Tag Archives: St Mary's

NEXT EVENT: A Sense of Place (Saturday 27th April)

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The first Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival event will take place on Saturday 27t April from 10.30am until pm in the beautiful, historic parish church of St Mary the Virgin – a highly atmospheric setting for this event’s theme, A Sense of Place.

The programme will address the theme from many different angles, with talks by the following authors:

  • AA Abbott, psychological thriller author
  • Sophia Ashe, author of “Ride Like a Gaucho”, an memoir of Argentina
  • Lucienne Boyce, historical novelist and historian
  • Tiggy Greenwood, author of a children’s trilogy of novels, starting with The Holder of Annanbourne
  • Felice Hardy, travel writer and author of family biography The Tennis Champion Who Fled the Nazis
  • Stephen Oram, author of near-future speculative fiction
  • Lisa Overton, author & art historian
  • Bill Wood, undertaker and author of “An Odd Undertaking”
  • Mark Rutterford, performing a story he has written especially for the occasion

Plus there’ll be readings of poetry and prose by the ever-popular Gerard Boyce.

The event will be chaired by HULF Founder and Director Debbie Young, who will combine this fascinating line-up into a coherent whole.

VENUE

Our venue, the beautiful ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin, may be chilly, so please wrap up warm. Seating is on antique wooden church pews – feel free to bring a cushion! Free parking available in the adjacent field. Please leave the hardstanding in front of the church free for those with limited mobility.

REFRESHMENTS

Tea, coffee and cake are included in the ticket price. Savoury food such as soup and sandwiches will be on sale for lunch during the break at 1pm.

BOOK SALES

A £2 book voucher is included with the ticket, valid at the event. All our speakers give their time for free, so please make the most of your voucher to support them by buying their books! A book stall manned by the authors will be open before and after the talks and during the breaks.

BOX OFFICE

Click here to book your tickets in advance via our box office hosted by Eventbrite.

Please note advance booking is essential to ensure we have plenty of cake for all!

photo of the Festival venue, St Mary's Hawkesbury
Our venue: the historic parish church of St Mary the Virgin, which predates the Domesday Book

This event will be dedicated to the memory of Clare Weiner, who wrote as Mari Howard, a fervent supporter of HULF from its founding in 2015, and a frequent speaker and reader at past events.

logo block for April 2023 event

HULF TALK: Festival of Words

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Saturday 22nd April (10.30am-5pm)

The first HULF Talk of 2023 will be a new departure for us: an all-day event at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury, situated in the delightful ancient hamlet just down the hill from Farm Pool, Hawkesbury Upton.

All profits from the day will be donated to the Friends of St Mary’s, which exists to maintain this beautiful part of our local heritage for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

The event will be provide a wonderful assortment of talks and readings to celebrate the rich delights of English language and literature, including:

  • The Language of Bells
    A talk by Tower Captain Colin Dixon with readings
    by Bill Fairney, Michael Macmahon & Debbie Young
  • Jargon in Fiction
    1) School Story Slang
    A talk by Debbie Young
    2) Pugs, Bruisers & the Fancy: The Language of Pugilism
    A talk by Lucienne Boyce
  • Cracking Codes in the Second World War
    1) The Enigma Machine – A talk byBill Fairney
    2) The Colditz Code – A talk by Ian Macfadyen
  • Utter Nonsense! – Jabberwocky and other nonsense verse
    Readings and interpretations by Gerard Boyce
  • Putting Words in Other People’s Mouths
    A talk about the challenges of ghostwriting by professional ghostwriter John Lynch
  • How New Words Are Chosen for the Dictionary
    A talk by professional lexicographer Jennifer Hurd, from the Oxford English Dictionary
  • How Tyndale Enriched the English Language
    A talk tb Lisa Overton about William Tyndale, as influential as Shakespeare in the development of English
  • Lost in Translations
    A talk by Gerard Boyce with readings from Brian Friel’s play Translations
  • Setting Words to Music
    A conversation about lyrics with Ben Humphries, Music Director of Badminton Benefice
  • Ancient or Modern
    1) Gadzookery or OK? – A conversation about historical novels with historical novelists Lucienne Boyce & Jean Burnett
    2) Trespasses or Sins? – A conversation about the language of the liturgy with Rev Richard Thomson & Rev Trevor Stubbs
  • The Old Testament – Word of God or History Book?
    A talk by Tina Stubbs, author of Disowning the Violence
  • Brevity as the Soul or Wit
    Clever quotes & memorable mottos with Michael Macmahon
  • A calligraphy exhibition of pieces celebrating words and language

Chairing the afternoon will be HULF Director and local author Debbie Young.

REFRESHMENTS

As ever, tea, coffee, cake and biscuits will be included in the ticket price of £5 per head.

There will be a one-hour break for lunch when guests are welcome to picnic in the church and its grounds, and to enjoy the calligraphy exhibition.

An optional sit-down lunch of home-made quiche, salad, and fruit, served in the historic setting of the ancient Malthouse opposite the church, by kind courtesy of Lisa and Christopher Overton, will be bookable in advance for £10 per head. Wine and soft drinks will be available to buy on the day for a small extra charge. With just 30 seats available, early booking is advised.

PARKING

There will be ample free on-site parking in the adjacent field on the day.

Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival is a series of not-for-profit book-related events run by Debbie Young. This is a HULF Mini event. For more information about HULF, please visit www.hulitfest.com.

Our stunning venue: St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury – photo by Sir Ian Macfadyen