The Sea Road

The Stromness Library Reading Group will meet tomorrow evening (Wednesday 30th March) in the exhibition room of the Library at 7pm. The book we will be discussing is Margaret Elphinstone's The Sea Road,  an historical novel retelling the Viking exploration of the North Atlantic through the eyes of the extraordinary Gudrid.

We are looking forward to a lively discussion and will let you know what the group thought of the book. New members are always very welcome, so come along and join in - tea and coffee provided!

Poetry Workshop

Stromness poet Yvonne Gray will be leading a poetry workshop in the exhibition room of Stromness Library today from 2-4pm as part of the Shadows of Our Ancestors weekend of events organised by Historic Scotland. Tomorrow (Sunday 20th March) there will be a guided visit to the Ring of Brodgar and Barnhouse Settlement from 10-12noon followed by another poetry workshop in the St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall from 2-4pm. The work generated from the weekend will culminate in a poetry reading at the Pier Arts Centre and an installation of words and neolithic artefacts in and around the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site on World Heritage Day, Monday 18th April.

Exciting times

So, like a child bursting to tell you what is in the parcel they've just given you, we are longing to tell you all about the plans for the lovely new Stromness Library. Luckily we will only have to contain our excitement until Tuesday 15th March, when the plans for the Pierhead Regeneration, which includes the new library, will be on public display at the Stromness Townscape Heritage Initiative offices at the Old Academy in Stromness from 6pm-9pm.  Malcolm Fraser Architects will be giving a formal presentation between 6.45pm and 7.45pm, but if you can't make it along to the public meeting and presentation  there will also be a chance to see the plans at the Stromness cash office before the evening meeting.

Having seen the plans we hope you'll be as excited as we are - we won't spoil the surprise but we will let our manager, Gary Amos, tell you a wee bit more:

" A huge amount of thought and effort has been put into the design of the new facility. Additional features such as the George Mackay Brown area of the library will help place the service at the centre of cultural and community life in Stromness."

So make a date in your diary and get along for a look - and do please let us know what you think!