It's all about Agatha at the moment. Last Monday I was doing a bit of filming, for a video trailer for the forthcoming Marple Mysteries festival in Marple (where else?) next April; this sounds like a great event, and will also celebrate the opening of the town's impressive-sounding new library. At a time when libraries are under threat in some areas (including, regrettably, my own), I'm glad to do anything I sensibly can to support them.
Saturday saw me travelling to Bolton Library, which I last visited for a talk upwards of twenty years ago, and I recall a grand building in the heart of the town's cultural quarter. Since then, the library has been modernised, very impressively, and there's also a museum and aquarium. I didn't have time for an extended look round, but it definitely looked worth a further visit.
I was invited to Bolton by Caroline Hall from the Library because she was organising an Agatha Christie Day. It's never any hardship to talk about Agatha and her work, so I had no hesitation in accepting, and I was impressed by the turnout on another very hot day. The first speaker, Lauren Field, a curator from the natural history section of the museum, talked interestingly about dogs and poisons in Agatha's work. And there were some poisonous herbs on display - nobody was unwise enough to touch them, but I think we were all rather intrigued.
Caroline interviewed me, and there were some excellent questions from an audience that seemed very engaged, followed by a very good book-signing session. A pleasant visit, and also a chance to reflect, once again, on the vital role that libraries play in our communities. Initiatives like this are definitely worth supporting.
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