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What's on in Wandsworth Libraries

01 October 2024

What's on in Wandsworth Libraries

October is Black History Month. A celebration of Black culture and the contributions of historical and contemporary black Britons. Our programme of events is included below and you can learn more at https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/events-and-activities/black-history-month  

Have you downloaded the library app? It's the quickest way to manage your account. Visit https://www.yourlibraryapp.com/WandsworthLibraries to download.
 
Follow Wandsworth Libraries on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wandsworthlibs and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wandsworthlibrarians/ 
 
Tuesday 1
2-4pm York Gardens Library
Black entrepreneurship across Africa and the diaspora with Loretta Awuah
We'll discuss the earliest examples of commerce and raising finance in Africa and the diaspora through to the current state of affairs concerning black business owners in the UK. 
A free Black History Month event. Please email yorkgardens.library@gll.org to book or call 020 7223 2341. 
2-3pm Southfields Library  
Silver Circle Reading Group  
Chat about your current reads and get book recommendations from friends. 

Wednesday 2
1.30-3pm Wandsworth Town Library
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
6.30pm Balham Library
Meet the author: Katie Lumsden (Wednesday Reading Group)
Free, but please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/author-talk-katie-lumsden-tickets-988459076707 to book a ticket. 
1841. Mr Montgomery Hurst is getting married. To the great consternation of Wickenshire, he is not marrying the daughter of an earl, but an impoverished widow with three children, whom nobody has ever heard of. Society is both appalled and intrigued! 
Come join us for a cozy chat with author Katie Lumsden as delves into her latest novel The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst. 
Clapham Books will be selling copies for Katie to sign, but to guarantee a copy pre-order through the bookshop by calling 020 7627 2797 

Thursday 3
9.30-10am Northcote Library
Reading Group 
General fiction reading group. Please ask at the library for more information 

Saturday 5
12-1pm Northcote Library
Children’s Craft Club
Join us for Saturday craft club in Northcote Children’s Library and get creative!
2pm Tooting Library
Autumn Craft  
A craft activity for children. 

Monday 7
10.30am-12pm Northcote Library
Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet
12-1pm Balham Library
ESOL Reading Group
A reading group for speakers of English as a Second Language, meets first Monday of each month.
2-4pm Earlsfield Library
Silver Circle Reading Group  
A reading group for mature readers. Drop in to share your thoughts on the book of the month.
4-5pm Tooting Library
Black History Month Story Time
A special Black History Month story time delivered by Rise Up And Walk.
6-7pm Balham Library
Teen Book Club
Perfect place for Secondary School students to discuss their recent reads and discover new and upcomg books, meets first Monday of each month.
6.30pm-7.30pm Battersea Library
Meet the author: Julie Anderson
Join crime author Julie Anderson whose new book, The Midnight Man, is set in the South London Hospital for Women in 1946. Anderson will talk about her book as well as the research she undertook. Free, but booking required – contact Heritage@gll.org

Tuesday 8
10.30am-12pm Tooting Library
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
12:30-1:30pm Southfields Library  
Southfields Safer Neighbourhood Team  
Meet with Metropolitan officers to discuss local issues or crime prevention.
3-6pm Southfields Library  
Sexual Health Clinic  
Drop in for free rapid HIV tests, information, and advice organised by Spectra and KwaAfrica.
6pm Wandsworth Town Library
Author talk and reading - Brenda Garrick 
Join author Brenda Garrick for a reading of her book Jamakespeare, an entertaining collection of poems in Jamaican patois. A free Black History Month event, to book email wandsworthtown.library@gll.org or call 020 8877 174    

Wednesday 9
1.30-3pm Balham Library  
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
4-5pm York Gardens Library
Storytelling and craft with author Kamapala Chuckwka
Learn about the story of Kind Obi from author Kamapala Chuckwka at this children's storytelling event.
A free Black History Month event. Please email yorkgardens.library@gll.org to book or call 020 7223 2341.
5:30-6:30pm Southfields Library  
Wednesday Reading Group  
A great way to share your thoughts on the book of the month, Lessons by Ian McEwan.
5.30-6.30pm York Gardens Library
Cancer myths and Cancer-related Afro Hair Loss with Lorna Jones
Find out more about cancer myths and cancer-related Afro hair loss, from author of Way Beyond the Scalp, Lorna Jones.
A free Black History Month event. Please email yorkgardens.library@gll.org to book or call 020 7223 2341.
6.30pm Putney Library
Talk: The Victorian Funeral
A talk by Brian Parsons about 19th century funerals in London. In association with the Friends of Putney Library. Free, to book tickets please email putney.library@gll.org or call 020 8780 3085. 

Thursday 10
4pm Balham Library
Meet the author: Dr Velma McClymont
Join imaginative author Dr Velma for this story time session of her book A Home for Mr No-Ranch, told in the Anancy storytelling tradition.
A free Black History Month event. Please email balham.library@gll.org to book or call 020 8673 1129.
4pm Balham Library
Share & Repair

Balham Library welcomes Transition Town Tooting! Bring in broken small household items including electrical & electronic devices to get advice on what's gone wrong & possible local repair options (please note we will not be able to actually fix any items at this clinic). 

Saturday 12
All Day Tooting Library
Sumer Reading Challenge Finishers party. 
Finished your reading challenge? Come and celebrate at Tooting Library with lots of fun stuff for children. 
11am - Spanish story time with Laura 
2pm - Illustration workshop with Sam Cunningham 
3pm - Hear local author Kate Cunnigham read from her new book "Captain Vlad & the Mary Rose" with a chance to meet the author, buy a book & get it signed. 
3.30pm Certificate presentations & prize draws with special guest "Vlad the flea" 
4 - 4.45pm - Disco
2-4pm Balham Library
Painting Nature's Friends

Join Balham Library's Craft Club as we create the insects we see in the garden - from ladybirds, to beetles, butterflies to snails - everything around us has a place in the ecosystem! Paint will be used, it is recommended children wear old clothes.
 
Sunday 13
3-3.30pm Tooting Library
Story and Rhyme Time 
Sunday songs and rhymes for children aged 0-5 years. 
 
Monday 14
12-2pm Putney Library
Marketing on a Shoestring
Join us for this interactive workshop to learn how to market your business effectively on even the smallest of budgets!
Free event, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/marketing-on-a-shoestring-tickets-996001265597 to book.
5.30pm Putney Library
Film Club: Green Book 
A film inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by African American pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer and later actor Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga, who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard. 
 
Tuesday 15
10:15-11:15am Southfields Library 
Black History Month Special Storytime.    
Be introduced to one of the most famous and clever characters in African folklore, Anansi the Spider, at this interactive meet the author story time session. Meet author, Victoria Asante!
10.30am-12pm Battersea Park Library  
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. 
 
Wednesday 16
1.30-3pm Putney Library  
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet.  
 
Thursday 17
11am-1pm Putney Library
E-Commerce Deep Dive: Selling Your Products Online
Join business expert Sybil Mayard to learn more about the benefits of e-commerce to sell your products online, and how to market your online business effectively.  17th October, 11am-1pm
For more details, visit https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/community-support/start-up-wandsworth to book a free place.
2-3pm Balham Library
Chai & Gupta – Urdo reading group
A group for Urdo speakers, meets on the third Thursday of each month.
6.30pm Putney Library
Going to England: Caribbean Migration stories from the V&A Museum
Join Avril Horsford, a tour guide from the Victoria and Albert Museum, to learn about the stories of past and present lives from the objects on display. What do they tell us about the lives of enslaved Africans, their descendants, and their lasting impact? 
Free, to book tickets please email putney.library@gll.org or call 020 8780 3085.. Part of Black History Month. 
 
Friday 18
1-3pm Earlsfield Library
Black History Month workshop: Womenkind
Join artist Nichola McGuire at this session designed to combat loneliness and isolation, low self esteem and low mood by providing a space for women to be validated, heard and to learn skills.
A free Black History Month event, please book at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womenkind-connect-explore-create-tickets-1015405504197 
2.30-4pm
Crime Reading Group 
Please ask at the library for more information. 
 
Saturday 19
10.30-11am Earlsfield Library
Dad’s Rhyme Time
Songs and rhymes for children aged 0-2 years.
11am-12pm Southfields Library  
Saturday Reading Group 
Discuss the book of the month, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell.   
12-1pm Northcote Library
Children’s Craft Club
Join us for Saturday craft club in Northcote Children’s Library and get creative!
1-2pm York Gardens Library
Cancer myths and Cancer-related Afro Hair Loss with Lorna Jones  
Find out more about cancer myths and cancer-related Afro hair loss, from author of Way Beyond the Scalp, Lorna Jones.  
A free Black History Month event. Please email yorkgardens.library@gll.org to book or call 020 7223 2341. 
 
Monday 21
5-6pm Balham Library
Chatterbooks
A reading group for ages 7-11 years. Meets, third Monday of each month.
6.30-8pm Online Event
Challenging the Windrush Narrative with Deanna Lyncook 
Exploring a variety of migratory experiences within British history, host of The History Hotline podcast Deanna Lyncook will critically engage with some of the silences embedded into the often narrow frame of reference known as the "Windrush Generation".
Please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/challenging-the-windrush-narrative-tickets-1028041849847 to book a free ticket. 
 
Tuesday 22
11:30am-12:30pm Southfields Library  
Southfields Safer Neighbourhood Team  
Meet with Metropolitan officers to discuss local issues or crime prevention. 
 
Wednesday 23
10.30am-12pm Southfields Library  
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet.  
 1.30-3pm Roehampton Library  
Digital Inclusion Programme  
 Free, drop-in help, offered by AgeUK Wandsworth for older computer users struggling with their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. 
 
Thursday 24
5-7pm Northcote Library
General Fiction Reading Group 
Please ask at the library for more information. 
 
Friday 25
11am Southfields Library
Halloween Story Time
Spooky story telling - for Children of  all ages.
2-3pm Northcote Library
Black History Month Story Time 
Celebrate Black History Month with a special story telling session led by local writer Dr Velma McClymont. Writing under the name Kate Elizabeth Ernest, Velma’s children’s books include Hope Leaves Jamaica, Birds in the Wilderness, Festus and Felix and Tricky Tricky Twins. 
 
Saturday 26
All day Tooting Library 
Spooky Saturday 
11am Scary Stories 
11.30am & 2pm Creepy Crafts 
3pm Freaky Face Painting 
3-4.30pm Diabolical Disco 
 
Monday 28
9.30-10am Northcote Library
Halloween Rhyme Time
Come to baby rhyme time clad in your best Halloween costumes! There will be special songs and music and ghoulish goodies for frightful outfits
2-3.30pm Roehampton Library
Hair Art: braiding workshop with Nurture Academy CIC 
Children can learn the art of hair braiding from Lavern and Portia from Nurture Academy CIC and be empowered with this life long skil.
A free event for Black History Month, to book please email roehampton.library@gll.org or call 020 8246 6979.
3-3.30pm Battersea Park Library
The Wandsworth School of Witchcraft and Wizardry presents: Escape from Detention 
Severus Snape’s meaner older sister has put you in detention! How will you get out of it? By solving clues and finding the magic word! A CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY FOR AGES 8-11. Tickets available in advance from the library Booking essential! call: 020 7720 4122 Or email: Silvia.Sanchez@gll.org To reserve your place! 
 
Tuesday 29
5.30-7pm Tooting Library 
Talk: Black Girl From Pyongyang, with Monica Macías 
Hear the experiences of Monica Macías, who along with two of her siblings, was sent to North Korea at the age of seven to study and reside under the care of the then-leader of the country, Kim Il Sung
A free Black History Month event, to book please email tooting.library@gll.org or call 020  8767 0543 
 
Wednesday 30
10.30-11.30am Battersea Library
Hair Art: braiding workshop with Nurture Academy CIC 
Children can learn the art of hair braiding from Lavern and Portia from Nurture Academy CIC and be empowered with this life long skill.
A free event for Black History Month, to book please email battersea.library@gll.org or call 020 7223 2334
10.30am-12pm Putney Library
Creepy Crawly Crafts
Make some creepy crawly things for Halloween.
2-3.30pm York Gardens Library
Hair Art: braiding workshop with Nurture Academy CIC 
Children can learn the art of hair braiding from Lavern and Portia from Nurture Academy CIC and be empowered with this life long skill
A free Black History Month event. Please email yorkgardens.library@gll.org to book or call 020 7223 2341.
4-5pm Wandsworth Town Library
Meet the author: Dr Velma McClymont 
Join imaginative author Dr Velma for this storytime session of her book A Home for Mr No-Ranch, told in the Anancy storytelling tradition.
A free Black History Month event, to book email wandsworthtown.library@gll.org or call 020 8877 174   
6-7pm Balham Library
Rainbow Reads – LGBT Reading Group
Meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
6-8pm Battersea Library
Time Traveling with the Jazz Queens
Time Travelling with the Jazz Queens is a captivating interactive adventure through history, introducing children 8+ years and their families to the greatest female jazz vocalists of the 20th century. 
A free drop in event for Black History Month. 
 
Thursday 31
9.30-10am Northcote Library
Halloween Story Time
Join us for a spooktacular line up of classic Halloween story-BOOks for story time. Costumes are encouraged!
5.45-6.45pm Earlsfield Library
Reading Group 
Join our group and share your thoughts on the book of the month. Please ask at the library for more information.