THE 2025 FOWL CALENDAR IS NOW ON SALE
The 2025 FOWL Watlington Landmarks calendar is now on sale! The winning images are on display in the library, so do come in and have a look before you buy. A calendar costs just £9 complete with envelope and can be bought from the library, the Granary, or Watlington Fine Wines. I hope you’ll enjoy it. I am sure you will agree that it contains both anticipated established Watlington landmarks perhaps in a new light, some brand new landmarks in their own right – and some rather quirky and personal interpretations of just what might make a Watlington landmark. Huge thanks to all those amazing photographers who took the time and effort to enter and share their talent with us. And to all the wonderful local businesses who have each sponsored a month – Robinson Sherston, Orange Bakery Collective, Sprocket Science, TuTu Chocolates, Watlington Fine Wines, No.4, So Sustainable, The Italian Handbag Company, Bella Luce, Stilla Hem, Calnan Brothers, and The Granary Delicatessen – thank you all so much for your support. It is so greatly appreciated. Looking ahead to our next calendar…the theme will be Watlington Walks; so have a think about your favourite views as you walk in and around the Watlington area and get snapping before the competition opens in the spring of next year. Don’t forget all proceeds from the sale of these calendars help FOWL to keep financially supporting our community library.
AUTHOR TALKS We were delighted to welcome back award winning and best-selling author Imogen Matthews last month to talk about the inspiration for and creation of her latest project; her Dutch Girl Series of World War Two novels. These three novels are based on the true stories of a remarkable and courageous trio of women who worked for the Dutch Resistance. Imogen also discussed her previous novels set in Holland during the German occupation and treated the capacity crowd to a fascinating insight into her process of writing and the profound influence of the wartime experiences of her Dutch mother on her work. A really interesting evening and a wonderful way to end our 2024 Author talk programme.
Looking ahead to the New Year, we are excited to be welcoming back Carolyn Kirby on January 17th, who will be delivering a talk entitled ‘Victorian Scientists and Scandals’. Carolyn’s novel ‘The Conviction of Cora Burns’ was inspired by the origins of psychology as well as by real lives and true stories from 19th century Britain. Her talk gives an insight into the research underlying her fictional narrative and will focus on three controversial Victorians; Arthur Munby, W.T.Stead and Francis Galton. It’s the perfect antidote to a dull January evening, so save the date and watch out for when tickets become available.
FOWL FA This month Storytime will be in the library on December 7th and 21st when a certain someone should be making a festive appearance. Don’t forget there will be lots of craft activities in the library during the Christmas Fair on December 7th too. Rhymetime will be on the 3rd and 17th; no Lego Club this month but it will be back in the New Year.
Speaking of which, as this year draws to a close we can reflect on a very busy year in the library with lots to be thankful for; the creation of our new Lego Club, new school visits to the library, a continuing provision of ongoing family activities with our popular Storytime and Rhymetime sessions, a free online resources event, some wonderful art exhibitions (including Steph Hicks, Neil Foreman, Jen Skene, Aggie and Al Tait with Josephine Bradley), some terrific talks (including Lord Jay of Ewelme, Robert Hardman and the Marquis of Anglesey), plus a wealth of new books from FOWL’S library manager book fund to enjoy. On behalf of all the Trustees of FOWL may I say a huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for all that they do to support the library and of course to our outstanding library manager Libby Willis and our customer services advisor Jo Aherne for all that they do to make our library such a special oasis within our town. Our library is indeed an active and flourishing community space for all and I am also personally very thankful to the Trustees of FOWL for all that they do to ensure that this remains to be the case.
On that note, from all the FOWL Trustees,we wish everyone a very merry and restful Christmas and all the very best for a happy and healthy 2025.
Dr Anna Tilley; Chair FOWL
This lovely image, “Rose-tinted Trees”, was taken by Ty Young and appears in our Watlington Seasons calendar
Friends of Watlington Library 