AGM 2020
The Society's AGM in 2020 was initially postponed, and then cancelled altogether as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK. Our chair Charlie Lambert sent this letter to members.

We should have been gathering in Haverigg this weekend for the AGM. Instead, we are wherever we individually are – locked down indoors, or working hard in key industries, or maybe even stranded far from home. Wherever you are as you read this, I hope you are in good health and able to cope with the current crisis, but if you are currently unwell I do hope you are receiving the best of treatment and that you are soon over the worst. I am so sorry that we are prevented from meeting, and hearing the speakers who had kindly agreed to share their expertise with us – Dr Penny Bradshaw, Head of English at the University of Cumbria, and MA student Leo Finighan, who were both due to explore aspects of Nicholson’s relationship with Wordsworth in this, the 250th anniversary year of Wordsworth’s birth.
If nothing else, this national lockdown perhaps gives us a better understanding of the issue that stayed with Norman throughout his adult life. He was never completely free of the tuberculosis which was such a defining episode. His words in The Pot Geranium have a clearer resonance now:
My ways are circumscribed, confined as a limpet
To one small radius of rock…
I imagine that those lines resonate with all of us. Living with restrictions, and ever watchful lest a cold or flu should bring about a relapse, Norman was a pioneer of what we now know as ‘social distancing’.
The year may be ending under a cloud but it can’t obscure a lively and rewarding 12 months. It was wonderful to see so many people at the Norman Nicholson Festival, including the Mayor, Councillor Angela Dixon, and many who do not usually attend our events. To feel the vibrant atmosphere in the Network Centre and the Beggar’s Theatre, and to see how uplifted people felt after visiting St George’s Church and Norman’s old house, was an absolute joy. The feedback afterwards was very encouraging, and the good vibes kept coming as we saw some remarkable work published in ‘Comet’, the result of the creative writing sessions held during the festival. We estimated that well over £4,000 had been generated for Millom businesses over the weekend. So all in all, it was an initiative that paid off handsomely and we look forward to the next festival in 2021. My thanks to the funders: the Arts Council, Millom Town Council, and Millom CGP Trust; also the speakers and performers; the shops, organisations and individuals who backed us; all of you who came to the events; and our committee members who worked above and beyond to make it happen.
We can also look back on a visit to the Cumbria Archive Centre and Carlisle Cathedral, our annual Christmas lunch at Grange-over-Sands, and a number of events at 14 St George’s Terrace – an Open Day in November, a day of poetry readings on Nicholson’s birthday in January, and visits from the U3A and Cumbria University MA students.
This brings me on to Project 14, our campaign to acquire Norman’s old home. In 2018 our application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for just over £500,000 was turned down. After that the Lottery changed their structure and processes, so when we tried again last year there was a new system. We had to file an Expression of Interest before we could submit a formal application. We did so, but to our dismay this was rejected. However, we are not deterred. We have used the months since then to rebuild our project, maximising the building’s potential as a focal point for a social enterprise which will not only preserve Norman’s literary legacy but will also make a positive contribution to the wellbeing of the town.
The committee thought it wise to review the governance of the Society in the light of our ambitions to post another six-figure application. Through Cumbria CVS we had extensive consultations with a business advisor (whose time was generously funded by Copeland Council) and the decision was made to set up a separate organisation to run Project 14 and operate the house when we are successful. Therefore, I am pleased to announce now that the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company (CIC) was formally registered at Companies House a fortnight ago with a board of directors consisting of some familiar names – Sue Dawson, Janice Brockbank and myself, all also on the Society’s committee, and Phil Houghton, consultant to the construction industry, poet, and a long-standing member of the Society. Two other directors have been appointed – Mel Narongchai, head teacher of Haverigg School, and Nick Lancaster, a consultant to the tourism and hospitality sector and until recently MD of Langdale Leisure. We have also gained active support from Trudy Harrison, MP for Copeland, and Katie Read, Copeland’s Tourism Officer, both of whom will be important allies as we move forward.
We intend to submit another Expression of Interest in the coming months and we will approach other funders as well.
Project 14 is time-consuming and provides emotional peaks and troughs, but the main activity of our Society remains the study and promotion of Norman Nicholson’s life and work. This year has seen some remarkable examples of Nicholson being appreciated by a widening audience, from the University of Cumbria including Nicholson in their new MA syllabus and in their inspirational series of talks in Ambleside, to Andy Goldsworthy’s dramatic interpretation of ‘Wall’ at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
Another significant development this year has been the creation of a productive relationship with the Wordsworth Trust, and an invitation from them to contribute to an exhibition in Grasmere to mark the 200th anniversary of the Duddon Sonnets. We continue to be involved with the Alliance of Literary Societies and LitHouses, and we have joined the recently-launched Cumbria Arts & Culture Network. So there is a lot of positive activity taking place.
If we were meeting in Haverigg as scheduled this weekend I would be paying tribute to Glenn Lang, who has stepped down after nine years as our secretary. I know that all our members will feel the same debut of gratitude to Glenn for his hard work, usually unseen but never unappreciated, and I am looking forward to being able to thank him properly when our AGM eventually takes place. I would also be thanking Janice Brockbank for taking over as secretary, and Brian Whalley for joining the committee last summer and agreeing to succeed Antoinette Fawcett as our membership secretary. The handover from Antoinette will take place in the coming weeks and I am grateful to her for the wonderful job she has done in the role, as well as editing ‘Comet’ which she will continue to do. Thank you also to all our fantastic committee – Antoinette, Glenn, Sue, Dot, Brian Charnley, Chris, Janice and Brian Whalley - who have steered us through another busy year.
If you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me by email: [email protected]
We will be in touch with details of the rearranged AGM and our other plans for the year ahead when the health crisis abates. In the meantime, my very best wishes to you and yours while we all remain ‘confined as a limpet’.
Charlie Lambert
Chair
March 26th 2020
If nothing else, this national lockdown perhaps gives us a better understanding of the issue that stayed with Norman throughout his adult life. He was never completely free of the tuberculosis which was such a defining episode. His words in The Pot Geranium have a clearer resonance now:
My ways are circumscribed, confined as a limpet
To one small radius of rock…
I imagine that those lines resonate with all of us. Living with restrictions, and ever watchful lest a cold or flu should bring about a relapse, Norman was a pioneer of what we now know as ‘social distancing’.
The year may be ending under a cloud but it can’t obscure a lively and rewarding 12 months. It was wonderful to see so many people at the Norman Nicholson Festival, including the Mayor, Councillor Angela Dixon, and many who do not usually attend our events. To feel the vibrant atmosphere in the Network Centre and the Beggar’s Theatre, and to see how uplifted people felt after visiting St George’s Church and Norman’s old house, was an absolute joy. The feedback afterwards was very encouraging, and the good vibes kept coming as we saw some remarkable work published in ‘Comet’, the result of the creative writing sessions held during the festival. We estimated that well over £4,000 had been generated for Millom businesses over the weekend. So all in all, it was an initiative that paid off handsomely and we look forward to the next festival in 2021. My thanks to the funders: the Arts Council, Millom Town Council, and Millom CGP Trust; also the speakers and performers; the shops, organisations and individuals who backed us; all of you who came to the events; and our committee members who worked above and beyond to make it happen.
We can also look back on a visit to the Cumbria Archive Centre and Carlisle Cathedral, our annual Christmas lunch at Grange-over-Sands, and a number of events at 14 St George’s Terrace – an Open Day in November, a day of poetry readings on Nicholson’s birthday in January, and visits from the U3A and Cumbria University MA students.
This brings me on to Project 14, our campaign to acquire Norman’s old home. In 2018 our application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for just over £500,000 was turned down. After that the Lottery changed their structure and processes, so when we tried again last year there was a new system. We had to file an Expression of Interest before we could submit a formal application. We did so, but to our dismay this was rejected. However, we are not deterred. We have used the months since then to rebuild our project, maximising the building’s potential as a focal point for a social enterprise which will not only preserve Norman’s literary legacy but will also make a positive contribution to the wellbeing of the town.
The committee thought it wise to review the governance of the Society in the light of our ambitions to post another six-figure application. Through Cumbria CVS we had extensive consultations with a business advisor (whose time was generously funded by Copeland Council) and the decision was made to set up a separate organisation to run Project 14 and operate the house when we are successful. Therefore, I am pleased to announce now that the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company (CIC) was formally registered at Companies House a fortnight ago with a board of directors consisting of some familiar names – Sue Dawson, Janice Brockbank and myself, all also on the Society’s committee, and Phil Houghton, consultant to the construction industry, poet, and a long-standing member of the Society. Two other directors have been appointed – Mel Narongchai, head teacher of Haverigg School, and Nick Lancaster, a consultant to the tourism and hospitality sector and until recently MD of Langdale Leisure. We have also gained active support from Trudy Harrison, MP for Copeland, and Katie Read, Copeland’s Tourism Officer, both of whom will be important allies as we move forward.
We intend to submit another Expression of Interest in the coming months and we will approach other funders as well.
Project 14 is time-consuming and provides emotional peaks and troughs, but the main activity of our Society remains the study and promotion of Norman Nicholson’s life and work. This year has seen some remarkable examples of Nicholson being appreciated by a widening audience, from the University of Cumbria including Nicholson in their new MA syllabus and in their inspirational series of talks in Ambleside, to Andy Goldsworthy’s dramatic interpretation of ‘Wall’ at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
Another significant development this year has been the creation of a productive relationship with the Wordsworth Trust, and an invitation from them to contribute to an exhibition in Grasmere to mark the 200th anniversary of the Duddon Sonnets. We continue to be involved with the Alliance of Literary Societies and LitHouses, and we have joined the recently-launched Cumbria Arts & Culture Network. So there is a lot of positive activity taking place.
If we were meeting in Haverigg as scheduled this weekend I would be paying tribute to Glenn Lang, who has stepped down after nine years as our secretary. I know that all our members will feel the same debut of gratitude to Glenn for his hard work, usually unseen but never unappreciated, and I am looking forward to being able to thank him properly when our AGM eventually takes place. I would also be thanking Janice Brockbank for taking over as secretary, and Brian Whalley for joining the committee last summer and agreeing to succeed Antoinette Fawcett as our membership secretary. The handover from Antoinette will take place in the coming weeks and I am grateful to her for the wonderful job she has done in the role, as well as editing ‘Comet’ which she will continue to do. Thank you also to all our fantastic committee – Antoinette, Glenn, Sue, Dot, Brian Charnley, Chris, Janice and Brian Whalley - who have steered us through another busy year.
If you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me by email: [email protected]
We will be in touch with details of the rearranged AGM and our other plans for the year ahead when the health crisis abates. In the meantime, my very best wishes to you and yours while we all remain ‘confined as a limpet’.
Charlie Lambert
Chair
March 26th 2020