Totaliser Update

The final sum from Stromness is now in and our grand, final Jeans for Genes day total is:

£205.35

That is £80.17 more than last year.

Well done cake-bakers and cake-munchers both

Totaliser 2010

Our Jeans for Genes fundraising on Friday brought in £180.48, which is fantastic. It is £55.20 more than our efforts last year.

This result is particularly impressive when you take Friday's weather into account. Gales and rain did not stop our eager, cake-seeking visitors and we are very grateful to everyone who took part and gave generously.

Thank you!

Come in, Look what we have for you!

Jeans For Genes

Tomorrow it will be that special day again:  a fundraiser for Jeans For Genes, which provides care and support for children with genetic disorders.

Each year, Orkney Library and Archive staff slave over hot ovens on the last evening of September and festoon the staff room with delicious homebakes of great variety and deliciousness. These tasty treats are then grudgingly sold on to the library and archive visitors to raise money for the charity.

mmmmmmmmm.....

But wait, there's more. Not only will you have the opportunity to be served tea and cake if you visit us tommorrow, but you shall be served by staff wearing stylish, tight-fitting denim trousers which shall display the enviable figures that we keep under wraps all the rest of the year for fear of driving readers mad with lust.

Double mmmm.....

It's because 'jeans' sounds like 'genes' you see? We all pay £2 to wear our jeans and then that raises further funds.

So come along! Eat cake, drink tea, leer at library staff! It's all for a great cause...

We've been written to by Paul and Mary!!!!

The Orkney Library and Archive is divided into two factions at the moment. One group of staff members found a BBC recipe booklet in their pigeon holes this morning and thought "that'll come in handy", but the rest of us are rolling on the floor with the Great British Bake Off tie-in books clutched to our chests, whooping with joy.

Those of us who watched this almost perfectly conceived program which reunited Light Lunch duo Mel and Sue and put them in charge of a round Great Britain bake-off, LOVED it. We moaned with horror when David forgot to put egg yolks in his souffles, we squirmed when Ruth got told off for the size of her scones and we tutted crossly as Jas put Mars bars in her pastries.

Incidentally, did anyone else wonder if Mel got any spit on her face when she said "but these are amateur bakers we're judging" and Paul Hollywood leant over the table and said "Yes, but it's the BESSSTT amateur bakers."? They deliberated the final result for over three hours! It was intense!

Anyway, the book is a delight. It begins with a SIGNED letter to the reader from expert baker Paul Hollywood and Doyenne of Cookbooks Mary Berry.

This unexpected honour is followed by recipes for Mary's lemon souffle and Victoria sponge and Paul's scones and Cob Bread. The last section of the book contains common baking questions like "Why is my bread heavy and stodgy?" or "Why are my scones hard and dry?". These questions are answered.

This post may seem completely irrelevant to our work here in the building and, well, it is. However, we do have a Jeans for Genes day coming up which shall require the staff to do some home-baking in order to raise funds on the day. These wonderful books shall help...

Totaliser

The grand Jeans for Genes day total was £125.28. Jeans were worn and cakes were scoffed; all for a good cause.

Jeans for Genes

This Friday (2nd October) is jeans for genes day. This is a fund raising day to benefit pioneering research and vital support services for children affected by some of the most serious genetic disorders: http://www.jeansforgenes.com/

We will we be providing teas, coffees and delicious homebakes for a donation in the foyer that afternoon. And not only that; lucky visitors will have the treat of seeing library and archive staff modelling denim trews all day long. Irresistible, I know.