Wrexham Carnival of Words

In its ninth year Wrexham Carnival of Words literary festival has some great authors lined up to entertain audiences this April.

Mike Gayle, Tim Weaver, Lucy Diamond, Erica James and National Poet for Wales, Hanan Issa are just a few authors who will be appearing. For the first time in its history there will be a launch event with best-selling author and Richard and Judy favourite, Harriet Tyce.

Harriet was born and brought up in Edinburgh. She graduated in 1994 with a degree in English Literature before working as a criminal barrister for nearly a decade. Having escaped law and early motherhood, she started writing, and completed the MA in Creative Writing - Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She has written three novels to date, the Sunday Times bestsellers Blood Orange and The Lies You Told. It Ends At Midnight was published in April 2022 to critical acclaim.

If you would like to attend any or all of the events this year, then there is an early Bird Festival Ticket for £35. For more details visit www.wrexhamcarnivalofwords.com

Cost of living help

Did you know libraries can help with your cost of living? We have free access to national newspapers, access to hundreds of magazines including Welsh magazines, access to thousands of bestselling and classic books for children and adults, access to books and literature to support your health and wellbeing and learning, plus access to warm places. We also provide access to groups and activities for adults and children, most of them free of charge. Our regular free events include Story and Rhyme Times in Welsh and English for young children, reading groups for all ages, friendship groups, Knit and Natter/craft groups, children’s activities and Welsh conversational groups. For details of these events and much more visit www.wrexham.gov.uk/libraries or follow us on social media. Your local library can support and be there for you this winter.

Author of the Month

Kate Rhodes was born in London in 1964. She completed a doctorate, then taught English in universities in Britain and America. She writes full time now and lives in London with her husband, the writer and filmmaker Dave Prescod. She used to visit the Scilly isles every year as a child, which gave her the inspiration for her acclaimed Isles of Scilly mysteries. The first DI Ben Kitto book was Hell Bay in 2018, and she has just completed her sixth in the series, The Brutal Tide, published in 2022.

New Knit and Natter group

Knit and Natter groups have many benefits, they provide a creative, relaxing and enjoyable experience for participants, whilst making new friends and chatting over a cuppa! Gwersyllt Library has started a new Knit and Natter group, which meet every Tuesday 2pm-4pm. The group welcomes new members (skilled and unskilled) and look forward to knitting some wonderful creations. For more details call the library on 01978 722890.

Carers Library Card

If you care for someone and find it difficult to make time for yourself to visit the library, then why not sign up for a Carers Card for yourself and the person you look after at your local library? You can borrow* up to 20 books at a time, borrow e-books, e-magazine and use other e-resources at any time of the day or night, borrow Books on Prescription titles, browse the library catalogue at home, and order the books that you want and collect from your local library - books for information, study or pure enjoyment. For more details ask at your local library today. *Proof of eligibility will be required.

Book Review

Diddly Squat ‘Til the Cows Come Home’ by Jeremy Clarkson

Diddly Squat ‘Til the Cows Come Home’ by Jeremy Clarkson

Diddly Squat ‘Til the Cows Come Home’ by Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson’s latest offering barely qualifies as a book – more a compilation of his weekly diary in the Sunday Times packaged between attractively illustrated covers. Having said that it is a very, very funny, lighthearted, self-deprecating account of Jeremy’s continuing attempts at farming on his Oxfordshire estate. Clarkson is able to combine a beginner’s naivety with anecdotes of his continuing battles and frustration with the cows and sheep interspersed with some insightful comments on the challenges facing farmers in Britain today – both agricultural and bureaucratic. Clarkson’s writings have always been provocative, non-pc and iconoclastic. However what shines through here is his genuine love for and enjoyment of farming life (however clumsy) and his respect and admiration for the farming community. Well worth a read if you’re looking for something humorous and light and even better – it’s free at the library.

Huw