The Lit & Phil – Spring 2021

Spring 2021

A 17th century lockdown Flying the flag for science Haiku

Hello & Welcome Librarian’s message Dear Member, At last, after many long weeks, I am delighted to report that we have once again opened our doors to members. We are still adhering to strict rules regarding use of the building (see our website for full details), but we look forward to a gradual relaxation in due course. We hope that before too long we can once again permit unfettered use of the library and its rooms and reinstate our programme of live events.

Throughout the past year we have continued to offer a home delivery and collection service to members, thanks to the unwavering commitment of a band of volunteers. We have also been able to post out books during our period of closure. We are pleased to say that both services will continue indefinitely.

During lockdown our caretakers have taken the opportunity to do a good deal of redecoration and repair, and we have also installed high speed wi-fi.

Digitally, we continue to develop our blog and our Zoom lectures and readings are proving extremely popular. So much so that they will continue even when live events resume. Please keep an eye on the Events section of our website, ‘catch up’ on our YouTube channel and don’t forget to please sign up for our free, regular e-newsletters via our website.

Inevitably our membership has decreased over the last year, but not as badly as we feared. Therefore I want to thank everyone for their patience and loyalty to the Society over what has been an extremely difficult period.

Finally, we are pleased to present our Spring Magazine, which we hope you will enjoy, and look forward to seeing you again in person very soon.

Kay Easson Librarian

Spring 2021

A 17th century lockdown Flying the flag for science

Editor: Marianne Abbott Design: www.founded.design Cover: The Queen of the Mermaids, after a painting by N Goncharova, designed for the Russian Ballet performed in the US 1916. From ‘The Soul of Russia’, edited by Winifred Stephens. 1916.

The Lit & Phil 23 Westgate Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1SE 0191 232 0192 www.litandphil.org.uk Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Out & About Virtually that is...

Newcastle Gaol: its history and its inmates Tues 11 May 6pm FREE Oil on Troubled Waters? Benjamin Franklin’s Tours of Northern England Thurs 20 May, 6pm FREE ‘Newcastles’ around the World Tues 25 May, 6pm FREE The Golden Age of Detective Fiction Thurs 27 May, 6pm, Cost: £3 Remembering the Fallen Thurs 3 June, 6pm FREE Ghostly and Grisly Tales Tues 8 June, 6pm FREE Are We in a Sleep Crisis? Perspectives from Contemporary Culture Thurs 10 June, 6pm FREE Red Squirrel Press Read-a-thon via Zoom Fundraiser in aid of the Lit & Phil Sat 12 June, 11am – 9pm Fossils and Factories: William Turner’s Northern Tour 1797-98 Weds 16 June, 6pm FREE Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines Weds 23 June, 6pm £3 The Reverend and the Railway: The Creator of Thomas the Tank Engine Weds 14 July, 6pm FREE Please note: you don’t have to have Zoom installed on your device to take part in any of the above. Free Events: email library@litandphil.org.uk and we’ll send you an invitation. Ticketed Events: buy a ticket on the Lit & Phil website. Missed an event? Catch up on our Youtube channel.

For full events listings and info visit www.litandphil.org.uk

AUCKLAND CASTLE: A GRAND DAY OUT 1,000 YEARS IN THE MAKING Book your tickets at aucklandproject.org Market Place, Bishop Auckland County Durham, DL14 7NP

Life & Loves With Dermot Killingley Reading There’s a table in my sitting-room with books to read in the evening, which I don’t always catch up with because I’m a slow reader. Recently I read Juliana Mensah’s complex and moving new début novel Castles from Cobwebs. There’s non-fiction, mainly historical, and poetry— Heaney, Norman Nicholson, my late wife Siew-Yue Killingley, her favourite George Herbert, and others.

Holidaying I go to see people, not places.

I go by train and ship wherever possible. I remember when sea travel was the normal way to cross the world, and have been three times through the Suez canal. My wife and I used to hire a flat in Tours every year, and I still do so when I can. We went first to see the Loire châteaux, but she was so good at talking to people, in several languages, that we went back to see friends.

Writing My job was teaching Sanskrit and Indian cultural history, so much of what I’ve written is on that. I write poems when they demand to be written: when I’m moved by something in my personal life, by an event or situation such as the pandemic, or by a poem that I find myself arguing with. Two literary triumphs: a French sonnet I wrote in memory of my wife was beautifully read at a festival, and a poem inspired by an ancient Indian philosopher was included in a book on the Upanishads.

Eating I cook for myself; nothing fancy. I don’t buy anything ready-made except bread and biscuits. I sometimes make soda bread too. I eat out when I’m away from home; I especially like La souris gourmande in Tours.

Walking I walk and cycle, without being a serious walker or cyclist. I’m fortunate in living near Jesmond Dene. Walks there are like sentences in a language: infinite possibilities from a finite set of resources.

When I’m away (which I haven’t been for over a year) I walk or cycle in the Loire Valley, in the Wirral where I grew up, in Ireland where I belong, or wherever I stay with family or friends.

Relaxing I try to play the viola, and sometimes sing. I do a bit in the garden, but not much. When I trim the shrubs I feel I’m battling with the forces of chaos. I’m addicted to the Guardian cryptic crossword, so I give it up every Lent, and memorize poems instead. I’ve now got a stock of them, so I can accompany my walks with The Wreck of the Deutschland, Little Gidding, Donne’s sonnets, or something else.

Dermot Killingley taught Indian Studies at the University of Malaya, and then Religious Studies at Newcastle University.

He is chair of the S. Y. Killingley Memorial Trust (www.syktrust.org.uk), and one of the editors of Religions of South Asia.

He joined the Lit & Phil in 2012.

Power to your elbows Our first ever Haiku Competition

By Andrew Harvey A year ago this month we launched the Lit & Phil’s first ever Haiku writing competition. It felt like the right time – while we were held captive by the pandemic, nature had a major ‘moment’ and the freedom (and in many cases, time) to enjoy this, coupled with the extraordinary situation we found ourselves in, seemed to set our creative juices flowing. By the closing date we had received 455 haiku from entrants across the North East and very much further afield. We were impressed by the huge creative appetite of our members and supporters, and the high quality of entries. Our two judges Ellen Phethean and Kathleen Kenny, two experienced writers and tutors based on Tyneside, had a difficult task.

“The Haiku is not a short poem” explained Ellen. “It has rules, in English, of 3 lines, of 5/7/5 syllables per line, and must make reference to Nature or Season and contain one event, happening now (so written in present tense). It must arouse an emotion, perhaps provided by a startling or visual comparison and because it has depth of meaning, invite re-reading. There is no rhyming and there are no unnecessary words. It isn’t an easy thing to pull off!”

Kathleen Kenny added: “Reading each haiku was a pleasure. Many wonderful poems didn’t reach the final stages purely because they veered from the traditional

structure, but it did help enormously with the task of decision-making. The winner was a unanimous choice, a haiku we both greatly admired. Congratulations to her and well done to everyone who entered.

It was lovely to be able to read such a range of beautiful work and to be part of the judging process. Thank you so much.

Power to your elbows!”

The winning entry by Gaynor Hill: The pheasant’s new egg smooth, brown and warm from the nest sits at the crow’s feet.

Left: Audubon, John James, ‘Audubon’s Birds of America’: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1981.

Below: Audubon, John James, ‘Audubon’s Birds of America’: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1981.

Top right: Ray, John, ‘The ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the county of Warwick Esq, fellow of the Royal Society’ : Printed by A.C. for John Martyn, 1678.

Tab XXVIII

Gaynor said: “I am a former Learning & Development Professional who gave up City life to become a countrywoman, artist and writer. I live with my husband and rescue border collie in the beautiful Welsh Marches where I gain much of my inspiration. On the day I entered the competition my husband had found a solitary pheasant’s egg in the middle of our lawn. That small find prompted a variety of thought and emotion which I wanted to capture. The haiku I submitted for the competition was the first I’d written so I am astounded and delighted in equal measure.”

The judges said “Gaynor gives a clear image of the brown egg, its warmth is palpable, but then we get the shock of the crow’s feet, creating the sense that this moment is fleeting, a sense of danger and what happens next? A lot to pack into 3 short lines. Simple and fantastic.”

The five runners up: First autumn cool breeze my barber brushes up soap into silver dish.

Goran Gatalica lives in Zagreb, Croatia and has published poetry, haiku, and prose.

Grey heron morning. two spindle legs, chopstick beak fish the spring pond’s blue.

Fiona Ritchie Walker is an award-winning writer of poetry, fiction and plays.

Pots and pans at eight shake the roosting birds from sleep scattered in late sun.

Nev Clay is a retired community mental health nurse, though better known as a local singer-songwriter.

Two empty swings hang on chains. The world holds its breath – while the blackbird sings.

Pamela Gormally lives in Alnwick, Northumberland. She started writing after retiring as a primary school headteacher in London.

Morning paints the sky apple blossom welcomes the bee buzz of lawnmower.

George Colkitto lives in Paisley and writes for the pleasure of words.

For more information on Ellen & Kathleen’s popular creative writing classes, visit the Lit & Phil website.

A 17th Century Lockdown

By Tim Griffiths

The Plague in the County of Durham in 1665 From Archaeologia Aeliana.

Bubonic plague was a deadly and very infectious disease. ‘The Black Death’ swept through Europe in medieval times and caused about 100,000 mortalities in London in 1665, the year before the Great Fire. A short article relating to its local impact was submitted in 1889 by Henry Barnes and can be found in Series 2, volume 15, of the Lit & Phil’s Archaeologia Aeliana. It is a topic uncomfortably relevant to our present situation.

Above: Wilson, F. P., ‘Plague in Shakespeare’s London’: Oxford; Clarendon Press, 1927.

Parliament swiftly enacted legislation to give powers to mayors to assess whether infected persons were in need of charitable relief. The same Act required all infected persons to stay at home, providing that anyone who “shall contrary to such Commandment wilfully and contemptuously go abroad [out of the house], and shall converse in company,

having any infectious sore upon him uncured”, be arrested and adjudged as a felon, and be condemned to death. Failure to observe social distancing rules became a capital offence. Whether this acted as a deterrent is uncertain, since becoming infected with the plague was itself equivalent to a death sentence.

The Durham Quarter Sessions issued three proclamations in July 1665: 1) 12 July – No ship arriving from London or Yarmouth at any port in this county shall be allowed to disembark either men or goods, nor shall anyone be allowed to go on board such ships, until after the end of the quarantine period.

– Town councils in the ports should put in place arrangements whereby a number of able men maintain the watch around the clock.

– All keepers of inns and alehouses to give notice to the watch of any travellers or strangers lodging on their premises.

2) 17 July – Sunderland is dangerously infected with the plague, but people are still travelling to and from it “to the great hazard of the further spreading of the said infection”.

– Those on watch are required to be “well armed” and will be punishable by law if they fail to carry out their duties in accordance with the proclamations.

3) Not dated (specifically to Durham City) – Anybody who travels from Durham to Sunderland will not be allowed to return to Durham but, if he does so, then his house will be shut up.

(In Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe records that the period of home isolation lasted for 28 days, with the house being barred from outside and made subject to a 24/7 watch.)

– All “sturdy or wandering beggars” to be prevented, by force if necessary, from entering the city.

– All inhabitants to keep their houses, stables and surrounds “clean and sweet”

Above: Crawfurd, Raymond Henry Payne, Sir, ‘Plague and pestilence in literature and art’: Oxford; Clarendon Press, 1914.

If we compare these orders with the rules issued by our present Government we may find the similarities more striking than the differences. There are the same emphases on restriction of travel, on the isolation of potentially infected persons, on social distancing and on cleanliness. We may also note the strict quarantine measures, and the obligation on innkeepers to provide information for a basic track and trace system. That the penalties for breach of the rules were far harsher is partly a reflection of the different centuries in which we live, and partly also because the mortality rate of the plague was higher than that of coronavirus, devastating though that is. If I am surprised by one thing it is the emphasis placed on cleanliness in the third of the proclamations. Towns in the

17th century were traditionally filthy, with no obvious general acceptance that such filth was the breeding ground for disease.

However the magistrates in Durham clearly felt that keeping the streets clean would help to reduce the infection rate, making the right regulations even if they did not have good scientific advice.

Further reading: Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe Filth, Noise, and Stench in England 16001770 by Emily Cockayne Tim Griffiths is the author of A Place Quite Northward: Visitors to Northumberland 1500-1850 and (as editor) of North of England and Scotland in 1704: An Anonymous Travel Diary. He is currently working on a new edition of the sanctuary records of Durham and Beverley.

A squirrel at the Lit & Phil

By Sheila Wakefield, Founder and Editor, Red Squirrel Press Red Squirrel Press is a self-funded independent press based in Scotland.

Founded in 2006 by Sheila Wakefield, it has published over 200 titles to date showcasing young poets such as Claire Askew and Andrew McMillan as well as more established names like James Kirkup, William Bedford, Tim Turnbull and James McGonigal.

I​ have a long history with the Lit & Phil. I’d been attending and participating in events for many years, and it was the first place I’d ever read my own poetry. After I founded Red Squirrel Press (RSP) in April 2006 my relationship with the Society grew even stronger. I launched our first title, Bernard Landreth’s Give or Take at the Lit & Phil and almost all our titles since. Kay (Easson, the Librarian), all the staff and volunteers have always been very supportive regarding my ideas and events.

Every year, Northumberland Wildlife Trust used to promote ‘Red Squirrel Week’ the first week in October so I came up with the idea of hosting ‘Red Squirrel Press Week’ at the same time. This incorporated National Poetry Day and involved a week of evening events launching eight publications. The week was very successful and gained sizeable audiences every night.

In 2011 when the Lit & Phil launched their appeal, we were delighted to organise two literary lunches as part of a programme of

fundraisers. The first was with poet and playwright Tom Kelly and was chaired by writer, historian and broadcaster, John Grundy. The second featured crime novelist, poet and playwright Valerie Laws and was chaired by Anya Hurlbert, Professor of Visual Neuroscience at Newcastle University.

The fundraisers became annual events featuring readings from RSP poets and authors from across the North East of England and Scotland.

The tenth anniversary of Red Squirrel was celebrated at the Lit & Phil in 2016. The last event prior to lockdown in March 2020 was the joint launch of Tom Kelly’s poetry collection, This Small Patch and poet and author Ellen Phethean’s second and third novels in her Ren trilogy, Ren and the Blue Cloth and Ren in Samara.

As this magazine goes to print I will be involved in judging the prose for the Lit & Phil’s prestigious Young Writers’ Awards and preparing for our next fundraiser, a ‘Read-a-thon’ via Zoom. Designed to raise funds for the Lit & Phil after a tough year, it will take place between 11am and 9pm on Saturday 12 June and invites you to read poetry, a short story, an excerpt from your novel, non-fiction or a combination. The cost is £10 for 10 minutes which includes introductions. Bookings can be made on the Lit & Phil website.

Gems &Wonders Small worlds The Lit & Phil has always been associated with great and inquisitive minds, and our vast science collection celebrates this thirst for discovery and a wide-ranging quest for knowledge. Here we present a tiny selection of illustrations and photographs born from the small worlds of the microscope – a tool which in the 18thcentury moved beyond the laboratory to the school, museum and family room, or wherever books might be sold.

Top: From Electric Movement in Air and Water. (1897), by William G. Armstrong (Lord Armstrong). A set of striking photographic images of electric discharges taken by the Rothbury-based photographer John Worsnop. Armstrong delivered many lectures at the Lit & Phil and was President from 1860 until his death in 1900.

Middle: Two images from Micrographia illustrata or, the knowledge of the Microscope explain’d by George Adams, 1746.

Bottom: Image from Butterflies of Hong Kong by John C.W. Kershaw, 1907.

Flying the flag for Science

By Jo Douglas and Nicola Simcock The Lit & Phil has a long tradition in championing science and innovation, and during lockdown we were able to keep the flame alive thanks to a fascinating virtual lecture series.

Women in STEM by Jo Douglas In 2020 we organised a series of events celebrating Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

The aim of the series was to celebrate the amazing STEM work done by women, and was a partnership between a number of local organisations.

Why are we still talking about women in STEM? Women only make up 24% of the core STEM workforce according to The WISE Campaign.* This is a problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, we have a huge skills gap in the UK, and if we don’t start to attract more young people in to STEM roles and keep people in the industry we

can’t expect the UK to retain its position as a world leader in many STEM fields.

Secondly, if the make-up of our STEM workforce doesn’t reflect the diversity of our society we won’t get the full range of views represented in the forums where decisions are made. And linked to that, greater diversity has been found to directly impact a company’s bottom line, with every 10 percent increase in gender diversity causing EBIT to increase by 3.5 percent*.

The first two events in the series, organised in partnership with Palace of Science and the Institute of Physics, were held at the Lit & Phil in January and February. Other events in the series were forced to move online, but this gave the added benefit of being able to reach a much wider audience.

Those audiences were treated to a wide range of subjects including the Tyne Estuary Partnership, Batteries for Energy Storage and Female Engineers of the Past and Future.

A new series of collaborative events is currently underway with the aim of motivating and inspiring in the new normal, which includes talks on Lockdown Heroes with Side Hustles and The Power of Failure. To find out more, follow WES Tyne and Tees or Engineering Together on social media. * www.wisecampaign.org.uk * www.mckinsey.com

Palace of Science: presenting North East Science for all by Nicola Simcock In 2018 a small group of scientists, science communicators and science-enthusiasts decided to throw a one-day science festival in the heart of Newcastle. Coinciding with British Science Week and Brain Awareness Week, and spearheaded by a small but highly dedicated team, it was a brand-new event which brought awesome local science to the Great Geordie public.

The aim was to showcase the huge array of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) happening in the North-East and make it accessible to the locals.

A number of local ales had featured heavily in the idea generation and thus, Wylam brewery provided a fitting location for the event. Previously known as the ‘Palace of Arts’, the striking Grade II listed building inspired the festival’s name, and Palace of Science was born.

The festival was supported by a host of local organisations: Newcastle University, Institute of Physics, Durham University, Ampersand Inventions, and the Newcastle Branch of the British Science Association (BSA). It was a huge success, and in 2019 the Newcastle BSA joined forces with the Palace of Science. The rest, they say, is history!… Or more accurately, the beginning! Palace of Science was officially registered as a community interest company in 2020 which will lead to bigger and better events. Despite the pandemic, the enthusiasm and dedication of the organisation as a whole remains strong.

The team turned their hand to online events, successfully moving the monthly informal SciBar event to Twitch (twitch.tv/ Palaceofscience). A few of the varied topics covered in the last year alone include Mental Health and Greenspace, The Myths Surrounding Autism, The Chemistry of Coffee and Whether or not you’d stay in bed for £14k.

Find out more: wes.org.uk @PalaceofScience PalaceofScience.co.uk Catch up on previous events on YouTube

Top: Image courtesy of Women’s Engineering Society Left: Palace of Science festival courtesy of Yamato Kikuchi Opposite page: Dr Jo Douglas-Harris

My debt to the Lit & Phil

By Cinzia Hardy Cinzia Hardy is the founder and former artistic director of November Club, an award-winning performing arts company, engaging local communities and creating original performances that tell unexpected stories about people and places, www.novemberclub.org.uk December 2020 was significant for me in more ways than the obvious annus horribilis we have all been through. It marked the end of a major chapter in my life. As I sat in the Sir James Knott Room on 16 December 2020, with an audience

The Novocastrian Philosophers’ Club, courtesy of Sally Ann Norman &Fiona Ellis

that joined me via live stream, I stepped down as artistic director of November Club, the company I had founded as European Players back in the early 1990s, and symbolically handed it over to my successor Joe Hufton.

It was important to me that this event should take place at the Lit & Phil. Since moving to North East England in the late 1990s, I have produced several productions in collaboration with the library and spent some of my happiest days working there.

It all began in 2007 with what was then my most ambitious theatre production at that time, The Novocastrian Philosophers’ Club.

For this project, a small audience of 15 people at a time journeyed around the hidden world of the library and its neighbour the Mining Institute.

The performance, although a work of fiction, was created in response to the organisations’ archival material, the people who inhabited the institutions and of course, the buildings themselves.

The production won two Journal Culture awards and it was clear there was an appetite in the North East for performances outside of the usual theatre buildings. Thus began a rich and fulfilling association with the Lit & Phil. We went on to collaborate on a variety of projects together:

– W e Got Mittens Too! (2008).

A commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the end of WW1, written

by Kay Easson and inspired by the archives and collections at the Lit & Phil, and the stories of the people who inhabited the buildings, members and staff, those who fought at the front and those left behind. It won Performance of the Year at the Journal Culture Awards.

– Cautionary Tales from the Trenches (2014). We recreated the year 1914 when the world was at war. Our young visitors were taken on a quest through nooks, crannies and rooms

full of secrets, uncovering stories from the trenches and the library’s special children’s collection which was established during World War One. – Reflections of Newcastle 1914 -18 (2016). Marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, this project explored the cultural, intellectual and social life of Newcastle during WW1 through ‘virtually accompanied’ city walks beginning and ending at the Lit & Phil.

– The Imaginary Museum of the North (2018). A celebration of Newcastle’s first ever museum, when the Lit & Phil was the beneficiary of incredible artefacts from across the world.

– A Lit & Phil Carol (2019). This familyfriendly, story-telling production was preceded by an extensive engagement programme and celebrated books, creativity and reading.

I owe the Lit & Phil a lot. Kay Easson and the trustees have shown enormous faith in my ideas over the years. I will continue to enjoy everything the Lit & Phil has to offer as a member and regular visitor and who knows, there may be more theatrical adventures in store for me there in the future… watch this space!

We Got Mittens Too!, courtesy of David Chavennes & Fiona Ellis

You can read Cinzia’s full article on the Lit & Phil Blog: www.litandphil.org.uk/blog

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