JennyOwen

By JennyOwen

Morning walk

This morning I met up with Moira, for a photography walk just outside Sheffield, at Wyming Brook. Here, a rocky path goes down the hillside, alongside the 'brook' itself, all the way to some reservoirs below. It's a good place to play about with water photos.
So we had a peaceful couple of hours, watching the river flow.
Moira and I got to know each other as volunteers in our local library. Six years ago, Sheffield withdrew funds for staffing from just over half its branch libraries, because of central govermment cuts to local government funding. There was then a long tussle. The council invited community groups to submit plans for volunteer staffing and leadership in the libraries concerned; groups with plans that were deemed viable were allowed to take over day-to-day running of the branches, with funding for running costs (heat and light etc) still coming from the council.
This was an uncomfortable compromise: professional librarian posts were lost, but the much-valued local facilities were preserved, at least for the time being. Back in 2014, we all thought that if we hung on long enough with volunteer staffing, better days might come after another general election (so much for that).  So all the branches have survived, and many volunteers came forward to keep them going. Since Covid struck, we have been reduced to a 'click and collect' service.  Once again, this is better than nothing. But roll on the day when we can reopen properly, with all the parent/toddler sessions, craft clubs, reading groups and other activities that people love.

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