This weekend was the annual Big Read, a free festival held at Maidenhead Library. This year's theme was Step Back in Time, covering history from the Ancient Egyptians to Windrush. The library was absolutely buzzing, with so much going on , talks from authors, storytelling, crafts, dressing up, an archaeological dig, quizzes and more. The library looked amazing, decorated in part with models and pictures made by some talented Goodgymers and their families. Sheila was stationed in the Riverview Corner, hosting 2 of the talks and helping direct people to the right places. Both talks were excellent - one by Rob Lloyd Jones on how he got into reading (he hated reading as a child), and the second was from Martin Brown, who is the illustrator of the Horrible Histories books. He was emphasising that everyone can draw and create characters - very inspiring, and the children (and adults) loved it! A very successful event and it was great to be a part of it.

What do the dinosaurs, Viking long boats, Queen Elizabeth I, Mars the Roman God of War, a Sphinx and a pyramid, the silhouetted London skyline from WW2, and Windrush all have in common?

Not only are they all important symbols, moments or characters from history, they are also all the subject of sculptures and artwork created by GoodGymers Claire, Yesim, Hannah, Tessa, Nicola and myself.

And what would you need if you wanted to step back in time and visit all these fascinating parts of history?

Either a TARDIS... or a reading festival, packed with books, visiting authors and interactive activities to help bring the past to life.

Lucky for the people of Maidenhead, we have both!

A TARDIS lovingly created by Scarlett, AND a fantastic celebration of books (and for this year's theme, history) in the form of the Big Read festival.

Many thanks to task owner Tessa from the Big Read committee, who invited us to make these decorations for the library ready for the festival. It is the third year we have been involved in this creative project and it's always a joy to see what people make. This year's theme was 'Stepping Back in Time', so we had the whole of history to inspire us.

Special mention to Yesim's husband, who sailed her amazing viking long boat down to the community centre to welcome us back from our group run this evening.

Maidenhead Library was hosting 'Maidenhead's Big Read' this weekend, timed to coincide with World Book Day. This is a free event that always attracts a large number of families. This year's theme was outer space, and what a treat was in store! There were author's giving talks on various topics, story-telling sessions, astronomy exhibitions including a viewing telescope, and an immersive planetarium dome. Amy, Kristina, Nicola, Sheila and Tessa all went to help out. Tessa was manning the information desk telling people about what was on and answering any questions, and Kristina had the coldest job at the entrance welcoming people and recording attendance. Amy, Nicola and Sheila were all manning the planeterium at various times. This exhibit was very popular, so we were kept busy with crowd control and signing people up for upcoming sessions. A certain amount of juggling was required as there were quite a few no-shows but also a queue of people without bookings all keen to go in. The volunteers had a special viewing at the end of the day - you could lie down on cushions in the dome and look up at the ceilings on which images were projected accompanied by commentary. Everyone loved it. Sheila finished off at the story-telling corner, enjoying some space poetry read beautifully by Sue Palmer. The library was busy all weekend and it was great to be able to contribute to this amazing event

Tessa, Sheila and Kanika met at the Maidenhead Library to put up the decorations for the Big Read festival in just over a week.

Sheila and Tessa grabbed the stepladders to get the buntings up, while Kanika went to work on blu-tacking lettering for the Big Read up on the window. When done, she turned around to find that the other two had finished putting up all the other decorations! In less than an hour we were all done and set for the festival.

It was a pleasure putting up the lovely creations, some of them by our own highly creative GoodGymmers!

At the end of a busy January of GoodGyming some of us have been feeling a bit spaced out. We're ready for February...and beyond! And we've been making sure the library is ready too, by making space themed decorations.

The decorations will go up soon as part of the countdown to the Maidenhead Big Read Festival, which will blast off over the weekend of 4th and 5th March, with lots of free events to inspire everyone to love reading.

This task was more creative than physical, but GoodGymers were also motivated to get some extra steps in whilst delivering their creations to me, and it has been a treat for me to receive them.

I've returned from a GoodGym session to find rockets and astronauts on my doorstep, I've received an amazing spaceship with beautifully crocheted aliens at a Pilates class, and I've even answered the door to discover the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Well done to everyone who dived into the tin foil, paint, cardboard, wool and sequins and made a contribution. You're all stars. We have an amazing mix of fantasy, fact and fun, and it's going to look fabulous!

I'm also delighted to report that this session rockets us into our biggest month of GoodGyming ever. We've really started 2023 with a Big Bang!

Maidenhead's Big Read Festival continued for a second day, on the theme of Ocean Alive! Alice, Roberta and Sheila were there to help host some of the talks, and we were lucky enough to attend some really engaging and informative sessions. Russell Arnott, an amazing Oceanographer and Science Communicator told stories of creatures of the ocean, and held his audience spell-bound. Fiona Barker did a session on whale facts, and had the children (and parents and volunteers) drawing and singing too. Gloria Barnett had tales and videos of her diving adventures, and we finished with Eric Brutnall, a local primary school teacher, reading from his book, with a message about dealing with rubbish responsibly. We all enjoyed being part of this event - thanks to Stephan for inviting us!