When Elizabeth Kissack finished reading the Large Print version of This Boy, by Alan Johnson, she told those working for the Mobile Family Library she would love to meet him

Librarian-in-charge Sandra Henderson told Mrs Kissack, 99, that Mr Johnson would be at the Gaiety Theatre as part of Manx Litfest.

Unfortunately, at her age, theatre trips are not easy for Mrs Kissack, who had her own wartime letters published in 2009, so Sandra got in touch with friends among the organisers of Manx LitFest and the Isle of Man Sports and Dining Club, which was bringing Mr Johnson over for the event.

They managed to arrange for Mrs Kissack to meet the present MP at the Family Library in Douglas. Mr Johnson’s tight schedule meant they only had about 10 minutes allocated, but the two hit it off straight away with a shared knowledge of Liverpool and of former MP Lord Boateng. In the end they spent about 30 minutes together before Mr Johnson left to get ready for the theatre and Mrs Kissack returned home very happy.

She said she was overwhelmed that Sandra and her colleagues had gone to all that trouble just for her, but, as Sandra says, the Mobile Family Library service is ‘about more than just books’.

To find out more about what’s on at the Family Library and Mobile Family Library, check out the pages on Facebook or visit www.familylibrary.im or call the library on 640650.

The library is next to the children’s playground in Westmoreland Road, Douglas.

Treasured moment: Alan Johnson takes time out from a hectic schedule to meet Elizabeth Kissack.