LIBRARY MATTERS FEBRUARY 2016 www.gladstoneslibrary.org GLADSTONE’S LIBRARY, CHURCH LANE, HAWARDEN, FLINTSHIRE CH5 3DF TEL: +44 (0) 1244 532350 EMAIL: [email protected]WILLIAM GLADSTONE’S FIRST PREMIERSHIP CAME TO AN END ON 17TH FEBRUARY 1874. Gladstone remains the longest serving Prime Minister the country has ever seen; the one who has been Prime Minister the greatest number of times; the oldest person ever to hold the office of Prime Minister; and the oldest person ever to resign from it. Gladstone’s unwavering commitment to learning (emphasised by the extent of his daily reading) continued well into his eighties and is what we pay tribute to and hope, to some small extent, to emulate, in all that we offer here at the Library founded in his name. Here’s what you’ll find going on at Gladstone’s Library over the next couple of months… DEMFEST - A NEW FESTIVAL OF DEMOCRACY 13th - 14th May We are living in tumultuous times. The UK may be on the brink of fracturing and leaving the European Union, power and resources are increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, and the gulf between the UK’s main political parties is rapidly widening. Meanwhile, many possibilities for new forms of democratisation are opening up. Whether through experimentation at community level, developments in online technology or as a result of the growing public appetite there are now far more collaborative and less hierarchical ways of living. DemFest is about getting together in this context to reflect on our current democracy and consider new ways of doing things - its aim is to contribute to the larger-scale and increasingly urgent project of collectively re- making democracy for our times. With a programme of events still expanding and transforming, guests already include Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party; Peter McFadyen, author of Flatpack Democracy and Robin McApline from Common Weal, a ‘think and do tank’ campaigning for social and economic equality in Scotland. Tickets are priced between free and £6 with a £2 Concessions rate. Day Tickets (including 10 events) are priced at £45 or £15 for Concessions. For more information and to book, please call 01244 532350. Easter Craft Fair Saturday, 26th March, 10.30am – 4pm The snowdrops are just beginning to peek their heads through the unbroken earth which means that the warmer weather is on the way! It also signifies the coming of Easter and as such, our annual Easter Craft Fair which takes place throughout our beautiful Grade-I Listed building during the Easter weekend. With a range of stalls offering beautiful handmade crafts and gifts, a bookstall stocking reads for adults and young people, tasty homecooked meals and treats, plus our children’s Easter quiz with prizes, this is a free and fun day out for all the family! Free entry. For more information, please call 01244 532350. organised by Gladstone’s Library in partnership with The Raymond Williams Foundation and The Democratic Society.
Transcript
LIBRARY MATTERS FEBRUARY 2016
www.gladstoneslibrary.org
GLADSTONE’S LIBRARY, CHURCH LANE, HAWARDEN, FLINTSHIRE CH5 3DF
WILLIAM GLADSTONE’S FIRST PREMIERSHIP CAME TO AN END ON 17TH FEBRUARY 1874.
Gladstone remains the longest serving Prime Minister the country has ever seen; the one who has been Prime Minister the greatest number of times; the oldest person ever to hold the office of Prime Minister; and the oldest person ever to resign from it.
Gladstone’s unwavering commitment to learning (emphasised by the extent of his daily reading) continued well into his eighties and is what we pay tribute to and hope, to some small extent, to emulate, in all that we offer here at the Library founded in his name.
Here’s what you’ll find going on at Gladstone’s Library over the next couple of months…
DEMFEST - A NEW FESTIVAL OF DEMOCRACY
13th - 14th MayWe are living in tumultuous times. The UK may be on the brink of fracturing and leaving the European Union, power and resources are increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, and the gulf between the UK’s main political parties is rapidly widening.
Meanwhile, many possibilities for new forms of democratisation are opening up. Whether through experimentation at community level, developments in online technology or as a result of the growing public appetite there are now far more collaborative and less hierarchical ways of living.
DemFest is about getting together in this context to reflect on our current democracy and consider new ways of doing things - its aim is to contribute to the larger-scale and increasingly urgent project of collectively re-
making democracy for our times.
With a programme of events still expanding and transforming, guests already include Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party; Peter McFadyen, author of Flatpack Democracy and Robin McApline from Common Weal, a ‘think and do tank’
campaigning for social and economic equality in Scotland.
Tickets are priced between free and £6 with a £2 Concessions rate. Day Tickets (including 10 events) are priced at £45 or £15 for Concessions. For more information and to book, please call 01244 532350.
Easter Craft FairSaturday, 26th March, 10.30am – 4pmThe snowdrops are just beginning to peek their heads through the unbroken earth which means that the warmer weather is on the way! It also
signifies the coming of Easter and as such, our annual Easter Craft Fair which takes place throughout our beautiful Grade-I Listed building during the Easter weekend. With a range of stalls offering beautiful handmade crafts and gifts, a bookstall stocking
reads for adults and young people, tasty homecooked meals and treats, plus our children’s Easter quiz with prizes, this is a free and fun day out for all the family!
Free entry. For more information, please call 01244 532350.
organised by Gladstone’s Library in partnership with The Raymond Williams Foundation and The Democratic Society.
www.gladstoneslibrary.org
GLADSTONE’S LIBRARY, CHURCH LANE, HAWARDEN, FLINTSHIRE CH5 3DF
READING ISLANDS – AN EVENING WITH WRITER IN RESIDENCE, AMY LIPTROT
WAYS OF SEEING: ART AND FAITH
Over the next few months there are a number of ‘special’ days it is (very) important to keep track of. Mother’s Day (Sunday, 6th March), the May Bank Holiday weekends – all are nominated occasions to stop and spend time with loved ones.
If you’re struggling to think of a meaningful gift, how about a
stay at the Library? There’s no danger of it being considered ‘the same old’ and our serene setting and beautiful surrounding countryside are perfect for walks on which to talk and while away those hours. Other ideas include Sunday Lunch, Afternoon Tea, author readings and masterclasses, or if you really
can’t decide, how about a gift voucher which covers the lot and will allow them to pick and choose?
To check availability and to book, please call 01244 532350.
8th March, 7.30pm for 8pmWhat can we learn from communities on the edge? In this evening of readings, author and journalist Amy Liptrot explores the best writing from the UK’s islands. Amy is the author of The Outrun, a beautifully stark account of her recovery from alcoholism and return
home from London to the remote island of Orkney. It is one of the year’s most successful works of nature writing with extensive praise already from publications including the Guardian and the Independent (and even the Radio Times!). Amy will discuss her two winters living and writing on Papa Westray, one of the UK’s tiniest islands with a population of just 70.
The Outrun is a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
Tickets for this event are priced at £18 which includes a hardback copy of Amy’s book (RRP £14.99). To book your place, please call 01244 532350.
1st – 3rd AprilThe relationship between Christian faith and visual art is an immensely rich one, but it can also be challenging. Join us as we explore some great (and some less great) art from the Middle Ages to the present and use seeing as a means to thinking - about faith, about creativity, about politics and identity, about the rich life of
the imagination and about God.
The weekend is led by Debbie Lewer, Senior Lecturer in History of Art at the University of Glasgow.
Residential prices start from £192, non-residential from £150. Discount rates for clergy and students apply. For more information or to book, please call 01244 532350.
LENT FILMS17th February – 23rd March, 7.15pmOur programme of free fi lm screenings for Lent is underway! In partnership with neighbouring St Deiniol’s Church, over the next four weeks, we’ll be screening a selection of fi lms to provoke thought and refl ection.
Films are as follows:
Wednesday, 17th February PRIDE (Matthew Warchus. 2014. 119 mins)
Wednesday, 24th February WADJDA (Haifaa Al-Mansour. 2012. 98 mins)
Wednesday, 23rd MarchON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan. 1954. 108 mins)
All screenings are completely free and begin at 7.15pm sharp. Everyone is welcome! If you’d like to join us for dinner, served from 6.30pm in Food for Thought, prices start from just £6.75.
For more information or to book dinner, please call 01244 532350.
Sunday Lunch, Afternoon Tea, author readings and masterclasses, or if you really
