Hello all – Happy 2019!

Firstly we would like to thank you all for your much appreciated  support last year, and especially at Christmas when the shop was really buzzing!

If you are a Friend of Lowdham Book Festival you will soon be receiving details of how to renew your membership – thank you so much in advance for this truly invaluable help in keeping our events programme thriving!

If you are not a Friend of the Festival then please do let us know if you would like to join. Membership costs £15 per year, £25 per couple, and this entitles you to lower ticket prices at most of our events, vouchers and freebies at the time of the summer book festival, advance notification of events and a paper copy of the festival programme posted out to you in May. (Plus the feel-good factor from enabling us to carry on inviting authors to Lowdham?!)

So now we are all getting back to reality it’s good to look forward to some fun events and getting dates in the diary….

Tickets for all our events are available from:
The Bookcase, 50 Main Street, Lowdham or on  0115 966 3219

First Friday Events

First Friday talks take place in Lowdham Methodist Chapel  2pm – 3.30pm.
£6 full, £5 concessions, £4 Festival Friends (including tea and cake)

FRIDAY 1st February 2019
Broadcast Brothers with Steve Jenner
 

Steve Jenner was a teacher for many years before embarking on a broadcasting career. He and his brother Paul founded two FM radio stations providing commercial services in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. He’s been breakfast DJ for nearly four years, drivetime presenter, sports commentator and all airshifts in between and spent a spell as Managing Director. He’s been on air on commercial radio stations for over 30000 hours and performed more live appearances (some of them in Lowdham!) than the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who put together. His media career has also included many TV appearances, including BBC 1 Breakfast’s famous red sofa,, Sky, ITV and CNN whilst working as chief press officer for leading language pressure group, the Plain English Campaign. As such he’s also worked on BBC Radio 2,4 and 5 along with almost every local and regional BBC station in the country – and, bizarrely, appeared on Russian state TV and South Korean TV. He’s also been a successful national championship – level racing driver, news journalist and still works as a music critic for a top London music website. His book, ‘Broadcast Brothers – On The Radio’ tells the story of two brothers and their desperate race to win the last ‘new’ commercial radio licence in mainland England. Told as a dual – narrator autobiographical comedy, it is also a chronicle of the development of local media in the previous century, it shines a light on a now – disbanded government quango, is a dramatic family story of brotherhood, gives a terrifying insight into the ups and downs of ‘pirate’ broadcasting, is an hilarious ‘Spinal Tap’ for UK radio and is the East Midlands ‘born and bred’ answer to Danny Baker’s ‘Going To Sea In A Sieve’. Having sold hundreds in paperback and scheduled for a reprint later this year, the book carries the recommendation of musicians who, between them, have sold around 80 million records worldwide.
Come and hear Steve’s fascinating story!

Film screenings

Film screenings take place in Lowdham Village Hall.
Tickets £6 full , £5 concessions/children

There is a licensed bar plus ice cream, popcorn, hot drinks and a delicious selection of home made cakes.

Friday 25th January 2019 7.30pm

The Little Stranger 111mins  (12A)

Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Charlotte Rampling and Ruth Wilson.

Based on the bestselling novel by Sarah Waters, the story is set in a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, when a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, its owners – mother, son and daughter – struggling to keep pace.

But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his. 


Forthcoming events

Sunday 17th February 2019
Community Room, Southwell Road, Lowdham 
An afternoon with bestselling crime writer Elly Griffiths

Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd March
Lowdham Village Hall and St Mary’s Church, Lowdham
A weekend of films and music in partnership with Warthog Promotions

Times and ticket prices for these events to be confirmed – more details to follow very soon!

We look forward to welcoming you to lots of our events in 2019!


Very best wishes  Jane Streeter 

Nottinghamshire County Council is weighing up an opportunity to buy the Laxton Village Estate, near Ollerton – the only place in Europe to still operate the medieval traditions of open field farming.

The County Council is leading a project with Nottingham Trent University on a potential bid for the 1,900 acre site with a view to developing its potential as an educational asset, linked to the nearby Brackenhurst Campus which is also operated by the university.

The estate is currently owned by the Crown Estate, which it inherited from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food in 1981 with a Parliamentary undertaking to conserve the asset. It comprises of agricultural land, 10 residential properties, 17 farms, a public house, visitor centre and museum buildings. The farmland and associated houses are leased to 14 tenant farmers.

The Crown Estate has indicated it may be willing to sell the estate and is inviting the submission of non-binding expressions of interest by the end of December with a view to exploring developed, competitive bids in the new year.

Members of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Policy Committee agreed to submit a formal expression of interest at its meeting today (Wednesday 19 December 2018).

Councillor Kay Cutts MBE, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and Chairman of the Policy Committee, said: “The Laxton Estate is a unique heritage asset in Nottinghamshire of national and international significance The Annual Court Leet held each November in the village, with its complicated system of fines for infringing good practice, demonstrates an early form of local democracy.
“We have a responsibility to do everything we can to ensure its status is protected, while its potential is fully developed. Following discussions with Nottingham Trent University and other stakeholders – including tenants of the estate – we believe there is an exciting opportunity to achieve both.

“This is a non-binding expression of interest at this stage, and the ultimate cost will be a significant factor in determining if our ambitions can be realised. However, we hope that a publicly-funded proposition, which respects and retains Laxton’s heritage and the farmers who work the three-field system whilst developing it as an educational asset, will be looked upon favourably by the Crown Estate.”

Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, Professor Edward Peck, said: “While discussions are in the early stages, we are keen to work with Nottinghamshire County Council to help find a viable future for the estate and to help preserve and protect the last remaining medieval farming system of its kind.”

There will be two information sessions on the 10^th and 11^th January 2019 about the Nottinghamshire County Council Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) Capital Fund which will be taking place in the North and South of the county.

You can find out more about the LIS Capital Fund here: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/finance-and-budget/local-improvement-scheme/capital-fund

These sessions are open to heritage and tourism groups, including those who may be considering a response to the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower to the United States. Nottinghamshire has a close association to this historic event. Therefore, applications for capital projects that commemorate this significant anniversary and that help to promote community engagement are particularly welcome.

Eligible organisations can apply for one-off capital grants, ranging from a minimum of £1,000 up to a maximum of £50,000.

To book a place at the event in the North of the County on 10^th January 2019 follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/local-improvement-scheme-funding-information-session-north-tickets-53723583685

To book a place at the session in the South of the County on 11^th January 2019 follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/local-improvement-scheme-funding-information-session-south-tickets-53741503283

https://haggsfarm2.wixsite.com/lawrence

D.H. Lawrence found in Haggs Farm, Underwood, Nottinghamshire, the people who lived there and the surrounding countryside, his “first incentive to write”. The farm and the Chambers family who resided there at the turn of the century provided the models for Miriam’s farm and family in Sons and Lovers,  (the Miriam  Leivers character being closely based on that of Jessie Chambers) and inspired his first novel The White Peacock, as well as many of his early poems and short stories.

The Haggs Farm Preservation Society was formed in March 1986 to encourage the preservation  of the farm buildings and to reinforce the vital importance of Haggs Farm to the early formative years of D.H. Lawrence’s development as an internationally renowned writer.

The story of Arnold’s World War One hospital – Snippets from History Vol 6 by BOB MASSEY –  £4.95

Available from NG Magazines, Studio 3 Mapperley, Floralands Catfoot Lane, MSR News Arnold, The Bookcase Lowdham and Five Leaves Bookshop Nottingham.

Officially launched on 24th November 2018 at Bob’s presentation for Arnold Local History Group’s Great War commemoration event at Arnold Library. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War Arnold Local History Group present an exhibition from Saturday 3rd to Friday 30th November in the exhibition space in Arnold library.

Nottingham in 1751 – looking from West Bridgford.

A new website hosting thousands of Nottingham photographs will be launched from 1 November 2018, one hundred years after the city’s photographic collection was established.

The Picture Nottingham site at www.picturenottingham.co.uk builds on the success of its predecessor, Picture the Past, and will enable visitors to view thousands of images capturing our rich social heritage ranging over 200 years.

Images include some of the oldest Nottingham photographs from the 1850s, taken by Samuel Bourne, as well as many local pictures, engravings and sketches dating from the 1700s onwards.

Nottingham Local Studies Library has a significant photograph and image collection which began in 1918 when an appeal was sent out by the library to the Nottingham public for photographs of the local area. The response was excellent and many valuable photographs were presented, and so began the collection which now contains tens of thousands of images of local people, places and events.

Nottingham Local Studies staff welcome sharing often unique images and photographs with the public but this has to be balanced with the need to care and conserve those resources for future generations.  Digitisation of photographs resolves that dilemma, enabling everyone to view them while ensuring that handling of the originals is kept to a minimum.

Staff said: “Here at Nottingham Local Studies Library, we continue to collect photographs – if you have images which you wish to donate to our collection you can do so on Picture Nottingham.  We especially welcome photographs of views of local areas showing buildings, people, customs, activities and industry, both past and present.”

Picture Nottingham offers the opportunity to purchase quality prints as well as other merchandise overlaid with images from the website.  For more visit the website at www.picturenottingham.co.uk

Derby and Derbyshire photographs will continue to be hosted on Picture the Past www.picturethepast.org.uk

Nottinghamshire photographs are available at www.inspirepicturearchive.org.uk

Exhibition opening Thursday 13 December 2018, 5-7pm Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts. Join us for the opening of Manuscripts and Special Collections’ latest exhibition, Sylva: ‘To slowly trace the forest’s shady scene’.

The exhibition will be on view at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts from Friday 14^th December 2018 – Sunday 7^th April 2019

Foresters and felons, poets and poachers, discover the unusual tales of Nottinghamshire’s woodlands and the people who have worked, lived and been inspired by them in Manuscripts and Special Collections latest exhibition, Sylva: ‘To slowly trace the forest’s shady scene’.

Ancient Woodlands: Thursday 31 January 2019, 1-2pm Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts.

Woodland history is an important tool in nature conservation. The leading forest ecologist and historian Dr George Peterken will discuss how historical maps and records were used to construct the Ancient Woodland Inventory, which identifies and records information about woods that are believed to have been in existence since at least 1600. He shows how history facilitates woodland management decisions and generates public interest and support for woods and forests.

Exhibition tour: Thursday 31 January 2019, 2.30 – 3.30 pm Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts

Join the exhibition curator, Professor Charles Watkins, for a guided walk through of the exhibition and learn about the stories behind the items on display.

The Sherwood Forest Trust – Past, Present and Future: Thursday 21 February 2019, 1-2pm Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts

The world’s most famous heritage forest, legendary stomping ground of Robin Hood, a magnet for tourists since Victorian times – Sherwood Forest is special. The Sherwood Forest Trust exists to champion the conservation, preservation and celebration of this ancient forest. Dr Patrick Candler, Chief Executive of the Trust, will talk about how the Trust was formed, the range of works that have been done in the past, where they are at the moment and plans for the future.

The Changing Nature of Sherwood Forest: Thursday 21 March 2019, 1-2pm Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts

How has Sherwood forest been represented and understood over the last 400 years? Professor Charles Watkins of the University of Nottingham examines the diverse ways that artists, poets, novelists and naturalists have valued the forest.