Peter McFarlane (Brighton)
As a person who grew up in Brighton (Hove, actually) I was very interested in the history of the Brighton Institute. I won a spelling contest in Grade 5 (1950) and received a year’s free membership to the Institute Library. It was hugely significant at the time as the librarian guided me through several books: Biggles (all that were available); the Arthurian legends; and then the William books. Sadly, my membership ran out not long after and that ended my association with the library.
My parents were lovely but very laissez faire. If I had been them and my eldest child showed so much interest in reading, I think I would have extended the membership! Then again there was not much money around in 1950 and like all parents at that time they had to be cautious. What I would say is that scholarship was hugely significant for me and my own development.