What's OnSPRING EVENT - GEO WEEK CUMBRIA 2022
Saturday May 14th 2022 Saturday Morning Geology introduced by Brian Whalley, University of Sheffield and the Norman Nicholson Society. As part of Cumbria GeoWeek the Norman Nicholson Society is organising a Talk and Walk introduction to the local geology in collaboration with the Millom Heritage and Arts Centre(with a repeat at 12.00). 11.00 An introduction to the geology of the Millom area (20-25 minutes) 11.30 A walk around central Millom to look at the geology in and around the town (20-25 minutes). Repeated at 12.00 (talk) and 12.30 (walk). Meet at the Heritage and Arts Centre (Millom Railway Station, LA18 5AA). No booking necessary. * Afternoon session (this is now CONFIRMED): A Local Habitation Led by Antoinette Fawcett, Glenn Lang and Brian Whalley 14.00 to 15.30 A talk and discussion about ‘A Local Habitation’, Nicholson’s 1972 volume that includes poems linking geology and Millom (Great Day, The Borehole, Bee Orchid at Hodbarrow, Scree, Hodbarrow Flooded, On the Closing of Millom Ironworks etc). At St George's Church, Millom LA18 4HX. Admission free, all welcome. Entries accompanied by the Society's 'comet' logo are organised by the Society. Information about events organised by others are published in good faith but the Society cannot be held responsible for any errors or changes to such information.
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Previous![]() AGM
Saturday April 23rd 2022 1100 by Zoom The Society's AGM took place on Saturday April 23rd 2022 at 11am, using the Zoom platform. Over the past 12 months our membership has increased and we are in a sound position financially. Society members can find detailed reports from our officers in the Members' Area on this website. If you're a member and you haven't yet registered for this area, the details are HERE. Four committee members whose three-year terms had expired were re-elected: Antoinette Fawcett, Charlie Lambert, Glenn Lang and Sue Dawson. Our thanks to all members who attended and especially to Laura Day who presented a superbly researched and constructed talk on Nicholson's 1948 collection Rock Face after the formalities were over. ![]() Birthday Celebration
Saturday January 8th 2022 1200 by Zoom We celebrated the birthday of Norman Nicholson (1914-1987) at a special Zoom Event on Saturday January 8th. There were a selection of readings from Nicholson’s work, one for every month of the year, and an update on our plans for 2022. ![]() Saturday December 18 2021
1230 for 1pm Christmas Lunch Netherwood Hotel, Grange-over-Sands Our annual Christmas get-together! ![]() Wednesday November 3* 2021
7.30pm-9pm Online event via Zoom A Poetry Landmark: Reading Norman Nicholson's 'To the River Duddon'. A seminar led by Dr Antoinette Fawcett. Antoinette Fawcett led an informative and much-appreciated online seminar discussing Nicholson's poem 'To the River Duddon', as the Society's autumn event for 2021. The poem, which was published in 1944 in Nicholson's first collection Five Rivers, gave Antoinette plenty to discuss, from the geographical significance of the Duddon, to textual changes in the poem over the decades, to the differing viewpoints of Nicholson and Wordsworth. Among the attendees we were delighted to see two speakers from the Norman Nicholson Festival, the poet Ken Cockburn and Dr Andrew Frayn of Edinburgh Napier University, as well as attendees from the USA and Australia, students from the University of Cumbria, and our own members from across the country. September 22 2021
'Sea to the West - Nicholson's Past and Present' 5.30pm. Online. A lecture by Laura Day, MA student at the University of Durham and a member of the Norman Nicholson Society committee, exploring how the poems in this 1981 collection address issues which resonated with Nicholson throughout his adult life. This was part of the university's Late Summer Lecture Series. June 10 - Sept 12 2021
'Still Glides the Stream' - Wordsworth's Journey Down The River Duddon. Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere An exhibition (held over from 2020) to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth's birth and the 200th anniversary of the Duddon Sonnets. Featuring a collaboration with the Norman Nicholson Society. Details at https://wordsworth.org.uk/ ![]() Saturday June 26 / Sunday June 27 2021
Norman Nicholson Festival The Society's second biennial two-day festival was a resounding success. Taking place on Zoom because of continuing risks posed by the Covid pandemic, the festival attracted attendees from all over the UK as well as the USA, Canada, India and New Zealand. The opening session on Saturday afternoon featured the Scottish poet Ken Cockburn and Jeff Cowton, Curator and Head of Learning at Wordsworth Grasmere. Between the two talks, our chair Charlie Lambert gave an update on the Norman Nicholson's Millom trails app (Android users click HERE for Google Play. iPhone users click HERE for the Apple Store). Saturday evening consisted of a delightful evening of poetry, as 14 poets who contributed to our recent anthology The Unpredicted Spring came together via Zoom to read and discuss their work. On Sunday we enjoyed talks by two of the Society's younger members - Laura Day, who is studying for her PhD at Durham University, and Jack Threlfall Hartley who is working towards his PhD at Oxford University. Charlie Lambert unveiled the Norman Nicholson Audio Archive. The festival concluded with an appreciation of the two days by Kathleen Jones, vice-president of the Society and Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. All events were free but attendees were invited to make a donation to the Nicholson House Project. This raised a very impressive £594 through our GoFundMe campaign - thank you to everyone who contributed. Our thanks also go to Millom Town Council and Millom CGP Trust for supporting the festival financially. ![]() Saturday April 24 2021
AGM and talk by Dr Penny Bradshaw, Head of English at the University of Cumbria Laura Day and Jack Threlfall Hartley were elected to the committee. Our treasurer Brian Charnley was re-elected for another three years. Brian Whalley was confirmed as a committee member having been co-opted in 2019. Members also approved Brian's appointment as Membership Secretary, and Janice Brockbank's appointment to the role of Secretary was likewise approved. Dot Richardson and Chris Donaldson stepped down from the committee at this AGM. We thank them for their hard work on behalf of the Society. ![]() Friday January 8th 2021
Norman Nicholson Birthday Celebration Online event The Society held its first virtual event when committee member Brian Whalley hosted a gathering on Zoom to mark Norman Nicholson's birthday. The event featured a reading of three Nicholson poems, Christmas Carol for the First Man in the Moon, read by Antoinette Fawcett, Winter Song, read by Charlie Lambert, and The Unpredicted Spring, read by Kathleen Jones. Christmas Carol for the First Man in the Moon has never been published in book form and was recently uncovered by Antoinette who published it in the latest edition of Comet. Kathleen gave an update on the book of poems from our Lockdown Poetry Competition which the Society is publishing, taking as its title The Unpredicted Spring. She then read the two winning poems, Learning Whimbrel by Martyn Halsall, and Silently Ignoring the World by Katie Deutsch. ![]() Saturday March 28th
AGM of the Norman Nicholson Society at Haverigg Primary School, 2 Atkinson Street, Haverigg, LA18 4HA, by kind permission of Mrs M Narongchai, Head Teacher. - CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS. ![]() Wednesday January 8th 2020
'Where your verse lives rooted like a tree' Poetry-reading event at 14 St George's Terrace to celebrate Nicholson's 106th birthday. We marked the date with a series of readings in different rooms of his lifelong home - and on the pavement outside. We also heard audio recordings of Norman reading his poems 'Scafell Pike', 'Weeds', and 'The Pot Geranium'. It was quite an experience to hear his words - prose as well as poetry - coming to life through a variety of voices in his own environment. photos: JANICE BROCKBANK and CHARLIE LAMBERT Christmas 2019
Millom The Society took part in the annual Christmas Tree Festival in St George's Church. The theme was 'Home and Away' so we seized the opportunity to focus on the popularity of Nicholson's work in other countries and in other languages. The decorations represented five different languages that Norman's work was translated into: Welsh, Dutch, Danish, Italian and Russian. There were other languages but we focused on these five. Christmas greetings were written in the five different languages and included on the tree. ![]() Saturday December 14th
Christmas Lunch 2019 Our annual festive celebration for members of the Society at the Netherwood Hotel. pics by PHIL HOUGHTON
![]() Thursday November 7th
Open Day, Millom Our Open Day at 14 St George's Terrace was a big success. Attendance exceeded expectations, and it was great to see the house buzzing with interested visitors who included one gentleman who travelled specially from Carlisle, a couple who booked overnight accommodation in Millom in order to attend, and youngsters from Haverigg Primary School. Very positive responses all round, and some fascinating insights. Thank you to all who came. ![]() Saturday October 19th 2019
Autumn Event Visit to Cumbria Archive Centre and Carlisle Cathedral. Morning session at Carlisle/Cumbria Archive Centre to meet Christine Boyce and view her archive. Christine is the designer of the Nicholson memorial window in St George's Church, Millom. Afternoon session at Carlisle Cathedral for a guided tour, followed by access to the Prior's Room, a medieval room not normally open to the public. We discussed a number of Nicholson's poems, led by Helen and David Weston of the Cathedral Poetry Group, and Martyn Halsall, former Poet in Residence at the Cathedral. ![]() ![]() Sat April 13th 2019
'Cumberland and Westmorland' and our AGM, Millom The Society's AGM took place at the Baptist Church meeting room, Crown Street, Millom. Minutes will be available to members in due course. The meeting was followed by a session open to all, featuring a talk by the poet Phil Houghton to mark the 70th anniversary of Nicholson's prose work Cumberland and Westmorland, and a presentation by Max Long, Cambridge University PhD student, who has studied Nicholson's topographical notebooks.
![]() Sat December 8th, Christmas Lunch 2018.
Netherwood Hotel, Grange over Sands We enjoyed a lovely get-together to celebrate Christmas and the endof another busy year for the Society. The staff at the Netherwood Hotel looked after us impeccably, as usual.
![]() Sat Oct 20th 2018
Autumn Event: Josefina de Vasconcellos (1904-2005) Venue: Haverigg School, Atkinson Street, Haverigg LA18 4HA An opportunity to find out about the sculptor and her friendship with Norman Nicholson. Josefina's work included a bust of Nicholson and the striking 'Escape to Light' work which is located at Haverigg. Programme comprised talk and Q&A by Shawn Williamson, sculptor and former pupil of Josefina. Talk by Chris Powell, former Warden of the Harriet Boat. Walk to Haverigg beach to see 'Escape to Light,' Josefina's last sculpture. Reading and discussion of four of Nicholson's poems reflecting his interest in rock, geology and sculpture, led by Antoinette Fawcett. Friday Sept 28th, Saturday Sept 29th 2018
When Percy met Norman The Settlement at Castle Hill Maryport CA15 6BQ A two-day festival celebrating the meeting 59 years ago of Norman Nicholson and the Maryport artist Percy Kelly. Talks, readings, workshops and exhibitions inspired by the art and poetry of the 'Cumbrian Brothers'.
Organised by the Maryporters Town Team and the Settlement at Castle Hill. www.castlehilltrust.org.uk ![]() Sat Sept 15th 2018
Creative Writing Workshop at Cockley Moor, led by poet and biographer Kathleen Jones. Friday July 27th
Millom Library 'Why is a football reporter from Liverpool nuts about Nicholson?' A talk by Charlie Lambert, chair of the Norman Nicholson Society and former BBC NW Sports Correspondent. Organised by Millom Library. The Closing of Millom Ironworks![]() Saturday July 7th 2018
Summer Event: The Closing of Millom Ironworks Millom Methodist Church We marked the 50th anniversary of the ironworks closure, an event which features significantly in Nicholson's poetry. Local writer Bill Myers gave a fascinating and informative talk which traced the reasons for the closure of the works. Bill also went back through the decades to describe the original establishing of the works and the way thousands of families moved to Millom for the new jobs from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Midlands, Devon and Cornwall. After lunch Bill led a walk to the Ironworks site while Antoinette Fawcett facilitated a creative writing exercise for those who preferred not to walk. The event ended with the reading and discussion of three of Nicholson's poems inspired by the closure of 1968: 'Glen Orchy', 'On the Closing of Millom Ironworks', and 'On the Dismantling of Millom Ironworks'. Our thanks to Bill, to the Methodist Church, and to all who attended. AGM 2018![]() Saturday April 14th 2018
Millom Cricket Club The Society's AGM was held at Millom Cricket Club. The chair, Charlie Lambert, welcomed members and described the past 12 months as a year of interest, expansion and no little excitement, recalling among other highlights the Society's appearance on 'Songs of Praise,' the commemoration of Nicholson's death 30 years ago, our Lottery grant of £9,900, our visit to Blencathra Field Studies Centre and a second visit to Millom by students from Nottingham University. Charlie paid tribute to Peggy Troll and Janice Savage who passed away over the year, and also to Alan Thomson who, while not a member, was a keen supporter of our events. In the case of Peggy, whose loss is still deeply felt by all of us, Charlie expressed his personal gratitude for Peggy's inspirational support and encouragement. Dr Chris Donaldson, in absentia, was confirmed as a member of the committee, having been co-opted earlier in the year. Full minutes of the AGM will be circulated to members in due course. The event included lunch, a boundary walk of the cricket field led by local historian Marshall Mossop, and a talk by Charlie Lambert, inspired by Nicholson's enthusiasm for the sport, entitled Nostalgia is the besetting sin of many who write about cricket. Phillipson LectureWed April 4th 2018
Dalton Local History Society's annual Phillipson Lecture. Dr Antoinette Fawcett spoke about Norman Nicholson at St.Mary`s Church Centre, Market Place, Dalton-in-Furness. The enthusiastically-received lecture, named in honour of the Society's former Chair, John Phillipson, was entitled: 'Norman Nicholson - A Regional Poet?' and presented some of the research Antoinette carried out at the John Rylands Library and the Whitehaven Archive in 2016. The talk showed that Nicholson's work was not only important at a local and regional level, but that it had national and international significance. She explored Nicholson's many links with Scandinavia and Italy and discussed some of the reasons why his work was interesting to readers, writers and translators from these cultures, particularly in the post-war world of the late 1940s and 50s. Christmas Tree Festival![]() Saturday Dec 9th 2017 (continuing until Jan 3rd)
Millom Christmas Tree Festival, St George's Church, Millom Christmas lunch 2017Sat Dec 2nd
The Netherwood Hotel, Grange over Sands. ![]() Our third annual Christmas lunch was another thoroughly enjoyable occasion, as members gathered at the Netherwood Hotel in Grange-over Sands. Once again the hotel looked after us splendidly, reserving a lounge for our exclusive use before and after the meal, while the lunch itself was served with a wonderful view of Morecambe Bay among the trimmings.
Norman Nicholson's Vision
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