Hello again. I know, it has been too long. We have been having a whale of a time in Wales - in two senses in my case, given I am only two weeks away from dividing into two, I am better off floating than waddling as I am currently better not seen doing around town.
Our local library is closing! Despite the fact that my fines could have kept them afloat for books of years. This is sad. Sad because apparently the local kids on our Camden estate do not use it to borrow books but only to use the computers - and play football with the plastic veg from the kids kitchen in the corner - which is funny to watch, but also sad because they are not interested in the books.
I read recently, that there are pockets of England where folks cannot read at all! I also read that teachers have been complaining that some children starting school can only grunt and some are still in nappies. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9628234/Gove-laments-children-who-start-school-in-nappies-and-are-unable-to-speak.html This is tragic. If only their parents could have read more, they could have read more to them, instead of parking them in their buggies in front of the tele (as I read they have done).
“A nation that does not read much does not know much. And a nation that does not know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth. And those decisions ultimately affect the entire nation...the literate and illiterate.”
― Jim Trelease (quote from Goodreads)
