News

This weekend we've reached another landmark for our strange times.

We're halfway through February already and it's the start of a homeschooling half term holiday. It's Valentine's Day of course (though the media has struggled to put a positive spin on that) and, yes... ITV's 'The Masked Singer' competition has reached its conclusion.

I confess I've not been watching it but understand it's been one of those programmes which has helped people get through the week. And I was amazed to see how a teacher in the north-west has responded, bringing fun and ingenuity with a booky theme.

Teachers in the school have been filmed reading the blurb of a book while using filters for their voice and head. Take a look here. At the same school, a teacher has also devised a reading website for her pupils modelled on the Netflix page, here. Meanwhile in Wales, a school attached free books on their fence for pupils to pick up and enjoy during the half term break. The books were parcelled up in goody bags with a bookmark, hot chocolate and teabag for the parents, see here. Clever, inventive ideas like this really do bring smiles, excitement and interest when things are feeling a bit flat at the moment. 

Some mishaps in video calls have also caused amusement again. This time in the US a lawyer who accidentally activated a filter appeared as a cat here, and a congressman appeared upside down here.

Hopefully we'll all be able to negotiate the technology for our Zoom Book Group monthly meeting and even without cats or goats, we'll still find it an enjoyable way to spend an evening. This time we're discussing 'The Girl with the Louding Voice' on Monday 22 February. If you'd like to join in, please reply to this email and I'll send you the details about logging in - it's very straightforward, honest!

While we're grateful for the various means by which we can keep in touch through technology these days, I think we've all experienced the feeling of being rather 'Zoomed out'. So it was interesting to see a number of stories about video calls in the media this week.

There was the chaotic and tumultuous Cheshire parish council meeting, of course. Not comfortable viewing for lots of reasons, but I did enjoy the creativity displayed in one of the obligatory social media spin offs: 'Handforth Parish Council - the Musical'!

And there was the story about the farmer who hires out her goats for video calls. Dot McCarthy in Lancashire said she was looking for something which might lift people's spirits during this time. So she created resumés of her goats and suggested that people might like to invite them on to conference calls as a surprise guest to amuse the other attendees. She had no idea it would prove so popular. You can find out more here, and perhaps make your own booking, here?!

But I was also fascinated to see numerous items on how books and bookshelves have been appearing on video calls in this time.

There's a Twitter feed called Bookcase Credibiity which describes its intent as 'What you say is not as important as the bookcase behind you'. Whether in television interviews, meetings with colleagues or public presentations, people have had to style their rooms ahead of delivering their message.

In the early days of lockdown, you might see washing hanging on radiators and ironing boards propped in corners of rooms, and it was widely reported about people having empty shelves, or 'inappropriate' titles displayed behind them, but now some people are so much more savvy that they are contacting book suppliers to 'curate' their bookshelves for them so that they might appear more erudite to their viewing audience.

The sad thing about this is that it seems people aren't choosing books they'd like to read necessarily. Instead book businesses have been asked to supply literary tomes, travel guides and even books according to the colours of their spines! The BBC in reporting this item here also made it known that they were making empty sets from tv shows like Doctor Who, Strictly and Eastenders available as backdrops for video calls!

I hope you're not short of reading material, but if you're looking for ideas for your next book - or would like to try the book group on Zoom?! - please scroll down or take a look at my website...

The release of the film 'The Dig' on Netflix this weekend has been a delight. Whether or not you've read the book by John Preston on which it is based, or are famiiar with the story of the unearthing of this extraordinary Anglo-Saxon treasure in a field above the river Deben in Suffolk, it offers beautiful scenery, excellent casting and a powerful message.

The excavation of this important find, on the eve of the Second World War, was achieved by a Suffolk-born, self-taught archaeologist, Basil Brown, played magnificently in the film by Ralph Fiennes, who you can see interviewed by Simon Mayo about the role here.

Basil had little formal education, leaving school at 12, but he continued to read widely and to attend evening classes while working on the land. He learnt Latin, French and German and his studies led to him writing a book about astrological charts and being well regarded in archaeological circles.

Basil was engaged by Edith Pretty to excavate the burial mounds on her land at Sutton Hoo. She, too, had a passion for archaeology but had been unable to take up a place offered her at university.

The legacy of these two quiet but determined individuals is immense. And in these days when everything is turned upside down it's perhaps a timely reminder that, while school and university studies are currently disrupted, all need not be lost.

Certainly we can do all we can to cultivate and encourage a desire for knowledge in the young people we know, and to support their teachers however possible. And we have huge riches in the books and internet resources available today.

It's been great to see the creativity of authors and illustrators reaching out to children on social media, Zoom and websites, for example. They've offered tips on writing and drawing, as well as maths and history lessons too. Frank Cottrell-Boyce has been running creative writing sessions and readings throughout lockdown.

Young people have risen to the challenge too. This week a 14-year-old in Cheltenham was featured in the 'Guardian' for reading bedtime stories on Zoom. He started doing it as respite for his neighbours who had young twins and were battling Covid, but now he offers his service to any family each night at 7pm. Read more here. 

There was something rather soothing and reassuring about the inauguration of President Joe Biden last week, don't you think? It was as if we'd all been holding our breath but then felt able to release a huge sigh of relief.

Much is expected of him, of course. But after such chaos and confusion, anger, violence, sorrow and uncertainty, his quiet dignity brought a sense of calm and a renewed hope for the future.

So many, throughout the world, are seeking a sound, strong and wise leader and the hope is that Biden will be able to bring compassion, empathy and experience to this formidable post in these most difficult times.

He has certainly inspired nations with a spirit of change and new life evident in the installation of Kamala Harris as the first female Vice President, and the first Asian American and the first African American to be Vice President.

And in selecting Amanda Gorman to deliver the Presidential Inaugural poem.

This young woman is America's first National Youth Poet Laureate. She's just 22 but her stunning presence and assured delivery gave weight to beautiful, inspiring and rousing words which have stirred the global community.

Raised by a single mother, Amanda had a speech impediment as a child, but found that poetry unlocked her voice. Naturally it was a schoolteacher who introduced her to poetry. Something to ponder there, too

Amanda was inspired by the poet Maya Angelou, whose autobiography 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' was acknowledged in the design of the ring Amanda was wearing on the day.

She learned how to deliver her words with conviction through musical theatre, memorising the lyrics of a song from 'Hamilton'. This influence can be heard in her poem, too. The creator of 'Hamilton', Lin-Manuel Miranda sent his congratulations and encouragement to Amanda after the inauguration, saying:

"The right words in the right order can change the world...Keep changing the world, one word at the time."

Amanda Gorman's poem, 'The Hill We Climb' will be released as a hardback book this spring. Penguin Books plans to print 150,000 copies in its first run. This is an extraordinary number, warranted 'due to overwhelming demand'.

How wonderful that so many people have been moved by these words. And when so many of our creative industries have been stripped back in these difficult times, the value of film, theatre and literature to be highlighted in this way, contributing to our sense of wellbeing and purpose, has been inspiring and uplifting. It does indeed bring hope.

These are historic times, I heard a comedian say this week, between quips, "but I'd rather not be living through them".

I'm sure many of us have been feeling the same, realising how much we should appreciate safe and comfortable lifestyles, and longing for 'slow' news days.

Some of you have mentioned that you've often selected historic fiction for your reading because stories of hardship, tragedy and suffering in different times help you to get through any of your own present difficulties.

I'm not sure I'm quite that resilient, but the books I've highlighted this week certainly look to the past and offer up other perspectives.

The children's title 'When the World Was Ours' shows us how three families were affected by the war in Europe. It's based on the author's family's experience so is disturbing and poignant but it also brings a story of courage, resilience, friendship and, overwhelmingly, hope.

The other book is 'The Bloomsbury Look'. This is a beautiful and fascinating insight into the lives of a group of intellectuals as they challenged societal norms and celebrated and experimented with creativity and individuality. They were unusual people but I have always found their lives intriguing and their designs, images and writings always stimulate, inspire and uplift me. Do scroll down for more details.

Whether we are on 'the frontline' of the crises today, are struggling with challenging personal circumstances, or are in the privileged position of knowing that all that is required of us is to 'stay home', I hope that you will find something helpful to draw on from your reading in the next week.