EVERY Spring since it was founded in 2016, the Friends of Bedale Community Library have invited an author with local connections to give a talk in Bedale Hall.

Attended by as many as a hundred book lovers, the events have included dramatised performances and readings from books along with the raising of much needed funds to keep the library open.

With lockdown restrictions making a live meeting impossible, this year the library decided to create a virtual event.

On March 23 an 18-minute video was premiered on YouTube, with all community library members encouraged to watch and raise a glass.

The video featured County Durham-based author Tracey Iceton, best known for her Celtic Colours trilogy of novels spanning a century of Irish republicanism.

Interviewed by former BBC TV and radio producer Brian Cook, she spoke of her passion for writing and her wish to pass it on to others in the creative writing courses she delivers. Her most recently published novel, Rock God Complex, is the biography of an iconic 1970s guitarist which deliberately blurs the lines between fact and fiction.

Tracey also read one of her award winning short stories, with many viewers reporting being moved to tears by its heart-breaking ending.

Friends of Bedale Library Chair, Susan Perkins said: “Our annual author events provide a place where we can publicly thank all our volunteers who work in the library, as well as those people whose donations help with the running costs.

“Our thanks are also due to Tracey Iceton who made this year’s virtual event memorable. The library is currently open only on Tuesdays and Fridays but we’re looking forward to returning to our full opening hours and activities in the very near future.”

Anyone wishing to view the virtual event search for the Bedale Community Library channel on YouTube.