As a child, Bobby Seagull would be taken to his local library in East Ham, London, every Saturday afternoon. Without fail. He would get lost in the books there for hours on end, cross-legged on the floor. These trips would prove life-changing. In Bobby’s own words during this episode: ‘East Ham Library is the number one reason that I have this career today… it was absolutely pivotal, in terms of making me who I am.’ So much so that today he is officially ‘Libraries Champion’ for CILIP (Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals), following in the footsteps of Stephen Fry and Mary Beard. Bobby is known otherwise for his immense range of general knowledge, having gained cult fame via University Challenge. This breadth of knowledge itself in good part stems from those hours spent absorbing the local library’s multitude of wonders. Alongside libraries and quizzing, he is also evangelical about maths and numeracy, which he continues to teach to secondary school kids and also study part-time at doctorate level in Cambridge, specifically the issue of ‘Maths Anxiety’ (the vexation that so many of us feel when presented with arithmetic, however basic). Bobby’s passion for these varying pursuits of knowledge is infectious. In this episode, he explains how we can use numbers to make sense of the world (from the use of stats during elections to Panini sticker books) - as well as touching on his beloved West Ham United, that precious childhood library routine, and how to win a pub quiz. Joining Ben and Bobby for this episode is Library Development Officer, Deborah Peck. It was recorded in the quite new East Ham Library building in Newham but includes a short, touching visit to the nearby site of the former East Ham Library, which was such a seminal home-from-home for both guests during their childhoods. ... A transcript for this episode of Ex Libris, featuring Bobby Seagull, follows below: Introduction Ben Holden: Bobby Seagull, - great name or what? -, recently co-presented a BBC Radio broadcast about polymaths, people who like to learn about everything. It could be used to describe him too, this term. Bobby is a part-time teacher here in East London. He's studying for a doctorate in Cambridge. He was the happiest contestant ever on University Challenge, according to social media. He's also a TV presenter, alongside fellow University Challenge alumni, Eric Monkman, the author of the infectious ‘Life Changing Magic of Numbers’, and that's his real passion - numeracy. He's an advocate for maths, and now, in keeping with his thirst for knowledge generally, currently a libraries champion. Busy Man. Oh, and last but certainly not least, he's a hardcore West Ham United supporter. Today, though, we are in East Ham library. We're going to be joined for our discussion by Deborah Peck, library development officer, here in Newham. So let's go and meet them both now, Bobby and Deborah. Interview Ben Holden: Thank you both for joining us on Ex Libris. Bobby, this library is very special to you personally, I know, and you immediately chose this venue for our location to meet today. Could you tell our listeners about it, that relationship, why it's special to you, and perhaps describe it a little bit, give us a bit of background as to why East Ham library? Bobby Seagull: I am an East Ham person, born and bred. I was born in Newham General Hospital, but I call it East Ham, and growing up, every Saturday, we’d spend in East Ham library. We're actually in the new premises which have been open, Deborah, I'm thinking since 2014? There are 42 computer terminals, which you all know is the answer to the question, what's the meaning of life? So this library is the new incarnation of the library I visited from my childhood, which is actually just two minutes around the corner. I had a sort of ritualistic routine, that, I guess my father played an influential part, so, every Saturday, we would usually have a South Indian lunch, my mum would cook a delicious lunch, and then we’d be sort of shipped off into the world, or to East Ham, and the primary objective was, from my mother's perspective, was to do shopping. So we’d take a shopping trolley, we'd come to the library for two, three hours, and we’d sit there, in East Ham library, the old one, and again, it's a really beautiful building. The old East Ham library was connected to East Ham's landmark clocktower, which was an early 1900s red brick building, really beautiful, and when I have friends visiting me in East Ham, as one does, they’ll often comment, “Wow, your town hall is stunning”, and that was connected to the old library, so that every Saturday, we'd end up there. I’d sit on the library floor for hours, sprawled on the floor cross legged, I was going to do a rendition of it, but I'm sitting down on the chair, and we'd read anything, you know, books on Aztec...
