What's OnDates for
2021 ![]() Saturday April 24 2021
AGM and talk by Dr Penny Bradshaw, Head of English at the University of Cumbria This will be an online event using the Zoom platform. Details will be posted nearer the time. 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![]() 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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