Eric Ravilious – Drawn to War is the first feature-length film about Eric Ravilious (1903-1942), the much-loved but hugely underestimated British Official War artist, killed in a plane crash over Iceland in 1942. Written by Alan Bennett and Robert Macfarlane, ‘Eric Ravilious – Drawn to War’ recounts a life as compelling and enigmatic as his art,…
Anna Meridith – Nautilus
Described by Pitchfork as one of the most innovative voices in British music, Anna Meredith MBE is a genre-crossing composer and producer whose work straddles the worlds of contemporary classical, art pop, electronica and experimental rock Composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music, Meredith’s sound is frequently described as ‘uncategorisable’ and ‘genre-defying’…
Cacophony – Art in Music
Art Galleries render a cacophony of space in which to display visual pleasure. Their silence hangs in the air like a vast sail and permeates peaceful contemplation of the pigments and pastels on display. Just the barely audible murmur of appreciation or apprehension interrupts the seeing. Only the hush of a draped coat, a chair…
Thirlwall Castle and Greenhead
GREENHEAD, a village, and a chapelry in Haltwhistle parish. The village stands on the Tippal burn, adjacent to the Carlisle and Newcastle railway, near the Roman wall, and has a station on the railway, and a post office under Carlisle. The chapelry is annexed to the vicarage of Haltwhistle, in the diocese of Durham; to…
Lockdown of Literary Monsters
The long winter lockdown months led to many pages being turned. Maybe the time of year, with thoughts of spring and rejuvenation influenced my choice of books. All four had familiar themes; a quest for knowledge, mystery, macabre, and demons. It was a lockdown of literary monsters. Monster is too strong a word for these…
Walton Wood Cottage No.1
October half-term. A long-planned visit to Edinburgh, staying in the Community Hall of Well Court, part of Edinburgh World Heritage Dean Court. These apartments were built in 1886 as a model housing development for artisans and worker families employed by the many mills that dipped their wheels in the Water of Leith. The Water of…
Carlisle’s Roman Bathhouse Dig
Good news at last for Carlisle Cricket Club. A £5,000 Lottery grant will kick-start repairs to flood damage created by February’s Storm Ciara. Five years earlier, Storm Desmond flooded the Edenside cricket ground, but that natural catastrophe created a chain of events that led to the discovery of the 1600-year-old Carlisle Roman Bathhouse. But with…
Jacob Polley and a Jar of Honey
Back in those heady days of 2009, with the news dominated by bankers’ bonuses and MP’s expenses, the BBC launched a campaign to let poetry into our lives. On 28th January that year, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson announced a deeper commitment to arts and music on the BBC, with a range of initiatives to support…
Wordsworth’s Grasmere Walk
Bring Wordsworth to life on this 5-mile walk through Wordsworth’s Grasmere, visiting the houses he lived in and the poems he wrote. Created from a brief to sell a literary walking holiday through Wordsworth’s Grasmere based at HF Holiday’s Coniston Hotel. A. HAMMERSCAR [Park GR NY 337053. Follow track NE then N to…
Blood on Burnswark Hill
History, for me, becomes most alive when ancient and modern uses are found for the same device. I first realized this when I read about the historical and contemporary uses of the term wall-chalking. During the Great Depression, an estimated 4,000,000 adults left their homes in search of work. These ‘hobos’ roamed the United States,…
The Last Post Of Dunluce Castle
For Game of Thrones fans, Dunluce Castle is a highlight of any Northern Ireland location tour. Perching precariously on the basalt outcrops of the Antrim coast, its dramatic situation, plus a touch of CGI, turned Dunluce Castle into Castle Pike, Seat of the House Greyjoy, in fictional Westeros. For naval researchers, H.M.S. Dunluce Castle is a frequent posting on personnel…
Hostilities Only
Hostilities Only is the story of my father Robert Brooks’ time as a Hostilities Only rating in the Royal Navy during World War 2. Over one million people (923,000 men and 86,000 women) served in the Royal Navy during that War. Thousands of men and women enlisted after a recruitment campaign to help meet the…