Roald Dahl meets William Shakespeare

This year marks at least two significant anniversaries, the death of William Shakespeare 400 years ago and the birth of Roald Dahl 100 years ago. These events are being celebrated nationwide and here in Rochdale we also want to mark the moment. Shakespeare is thought to have been born on 23rd September, though many sources state that this is uncertain. What is known is that he died on that date, so if we have his birth date right he is one of that rare breed that was born and died on the same day of the year.
Plans for both celebrations are well under way here. Roald Dahl will be celebrated in the Summer Reading Challenge, this year called The Big Friendly Read. Children who take part read six books, they do not have to be written by Roald Dahl, any book counts and here in Rochdale that includes the Ebooks we have available. The Dahl theme will carry on to this year's Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival, where the children and families events will be under the umbrella title of The Big Friendly Festival.
Shakespeare celebrations have already taken place, with more marked for April 23rd and a week in May, so watch this space.

Multi Cultural Stories

This year sees 400 years of the King James Bible. Margaret Smith is our local Methodist Minister and she wanted to celebrate this fact. To cut a long story short, Margaret, Shahzad and myself got together to celebrate the cultural diversity of the borough of Rochdale through stories from different faiths and cultures
I wish I had been recording the session at Balderstone, the storytellers and the families from many different cultures all laughing out loud together and really enjoying the shared experience. We have two more storytimes planned, I can't wait!