David J. Gatward's Blog

I know it’s nearly the end of the month, but I only discovered this week that February is National Library Lovers Month in the US. And with my books now available to order in libraries (almost) the world over, I thought it the perfect opportunity to write about these wonderful institutions. According to the website statista , there are over 4.1 thousand public libraries in the UK and 950 academic libraries, including the British Library, which is one of the largest in the world holding more than 150 million items! The oldest public library is Chetham Library , which was founded in 1653 and is housed in a marvellous building that is even older, dating back to 1421. It looks like a marvellous place, and it’s just gone on my list of must-see places! It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that a very special library memory for me is from my childhood in Hawes. Instead of a library in the town, we had a mobile one which would visit regularly. It would park outside the Market Hall and

Well, back in January, I decided that a good way to start the year would be with a little work trip to that there London. So off I headed on the train to visit a few places, including the Sherlock Holmes Museum . I immediately enjoyed the bustle of London. It’s very different to being out in the Somerset countryside, perfect for people watching and eating good food. Completely by accident, I ended up staying in a hotel in the same street where the Bow Street Runners were started, which I’m sure you know are generally considered London’s first professional police force. There is a museum , but I didn’t have time to visit, so this is definitely on the cards for later in the year.  Lamp oustide the Bow Street Runners museum Before dropping by on Sherlock and Watson, I went to the Marquis pub , which has an amazing history, including the time when a highwayman was captured on the premises and later sentenced to hang at Tyburn , the most commonly used location for executions for individual