The Ghost Library

Despite the occasional bang or crash, and two-second bursts of buzz-sawing from the builders, there is something eerie about the empty library. Ghostly figures drift behind the plastic shrouding, and ghostly mobiles ring. Ghostly conversations are almost always fraught, starting off  'Look, I can't...'

Nevertheless, things move apace, with almost 'Elves and the Shoemaker' mystery. There will be something of a hiatus, however, one suspects, when it is time to effect the painting and lay the carpet. Because we have not settled the vexed question of the decor yet.

We sailed perilously close to having beige carpet, disaster surprisingly averted when Crail declared she would kill herself if that was to be the choice. 'Well, we can't have beige then', said the Academic Librarian. 'She has to live in here'. How sweet - he thought I spent my entire life in the library.

But I am contemplating what outfit to wear in my new role as Ghost Librarian. Should we don a Victorian night-dress and glide silently about, or should we go the whole London Dungeons hog?

We have also uncovered a charming piece of library history, when students smoked pipes, and librarians hissed 'Ssshhhh', instead of 'Here's a tenner, run to Iceland and get me a couple of bottles of their vodka, dear boy'. The signs have been there all the time, covered by a floor plan.