Tiled Hall Library

It’s hard to even pay any attention to your food and drink, really, in the tiled hall. The surroundings are so beautiful and strange that they consume all your attention. The strangeness is due in large part to the huge marble heads that stare blindly down at you from the elaborately modelled cornices. To be frank, they’re actually a little bit eerie, but in a pleasant, shiver-​down-​the-​neck way. It’s amazing to think that this gorgeous room had been forgotten about and covered up until relatively recently.
We had americanos and lemon poppy seed cake on our visit (since I suppose we must pay some attention to the comestibles). The coffee was strong and good, the cake rather dry and heavy with an oddly medicinal taste. (In fairness I must say my companion loved it). But in any case, a fascinating visit, irrespective of the food.

A truly beautiful building, with the recent addition of a swanky café/​shop at the front, where there used to be exhibitions that nobody looked at much, which is nice. Very cosmopolitan.
I like the layout, and the wide selection of books, and that I can still take any I get out from here back to Headingley or another one if it’s easier. The one thing I don’t like about this library so much is the staff. The lady down in the kids section is friendly (I got an Asterix book out for nostalgic reasons), but the people in the adult section, especially the old lady and the man with the beard, are a bit grumpy and snooty, and I feel like I have to ask their permission to take books out, in case they don’t approve. Feels a little bit cliquey, if a library can feel cliquey. Well, I just said it does, so it does (in my opinion, of course).