Magdalene College Library, 2021
Cambridge, UK

The new library at Magdalene College in Cambridge has been called spellbinding. Daylight floods down into the warm-wood interior through vaulted skylights, while tall brick chimneys carry warm air up to ventilate the building.  Magdalene College was founded as a hostel for Benedictine student monks 700 years ago and its new library replaces the cramped spaces of the neighboring Pepys Library, built in the 17th century. Yet the  exterior design of the new library honors its historic setting with its gable-pitched roofs and brick chimneys (see photo below).

The Library was designed by Níall McLaughlin, an Irish architect based in London, and recently won the coveted Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize. Speaking on behalf of the jury, RIBA President Simon Allford said: "The light-filled, warm-wood interior lifts spirit and fosters connections. Students have been gifted a calm, sequence of connected spaces where they, and future generations, will be able to contemplate and congregate, enjoying it both together and apart. The overarching commitment to build something that will stand the test of time can be felt in every material and detail, and from every viewpoint. This is the epitome of how to build for the long-term."

[Ed: Thank you, P.A., for bringing this library to my attention!]

Visit here to register for City Meadowtations.

In celebration of National Immigrants Day, we welcome Norfolk resident and German immigrant Birol Bahadir to the Library to tell his story. Bahadir will speak about his dream of living in the United States with his family, and how everything went wrong, leading to 15 years of living in fear of being deported. Now with his green card, Bahadir recently published his autobiography, "Between 2 Worlds."

Please register here for this program.

Children will need a note to get off the school bus at the Library.

French New Wave Film Series with Diego Ongaro
Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Hall

Please join us for the screening of three French New Wave films. The films will be introduced by French writer/director/editor Diego Ongaro. A resident of Norfolk, Ongaro wrote and directed four acclaimed short films and two feature films. He was short-listed for the Someone to Watch Award at the 2016 and 2022 Independent Spirit Awards for both feature films. Ongaro's second film, Down With the King, premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival (ACID section). It won the Grand Prix at the Deauville American Film Festival in France and was recently acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide for distribution.

27 - The 400 Blows  (François Truffaut, 1959). One the defining films of the French New Wave, The 400 Blows is based on Truffaut's own childhood and wonderfully interpreted by Jean-Pierre Léaud (who will become Truffaut's muse). It is a deeply moving film about the difficult life of a young teenager in 1950’s Paris, and it is considered one of the masterpieces of French cinema.
Please register for this program here.

Upcoming Films (click on title to register)
November 3  - Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
November 10 - A Summer's Tale (Eric Rohmer, 1996)

The Films of Alfred Hitchcock with Brian Rose
Sunday, October 30, 4:00 p.m. via Zoom

Alfred Hitchcock was a prolific "master of suspense." For five decades, first in England, then in Hollywood, he made fifty-four films, including classics such as The Thirty-Nine Steps, Rebecca, Notorious, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo, and Psycho. Few filmmakers have been as popular, critically celebrated, and influential, not only as a director but also as a multi-media showman through his television series, magazines, book anthologies, even extending to board games and record albums. Brian Rose will look at his achievements through dozens of film clips, and examine his extraordinary creativity as one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers.
Get ready for Halloween with some Hitchcock thrills and chills!
To register for this webinar, please click here.

BRIAN ROSE is a professor emeritus at Fordham University, where he taught for 38 years in the  Department of Communication and Media Studies. He’s written several books on television history and cultural programming, and conducted more than one hundred Q&A’s with leading directors, actors, and writers  for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Directors Guild of America.

The Norfolk Library has an extensive collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies available via streaming and DVD.

The Norfolk Knitters have been busy in our Great Hall on Friday afternoons. Their latest project was knitting fingerless mitts for people in Ukraine. What a thoughtful gesture with a difficult winter approaching! Art Davidson from Assist Ukraine, an organization founded by Anne Garrels, has agreed to help get the first delivery there, 10 pairs of mitts and one pair of mittens packed and ready to go. The next potential destination is a Ukrainian orphanage, and the knitters are excited to make mittens for kids. Anyone is welcome to join the group, which meets Fridays from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.