presume – as bookmarks, but that’s another story…)

Meanwhile, if you want to try our `Best Book of the Year` do read `The People of the Book`…It’ll remind you that books have lives, just like the people who read them! (Its hero is a Librarian, by the way, but that’s possibly an idea for a future Blog?…)

Give it a go, and if you do enjoy it, please let us know – post your comments below. (Just remember, though, please be very careful what you tell us you use as a bookmark…)

TTFN

Do you haiku?...Bexley Libraries do...

If someone was to ask if you liked haikus, would you reply?;

A) Yes, but I couldn’t possibly eat a whole one…
B) No! – I can’t stand those martial arts, and someone might get injured, surely!...
C) Aren’t they a form of poetry in three lines of 5,7, and 5 syllables (often lightly comical) originally developed in 17th century Japan, occasionally incorporating a word or phrase that symbolizes weather related phenomenon or one of the seasons? ..,.

The choice is yours, but here’s a clue, inspired by Bexley Libraries:

Seeking a good read
I entered your library.
Bliss. Sunshine. Books found.

I think they’re rather wonderful, but they are – apparently – devilishly difficult to write – why not have a go? You too can haiku. Try writing one or two, see how it goes. Then send us some around the theme of books or libraries using the comments box below…

The Blogbrary waits
For your poetic replies.
Love books? All welcome.

Exciting stuff, eh?

TTFN

I Spy...Books!

The recent spy ring brouhaha has reminded us all of a Cold War time – not long ago – when “Russians were red and found under your bed”…

John Le Carre was the master of the murky world of espionage fiction in the `Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy` era, but he’s still writing insightful and thoughtful spy stories today…

If you want to read more about the real thing, well, try here: SECRET BUTTON

And don’t forget Bexley’s very own Soviet 'mole' - The Spy who came in from the Co-Op…

Mind you, if you want a REALLY weird true spy story, a long, long way removed from Bexley, try The Eitingons – what a family! Talk about fact being stranger than fiction…

Still on the subject of fiction, my own book spies are reporting good things about a new novel – The Spy Game by Georgina Harding…

Can you recommend any other spy stories? Don't keep them a secret.

Please use the comments box below, but DO NOT USE INVISIBLE INK…

TTFN