Tag Archives: East of England

The architect, Lord Norman Foster, has been recently talking about his latest project, the InHub la punt in the Swiss Engadin Valley. Foster, in the video below, talks about the changing nature of buildings and how innovation can be accommodated, often in architecturally provocative ways, whilst offering communities new spatial and intellectual resources.

‘…designed as a centre for innovation, the project seeks to bring new visitors together with the local community to increase prosperity, create jobs, and revitalise local crafts and produce. Separate from the home or office, the setting is conceived as a ‘third place’ for collaboration and creativity. The 6,000-square-meter (64,583 square foot) project will comprise work and seminar spaces, sports facilities, retail outlets, a restaurant, as well as an underground car park…’

Foster is aware of the controversy some of his firm’s designs can create, but is always enthusiastic for intellectual collaboration and human engagement. He also reflects about the context of pandemics in the human experience and, importantly, the sustaining nature and enduring qualities of community.

An important, sustaining position to take, we would argue, in the current epidemiological climate.

You can see more details of the work and images of the proposed project here on the pages of designboom magazine.


This short lecture is delivered by Abdulrazak Gurnah, the 2021 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

It is a concise, masterly exposition about the birth of the writing process in the young mind, as well as how, as a mature writer, the author begins to finally see the warped mirror reflecting the reality of the landscape of colonialism, racism and inequality.

In this video essay Abdulrazak Gurnah traces the arc of anger, joy, confusion and the quest for clarity in a troubled world. His writing is, in essence, a tool chipping away at the vaunting edifice of inequality, mis-direction by elites, cruelty and injustice.

It is a long journey from Zanzibar to the University of Kent, but the journey began with a sheet of paper and a pen.

In his opening stanza, Gurnah reads us an excerpt from the writings of Lawrence, that beautifully captures the experience of the young person discovering the illustrative power of reflection…a sensation, a memory, that any putative writer, in any setting will recognise immediately.

Masterly is too slight a word for this video essay, and it will remain laden with meaning and message for all of us as 2021 comes to an end…

We commend it to our readers, as we hopefully await sunnier uplands in 2022.

Discover the life of Abdulrazak Gurnah on Wikipedia here.

 

Update: 5th Feb: Not long now! Check ticket availability here

Another fabulous series of literary treats available again this year. An imaginative, stirring and diverse programme of author and book occasions. 28th February to 31st March.

See more here…

We are looking forward to rounding out the Festival with the Golden Age of Crime Weekend, for example…Saturday 28th & 29th March, hosted by the Radisson Park Inn Palace Hotel in Southend on  Sea.

Discover more here:

Or, if crime fiction is your thing, you can even begin the calendar of events in the company of Val McDermid at the launch event: How the Dead Speak. On February 28th in the evening at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford.

Young Essex has not been forgotten either – with a full range activities for the young reader. We particularly like the Manifesto for Essex launch, where young people can give voice to their thinking about Climate Change.

Also for Young Essex is a great idea, the pop-up storytelling armchair. Springing into events across a range of different locations in Chelmsford, Basildon and Harlow.

 ‘A super comfy treat for book lovers young and old to enjoy their favourite stories out loud! Free and open to all – come along and hear a story…’

Whatever your age, check out the Festival full events list here.

Find out how to book here.


A featured article from our current archive:

Writing in The Guardian in late 2014 the author Rupert Wallis was minded to tell us that ‘…more and more not-so- young adults are reading YA fiction’ –  which he declared was no bad thing. He went on…

‘The power of YA fiction to generate an emotional resonance around death should not be underestimated in UK society, where young adults spend a lot of time immersed in the artificial realities of cyberspace and gaming’.

Source: The Guardian, 18th August 2014.

Ellen Lives On - cover image and web link
Buy this book here, with free delivery…

Lynda Haddock, in her first novel, has wonderfully underscored the sentiment with her first novel Ellen Lives On. The book features the journey, the exploration of a new life and the acquisition of a new set of values, by the teenager Ellen.

For Ellen the journey is mapped from the suicide of her mother, an emergent rally to the cause of education and her exodus to the Metropolis in search new friends, political engagement and the forming of a new identity for herself.

‘One way of tackling the difficult questions raised by death is to feel connected to one another in addressing them, to feel human together…’ writes Wallis in his article. Indeed, the sensitively written, clear narrative from Lynda Haddock stirs up the emotions and will clearly illuminate a shared experience for teenagers suffering loss.

Buy this book, with free shipping here…

The new novel was enjoyed by the Books go Walkabout team in our office. Sue Martin, writing for our new season book list opined…

”A desperately moving novel about a young girl whose life changes forever when she returns home to find that her mother has committed suicide.

Ellen, a scholarship girl at a local grammar school in the 1970’s, finds that life is uncomfortable and fraught as soon as you are no longer the ‘norm’ pupil, let alone the trauma of discovering that she is alone in the world. Alone, that is, apart from her Grandfather, who is elderly and lives a long way from Ellen.

Taken in by her aunt and uncle, Ellen finds the welcome is short lived and that she is a burden to the family, simply used as the girl in the house to do all the chores. Her uncle tells her the sooner she finishes school and starts a job the sooner she can pay for her living.

After a series of heart-wrenching problems with friends, teachers and those who were meant to be supporting her, Ellen goes on the run. She finds friendship with people in a squat, her grandfather is taken into hospital and she abandons any hope of a career with prospects.

Eventually Social Services find Ellen and her life starts to rebuild, but never back to where it was and with very little hope of the future that had been planned.

A moving and poignant story for Young Adults and a thought provoking debut novel for Lynda Haddock.”

It is also, in its way, a primer for adults, the ‘not so young’ in Wallis’s narrative, to recognise the strains and pains of a teenager going through this crisis, such is the insight afforded the reader of any age by Lynda Haddock’s writing.

Lynda Haddock’s work joins a solid tradition of novels that seek to offer reflection and a way forward in the face of death and loss. From The Fault in Our Stars by John Green to Jacqueline Wilson’s Vicky Angel – the Haddock narrative deals with death, yes, but also in the exploration of self, equality and values – all of which are significant markers for young adults as they march forward into the 21st Century.

For Wallis ‘…the true significance of death in YA is that authors are reflecting back what they see everyday; namely, that death is ominously prevalent these days, whether in fiction or a national news broadcast or the obituary columns‘.

This is certainly true of the author Lynda Haddock, whose professional life before her novel encompassed education and the specialist support of children experiencing difficulty in their lives. The storytelling resonates with it.

The experience tellingly shows in the novel Ellen Lives On, and we hope it might become a staple of your library of resources – tendering a way into loss and bereavement that will be recognised by any teenager, whatever their culture, age or background.


Editor’s Note:

We would commend Lynda Haddock’s publisher to note that the YA Book Prize for 2019 is now open for nominations.

You can discover the latest updates to the YA Book Prize here.

Publishers can find the YA Book Prize terms and conditions and how to apply details here.

We loved this book, buy a copy and explore challenging and stirring landscapes of the teenage mind.

The conversationsEAST team.

Our team also deliver international author and illustrator visits and exchanges through our Books go Walkabout project. Find out more here…

You can also discover reviews and features for younger readers on Book Monitor, our BgW review pages. See more here...

Enlightenment in the East of England

Happy Seasonal Holiday from all the consEAST team!

Could you do it?

Supporting St. Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK this season

Are you ready for your dip with St. Elizabeth Hospice?
This year will be the 16th annual Christmas Day dip for St. Elizabeth Hospice. Brave souls can see more about this fabulously refreshing event here.
Christmas Day Dip 2019  – 25th December, 8.30 – 11.00am
…on Felixstowe Seafront.

You can sign up and get your tickets on this Eventbrite page here.

What the hospice strives for, with your help.
”St Elizabeth Hospice aims to improve life for people living with progressive and terminal illnesses by:
  • Providing multi-disciplinary holistic specialist and dedicated palliative care services to patients, their families and carers
  • Working alongside other statutory and voluntary agencies to provide specialist and dedicated palliative care, in a timely manner, where the patient wishes to be
  • Acting as a resource to the local community regarding general and specialist palliative care to increase confidence and competence in improving life for people living with a progressive illness
  • Providing care that respects the choices made by patients and their families so that patients are treated in their preferred place and die in their place of choice where possible
  • Working towards equitable provision of all services, leading to increased use of services by people with non-malignant progressive disease, and those from seldom-heard communities”

(Source: https://www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk)  See more and give more on their informative and compassionate web pages.

 

Winter dip image: Delphine Ducaruge - Unsplash, Creative Commons

It’s that time of year again. When we hope we are early enough to persuade you to buy your 2019 Christmas cards from JDRF.

JDRF Christamas card - image and web link
A great source of Christmas cheer and really useful seasonal giving…see more

This year, as well as the usual well designed, delightful cards, you can choose a virtual gift to support JDRF.

Every pound you spend helps support the work of JDRF in fighting type 1 diabetes.

You can find the JDRF card shop on-line here.

The JDRF Gift Packages enable you to select a gift to your value, so that your purchase has even more impact on the work of JDRF, our favourite charity.

How does it work?…

‘Select and order your gift. JDRF will send you a …pack containing a premium gift card that is blank for your own message and a brief description of your gift. We also include a letter from us explaining how this gift can help people with type 1, all wrapped up in a blue gift envelope. You can then personalise and send your gift to a friend or loved one’.

Find the JDRF Gift Pack shop pages online here.

Even before the snow has fallen, we wish you a very Happy Christmas – from all of us at conversationsEAST and SmithMartin LLP. We are proud to be continued supporters of JDRF.


About JDRF:

Supporting JDRF at Christmas...image and web link
Supporting JDRF at Christmas…

JDRF is the type 1 diabetes charity. We won’t stop until we create a world without type 1 diabetes.

We are committed to eradicating type 1 diabetes and its effects for everyone in the UK with type 1, and at risk of developing it.

To work towards a day when there is no more type 1 we:

• fund world-class research approved and administered by our international research programme to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes

• make sure research moves forward and treatments are delivered as fast as possible.

• give support and a voice to people with type 1 and their families

Source:  https://jdrf.org.uk/

Primadonna  is a festival of writing, taking place at Laffitts Hall in Suffolk.

Date: August 30th, 31st and September 1st 2019.

Venue: Laffitts Hall, Framsden Rd, Pettaugh, Stowmarket IP14 6DT

Primadonna image and web link
Discover the Primadonna in you here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘The Primadonna Festival is the brainchild of a group of women from publishing and entertainment, who include Sabeena Akhtar, Joanna Baker, Jane Dyball, Catherine Mayer, Kit de Waal, Shona Abhyankar, Jude Kelly, Alexis Kirschbaum, Lisa Milton, Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Sonia Purnell, Monisha Rajesh, Catherine Riley, Athena Stevens, Cathryn Summerhayes, Sandi Toksvig and Sioned Wiliam.

Together, these 17 women—the “Primadonnas”—have worked to create a festival of brilliant writing, borne out of a desire to give prominence to work by women and spotlight authors from the margins—and to create a thoroughly joyous and accessible experience. There will be live music, films and comedy and all sorts of writing represented. ‘  Source: Primadonna web pages.

The dictionary defines a primadonna as a  temperamental person, an unpredictable person, a self-important person! However, the event will be characterised by impeccable behaviour and scintillating intellectual challenges, given the stellar line-up of originators above.

The origins of the title are in the 18th Century, in Italy of course, where a literal translation is ‘first lady’. A veritable melange of premier writing and performance talent, we are sure.

E.M. Forster wrote …Beauty ought to look a little surprised: it is the emotion that best suits her face. The beauty who does not look surprised, who accepts her position as her due – she reminds us too much of a primadonna.

We are in for a surprising event, undoubtedly. Packing our tent and weekend bag as we write…

You can book tickets here: https://app.etickets.to/buy/?e=17316

You can explore the first draft of the event line-up here: https://www.primadonnafestival.com/line-up-1

Image: Kunqu Opera, the Peony Pavilion- from Pixabay

Library vortex, image and web link
Into the library vortex of knowledge and imagination…

We have, with our new Libraries news-feed page, given our readers the opportunity to keep up with latest news from across the UK.

We are rotating our topical feeds across University libraries, feminist collections and featuring, as we must, the go to public library resource, PLN.

Library image by Jaredd Craig…

Check our our Libraries page below and keep coming back to stay informed.

    See more: http://www.conversationseast.org/libraries/

In The Guardian you can find an encompassing article that sums up the decline of the local library. Picturing a library using population that has tumbled by 30% in a decade. See more

The study it regales us with is Taking Part (.pdf) from the DCMS. It found that…

The greatest fall in adult library usage was seen among 16 to 24-year-olds, according to the DCMS report. In 2005, figures showed that 51% of this age group used the library. In 2015, the figure fell to 25.2%.

Statista, the Statistics Portal, offers detailed annual library visits data, from 2002 to 2014.  Here the analysis shows that from a peak in 2005/, with a total of £42 million visits, by 2013/14 this figure had declined to just over 282 million visits.

It is never too late to fight back and get into good library habits. We like the 10 Reasons to use Your Library article, on the web journal Ten Penny Dreams. Elegantly laid out, the author, a North of England writer, gently chides us to remember why using a library is such a joy and a revelation. See more here

If you need it, visitcambridge.org in the East of England are offering public tours of the Parker Library, including parts of Corpus Christi College. Where you can ‘…sample its amazing collection which includes the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, principal source book for early English history, the sixth-century Gospels of Saint Augustine, the Bury Bible and the best manuscript of Chaucer’s Troilus…

Proof, if proof were needed, that librarians are keepers of our collective culture, and that libraries, as buildings, are the engines of our future dreams. Don’t lose it, use it!

    See more: http://www.conversationseast.org/libraries/

Enlightenment in the East of England

Image credit:

News Desk image by Markus Winkler, Creative Commons, Unsplash...

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