Why is this happening?

I picked up Marcus Moore, one of Gloucestershire's Flying Poets, from his home in Cirencester and we then headed straight to Up Hatherley Library, on the outskirts of Cheltenham. The first member of the public we met was very appreciative of Marcus and his recitations and showed us immediately how strong the feeling was.

On to Prestbury, Cheltenham Central Library, Bishops Cleeve, Tewkesbury and then Stroud where all the Authors and poets gathered finally, all exhausted! Me too and I only had to drive.

There was one Library which felt they must abide by the dictum from their central body, the County Council, saying no filming is allowed. After a photo was taken, we told a small child that he was not allowed to have his photo taken with Marcus using his own iPhone. He of course didn't understand the implications of this, but the staff did. It was suggested that this was what the President of Egypt was currently trying to do too, when stopping people reporting what was actually happening.

I am really knackered now and would have liked to tell more tales of the fun Marcus brought to this serious issue. I took pictures, filmed some video of him performing and recounting stories and talked to the staff and library users, learning a lot and trying to alert and then activate them to the coming 43% cuts in services.

We are a rural county, with many small villages in outlying farming areas. The various mobile library services are critical to all their inhabitants. They will be totally axed apparently. Gone.

While taking a break, Marcus expounded to me from his newly borrowed library book, Pruning. This lorry won't get pruned; it will be exterminated, within months. Gone. Forever. How many bombs are being produced whose dangerous cost means that we can't save all the threatened library services, which are very many. Let alone the countless other services so vital to a healthy national community