#FunPalaces always makes me emotional, I always end up crying for some part of the weekend because watching people get together and connect and share the things they love, that moves me, it is just the most wonderful thing to see. It’s been the hardest year and....

...it was hard to see where we were going with it this year, it was hard to see what one week looked like from the next, and it still feels a bit like a strange kind of limbo. In libraries, we have stopped all our events, we feel the loss of that a lot, it is sad and scary....

....and really frustrating! And it is easy to get overwhelmed by that, by the things you cannot do. Then #FunPalaces comes along and reminds you that you do not have to do everything, that there is value in the small things, that they are still done with great commitment......

.....and purpose, and love. That while #FunPalaces weekend is a weekend of action, it doesn’t stop there, we can carry that action through the rest of the year, we can connect, we can plan, we can discover, we can be there for each other.....

If you haven’t had a look yet at #FunPalaces, do! It is joyful and hopeful and full of people doing amazing things, and you are also just as amazing. I have ended the day more hopeful than I started, and more energised than I expected......

...and I have also made an origami bee, thank you @NACLibraries!
If you want to know more, I urge you to follow @FunPalaces, it’s never too early to think about next year, looking forward to it already! A big well done to all the #Funpalaces makers and the @FunPalaces team x