NWR Special Summer Issue

SUMMER 2021

Special summer issue SEE FULL CONTENTS

Get in touch Editor: Judith Charlton General enquiries: office@nwr.org.uk Membership and press enquiries: office@nwr.org.uk Website: https://nwr.org.uk Twitter: @nwruk Facebook: facebook.com/nwr.uk Telephone: 01603 406767 Address: NWR, Unit 31, Park Farm Industrial Estate, Ermine Street, Buntingford, SG9 9AZ Registered charity number 295198

SUMMER 2021

Special summer issue SEE FULL CONTENTS

What’s On? Below is our new online programme. You can use the links below to book, or contact the NWR team for more details at office@nwr.org.uk or 01603 406767.

The story of Guy Fawkes Invisible Cities l 13 July 1.30–3pm l CLICK HERE to book Beyond a tale of gunpowder, treason and plot, this virtual walking tour of York tells the story of Guy Fawkes, interwoven with the personal story of tour guide Vicki and her experience of being diagnosed with stage 4b cancer, treatment, and remission.

Online cookalong 2 September 6pm, cost £30 l Look out on Event Stop for more details Migrateful is a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers by running cookery classes where they can share their skills, work towards integration and employment, and bring you some fabulous food from their home cuisine!

A refugee tells her story 16 September l Look out on Event Stop for more details We are grateful to have been awarded a Refugee Voices bursary to enable us to offer this online presentation.

IMAGE OF THE BLACK IN LONDON GALLERIES Michael Ohajuru, Senior Fellow of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, returns with the final two talks in this series, highlighting the Black presence to be found in London’s national art collections.

The Wallace Collection 20 July 1.30– 3pm l CLICK HERE to book The Wallace Collection is the home of some of the finest art, porcelain and furniture that western European artists and craftsmen have ever produced. There is a Black presence to be found in many of the objects on display, both overt and covert.

The Victoria and Albert Museum 21 September 1.30–3pm l CLICK HERE to book The Victoria and Albert Museum has objects dating from the thirteenth century to the present. There is a Black presence to be found in sculpture, altar pieces, embroidery, paintings, stained glass, porcelain, jewellery and many other objects.

Cover photo: Anca Gabriela Zosin on Unsplash

A huge thank you for all your submissions!

Please keep them coming — group news, travel news, personal journeys, short stories, poems. If we can’t fit them in the magazine, look out for them on the website. For the next edition, the Autumn issue, please send your contributions to office@ nwr.org.uk by 30 August 2021 (copyright of material is transferred to NWR on submission unless otherwise requested).

Audio version NWR Magazine is available in an audio version. Please contact the office or find it in the members’ area of our website.

How Black Lives Matter makes Black culture matter 12 October 1.30– 3pm l CLICK HERE to book Michael Ohajuru on how the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted, enlivened and refocused the debate on repatriating stolen, sacred African treasures on display in the galleries and museums of Britain and America.

Rembrandt’s Blacks 9 November 1.30–3pm l CLICK HERE to book Rembrandt and his followers painted Black folk as noble human beings, but that was not to last as the so-called Dutch Golden Age of the seventeenth century, founded on the exploitation of its colonies in the Americas and East Indies, unfolded.

Ruislip NWR invite you to the Telephone Treasure Trail Monday 15 November to Thursday 18 November 8-10pm See more on page 19, or use the links below to book.

TTT Group entry

TTT Clue Holder Volunteers

UNTOLD STORIES Marion Molteno’s new series of conversations is with women who have uncovered remarkable life stories, and turned them into books for us all to read. See page 6.

The Bamboo Bracelet The Northern Line 23 September 7pm The history of a provincial Jewish family, 18 November, 7pm A true story, with Merilyn Brason with Judy Simons The Musical Life 21 October, 7pm About Hedwig Stein, emigrée pianist, with Helen Marquard

Invisible Ink 9 December, 7pm A family memoir, with Martha Leigh

Look out in the newsletter and on Event Stop for more details of these talks 10–12 September 2021 DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL CONFERENCE, BIRMINGHAM This has been rescheduled to the dates above.

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NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Membership support Chair of trustees Josephine Burt on NWR’s plans for supporting and expanding our membership.

Welcome to our first online magazine. This issue is yet another new initiative for NWR. It follows on from the extra anniversary magazine published last summer and I hope you enjoy all the usual articles and features in this new format.

As chair of trustees, I am delighted with this initiative and all the other ideas and activities that Natalie and the staff team have developed this year. These have brought increased benefits to members and created greater value for the membership subscription.

Sadly, membership numbers continue to fall and we currently have 5500 members – 20% less than in 2016. Groups have closed too so we now have 359 community groups – a decline of 11% over the same five year period. Part of the decline is understandable. The average age of members has risen and Covid has been a game changer in terms of use of technology.

NWR is not alone as other membership organisations are also suffering similar declines. We need to constantly nurture our communities and revitalise what we offer to remain relevant.

Membership numbers rely on retaining existing members and recruiting new members, and trustees and staff continue to look for ways to engage both. Groups have all always been autonomous and central support has been light touch – mostly about the conference and the Telephone Treasure Trail quiz. So for existing members, in the past year, centrally organised talks and activities have been a lifeline for many and the number of independent members has doubled. New members have been gained through the Online Conference offers and the talks. The weekly email gives us options for meeting members nationally as well as links to events with stimulating speakers and fascinating topics. The national conference is still planned for September and we anticipate that groups will come together once again to organise area events. Once we can resume our local group meetings, then our mainstay recruitment method of word-of-mouth will hopefully increase our numbers.

To support recruitment, the Board has also agreed expenditure for two developments. We have a new website due later this summer which will provide a new look for NWR and enable enquirers to join immediately when they visit the site. We also agreed a pilot project for two regional posts to support existing groups and create new groups. Cath Heslop (see page 5) is working in Herts, Beds and Bucks and we have now appointed Toni Steward to cover the South West. We hope that this will facilitate better connections between local groups which might encourage more volunteer Area Organisers. If these pilots are effective then other regional posts may follow.

So, I hope both old and new members will find something of interest in this magazine and we look forward to your comments. Our editor, Judith, does a great job in compiling and designing each issue from your contributions and photographs so sit back with a cup of tea and explore it.

In this issue FEATURES

8 The women who saved the birds Where did you get that hat? Believe it or not, the ‘bird hat’ was once the height of fashion, until a campaign not only made it illegal but also led to the birth of the RSPB. Tessa Boase tells us about the women behind the movement.

10 Diamonds are forever Guilt free gems: what makes an ethical diamond?

The power of persuasion: the story behind the slogan of the century.

Lost and found: members’ diamond stories, and the winners of our wonderful Diamond Draw.

13 Moving stories June saw Refugee Week and July marks the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Convention on Refugees.

Hear the stories of Bnar, Alma and Basma, three women who have been forced to make lives away from their own countries.

16 Growing interests Member Christina Stapely’s interests led her to become a herbalist with a three acre herb garden, and to teach and write on the subject.

NEWS

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NWR’s real women take a lockdown tour of Edinburgh Helen Page learns about the women of Edinburgh with Invisible Cities.

5 A new patron for NWR We are delighted that Jasvinder Sanghera CBE will be joining us as a new patron!

5 Introducing Cath Meet Cath Heslop, NWR’s new Regional Membership Officer for the Herts, Beds and Bucks area.

6 Untold stories Marion Molteno’s new series of conversations with women who have uncovered remarkable life stories.

7 Alphabetical art NWR’s Culture Vultures Facebook group had a lot of fun learning about new and familiar artists, in alphabetical order.

18 Members’ corner

The Chess Game by Sofonisba Anguissola

Geothermal power, tortoises, parties and discussions online and off, walks wet and dry – as ever, members have been enjoying many diverse distractions.

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

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NWR NEWS Photo: Julia Solonina on Unsplash

NWR’s real women take a lockdown tour of Edinburgh In the company of 400 members, NWR Communications Coordinator Helen Page recently took a virtual walk with Paul, an Invisible Cities guide, to learn about the Real Women of Edinburgh. Here, she shares her experiences.

Invisible Cities is a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides. NWR was delighted to take a tour of Edinburgh with them in April, and members will have the opportunity to take several more tours with Invisible Cities over the coming months. Normally in-person, the tours have been adjusted in response to Covid-19 restrictions to enable participants to walk with their guides without the need to visit locations.

Paul, our guide for the Real Women of Edinburgh tour, artfully combined sharing historical facts and topical information, with humour – and holding a camera phone – as he escorted us through the streets of Scotland’s capital.

He was friendly, informative and, it would appear, undaunted leading our tour group of over 400 women!

We began at Maggie Dickson’s pub on Grassmarket, where Paul told us Maggie’s story of surviving hanging in 1724 following her conviction under the Concealment of Pregnancy Act, after her new-born baby was found dead.

She lived on for another 40 years and became a celebrated figure known as Half-Hangit Maggie.

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NWR Magazine Summer 2021

For me, several of the stories triggered reflection on women’s treatment by the authorities and under the law, particularly that of Jessie King who, in 1889, was the last woman executed in Edinburgh. Jessie was found guilty of murder, but now her conviction would be considered unsafe by many.

Paul’s account of body snatchers Helen Torrence and Jean Waldie’s actions was shocking. The duo, who were convicted of murder and hanged in the 1750s, predated Burke and Hare. We also heard about the medical pioneer and suffrage campaigner, Elsie Inglis, and unbelievably how her valiant work was not always welcomed.

As well as tales about the city’s women, Paul shared lots of facts about Edinburgh and its other residents. Before the tour, I hadn’t known Edinburgh Castle was the inspiration for The Wizard of Oz’s Emerald City. We were shown John Knox’s house and, of course, visited the monument to Greyfriars Bobby.

No visit to Edinburgh and guide to its women inhabitants would be complete without reference to JK Rowling. The tour was peppered with mentions of buildings, locations and engravings that are understood to have influenced the Harry Potter books, and we were taken to The Elephant House café at George IV Bridge to see where Rowling spent time writing.

The tour also included an introduction to the Grassmarket Community Project which offers support to vulnerable people dealing with multiple complex issues including homelessness, mental and physical health problems and substance abuse.

Coming to an end at the bottom of the Royal Mile, unencumbered by traffic and

seeing very few other pedestrians, it felt like a huge treat to have left home under Paul’s guidance. It was a pleasure to meet him and hear his tales about Edinburgh and its women.

Since Covid, NWR has adjusted its programme to offer online activities, which are now set to continue for the foreseeable future, and will include more outings with Invisible Cities. The next one will be a walk around York on 13 July, telling the story of Guy Fawkes.

You can see the full list of NWR talks, and catch up on previous ones, in the members’ area of the website: https://www.nwr.org.uk/resources/ quizzes-and-talks Book for The Story of Guy Fawkes: https://www.eventstop.co.uk/event/4143/ nwr_guy_fawkes#/ Find out more about Invisible Cities: https://invisible-cities.org/

NWR NEWS

We are delighted to bring you the news that Jasvinder Sanghera CBE has agreed to join Marion Molteno as a patron of NWR

Jasvinder, who many members will remember from her talk in April, is the founder of Karma Nirvana, a national award-winning charity that supports both men and women affected by honour based abuse and forced marriages.

A survivor of a forced marriage herself, she is now a highly acclaimed international speaker and an expert advisor in matters of child, civil and criminal law proceedings. Her work is acknowledged as being pivotal in the creation of a specific UK forced marriage criminal offence in 2014.

Jasvinder is also a writer – her memoir Shame was a Times Top 10 Bestseller – and she is widely recognised as bringing the issue of forced marriage into the public domain. She has won numerous awards and in 2013 was appointed Commander of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding contribution for the victims of forced marriage and honour based abuse.

Welcome Jasvinder!

Find out more: https://jasvindersanghera.com/ https://karmanirvana.org.uk/

Photo: Chris Lawton on Unsplash

New patron for NWR New leaves We have an update on the trees that we purchased last year. They will be planted in the National Forest during the next planting season, between November 2021 and March 2022.

In all, we bought 815 trees. The most popular by far was the oak, with 263, followed by the rowan (149), silver birch (144), wild cherry (125), lime (78) and hazel (56).

The National Forest encompasses 200 square miles of the Midlands, its aim to regenerate these former coalmining and industrial areas by planting woodlands. It spans across parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire and aims to link the two ancient Forests of Charnwood and Needwood.

8.9 million trees have been planted to date and today it is recognised as one of the most ambitious and imaginative regeneration projects in the country. https://www.nationalforest.org/

Introducing Cath A recent addition to the NWR team, Cath Heslop is the new Regional Membership Officer for the Herts, Beds and Bucks area.

I consider myself very lucky to have had the privilege to work for women’s membership organisations for almost 10 years, as it combines my love of meeting new people with contributing to organisations that bring such meaningful value to women’s lives. Prior to that, I worked as a PA across a variety of sectors – commercial property, tech, publishing and finance. I grew up in Suffolk and lived in Norwich and London before settling in North Hertfordshire, where I live with my husband, 11-year-old daughter, 7-year-old son and our big, friendly ragdoll-cross cat.

My role at NWR involves working with LOs and the team at the National Office to ensure that NWR delivers the best possible experience to members, and finding ways to bring in new members so that they too can enjoy the lively

discussions and friendships enjoyed by so many. It is a delight to see the variety of subjects covered in group meetings, the mutual support provided by NWR members and friendships formed. I have enjoyed attending group meetings via Zoom and always come away having learned something new. I can’t wait to start meeting members face to face once social restrictions are eased.

Alongside my work at NWR I clerk for a governing board at a school for 14-18-year-olds that specialises in providing qualifications in the TV and film industry, digital communications and entertainment technologies. I am also working towards a qualification in school governance.

In my spare time I enjoy trying out new recipes – some work, some don’t! – cycling, exploring new places, both local

and further afield and going for walks, particularly if there is a café or pub meal at the end of it! When I lived in London I enjoyed visiting art galleries, eating out in restaurants and going to shows, and, whilst I enjoy living in a small market town surrounded by the countryside, I am glad that London is still just a short train ride away.

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

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NWR NEWS

Untold Stories Marion Molteno’s new series of conversations is with women who have uncovered remarkable life stories, and turned them into books for us all to read Marion’s memoir, Journeys Without a Map, describes how her novels have been inspired by the lives of those she meets. Now she discusses the art of life-writing with four women whose beautiful reconstruction of earlier lives gives us a unique insight into our collective recent history.

7pm, 23 September 2021, on Zoom

What is it like to discover diaries and notes left by your parents or others you loved, revealing inner lives that you never knew about?

And how do you turn what you have learnt into a story for others to read?

7pm, 21 October 2021, on Zoom

The Northern Line

The Musical Life

The history of a

Hedwig Stein,

provincial Jewish

emigrée pianist

family

Helen Marquard’s search for a piano teacher led to When Judy Simons Hedwig Stein who had fled cleared her late mother’s Berlin in 1933 with her Russian Jewish house, she discovered an old tin box of husband, to start again here as concert papers, signposts that led her on a journey pianists. Inspiring and vivid, Hedwig into the past. Her resulting book blends shared her history, and ideas on music, memoir and social history in a riveting art, philosophy, and literature. Years family saga that uncovers the lies and later Helen discovered that Hedwig had secrets buried for years, and evokes the written a diary, and determined to bring struggles and triumphs of early Jewish her remarkable story to others. immigrants in northern England.

7pm, 18 November 2021, on Zoom

The Bamboo Bracelet A true story Merilyn Brason’s parents survived four years in Japanese internment camps in the Philippines during the Second World War. Her older sister was born there. A lifetime later Merilyn uncovered her mother’s detailed notes of her experiences, and began to research to learn more. This moving personal story reads like a novel but is a true reconstruction of events, and a tribute to the internees’ extraordinary resilience.

7pm, 9 December 2021, on Zoom

Invisible Ink A family memoir Martha Leigh’s parents were not who they seemed to be. Her investigation of secrets buried in her Jewish family’s archive takes the reader all over Europe before, during and after the Second World War. By unravelling the threads of her deeply moving family stories from the tapestry of 20th century history, Martha discovers her own place in the pattern.

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Learn

Discover

Read Grow

Walk

Women

Friendship

Talk

Laugh

Celebrate

Support

Friendship

Share

Women

Fun

Left to right: Judy Simons, Helen Marquard, Merilyn Brason, Martha Leigh

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Give the gift of friendship!

Do you know a woman who would enjoy being a part of NWR? Then why not treat them to a gift membership, beautifully packaged with a gift card for your message, and a copy of the latest magazine?

Just contact office@nwr.org.uk to find out more.

NWR NEWS

Alphabetical Art From Zorn to Anguissola, NWR’s Culture Vultures whiled away the winter months by working their way through an alphabet of artists, writes Jenny Lee of Horsham NWR. In our NWR Culture Vultures Facebook forum, from September last year until the end of March, NWR members took part in a weekly posting of a work by an artist and a little bit of information about it. We worked in reverse alphabetical order, starting with Z and ending with A. It introduced me to not only many hitherto unknown painters, but also book illustrators, sculptors, ceramicists, wood engravers, glass and jewellery makers, architects, etchers, lithographers, caricaturists and print makers. If my adding up is correct, 192 photos were posted. Letter R attracted The Rs have it – Lovers, the most artists: 13. There were 50 ink and watercolour illustration by Arthur female artists, 141 male and one of unknown sex. The oldest was Greek Rackham vase painter Xenophantos, from c380 BCE, and after that we covered all the centuries from the 14th to the 21st! Artists came from 28 different countries – seven were of unknown origin – and most, 51, were English.

The French came in second with 26.

It has been such a great pleasure researching and reading about other members’ choices. If you wish to join the forum you will be made most welcome.

The project inspired this little ditty.

i

art

Fauvist, Expressionist

Bauhaus, Brutalism

This will be a long list!

Also Orientalism

Cubist, Surrealist

Naïve, Conceptual

Pre- and Post-Impressionist

My word, we’re going well!

Modernist, Romanticist

Action painting, Plein air

Pre-Raphaelite and Classicist

Baroque included to be fair

Realist, Mannerist

Contemporary, Descriptive

Sturm und Drang, if you insist!

Luminist, Figurative

Pop Art, Op Art

Folk Art, Dutch Golden Age

Still more genres to impart!

Art that provokes outrage

Pointillism, Japonisme

Environmental art

Synthetism, Tonalism

That can blow your mind apart.

Top: Les demoiselles Schwartz by Anders Zorn

Punk Art, Symbolism

Above: Self-portrait at an Easel by Sofonisba Anguissola

While we’re at it, Dadaism Art Nouveau, Rococo Not forgetting Art Deco

Looking at the list above Tell me now, what’s not to love?

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

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FEATURES

The women who saved the birds Most of us are familiar with the RSPB and its work, but what do we know of the founders of the organisation, and the cruel trade that inspired their movement?

Tessa Boase tells the story. unique contribution to Britain’s conservation movement is now to be commemorated with a statue.

Getting to this point has been a long journey. It began in 2014 with my attempts to persuade a publisher that the RSPB’s birth was a great, untold story that needed to be heard. I couldn’t understand why this heroic tale of early eco-feminism had been completely neglected by history. It had a brilliant cast, a gripping plotline and vivid extremes of scenery, from the swamps of the Florida Everglades to the glittering Royal Box at the Covent Garden opera.

But the idea of women and birds was, apparently, troubling to a publisher. Men, I was told, read books on birds.

Women read books on women.

I argued that this was a story about women’s fight to save the birds. It combined fashion, commerce, animal rights and women’s rights, and it spanned an era of hurtling social change, from the High Victorian period to the Roaring Twenties. What’s more, I argued, women do birds differently. They’re not so interested in terminology and life lists. Female birders often seek more of an emotional connection.

I wanted to discover when this connection was first fired up.

How did we get to care about the birds? When did it become shocking to wear paradise, or snowy egret, or albatross feathers on your head?

My hunt for the women who saved the birds eventually homed in on two central characters – young, beautiful, spirited and driven. In their personalities, methods and voices, they couldn’t have been more different. You won’t have heard of either but, together, they were formidable.

Above: A satirical cartoon from RSPB, mocking the bird hat trend.

Left: What the best dressed woman was encouraged to wear on her head around the turn of the century.

Picture credits: Etta Lemon, Aurum

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NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Picture credit: Etta Lemon, Aurum

One hundred years ago this July, a highly lucrative trade was banned: a trade that once earned Britain £20m a year at its Edwardian peak – that’s £200m in today’s money. The Plumage Act made it a crime to import feathers to Britain.

If you think that sounds a bit lightweight and fluffy, consider that between 1870 and 1920 64,000 tons of bird skins were imported into the Port of London for the plumage trade. Ships from every corner of the distant British Empire, crammed with exotic, feathered species, steamed towards Britain to supply the fashion industry. Lyrebirds, scarlet-rumped trogons, Indian green parrots, South American macaws, Raggiana birds-of-paradise… The millinery trade had an insatiable appetite for ‘fancy feathers’, and its female customers clamoured for novelties.

But from 1 July 1921 the wheels of this industry, kept spinning for half a century, faltered and stopped for good. Ships bearing feathered cargoes could no longer enter the Port of London.

The weekly Mincing Lane plumage auctions ground to a halt. Feather manufacturers laid off their poorly paid female ‘feather hands’, who switched to working in the artificial flower industry. Milliners began creating ‘vegetarian’ hats, for which no bird died to decorate. Ladies browsing the latest fashions began to favour a less fussy, cleaner look. Wearing a hat with half a greater bird-of-paradise sprouting from the rim, complete with beak and eyes, suddenly seemed a little tawdry, a little passé.

The ban was the result of a bitter and bloody 30-year campaign driven by women. Their legacy is the RSPB – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Few today know that Britain’s biggest conservation charity was born in 1889, over teacups, as an all-female, anti-fashion movement. When the men’s British Ornithologists Union refused to take a stand against the ‘bird hat’, the women hit back with their own Society for the Protection of Birds. Its founder was Emily Williamson of Didsbury, a solicitor’s wife aged 34, and her

FEATURES

Photo credit: Etta Lemon, Aurum

Looking for Emily Williamson

Four bronze maquettes of Emily Williamson will be unveiled on 1 July in Fletcher Moss Park, Didsbury, Manchester, before going on tour throughout RSPB reserves. Get involved: vote for your favourite; donate to the fundraising campaign. www.emilywilliamsonstatue.com

Etta Lemon, the dragon Etta Lemon was a magnificent woman with a magnificent name – a name that once inspired terror and admiration not only in her hometown of Redhill, Surrey, but nationwide. If Emily Williamson was the RSPB’s modest founder, Etta Lemon was the energetic prime mover.

The charity was lucky to have such a formidable character at its helm, from the original campaign against feathered hats, to gaining the Royal Assent in 1904, to the creation of Britain’s first nature reserves, and beyond. For half a century, Etta Lemon fought fiercely and passionately on behalf of the birds.

Etta’s single-mindedness, obsessive personality and thick skin put me in mind of today’s young climate change campaigner, Greta Thunberg. There is even an uncanny likeness: the unflinching stare, the determined mouth. Was Etta Lemon also neuro-diverse, like Greta? Certain anecdotes make me wonder if this might have been the case. As a girl, Etta would note down the names of any ‘feather bedecked women’ in her family church in Blackheath, London, and then write to each offender, calling out the cruelty entailed. For a young woman in the 1870s this was extreme, even militant, behaviour.

In her campaigning prime, Etta Lemon was so trenchant in her views, so passionate on behalf of the birds, that a director of the Natural History Museum once hid down a stairwell rather than face her in lobbying mode. She was known, in her time, as ‘Mother of the Birds’. She was also known as ‘the dragon’, and lived on in RSPB folklore long after she had been forcibly removed from her perch, aged 80, in 1939.

Every conservation movement needs an Etta Lemon – but as a woman she was ahead of her time, and many couldn’t stomach her dictatorial, ‘mannish’ personality. Once ejected by the men, she was consigned to the scrapheap of history as the RSPB moved forward into a new, more scientific era. Birds became synonymous with boys. For 80 years, her portrait languished in the attic at the charity’s HQ in Sandy, Bedfordshire.

I’m delighted to report that, on publication of my book, Etta’s likeness has been dusted off and re-hung. She is back on her perch at the RSPB. The world needs eco warriors like Etta Lemon.

Etta Lemon – The Woman Who Saved the Birds, Aurum, £9.99 Book Tessa as a speaker www.tessaboase.com NWR Magazine Summer 2021

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Photo credit: Etta Lemon, Aurum

Emily Williamson was horrified by the plight of the crested grebe, a milliner’s favourite – but instead of wringing her hands she turned her outrage to activism. Inviting her friends to tea, she asked them to sign a simple pledge: Wear No Feathers. And so, the Society for the Protection of Birds was born, in 1889. All of its members were women.

I found Emily’s name on the RSPB’s website, but there was no story and no photograph.

Their archivist told me that a bomb destroyed all early records during the Blitz, and I would find no images. But Emily’s house is still standing, today in a public park – so I travelled to Fletcher Moss Gardens in Didsbury, Manchester, in search of her footprints.

A park warden making tea had never heard of Emily Williamson, nor knew if there was any kind of plaque. Finally, I found a small, metal board hidden on a shady wall next to the café entrance: ‘Action For Birds – 100 years.’ Yet the name on this centenary board was not Emily’s. ‘The unveiling was performed by the Society’s President MAGNUS MAGNUSSON on 17th February 1989 at The Croft where the Society was founded one hundred years ago.’

The Manchester Evening Press had covered the unveiling of this underwhelming plaque, referring to Emily as a ‘stout Victorian woman’. In 1889 she would have been 34. Were there really no images of Emily? She had no children, but she did have four brothers. I turned to the internet to see if I could discover more. Online census returns led me to Emily’s greatnephew, the eminent Cambridge zoology professor Sir Patrick Bateson. I sent a tentative email.

‘Good heavens,’ he replied. ‘Did Great Aunt Emily really start the RSPB? It would be so good if that were true!’

It was true. Astonishingly, neither he nor any family members had any idea about this aspect of her life. How modest she must have been. I asked Patrick Bateson if there was, by chance, a photograph. Later that day, an email dropped into my inbox.

Opening that file was a tremendously exciting moment. I couldn’t have guessed at the power this image would come to hold when it eventually went out into the world.

When you have a face, you have a personality – and then you have a story. I am still piecing together Emily’s wider story, combing through the Bateson family archives. Her cousin Edith was a committed suffragist. Was Emily? I don’t yet know.

‘Women are mostly timid in inaugurating anything,’ she once wrote to a newspaper, ‘but they are very ready to give their help to a good cause when they are shown the way.’ It was a typically modest statement about her part in founding the RSPB. Now that she has a face, Manchester’s eco-heroine is being propelled into the spotlight. To the talented and trenchant women driving today’s conservation movement, Emily has become a bit of a poster girl. The planned statue will be a

catalyst for change, inspiring a new generation to take action for nature. The lesson we can all draw from Emily Williamson is this: one voice can make a difference.

FEATURES

Lab grown diamonds are increasing in popularity, and not just among celebrities.

National Organiser Natalie Punter explains some of the reasons these were chosen for our Diamond Draw.

When we were setting up the Diamond Draw for our anniversary extension year, Diamonds are Forever, we knew that we wanted real diamonds as prizes, but we also knew that diamonds can be an ethical and moral minefield.

Did you know that it takes an average of nearly 100 square feet of land, and between 200 and 2,000 tons of earth and dirt, to mine one carat of diamond? Or that more than 100 gallons of water are used in the production of mined diamonds, as opposed to less than 20 gallons to create a carat of lab grown diamond?

When we look at a diamond, it can be hard to imagine that it began as a rough gem deep inside the earth. Most of us are so far-removed from what diamonds actually are that it’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around their origins. However, in order to begin to understand ethical issues surrounding diamonds, it’s important to first consider how they’re mined.

Diamonds are found in two places: deep under the earth’s surface in ancient kimberlite formations, extracted via pipe mining; and in riverbeds and the ocean floor, extracted via alluvial mining. Most are found in Africa, where they’re sourced both from deep-earth mines and alluvial beds – although some diamonds are mined in Canada and Russia.

Each diamond takes millions of years to form and requires hugely extensive resources — both equipment and manpower — and time to discover.

Deep-earth mines are owned and operated by large corporations, the largest and probably most well-known of which is De Beers. Industrial mining companies also perform alluvial mining. However, a percentage of alluvial mining is performed by hand, a meticulous process, much like gold Alluvial diamond miners in Kono District, Sierra Leone

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NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Lost and found I lost my diamond engagement ring at an antenatal appointment.

Searched everywhere. One year later, on holiday with our small son and looking for change for ice creams, I felt something in the corner of my purse. It was the diamond of my ring which had slipped through a tiny hole in the lining.

Elaine Lane, Warwick and Leamington NWR

mining in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is commonly referred to as artisanal mining and is done by individuals, mainly in African nations. It is estimated that around a million African artisanal miners earn less than $1 per day for this back breaking work.

The miners live in extreme poverty in communities that often lack running water and proper sanitation, and many of them are children as young as five years old. They work six to seven days a week and the work is completely unregulated, and therefore dangerous. Conditions are generally unsafe and unsanitary, with days spent digging in stagnant, dirty water that breeds insects and disease. Workers do not have proper tools, training, or safety equipment and accidents frequently cause injuries and death. Alluvial miners are also often subject to horrific human rights violations—with violence, torture, and rape being perpetrated by government militias and armed rebel groups seeking to capture and control mining areas. The process also wreaks environmental devastation across the land, rendering it unusable for farming or other uses. Estimates of how much of the world’s diamonds come from this background range from to 14 to 20 percent.

You will, I am sure, have heard the term ‘blood diamonds,’ also sometimes referred to as ‘conflict diamonds.’ These phrases come from the late 1990s and are used in connection with violent rebel groups that were taking over mining areas in Central and West Africa. Rebel groups used brutal, deadly force and, in some cases, systematic rape, to take over diamond areas. They would then illegally trade diamonds for weapons and money, which, in turn, fuelled additional violence and atrocities. These blood or conflict diamonds were exported to jewellery stores around the world.

In response, in 2003 a process called the Kimberley Process Certification System was established, to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the diamond supply chain. There is some debate about how well the Kimberley Process actually works but there is nonetheless reasonable confidence that diamonds sold through legitimate sources are not funding rebel-led civil wars, and they are therefore described as ‘conflict-free’ in some marketing materials. However, it is

Photo: Silvia Emilie from Pixabay

Guilt-free gems

FEATURES actually a very narrowly focused certification process, and it remains perfectly legal to sell diamonds tainted by violence, child labour, poverty, and environmental atrocities.

Unfortunately, the reality is also that diamonds are not traceable to their origins like fair trade bananas or organic apples. From mining to selling, diamonds pass through many hands and not all of them will be ethically minded. Unless the diamond you purchase is from a Canadian mine or is lab grown there is no guarantee of it having been ethically sourced.

Groups like the African artisanal miner advocacy group Diamond Development Initiative have been working to improve the lot of artisanal diamond miners. However, a representative of the DDI, Ian Smillie, explains that: ‘Most rough diamonds are sorted and mixed before they are cut and polished,’ even those from the most stringent De Beers-operated mines in Botswana.

‘Because most diamonds do not have traceable certificates of origin, it is impossible to say whether they come from artisanal sources or from large mining corporations… Some Canadian diamonds are branded as such and do come with chains of warranty. Most others lose their identity as they work their way through the diamond pipeline.’ You will also find that Russian mined diamonds are often labelled as conflict free despite human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch continuing to identify the country as increasingly oppressive.

So, the options seemed to be to buy either Canadian mined diamonds or lab grown diamonds. We, being lively minded and intrigued, went for the second option.

Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds but with the advantage that no people or natural resources are harmed throughout their supply chain. Since lab grown diamonds and geological diamonds are identical – both are diamonds with exactly the same characteristics – it is virtually impossible to detect the difference, even for an expert using a microscope.

Only very expensive laboratory equipment like that used by a very few gemmological institutes can detect if a diamond is a created or a geological one.

Our Diamond Draw winners Below are some of the names of our Diamond Draw winners.

Look out for more photographs of our lucky ticket holders in the next edition of the magazine.

Rose gold diamond necklace: Barbara Evans, Waltham NWR Ethical diamond earrings: Carol Webb, Market Drayton NWR Dartington Crystal Dragonfly Vase from John Lewis: Pam Mundy, Galleywood NWR Diamond patterned recycled cotton teal throw from Oliver Bonas: Hilary Morgan, Plympton NWR

Diamante gin glasses and Whitley Neill miniature gin selection: Moira Coats, Gloucester NWR Moon phase picture, above right: Gillian Clarke-Hill, Cheltenham & Charlton Kings NWR

Photo frame, left: Sheila Knotts, Poynton 3 NWR Diamond Street: The Hidden World of Hatton Garden: Dorothy Daniels, Romily NWR Congratulations to all our winners!

The two most common ways to create gem quality diamonds are: High Pressure High Temperature process, or HPHT. This method imitates the way diamonds are formed in the depths of the earth. A tiny diamond crystal is put into a chamber with carbon in the form of graphite, and a metal catalyst. Under enormous pressure and very high temperature the metal catalyst dissolves the graphite, and the carbon atoms connect with the tiny diamond seed and grow into a bigger diamond.

The diamond seed can be a lab grown or a geological diamond.

Diamond Wedding

Inge Grayson, Wimborne NWR

Photo: Mohtashim Mahin from Pixabay

60 years ago, on the 9th of April 1961, I was married in my local church in Copenhagen.

I was 21 and I went to live in England with my English husband. We had met in Heidelberg, the year before, on a student working camp holiday, consisting of young people from different parts of Europe.

Now, four children, five grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren later, here we are sadly unable to celebrate our 60th anniversary with all our family and friends as we had hoped.

However, undaunted, we fully intend to celebrate this very special day with a scaled down party together with many happy memories.

Chemical Vapor Deposition, or CVD. In this process, a diamond seed in a form of a square is put into a reactor with a combination of gases. With the help of a microwave gun, the gases are heated until they become plasma, which is a state where the atoms are separated from one another. The free carbon atoms are then deposited onto the diamond seed, thus growing new layers of diamonds on top of the diamond seed.

Again, the diamond seed can be lab grown or geological.

Lab grown diamonds are available in all the same colours and clarities as mined diamonds. In reality, it’s not possible to talk about the differences between lab grown and mined diamonds, because they are exactly the same atomically. They have exactly the same chemical and physical characteristics, and they are made of the same thing: crystallised carbon. Both rank at 10 on the Mohs mineral hardness scale, and they have the same specific gravity and the same thermal conductivity – diamonds are unusually good conductors of heat. Finally, they are both optically transparent, meaning they allow light to refract and pass through them, creating that sparkle for which they are famous and loved.

Having seen the diamond necklace and earrings which constitute two of the prizes for our diamond draw we can assure you that they are every bit as beautiful as mined diamonds, and we hope that the lucky winners will enjoy them, with a clear conscience, for many years to come!

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FEATURES

Photo: Christopher Hilton

A diamond is forever – but how did diamonds become the gem of choice for a lovelorn suitor? Judith Charlton looks at the origin of a familiar slogan.

Until the late 1800s diamonds were rare, affordable only for the hugely wealthy. Initially, India was thought to be the only place with major deposits, then, in 1725, small amounts were discovered in Brazil. But in 1866 things started to change, when 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs found a 21.25 carat diamond – the Eureka Diamond – while exploring on the banks of the Orange River. More discoveries followed, resulting in the South Africa goldrush and, in 1871, the opening of the first large scale mining operation in the region, the Kimberly Mine.

As more and more diamonds flooded the market, their value dropped. Investors in the mines realised that, to maintain the price of diamonds, they had to perpetuate the notion of scarcity by controlling supply.

So, in 1888, De Beers Consolidated Mines was created, under the control of Cecil Rhodes.

Later on, in the 1920s, Ernest Oppenheimer became chairman, followed by his son Harry. De Beers soon The controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes owned the majority of on the façade of Oriel College, Oxford South Africa’s diamond mines – the name comes from one of the mines it bought out – and would buy up the entire supply of those that it didn’t own.

As well as the mines, De Beers owned and controlled most of the world’s diamond trading companies. From its inception to the start of the 21st century, it was a virtual monopoly, controlling 80% to 85% of the world’s rough diamond distribution.

In spite of this, diamond prices declined during the first part of the 20th century, and the company realised it had to take steps to control demand as well as supply, so in 1939 Harry Oppenheimer headed to New York to talk to advertising agency N W Ayer. At that time, around three quarters of De Beers’ diamonds were sold in America for engagement rings and, although these stones were smaller and of poorer quality than those bought in Europe, with war looming there seemed little point in endeavouring to expand that market.

The aim was to persuade the American public that the gift of a diamond was the only proper expression of love and romance, and the bigger and more expensive the jewel, the 12

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Diamonds Are Forever Well, mine very nearly wasn’t!

Some time ago, when offering the postwoman a lift, as I opened the car door to let her in, I noticed a hole in my ring where my diamond solitaire should have been! I contacted my insurance company, only to find out that the diamond was a Victorian oval and that the policy cover would not extend to even a really cheap, industrial quality replacement. So, I cleaned and checked the car, emptied the vacuum cleaner, vacuumed the entire house and checked the contents, swept the drive – a small one, thank goodness! – and inspected all the little stones I swept up, but to no avail. Having searched high and low, I lodged a claim for the amount that was covered. Several weeks later, I was vacuuming the car again and, on the mat, this drab little grey stone turned over and blinked at me, just before it got sucked up! Unbelievably, I had found it. As it belonged to my great-grandmother, I was very happy to be able to reunite it with its setting, and it has stayed on my finger ever since. I will be FOREVER grateful to have found it.

Pauline Rhodes, Chandlers Ford D NWR greater the love. As well as an advertising campaign, stories and photos were offered to magazines and newspapers, focusing on the size and extravagance of the diamonds that celebrities presented to their loved ones.

Combined with the idea of a diamond as a symbol of everlasting love was the assumption that it would keep, or even increase, its value. These two ideas were captured perfectly when, in 1947, a copywriter at N W Ayer named Frances Gerety came up with the slogan ‘A Diamond is Forever’. A woman in a man’s world, Gerety had been taken on by the agency to work on women’s products and De Beers was her main account. The slogan was hugely successful and in 1999 was named as Slogan of the Century by Advertising Age, shortly before Gerety died at the age of 83, incidentally having never married.

Investors realised they had to perpetuate the notion of scarcity by controlling supply The fact that Frances Gerety’s speciality was women’s products highlights a peculiarity – that this product is packaged to appeal to women in spite of the fact that they are rarely consulted in the purchase. If they were, it is quite possible that the spend would be less, but we have been cleverly persuaded that the event must be a surprise, leaving the purchaser vulnerable to the fear of not being perceived as sufficiently generous.

We have also been persuaded that the diamond is an asset but it is one that you are unlikely to realise, since, being bought retail, a large part of the price of an engagement ring is the mark up. But, who would want to sell – a diamond is forever, right?

Photo: Jozsef Hocza on Unsplash

The power of persuasion

FEATURES

Moving stories Refugee Week, in June, celebrates the contributions of refugees and invites us to look beyond our own circles to the refugee experience. Here are just a few stories from women who have had to make lives away from their own country. Interviews by Judith Charlton.

I understand that, in Kurdistan, you worked as a photojournalist. I imagine this is a very male dominated profession in any country, but you were the first female photojournalist from your community.

Bnar was keen to emphasise that, whilst she was the first female photojournalist in Kurdistan, she doesn’t want to be seen as someone who isn’t aware of other females’ achievements in the wider world of journalism/media – or who doesn’t recognise and celebrate these. In Kurdistan, there are women working in this field (not many still) and she feels it is important they’re recognised too.

What made you take this career path?

Often in our life, when we want to start a new job or new career, we should have a reason to do the job. Here are my reasons for starting as a photojournalist.

Firstly, I am Kurdish and lived in Kurdistan which is in the Middle East. In most Middle Eastern countries, most jobs are either created by men or managed by men, so there is a feeling that all jobs are created for and only to be filled by men.

However, I believe that opportunities should be available equally to all genders.

The lack of women in my chosen field made me think, well why can’t women do this job? Still, today, many stories about women are not heard because they are not allowed to discuss this kind of story; either due to being silenced by their families or by opportunities to speak out just not being available.

Secondly, I saw that many foreign photographers come to Kurdistan and take photos and make stories that they show to the world. However, there are still so many hidden stories that are not discovered by anyone, particularly when the journalists coming to Kurdistan do not know the communities, language or culture. It leads to a misinformed perception. So, I said to myself that I wanted to change this.

What sort of obstacles have you had to overcome to succeed, and can you tell us a little about the work you have done?

You won’t imagine how many obstacles women face every day in the Middle East, especially women working in the media.

Even now, you can see a lot of negative comments towards women working in these roles everywhere. Men want to draw a line for you; to stop you from travelling alone, going shopping or doing any normal thing, especially in those areas where there is war, conflict or political arguments. But I was lucky because my family supported me a lot.

Photo: Sean Gillen

Bnar

I did so many stories, especially focused on women and children whose stories are so often unheard – women who suffer from domestic violence, and those women who are victims of war. They should have their own voice, opportunities and rights.

The most famous job I completed was Two Religions, One Roof. Two families from different religions, Muslim and Christian, lived in the same house with their respective families.

Sharing the same roof, despite their religious differences, these two families lived in harmony. I have had exhibitions of this project in a number of countries.

You now live in Bristol: how long have you been there, and how do you like it?

It’s been nearly three years, and Bristol is a charming and beautiful city. I have seen many other cities in the UK in those three years, but for me, Bristol will be my favourite. The local people are really friendly.

Have you been able to continue with your work as a photographer since you have been here?

Yes, I have done some things and I would love eventually to make my career as a photojournalist here. My photos have been published here in Bristol, and I participated in some exhibitions in some other cities in the UK.

What is a refugee?

In the UK, a person gains refugee status once the government is satisfied that they meet the criteria contained in the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines a refugee as someone who has fled their own country ‘owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’.

I gather that you would like to pursue your studies at university. How easy are you finding it to achieve this – no doubt the pandemic hasn’t helped – and what is it that you would like to study?

Currently, I am a student at City of Bristol College. I study ESOL – these are essential English classes for speakers of other languages – and Maths. It’s not easy when you study in another language.

Still, when you have a goal, it is super easy to get the motivation to do this. It’s tough when you are writing, I have a problem with grammar and I’m keen to learn as quickly as possible.

Oh, and then the pandemic! This took a lot of things from all of us. It was tough because I am alone here without family, and I was in a hostel. It was very hard to pass the day between those four walls. I want to study documentary and filming at university here if I can complete my current studies.

What do you hope your studies will lead to?

There is a really nice quote: ‘Keep your eyes on the star, and your feet on the ground.’ With my studies and dreams in mind, I would like to become a full-time photojournalist and continue the work I was doing before.

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FEATURES

I understand you came originally from Sarajevo in Bosnia, and that you left, aged 17, at the time of the Bosnian war. Are you able to tell us a little about what led up to your departure, and how you reached the UK? I came to the UK as part of a medical evacuation of sick children and their families from Sarajevo. It happened in the middle of the war. My brother, aged 11 at the time, was gravely injured and needed treatment which could not be provided in Sarajevo. Because I was still a minor, I was able to accompany him and my mum to the UK. My dad died during the Bosnian war, three months prior to this.

17 is a very young age at which to start out in a strange country. What was your experience when you arrived here – did you have friends or family here to help you find accommodation and so on, or were you reliant on government or aid agencies? What are your memories now of some of the best and worst bits of that time?

We had no one and we were not able to speak English either.

Something called Bosnia Project was set up in Birmingham a few months earlier to help resettle Bosnians who arrived from concentration camps, and they helped us too. They helped us find housing and apply for benefits.

Worst bits of that time was having to rely on other people – we were used to being independent and doing things for ourselves and we found this incredibly frustrating.

The best thing about it was meeting some amazing people who helped us a lot, especially our new neighbours. They were welcoming, friendly and went out of their way to help out – whether it was just by taking us out for a day or giving us spare furniture and accessories. They helped us restore our faith in humanity, something we lost in Bosnia.

At the age of 17, you might have expected to continue studying for a while. Was this the case, and was it possible?

We arrived in August, so in September I started studying English at a local language centre, but soon realised that this wasn’t enough and I needed to continue my education. In Bosnia, I had completed three out of four years of high school so I knew

Happy anniversary!

July sees the 70th anniversary of the the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This, along with its 1967 Protocol, forms the cornerstone of refugee protection. It defines who is a refugee, and outlines the rights of refugees, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect them.

The core principle is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.

The main focus of the 1951 Refugee Convention was Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. The 1967 Protocol removes the geographical and time limits, which restricted its protections to persons who became refugees due to events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/1951-refugee-convention.html

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NWR Magazine Summer 2021

Photo: Bnar Sardar

Alma

NWR is offering two events to mark Refugee Week

Let’s cook!

Online cookalong 6pm, 2 September, cost £30 Migrateful is a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers by running cookery classes where they can share their skills, work towards integration and employment, and bring you some fabulous food from their home cuisine!

Refugee Voices

A refugee tells her story 16 September We are grateful to have been awarded a Refugee Voices bursary to enable us to offer this online presentation.

Look out in the newsletter and on Event Stop for more details.

I needed to do A Levels. So in January, a term into an academic year, I enrolled at a local college, choosing subjects which needed the least English possible even though they wouldn’t have been my natural choice. I went for Maths, Computing and Physics.

Very quickly, I realised that I couldn’t do computing – I didn’t even understand the questions let alone be able to answer them, so I swapped it for Statistics. I studied my A levels alongside my English exams which I needed for university – it was pretty tough going as in June 1995 I sat 18 different exam papers.

I went on to study Management at Aston University.

What is life like now, 27 years on? I gather you now have a family and a career as a marketing director, which is great.

I work at a further education college as part of their senior management team, my job title is Executive Director: Marketing and Customer Experience. I have always enjoyed studying and I’ve recently done my Masters in Marketing. I have a family – an Italian partner and What is an asylum seeker? twin girls, aged seven.

An asylum seeker is someone who My mum and brother left their own country and has asked still live here, they’re for asylum in another country, but very local to me. has not yet received a decision on I have done a lot of their application. charity work, as I really We all have a legal right to seek asylum. It is enshrined in Article 14 believe in giving back of the 1948 Universal Declaration of to the society that gave Human Rights, as well as in the 1951 me another chance.

Refugee Convention.

I have mentored refugees, fundraised for the hospital where my kids were born, volunteered as a regional chair for Remembering Srebrenica, spoken at events about my experience of the war and I’m currently a trustee for a charity which helps people with disabilities.

I have also started writing a book about my experiences of the war and as a refugee. In fact, it’s a series of letters between me and my best friend in Sarajevo which we wrote to each other when we were in the war and carried on writing when I came to the UK. Refugee Week, which this year took place 14–20 June, is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions of refugees. With a theme of ‘We Cannot Walk Alone,’ taken from Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech’, the week sees hundreds of arts, cultural and community events and activities held by a wide range of organisations and groups across the country.

We are grateful to the organisers for arranging for these interviews to take place. www.refugeeweek.org.uk

FEATURES

I understand you are a Palestinian currently living in Lebanon. Can you tell us a bit about your situation – when did you, or your family, leave Palestine, and under what circumstances?

I am a stateless Palestinian refugee living in Rashidieh camp, one of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. I am from Al-Bassa village in the north of Palestine and I belong to the third refugee generation who have been living in protracted displacement and exile for more than 72 years so far. I have never seen or been to my Palestinian village, or to Palestine. I have lived through multiple displacements with my family until we finally lived in our camp.

My grandparents were expelled from their homes in Al-Bassa during the 1948 Israeli occupation of Palestine, during which attacks were directed Where do most refugees against villages and neighbourhoods which come from? included killing of In 2020 the largest number, 6.7m, armed and unarmed came from Syria, where the war has now continued for 10 years. After men, destruction Syria comes Venezuela, Afghanistan, of houses and South Sudan and Myanmar – during sometimes expulsion this period 68% of the world’s of inhabitants. This refugees came from just these five countries. exodus is known as the 1948 Nakba, which https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-ata-glance.html means ‘catastrophe’.

What is life like in Lebanon – I gather there are a great many Palestinian refugees living there.

As of 1 January 2019, there were 475,075 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) in Lebanon. Around 45% of these live in the 12 refugee camps.

UNRWA provides services in the camps, but it does not administer or police them, as this is the responsibility of the host authorities.

The conditions are dire and characterised by overcrowding, poor housing conditions, unemployment, poverty and lack of access to justice. Because they are not formally citizens of another state, Palestine refugees are unable to claim the same rights as other foreigners living and working in Lebanon.

They cannot own property and they cannot work in as many as 39 professions, despite refugees having strong human capital as a result of the education and health structures provided in the camps by UNRWA. You are coming to the UK later this year to study for a Master’s degree – congratulations on getting a place!

What subject will you be studying and what are you hoping it will lead to?

I will be studying for a PhD in Migration Studies at the University of Kent’s Global Challenges Doctoral Centre.

This is funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund and is dedicated to supporting and connecting doctoral

Photo: Bnar Sardar

Basma

and postdoctoral researchers who are working to address challenges in developing countries. I am very proud to be leading this research, and I hope that it will help to reduce the knowledge gap and shift the narratives about the contributions and the value of refugees, and inspire sustainable solutions that will build healthier communities.

Have you been to the UK before? Do you have any family or friends here or will you have to build up new networks?

From 2019-2020 I studied for an MA in Development and Emergency Practice at Oxford Brookes University, so I lived in Oxford for one year and three months. This was via a Chevening Scholarship, which is funded by the UK government and enables some of the best students and professionals from around the world to study in the UK. I adored living in Oxford, both before Covid and during the pandemic. During the pandemic I was one of the NHS volunteers helping people in the city. Oxford became part of my identity. I have my brother who is living in London and I have made a lot of lasting connections and friendships in the UK and at Oxford, which I am really very proud of. I completed the course and graduated, and returned to Lebanon in December 2020.

I am now looking forward to returning to the UK to pursue my PhD, and to living in Canterbury.

What are your hopes for the future? Do you envisage it ever being possible to return to Palestine?

I hope that my Palestinian refugee community will be able to live in peace and prosperity, with dignity and humanity. Right to return is a fundamental right and dream for all Palestinian refugees who are living in exile and displacement, and it will always be my belief that one day I will be able to return to Palestine along with my family or my children, who knows?

I really want to work Where do they go? very hard to keep my Most refugees – 86% in 2020 – are Palestinian identity hosted by developing countries, and voice, to share and most of these neighbour the my story and to seek refugees’ countries of origin. Turkey justice for my people had the largest number with 3.7m, and homeland. followed by Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda and, the only European host I want to achieve country in the top five, Germany. my dreams to be a https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-atDoctor and to use a-glance.html my voice to shift the negative image of refugees by acting as a positive role model.

As a refugee myself, my personal experience adds value to my work because I understand the needs of refugees – and I also understand what they can contribute.

I have achieved great things through my passion and determination, and because I was able to access education. I believe it is vitally important that all girls and young women get a good education, as is their right, and with it they cannot just improve their own lives but change the world for the better.

I want to to be a voice for the voiceless, and to be a role model for the girls and women in my community.

So, I have this message: ‘To all refugee women and girls, I say keep fighting for your rights, keep dreaming and keep believing in yourself. Your dream will be achieved!’

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FEATURES

Growing interests Her interest in herbalism led Calne Central NWR member Christina Stapely to a career in healing, and she now teaches, runs workshops and writes on the subject.

Judith Charlton finds out more.

How long have you been an NWR member, and what prompted you to join?

I joined in the 1970s as a stay-at home mum living in Barnard Castle. My mother-in-law advised me, ‘Don’t become a vegetable!’ so this was my solution. I lapsed for a while but joined again when I moved to Wiltshire 15 years ago.

For you, what has been the best thing about being a member?

Friendships, and the wide range of interests. I sometimes go to a meeting thinking I won’t find much enthusiasm for the subject, only to find there is so much more to it than I had imagined. I have enjoyed giving talks, and we have had some fun afternoons trying on the historic costumes that I use in my workshops at the Weald and Downland Living Museum, including underwear!

Another excellent outcome of NWR membership came quite recently. While planning my research for a second volume of The Tree Dispensary, which will cover non-native species, I felt I needed a companion for my trip to Oman to see the frankincense trees, and while on an NWR outing talked with another member about this. We hardly knew each other at the time – just from attending meetings – but she immediately offered to go with me. Sally and I are firm friends now and the following summer went to Chios together for the mastic harvest.

I see that your books on herbalism and your BSc in Phytotherapy came later on in your life. What led to your interest in the subject?

I already had an interest in herbalism, but when I moved south I was lucky enough to have a third of an acre in which to establish a herb garden.

People were interested in the garden, so I would hold workshops, and write what I had told people in my books so that they could refer back to it. As time went on I found that I was earning money from the workshops, as well as talks and writing, and could afford to expand my knowledge by buying old herbals, of which I now have a large collection.

As for my BSc, when I was younger I had wanted to train as a nurse but found I couldn’t because of my health: I have

Photo: Christina Stapely

The Boswellia tree, which gives frankincense resin

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problems with my joints. So, the desire to become a healer had always been there. As soon as I started the course, I realised this was what I should have been doing all along.

You now teach, write, and run workshops and courses.

Which do you find the most satisfying, and why?

Following my studies, I also worked as a healer but I retired from this five years ago and now teach at the School of Herbal Medicine. I love sharing my knowledge with other people and especially being able to see young people coming into the field.

You also grow herbs etc in your teaching garden. Is this mainly for teaching purposes or do you also use your produce? And what for, chiefly?

Everything I plant in my garden has to have a harvest, in other words it has to have a use. The range is huge: for cookery, home medicines, dyes, cosmetics – herbs can be involved in every aspect of life. I take plants to show to people at my talks, and I used them in my practice – it was helpful to be able to show a patient what they were to be treated with.

Priests, when visiting the sick, were advised to cover their mouth and nose with a thick piece of bread soaked in vinegar One of your workshops is about ‘Surviving Epidemics Through the Centuries’ – what do you think are the main differences between our current experience of pandemic and the experiences of those in the past? Are we better placed for survival or are we our own worst enemies?

This is one of my workshops at the Weald and Downland Living Museum. I show some of the products that people used to protect themselves, and I have a book from 1485, Pestilence, which details precautions. Some are remarkably similar to those we have now, such as washing hands and face, and keeping one’s house well aired; and there is even a recommendation for priests, when visiting the sick, to cover their mouth and nose with a thick piece of bread soaked in vinegar.

As well as vinegar, angelica root, myrrh, rosemary and various other herbs were known to have anti-bacterial properties – in fact I took to spraying my shopping with rosemary water when I unpacked it, much nicer than sanitiser!

The importance of mental well-being was also recognised: ‘Be of merry heart, for that promotes health!’

I think one of the differences between then and now is that people had very different expectations. Average lifespan was much shorter and death was taken for granted. More people had a faith, and accepted what came to them as their lot.

FEATURES And they weren’t constantly bombarded with bad news from around the world: they just got on with their own lives.

Christina exploring jungle plants in Grenada

I was inspired by my uncle who, in his 80s, got together with a woman in her 90s who, as well as teaching him canoeing, drove a sports car and had a regular spot playing piano for the ‘old people’ in the local care home.

I am convinced that the most important thing to remember is ‘Use it or lose it!’ for both mind and body. It has also been shown that those who have the support of a group, whether a faith group or one such as NWR, statistically will live longer.

Your latest book is about trees, specifically native European trees, and their history and uses in cookery and crafts, as well as medicinal use. What was the inspiration for this book?

I have always grown trees as well as herbs, in fact I have 19 of the trees that are in the book. I am also always looking for new subjects for my workshops and, when I started to do some on trees, I discovered that there were no resources that weren’t encyclopaedic, so I decided I should write one myself.

What is the tree, or part of a tree, that you find yourself using the most, and what for?

All parts of the elder tree can be used for something. Many of us will have made elderberry port, and elderflower cordial or champagne: but did you know that the berries can also be used to raise bread as, like grapes, they have yeast on their skins? They can also be dried like currants, used to make syrup, and mixed with crab apple juice to make jelly sweets – I like to think that the Celts could have enjoyed these gum drops!

Cosmetic uses include aromatic waters, and ointments can be made from both flowers and leaves. As well as being used to flavour vinegars, the flowers can be used medicinally to take down fevers, while the berries are good for the immune

Photo: Christina Stapely

Some of the many uses of the elder tree, from gum sweets to jelly

Photo: Christina Stapely

Another of your courses is on ‘Aging Successfully’, an important subject for all of us! What is the one (or two) most important thing we can do to help ourselves?

system, and can be made into a tincture for colds and coughs. All parts of the tree will give dyes of varying hues and, finally, you can use the flowers to keep pests from your lettuces – the smell puts them off.

Many people are suggesting that tree planting could be one of the solutions for combatting climate change. Do you agree, and what can we all do to help?

Tree planting is definitely one of the solutions, and I am happy to say that some of the profits from the book will be donated

by Aeon to supporting the Woodland Trust and The Tree Council. But it is not a substitute for the destruction of ancient woodlands. New saplings need mother trees for support with carbon, water and nutrients, and trees are connected underground by huge networks of fungi.

New saplings need mother trees for support We also need to think about the impact of our own carbon footprint, and be prepared to make changes in our daily lives.

I am aware that there can be difficult choices involved, though: when I told a friend that I no longer buy fruit and veg that has travelled by air, her response was ‘But don’t some of those places need the income from that produce?’

Did you encounter any difficulties along the way in getting your book published, and do you have any advice for other members who might be thinking of taking up authorship?

My first book was accepted by a publisher straight away but, after some difficulties, I took it back and self-published. I did the same with subsequent books, but with this one I decided I wanted the support of a publisher. I was very successful with my self-publishing: I was able to promote the books through my talks, workshops and museum activities.

I didn’t have any difficulty finding a publisher for The Tree Dispensary either. I approached Aeon as I had established that they specialise in that type of book, and they were very keen.

If you want to take the publisher route, I would advise researching your market, so you can be confident when you say who is going to buy the book, and research your publisher – it is important to choose the right one. The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is a very good place to start. Of course, my experience has been solely with non-fiction writing.

The Tree Dispensary by Christina Stapley is published by Aeon Books, and you can see more about Christina at: https://christinastapley.co.uk/

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

17

Members’ Corner Bognor Blues Bognor Regis group became more and more savvy with Zoom as 2020 progressed into 2021 and the screenshot which has made a regular appearance on the weekly national newsletters was a result of one of our early meetings.

Members were asked to find ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’! This led to a very entertaining evening with a profusion of much-loved teddies, clothes, books, antiques, and some more unusual and quirky items. The photo shows a blue

Cornwall rocks!

At the end of March 2019 Playing Place and Carnon Downs NWR went, with our other halves, to visit the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project.

Geothermal energy is not new; Iceland and New Zealand both use this form of renewable energy and heat but from more active vulcanicity, closer to the surface. Cornwall’s land of granite hotspots is ideal for this type of energy, these being some of the hottest rocks in the UK. The project builds on research from the 1980s, but aims to go much deeper into the earth, being prepared to drill down as far as 7000m if necessary to reach the hot rocks. As we know, temperature increases with depth but in the areas around the granite it gets hotter more quickly. The intention is to pump water down a pipe drilled into the rocks: the water will become heated and return to the surface as steam, via a second pipe. The steam will be used to generate electricity. This will provide a renewable

energy source producing electricity for about 1,500 homes at present but, if the project is as successful as expected, larger schemes are planned.

During our visit we were given a very interesting talk by a geologist who gave us a presentation on the drilling site and how much progress has been made since its inception. We were then invited to go up onto the viewing platform to see the drill but, unfortunately, it was not operational on the day we visited.

Since our visit, the first deep hole – United Downs 1 – has been completed, reaching a depth of 5,057 metres below ground level! Geophysical logs will now be carried out and a small production test will determine the permeability of the target structure. After this, the rig will be moved eight metres south and drilling on the second pipe, United Downs 2, will begin.

shawl from Myanmar, a blue homeopathy kit, a special blue pen, a blue boot, a very useful blue stitch unpicker, a blue yoga mat, a blue blouse from travels in South East Asia, an old cuddly toy of great sentimental value, some blue silk and a handmade throw with blue stripes which fitted into several of the categories. Very colourful indeed!

Cathy Tucker, Bognor Regis NWR

Stephanie Quinn, Playing Place and Carnon Downs NWR

Playing tag Our September planning meeting on Zoom was well attended and full of its expected enthusiasm and ideas. While we concluded that the way forward was to continue with the certainty of Zoom, at the same time we looked for another way to meet, as the medium is challenging.

At that point, in Scotland only two households could meet up, which for all our group meant two people.

So, we created our own coffee tag.

Names were listed randomly, then lady one met lady two, a few days later lady two met lady three, and so on until the circle was completed and lady 12 met lady one.

18

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

We were able to meet in a variety of settings until the end of the year, including coffee shops, gardens and just taking a walk, sometimes with the family dog. Topics of discussion were various, and members reported back via email, along with a relevant picture, which in itself prompted further super discussions!

We all enjoyed these meetings and the different medium of a one to one chat, in fact it was such a success that we repeated it with a secret Santa coffee tag.

Janice Reid, Crieff, Comrie and Auchterarder NWR

A few of Auchterarder’s coffee tag settings

MEMBERS’ CORNER On the run I met my friend Hamish whilst I was on my first ever painting holiday in Somerset.

It was a trip for a local group from Sussex. We got talking one day about Roald Dahl’s book Esio Trot, and I heard all about his two Hermann’s tortoises, Cassandra and Victoria, who do actually try to escape.

Hamish told me that he had written a story about their adventure. Apparently, I said I would be interested in illustrating a children’s book, but I forgot all about this conversation until one day Hamish got in touch out of the blue.

I am not an artist or illustrator but have developed some skills since that conversation! I am a retired primary school teacher who has ‘dabbled in art,’ particularly watercolour. So, it became a lockdown project for both of us.

We also met when we could, to edit story content and discuss artwork. I visited their pretty garden to meet Cassandra and Victoria in their habitat, and took lots of photographs of them at various angles. Hamish and Diane delight in their tortoises who have grown from around the size of a fifty pence piece.

They have recently emerged from a very long hibernation.

Nil desperandum Oh mercy me and oh mon Dieu!

When will there be a worldwide cure To kill the coronavirus strain So we can live our lives again?

So many ill, so many dead How rapidly this virus spread So much despair and misery…

But isolating stoically We sanitise, wash hands with soap And wearing masks we cling to hope

Now brilliant scientists find a way To keep us all out of harm’s way They’ve formulated a vaccine To rid us of Covid nineteen!

There’s hope that we can be protected If everyone can get injected.

Then, even those without belief Will thank the Lord in their relief Oh mercy me and oh mon Dieu!

Praise be to God we have a cure

Rosemary Crawford Plympton NWR

Their grandchildren love to visit too and Hamish has read his story to them, which they loved.

This journey has also led to looking at publishers’ websites, of which there are many, and sending off samples of artwork and aspects of the storyline. I’ve discovered that one has to be very patient in this regard and not expect any replies!

In the meantime, I began to scan work and insert text. To do this I had to master Photoshop, which was a challenge, but as the spider showed us, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again’. I also found that with Photoshop I could edit, combine and reformat scenes – this is an ongoing process as I spot something which needs to be improved.

I have recently completed the whole story for Hamish in what could be a

final layout, so that he can share it with his grandchildren and enjoy it for himself. Sadly, he was in hospital for some time so we weren’t able to meet, and has now been settled into a care home as his health issues became more complex.

So, I feel that I have to do this for him. He would certainly be very happy if his story were ever published and also because he has a second one in mind! Any tips or support from fellow NWR members re breaking into the world of children’s publishing would be very welcome.

Do they manage to escape? That is a leading RUISLIPquestion!

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MEMBERS’ CORNER A Year to Remember From one spring to another, it has been a very strange year. One in which our membership could have fallen by the wayside and everything could easily have dwindled to nothing. But it didn’t and, although no new members have been recruited, our group has held fast and risen to all the challenges.

In March 2020 we were happily congratulating ourselves for having held a very successful area Diamond Jubilee celebration at the Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds a couple of weeks earlier. Thoughts of Covid had not exactly been foremost in our minds and, apart from making attendees aware that it was a good idea to wash hands for two minutes every now and then, we had all been merrily sharing tables and group conversations, cheering and talking loudly over the general hubbub, blissfully unaware of the greater dangers of airborne transmission. The virus was probably having a field day.

A couple of weeks later, things started to look bad and the first lockdown hit us amidships. In a way it wasn’t bad timing: as the summer programme was due to be planned in April, we didn’t have too much to rearrange. After the initial shock, it soon became apparent that if we wanted to continue – which we did! – then Zoom was to be the new living room for our main meetings and Book Group discussions. It took us a little while to get used to the strangeness of looking at faces in boxes on a screen, and technical issues inevitably led to some frozen, garbled, jerky, speeded-up bits, but a

Connecting in Kilbarchan Over the long winter days and months of this last lockdown, Kilbarchan NWR has formed a book group. This is in addition to the quiz group we formed in Lockdown #1. To date we have read and discussed: The Thursday Murder Club, A Gentleman in Moscow, The Long Call, The Beekeeper of Aleppo and Lady in Waiting, with Where the Crawdads Sing planned for after this. We all score each book out of 10 and one member keeps the result on a spreadsheet. So far, A Gentleman in Moscow is in the lead!

The Book Group also has a separate WhatsApp group, so we have many spin-off conversations about books. One of these was in response to Jasvinder Sanghera’s books which some members read after hearing her NWR talk.

Sunday morning WhatsApp chats have also helped to pass the time in a lively, connected way. One member posts a conversation starter each Sunday morning and the chat then goes from there. We have found out connections that we were not otherwise aware of 20

NWR Magazine Summer 2021

We held a successful Diamond Jubilee celebration last March

good number of our members tackled it gamely and we persevered. We’ve even got the hang of screen sharing!

Of course, not all our members felt easy with Zooming, and unfortunately some have missed the main meetings. But there were ways and means, and we have successfully evolved our own methods of sharing the information. A WhatsApp group has been invaluable, with many a hilarious cartoon or link to something interesting being passed on that way to cheer us, and of course everyone has email so a report of meetings could be shared to all members that way. The NWR Facebook groups have been yet another way to share experiences and ideas. In fact, ‘sharing’ has become quite the buzzword for this past year.

Whilst most of our members have remained successfully connected in some way, we are saddened that there is and we share memories, thoughts and feelings which sometimes also spark similar conversations with members’ families and friends, helping us all to feel connected in these (still) strange times.

We have also changed the format of our Friday afternoon meetings to incorporate chat afternoons, using breakout rooms to ensure all members get an equal chance to talk and contribute.

Going forward as a Scottish group of 18 members – 17 of whom use Zoom – we can meet outdoors in groups of six, so are planning for garden party afternoons of three groups, weather permitting, of course. As we know only too well, Scottish weather can be a strange and unpredictable force so all our plans are flexible, but…fingers crossed for actually meeting up with an amazing group of friends! We often say ‘What would we have done over the last year without NWR, and especially Kilbarchan NWR?’ Fiona Catterson, Kilbarchan NWR

just one older, technically unconnected member who has been ill and whose husband passed away, but unfortunately we have not been able to make contact with her.

With the lovely weather last summer, our fitness levels must have improved no end. In between fortnightly planned meetings we could all, Zoom-savvy or not, meet up for walks and at least a coffee and a chat when and where allowed. The first time we actually met in person, we were quite overwhelmed at just how wonderful it was to see real faces and have a simple conversation.

It hit home how much we missed and appreciated personal contact.

Individually, the virus has affected most of us in some way. Some contracted it personally; family and friends have been affected; beloved parents and husbands have been lost or have found life difficult; ours and our families’ livelihoods have been in jeopardy; and children and grandchildren have changed and grown without our input.

The Christmas party/panto was hilarious, although we missed our usual table full of delicious Christmas food…

And so to March 2021. While the situation globally remains so uncertain, our group is forging ahead with plans to October, making sure we have contingency and flexibility in the content and venues for our forthcoming meetings.

We’re not giving up. Maybe next Christmas we’ll be able to have a proper party, with real food!

The information, support and online content from NWR National Office has been amazing throughout. Thank you!

Carole Showell, Bury St Edmunds NWR

MEMBERS’ CORNER

In Memoriam Full versions of these obituaries can be found in the members’ area of the NWR website.

Peggy Dziabas 1950–2021

Wantage walk In April on a cold but sunny day a few members of Wantage NWR walking group enjoyed a welcome break in the Parkinsons.Me Community Garden for the first permitted walk of the year.

The garden, located in West Lockinge near Wantage, was created in aid of those

Devon distractions We are lucky enough to have two flourishing NWR groups in our small town, one daytime and one evening. The two groups are run completely separately but every so often, as for this article, we join forces.

Otter Vale NWR is the daytime group and is younger than the evening group.

Younger, that is, in terms of how long the group has been in existence but not necessarily in terms of average age – there is one member who is over 90. Perhaps surprisingly, Otter Vale has grown in size over the lockdown and is in the happy position of having about 10 members, many of whom have never been to a group meeting in person.

Indeed, some of them haven’t met any of the group in person! Unfortunately, our joint craft group had to be put on hold over the lockdowns but, finally, the crafting itch had to be scratched and the group has been restarted over Zoom.

So, what has Otter Vale been up to during lockdown? There was a great deal of reluctance to use Zoom so, at the beginning, we had telephone and garden meetings. Then it got colder and the lockdowns didn’t finish so Zoom it had to be. However, we can’t wait to get back to face-to-face meetings and have already started splitting our normal meetings into two groups, one group continuing to use Zoom and the other meeting in a garden.

Although, as you can see, the garden contingent sometimes need to be quite intrepid!

with Parkinson’s and was featured on Gardener’s World in 2019. Further details of this lovely place can be found on their website: https://www.parkinsons.me/ community-garden-west-lockinge Rosemary Harwood, Wantage NWR (Walking Group) In addition, Otter Vale has been writing circular stories – think the childhood game of Consequences. We have in progress both a short story – only add three or four sentences at a time – and a long story – write as many pages as you want. We have kept in touch over the winter months and a few members have been meeting for short strolls.

Ottery St Mary NWR is a group of 12 who meet in the evening. We have continued to meet via Zoom and our discussions have been as varied as you would expect. What Law Breaking Would You Condone?; Food Through the Ages; and, difficult as it may sound, Let’s Talk about Funerals, guided by a local undertaker, which was timely and informative. Our next meeting will be to discuss the NWR country of the year, Spain, which will be particularly interesting as one of our members has family in the country, one of them married to a Spaniard. Food might also be on the agenda with us all producing something to share virtually.

Peggy was a stalwart of Harrogate NWR. She was kind and considerate, and will be greatly missed.

Judith Gibson A member of Ross-on-Wye NWR, Judith was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, practical, a lovely person, and far too young to die.

Mary Tucker Mary was a much loved and valued member of Caversham NWR. Her contributions to meetings were always thoughtful and pertinent, and will be greatly missed.

Anne Zeglovskis A long-standing member of Sutton & Carshalton NWR, Anne was always a smiling member of the group with much to offer. She is greatly missed.

I’ve had it!

A year ago, if you said, ‘I’ve had it’ people would have commiserated with you, presuming that you had contracted COVID 19! But, thankfully, now they will congratulate you on having had your second inoculation.

The first of April 2021 has become a very special day for me. Doubly so. On Maundy Thursday 1995 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Every year since, the Easter Triduum has brought back memories of the fear I experienced on that day. However, from now on I will be singing my mam’s song: This Is My Lovely Day!* *From the 1947 London musical Bless The Bride Marion Dante, Camberly NWR

We did also manage to get out and about, and our photograph shows us catching a wonderfully warm, sunny evening at the end of last summer before we were back into full lockdown, following a walk around Sidmouth which started with pre-ordered fish and chips eaten on the beach. More of that to come soon, we hope. In June we are going to spend a day visiting a working farm that is often seen on BBC Countryfile. We all need something to look forward to!

Jill Machin, Ottery NWR groups NWR Magazine Summer 2021

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