Thinking of learning a new language? Thinking of learning a 100 or more new languages?!
Check out our online resource – transparent language. You’ll find it challenging. You’ll find it fun. If you find your tongue is twisted, that’s because you’ve just begun!
It will open up a whole new world of cultures. don’t just rely on someone from foreign parts speaking to you in English.
Show them and their culture respect by speaking to them in their own language. just a phrase or two has a remarkably positive effect.
Try it and see for yourself. this resource is available to you right now on our website. a new language to speak.
This is a guest blog, in honour of Mother’s Day (March 30th), written by Kensington Mums, a local network that offers support, advice and information for Kensington parents:
Kensington Mums
‘Everything I owe, I owe to my mother’. This is one of my favourite quotes. To me motherhood is a dream come true. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a Mum, to be called Mama and to have children of my own. It’s a true blessing. Motherhood comes with a source of responsibility and a sense of fulfilment.
The day I became a Mother was the day I said goodbye to freedom, and solo bathroom trips. There’s no instruction booklet for being the best Mum, you just have to trust your instinct. Teaching your little ones and letting them be the best they can be is a real challenge in life and something every mother will go through. Worry is inevitable, but it’s a learning process and with every challenge along the way there will be amazing ones to come. Its always good to remember that we brought our children to this world and it is our children that help us be the best we can be and help us make memories from the little things in our everyday ordinary lives.
At times, mums will feel alone, confused and loose their true identity as a women in the process. Motherhood has so many different roles and each motherhood journey is unique in its own way. During our Kensington Mums Motherhood exhibition which took place in June 2013, I met many Mums from all walks of life who shared their personal motherhood journey. This day should be celebrated because so many Mother’s work super hard all year round and rarely get the merit they deserve. So although I’m a bit biased, I’m down for it one million percent.
As a Kensington Mum myself, I feel I have so many different roles in my family. Mothers are multi-taskers. Nurturing and celebrating ourselves is the first step towards nurturing and bringing joy to others. We are not just Mums, we are more than a Mum.
A mother is ‘A woman who realizes that no matter what she achieves in life her child is the only unique achievement that marks her life’.
Kensington Mums aims to engage with local Mums to let them know they are not alone while raising their little ones. The best thing a Mum can do is to live the example of a happy, loving relationship, understanding that as mothers they are moulding their children’s views and beliefs about love, relationships, self-worth and the world around them. Off courses fathers also play an important role.
I hope you can all join me and other Mums to put the mmmm into motherhood.
Biography
Kensington Mums is an award nominated social media website which supports Mums in their journey to motherhood. Our readers enjoy receiving the weekly scoop keeping them in the loop with local activities, latest trends and family outings. Kensington Mums also organises bespoke events for Mums and their little ones ranging from coffee mornings to mums night out, pamper events and much more…For more information please visit www.kensingtonmums.co.uk You can also find Kensington Mums on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterst, and Youtube.
This is the second guest blog post that has been written by Dina from Kensington Mums – many thanks to her!
I am a contented Mummy of two healthy and vivacious kids and a Kensington lover. It all started when I had my first baby. It occurred to me that I was not the only one struggling with interrupted sleep, being on call 24/7 with no time off. Kensington Mums was created with the aim of sharing knowledge and experiences and helping my yummy Kensington Mums learn from one another. Since its launch, Kensington Mums has proved to be a vital support network for the community where Mums can connect, share parenting tips and capture all those invaluable word of mouth recommendations. Not even one year after its launch, I was truly honoured when Kensington Mums made it into the Top 100 winner of the 2012 Business Mum Award.
I run this group with pure passion and determination and honestly enjoy reaching out to Mums. I captured so many invaluable word of mouth recommendations from other mums that I would not be able to live without. After having my second baby, the idea of having a bigger network support came to mind and in a sense created a passion in me to help mums outside my group of friends. It occurred to me that mums really need a network support so that they won’t feel alone in a haze of milky delight during the first few months of being a mum. If you have family around you to help you then that is ideal but in a country where you don’t have family, your network of mummy friends become part of the family.
As a Mum myself, I can relate to the ups and downs of motherhood. To me motherhood is the most exhausting yet most rewarding job (I only wish we could get paid for being a full time mama!). So what better way to share the many different motherhood journeys than to exhibit them.
Kensington Mums Motherhood Exhibition
Kensington Mums Motherhood exhibition will showcase and support mums to develop and share their own motherhood stories using their own personal pictures which to them illustrate the definition of motherhood. I want Mums to celebrate Mother’s Day every day! This day should be celebrated because so many Mother’s work super hard all year round and rarely get the merit they deserve. Nurturing and celebrating ourselves is the first step towards nurturing and bringing joy to others. We are not just Mums; we are more than a Mum’.
The exhibition itself aims to engage a wide community of UK and international mums from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The legacy will be increased social awareness of mums’ creative role and value. The exhibition welcomes ALL Mums to take part in this honest exhibition whether they are grandparents, single mums, and teenage mums or widowed. This exhibition will be included for the touring exhibition and events programme: “Story of Mum: Mums making an exhibition of themselves” culminating in an exhibition at the Museum of Motherhood in New York.
This FREE event is taking place on the 7th of June 2013 at Beaufort House, Chelsea. There are still opportunities to take part – all you need to do is email info@kensingtonmums.co.uk with subject heading ‘Participate in Kensington Mums Motherhood Exhibition’. You must attend one of the meet ups. Dates for meet ups are: 3 May 2013 10am-12pm, 8 May 2013 7-9pm, 10 May 2013 10am-12pm, 15 May 2013 7-9pm and 17th May 2013 10-12pm. You will be emailed the location.
To be kept in the loop with the local scoop with the latest in children activities, playgroup and family outings, join Kensington Mums where you get free updates with what’s on for you and your little one(s). You are welcome to connect with other Mums to share your tips and recommendation and capture all those invaluable word of mouth recommendations.
It’s a fantastic support network! Kensington Mums also organises Mummy and baby outings as well as Mums Night out and pamper events! Visit www.kensingtonmums.co.uk You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter @KensingtonMums. Enjoy your time with your little ones, as they are only little for a short while!
Author, Sarah Wise came to Kensington Central Library on Thursday 18 April to speak about her book, Inconvenient People. This looks at 75 years of psychiatry in 19th Century England bringing to light new research and unseen stories of contested lunacy.
This event was part of our Cityread London events. For more information about this London-wide reading campaign, check out the Cityread London website.
For those that missed the event, Sarah supplied us with some images that she used and talked about on the night. I also took note of some of the questions the audience asked Sarah.
In the attic
A rare illustration of Bertha Mason, restrained in the attic at Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847). Mr Rochester had chosen not to send Bertha to an asylum, but to secrete her instead at home with keeper Grace Poole.
Lancaster Moor Asylum
Lancaster Moor Asylum, in the north-west of England – built as part of the massive, mid-19th-century national construction programme of public asylums for the poor.
Georgina Weldon
Anti-lunacy-law campaigner Georgina Weldon became a huge star, championing all sorts of progressive social measures. She was able to command large sums for personal appearances and product endorsements, such as this soap advert.
Kensington House Asylum
Kensington House Asylum stood, until 1872, approximately where Kensington Court is today – facing towards Kensington Palace. In 1838, the asylum was the focus of a scandal that prompted the formation of a campaign to improve patients’ conditions and to change the rules regarding lunacy certification.
Questions & Answers
Q – If a person was put into an asylum but they were sane how did they get out?
A – At the time, it was regarded that the state couldn’t interfere with family life but they would try to exert gentle pressure on the family for their relative to be let out.
Q – Will Sarah continue her research into the 20th century?
A – Sarah doesn’t think so. She found the research for this book quite upsetting and with the changes that occurred after the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act it would be hard to carry on.
Q – Were operations on people’s skulls happening in the 19th century?
A – Doctors would drain blood from the head but more often than not this would injure the patient such as causing deafness.
Jodie Green
Jodie Green
Lending Librarian
Further Information
Sarah Wise’s book ‘Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England is available from our libraries
For more information about Kensington House Asylum please contact our Local Studies Library.
Hello from us all at Kensington Central Library! This month we’re busy with lots of events- so we wanted to tell you about a couple.
Drama Workshop with Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea
Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea in action!
Today we had a fantastic drama workshop for children with Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea. Fifteen children had a fantastic time – they put together a fun-filled performance using dance, drama and music as well as learning about the 150 year anniversary of the London Underground.
After only a short-time the children felt confident to show their parents everything they’d learnt which was great to see! And we thought you’d like to hear what the children thought:
I enjoyed acting and performing to others.
I enjoyed learning the facts about the tube.
The acting was my favourite part.
I enjoyed all of the workshop and nothing could have been better!
I learned a lot of facts and dances.
I liked performing to the parents best.
I liked learning about the man who got a rat up his trouser leg!
Welcome to our first blog post of 2013 and let me wish Happy New Year to you from all the staff at Kensington Central Library.
I’m aware that our last post didn’t contain anything from our reference library so this month we have two members of the reference team introducing themselves and telling us a little more about what they do. First up is Colin Clare who tells us about the borough’s A to Z Director, followed by Nina Risoli who tells us about her job as a reference librarian.
Make the most of your local community – the RBKC A to Z Directory
I work in our reference libraries at Kensington Central and Chelsea libraries. I am part of a small team that maintains and update all the entries in the borough’s A to Z directory.
Need to find a local doctor or dentist or perhaps find out about your local leisure centre, Councillor or school? Well you can, by logging onto the local information database for the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, www.rbkc.gov.uk and look for the A to Z Directory. This is a valuable source of information containing details about clubs, organisations and Council services as well as charities, youth organisations, voluntary organisations, sports clubs and much more.
It is the definitive source that will enable you to get the most out of living in the Kensington & Chelsea area and to find instant details about your community. The database receives over 65,000 visits each month making it one of the most popular sections of the website.
If you would your organisation added to this database please email us at information@rbkc.gov.uk
When they hear I work as a librarian people often say to me: “How lovely, you must read a lot at work!”, and I try to explain that reading is not really a major part of my working day.
I am a reference librarian in Kensington Central Reference library and my main duties include answering enquiries from visitors to the library and those that arrive via post, email or telephone. This is the interesting part of my job as people come with a huge variety of questions and requests. I am also responsible for managing stock, making sure we have the right books on the shelves, that they are in good condition, in date and relevant to our users. I also spend a lot of time promoting library services and our online resources, as well as training staff and public to use these resources – I’ve recently written for the blog about some of our online resources. I also organise tours of the library and events to promote special collections such as Chelsea’s fashion and costume collection for library staff, students and visitors.
Although in truth there is rarely time to do any reading at work, I do love my job for the variety it offers and the opportunity to learn something new each day.
Nina Risoli
Nina Risoli
Triborough Reference Librarian
Kensington Reference Library
Hollywood glamour in the library
This month the books we have on display from our biography collection are stars from Hollywood.
Hollywood stars on displayMore Hollywood stars on display
If you’re interested to see more of our biography collection then book a place on one of our tours. They are on the following days and times:
Tuesday 15 January, 2 to 3pm
Thursday 17 January, 6.30 to 7.30pm
Friday 18 January, 2 to 3pm
To book a place please call 020 7361 3010.
More information about these tours and our other upcoming events can be found on our website.
How to make a robin out of paper plates
We were very lucky to have a local story teller, Laura Collins come to the children’s library on 2 January. She told a group of children the story how the robin got his red breast – the children really enjoyed this tale. They enjoyed too making their very own robins out of two paper plates with a red breast out of tissue paper!
Me and my colleague, Gemma Baker made a robin each to show the children what to do. The ones the children made were much better!
Paper plate robins!
We have story and craft sessions during every school holiday – look out for posters in the children’s library for the next session and on our website.
rbkc libraries blog 