A Box of Books

As I drove through West Bedfordshire after a job I was surprised to spot a mini library in a phone box. That’s four I know of within half an hour from home now. I parked up and jumped out of the car. I've taken to carrying a digital compact camera with me, so I soon had some photos in the bag. A few minutes later I was back in the car and on my way to the next client.

This one, in the small village of Tingrith, is on the High Street opposite the end of church Road. I’m all in favour of anything that encourages reading, so it’s good to see another mini library.

I've already showed you a couple at Woburn and Flitton, both not far from Tingrith and also in Bedfordshire. There’s another I've featured at Gawcott in Buckinghamshire. if you live in or near Milton Keynes can you tell me of any more in the area? I'm almost afraid to ask because I'm running out of puns for the post titles!

Little Red Reader

Main Street, Gawcott, dusk.

It had stopped raining in mid afternoon and the skies had cleared so I’d gone for a ride on the bike. I took the opportunity to go to Hillesden Church to take photos for my other blog but now I was riding home. It was dusk, on the last Sunday in September.

As I rode along Main Street in Gawcott I spotted a phone box mini library and realised what it was immediately. I parked the motorcycle and got the camera out.

Call For Books

Today I’m going to talk to you about telephone boxes. Nothing to do with books? Well, years ago there used to be telephone directories in phone boxes, but I’m not talking about them.

But these two old telephone kiosks in a couple of Bedfordshire villages are to do with books, because they’ve been converted into mini libraries. Neither village had a library, so their parish councils stepped forward.

Woburn

Brighstone Library’s Fine

Brighstone Library and Museum

Brighstone Library is one of five community libraries on the Isle of Wight. Not far inland from the campsite I was on that weekend, it was easy to pop in for a visit.

The library is in North Street, Brighstone, and offers all the things you might expect from a library including internet access and copying services, all run by the 30 odd library volunteers as part of the County’s (Isle of Wight’s) library service.

The ladies on duty were most friendly and helpful when I turned up to ask them questions and take their photo. While I was there another volunteer turned up with her dog.

L-R Hilary Bird, Jenny Smart, and Norma Bradley, with Boris The Library Dog.

The National Trust owns the building. The cottage houses a small but rather good village museum run by the Brighstone Museum Trust; it’s free to enter and access is via the library, during opening hours.

The library is in what used to be a shop, and before that an outbuilding, attached to an 18th century cottage. The cottage has a stone above the door engraved T L H and 1743. The whole building is Grade II listed.

The Parish Council will soon be taking over the overseeing of the library from Community Action Isle of Wight.

I’m all in favour of this. Reading, communication and community is such an important part of life, and here we have four organisations coming together to make the library, and the museum, work.