A fine for a borrowed book that was 44 years overdue has finally been waived by the library.
Trevor Cleveland was issued the fine by Guille-Allès Library, totalling 60p on 20 October 1982.
After he passed away in 2009, his house was sold – but many years later, his granddaughter Ailsa was contacted after the new tenants had discovered a number of items while carrying out renovations to the property.
Among the findings, were a collection of letters that had slipped down between the cabinet and the wall, dating from the 1980s through to the 1990s.
Ailsa said: “My grandad and grandma, Trevor and Brigid Cleveland, moved to Guernsey in the 1980s and settled into a property on Rouge Rue.
“Sadly, he passed away in 2009, and the house was sold.”
Speaking about the recent discovery, she continued: “They also returned a few other interesting items, including a Millennium beer that had been hidden behind the toilet, as well as a 1966 World Cup commemorative beer.
“The latter we suspect may have been hidden by previous homeowners before my grandad moved into the house.
“It was such a lovely surprise to have these little pieces of the past returned to us.
“He was the most wonderful grandad to me, and it was like receiving a little time capsule!”
‘A lot of history’
Anna Symons, marketing and communications officer at the Guille-Allès Library, said: “Things like this are always quite funny to see.
“If anyone has any old letters or old memories from the library, we really love reflecting on our history because it’s a building that has quite a lot of history and the service has changed quite a lot over the years.
“We’re always looking for ways to evolve it, but also looking back at some of these old letters that we have in the archive from our founders, they always said that they wanted it to not just be a library, but to be a cultural institution that was really beneficial all throughout the community.
“So that’s something that we really try and stick to, even though the service does change, and we make these changes like not doing overdue fines anymore, we always try and stick to that.”
Credit: BBC
