Sandgate Author Talk

 

The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women Sandgate Library Author Talk was delightful!

First of all I was surprised to find myself in the tourist booklet of What's On In Sandgate with one of my favourite photos and a great write up! Once again, the headline focusing on the sex lives and not the medieval women made me feel a little uncomfortable, but it clearly did the job because we had a completely full house!

The library staff were welcoming and kind and wasted no time in offering refreshments and giving me a tour of the library. I found the best spot in the library was in one of their gorgeous red, brocade-covered armchairs looking outside through huge, arched windows while sipping coffee and chilling with a magazine. I heartily recommend it!

The library itself was not big enough to hold everyone who hoped to attend my talk, so it was relocated into the beautiful town hall right next door.
 

 

The hall had an abundance of natural light and the room retained echoes of its former use as a performing arts venue with a now-disused balcony and tiered seats overlooking the main hall, seen above.

My favourite features of the Town Hall and the Library itself were the pressed tin ceiling panels and lighting rosettes which came in a number of designs.
 

 

I've always really loved this feature in a lot of old, heritage buildings and private residences and many old theatres and cinemas still have these in their foyers and above the footpaths outside the buildings proper. It's a little sad that our modern houses don't take this kind of attention to their ceilings, although restorations often include the lighting rosette features and fancy cornicework. 

The ceiling patterns, though, were lovely!

 

Before the hall was ready, I took half an hour to sit under some enormous fig trees in the park across the road and have lunch. The weather was sunny and even though Spring has just arrived, the warm weather was making itself known.

The event itself was Covid-appropriate with spaced out chairs which limited the numbers attending. A curious crowd made their teas and coffees before finding their places and joining me for our afternoon, and I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Masks were permitted off once seated as we were spaced out, so that was nice!

What a lovely crowd they were, too. Several men attended, which was quite lovely to see, including one of the librarians from The Braille House who chatted about making a braille edition for their lending library. 

I'm so thankful that at the moment I have these small opportunities to get out and spread the medieval history love into the broader community. Our Brisbane Libraries are the best!

Kenmore Author Talk

 

 

Hello Kenmore Library! 

What a place! The staff hosting this event were again so nice (but this seems to be a common theme with our Brisbane Library librarians) and were fantastic hosts and the place itself was an absolute surprise.

Nestled in behind the Kenmore Shopping Village, and an easy bus ride out from the city,  the exterior of the library does in no way prepare the visitor for the amazing views from the library windows upstairs.

How the staff get anything done here and not spend their hours gazing out at the scenery and birds, I do not know! It's such a tranquil spot!
 

 

The enormous windows offer a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscape and I can't imagine the staff here ever wanting to leave. Curling up in a chair near one of these windows is a bookworm's paradise!
 

 

With Covid making talks and events uncertain, many of the usual channels of print media for the author talks were bypassed in case of sudden cancellations and lockdowns, so staff took it upon themselves to grab some whiteboard pens and get creative on their own! 

I was quite touched that they had gone to this much effort for my talk but again, their efforts had paid off and another small but enthusiastic turnout joined me for a fun evening! Refreshments were again provided by Brisbane Libraries, free of course, and I made sure everyone who attended took home a free bookmark as a little token of my thanks!

I've been really pleased that staff feedback for the Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women Author talks have been so positive and I really hope that I can be involved in more of these events next year. Only a few more to go in this round.

My thanks to Kenmore Library for being such gracious hosts and Brisbane Libraries for hosting the series of talks altogether.