Stroud Events

Here’s the current list of things we know about that are happening in the near future.  Where relevant, we’re also listing events a bit further afield that you might be interested in, too. These are local events that are (unless it says otherwise in the listing) run by assorted local groups – these are all independent of the Green Party.

If you are aware of other talks, events, workshops or other community activities in the coming week or so, please do mention them in the comments. If there’s an event you would like our support in promoting, please email the details to brynnethnimue (at) gmail (dot) com.

11th July Kings Stanley market, held in the Village Hall on the 2nd Friday of the month throughout the summer between 3pm and 6.30pm (except August) the last one will be the 12th September. There is a mix of local produce, including Popes sausages, Godsells cheese, Days cider, Stroud brewery, bread, cakes, honey, plants etc, also a variety of craft stalls, books, bric-a-brac, memorabilia and collectables. There is also a community table where anyone can sell plants, fruit and veg with no upfront fees. The playgroup organise a cafe with drinks, cakes and ice-creams.

This is the second year we have been organising the market and it has been very popular. We usually have about 28 stalls and it is generally well attended.

11^th July The ultimate punch line!

How will your death fit into the story of your life? How do you want to be remembered? Join author of Intelligent Designing for Amateurs, Nimue Brown and gothic artist Tom Brown to consider last words, epitaphs, obituaries and punch lines. There will be cake, and comedy, alongside the morbidity. This is part of Stroud’s ‘Clocking Off’ festival.

11^th July, Black Books Cafe, Stroud, Gloucestershire £2.50 on the door

12^th July – Clocking Off Festival, Stroud’s first festival dedicated to death. http://www.subscriptionrooms.org.uk/event_view.asp?pid=12&pgid=&eid=9495 It is in understanding death that we come to appreciate life.

You are invited to take a look at plastics recycling, here in Stroud Venue:  BPI Recycled Products, Bath Road Trading Estate, Stroud Date 10th July, Time 11am Date:   15th July, Time: 7pm

Stroud Valleys Project is Stroud’s local “green space guardian”. As well as protecting, caring for and nurturing Stroud’s local green spaces we champion the sustainability of our local environment and support recycling of all kinds. We would like to invite a select number of guests to come on a tour of the Stroud plant and see local plastics recycling in action. We hope you would like to join us and take part in this rare opportunity. Places are limited and whilst there is no cost involved we invite you to make a donation to our recycling bucket on the day.

Local company, British Polythene Industries or BPI, enjoys an enviable reputation as the leader in the field of polyethylene recycling. BPI is a leading manufacturer and supplier of polythene film (and other products) and they have a manufacturing plant, here, in Stroud on the Bath Road Industrial Estate. The Stroud plant is one of BPI’s four UK manufacturing sites.

BPI is the largest recycler of polyethylene in Europe with the ability to reprocess in excess of 80,000 tonnes each year of post-use material from commercial, retail, industrial and agricultural markets across its Environmental Agency Accredited Sites. Its major products include refuse sacks, recycling sacks, construction membranes, Plaswood street furniture and gas protection membranes.

BPI tell us that their remit includes the promotion of the re-use, recycling and recovery of materials; to improve the environmental performance of their processes by reducing emissions and energy use and to minimise waste, as well as controlling noise and being a responsible and good neighbour. They are also committed to the development of new products and processes using recycled materials and to supporting initiatives which benefit the environment.

We think this will be a fascinating tour of the plant where visitors will gain, first-hand, an insight into the re-use and repurposing of a day-to-day material. We hope you will be able to join us.

To reserve your place or find out more about this visit to BPI, please contact Julie Wickham at Stroud Valleys Project on 01453 753358  or email info@stroudvalleysproject.org

P.S. As well as putting money in our collection box, you can now donate by text.              

        Just text RSVP14 followed by the £ sign and the amount you wish to donate. (i.e. £10).

Fire Springs  - Events Bulletin – Special Event July 2014

Following the celebrations of Laurie Lee, Kevan Manwaring and Jay Ramsay have organised a special day in the George Room at the Sub Rooms in Stroud, which features talks, a film, music and evening performance linking the Dymock Poets on the eve of the First World War (Edward Thomas, Robert Frost, Rupert Brooke et al) with Gloucestershire poets writing now; examining and celebrating shared themes of politics, Nature, relationship and spirituality in a world that War constantly leaves behind...for as long as we rationalize its existence on this planet.

Here are the details from the website of the Cotswold Word Centre:

Saturday 26 July

The Golden Room

Subscription Rooms, Stroud

Talks, Poetry, Film, Art, Music

A centenary symposium celebrating the Dymock Poets, who gathered in Gloucestershire a 100 years ago to write, walk and support each other on their creative journeys.

Featuring talks, panels and creative responses to the work of the Dymock Poets by modern Gloucestershire writers.

Programme (subject to change)

Daytime Programme (10am-5pm)

MC/Co-ordinator: Kevan Manwaring

10:00 – Brief Intro by KM, followed by Keynote Speech by special guest, Jeff Cooper, Chairman, Friends of the Dymock Poets.

The Golden Room and the Dymock Poets
Jeff Cooper is Chairman of the Friends of the Dymock Poets, and grandson of Lascelles Abercrombie. He has a long-standing interest in the poetry of the Edwardian period, having written and edited a number of articles, books and journals. He is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Gloucestershire.

10.30am Edward Thomas, Edward Garnett, and the Pursuit of Literary Worth

A talk on Edward Garnett (publisher of the Dymocks) by Anthony Nanson. Q&A

Edward Thomas was one of a cohort of great writers (including D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, H.E. Bates, W.H. Hudson, and many others) who were mentored by the editor and critic Edward Garnett. Beginning with Garnett’s association with Thomas, this talk examines the continuing relevance of Garnett’s vision for literature of worth and commitment.

Anthony Nanson is the author of Exotic Excursions, Gloucestershire Folk Tales, Words of Re-enchantment, and forthcoming Deep Time and co-editor of Storytelling for a Greener World. He teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University and is related to Edward Garnett through his grandmother, née Barbara Newstead Garnett.

11.30 am – coffee & cakes available in cafe

11.45am Cycling after Thomas and the English – a talk by David Caddy

Inspired by Edward Thomas and his 1913 bike tour, David Caddy climbed on his bicycle and pedalled into history, literature and the history of literature.

David Caddy is a poet, essayist, critic, literary sociologist and historian. He lives and works in rural Dorset from where he has edited the international literary journal Tears in the Fence since 1984. His most recent books are a collection of belles-lettres, So Here We Are (Shearsman 2012) and a book of poetry, The Bunny Poems (Shearsman 2011). He regular publishes essays and criticism on literary and cultural matters. He was co-author of London: City of Words (2006), a literary companion, with Westrow Cooper and directed the Wessex Poetry Festival from 1995-2002 and the Tears in the Fence Festival from 2003-2005.

12.45 – Lunch-break – poetry in the cafe (tbc.)

1.45 – Cotswold Characters: John Drinkwater and Arts and Crafts Movement in the Cotswolds

In 1919 the Dymock poet John Drinkwater moved to Far Oakridge on the instigation of his friend the painter William Rothenstein and there found another community of creative people living the simple life. In the 1890s a group of young architects, Gimson and the Barnsleys, moved to Sapperton and soon a group of makers, artists and writers flourished in ‘enchanted Cotswold country’. This talk explores the ideas and ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Gloucestershire, the work and friendships in this community, and charts their influence in the area to this day.

Kirsty Hartsiotis is Curator of Decorative Arts and Designated Collections at the Wilson Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, where she curates the internationally renowned Arts and Crafts Movement collection. She is also a writer and storyteller, and is the author of Wiltshire Folk Tales and Suffolk Folk Tales.

2.45 – Composers in the Landscape – Richard Carder (music of Ivor Gurney), including performance of songs.

3.20 – Comfort break

3.30 – Film of ‘Severn and Somme’ – inspired by Ivor Gurney (Dymock Poet contemporary) by Redcliffe Productions, introduced by film-maker followed by Q&A

4.30 – Plenary

5.00 – Fin.

Evening Concert (7-10pm)

Start 7.30pm

MC/Co-ordinator: Jay Ramsay

A special Dymock Poets-themed showcase by a glittering array of poets, singers and storytellers.

evening performers will include Adam Horovitz, Gabriel Millar, Jehanne Mehta, Rick Vick, Richard Austin, Marion Fawlk, Angie Spencer, Steve Morris—and Anna Saunders, co-director of the Cheltenham Poetry Festival. Music from Barry Mason & Lina Lotto, the HangHang Duo (playing the extraordinary hang drum). Barry originally toured with Allen Ginsberg as his drummer.

£12.50 for daytime OR evening concert. £20 for both (in advance).

Bookings and Enquiries: 01453 760900

Warm-up Event

Friday 11 July

‘The Road Not Taken’

A one-off script-in-hand performance of a new play based on the lives of the Dymock Poets by K. Manwaring/T. James.

Theatre at Mr Twitchett’s, Subscription Rooms, Friday 11 July, free/donations.

FFI: here

Tickets from Subs on  01453 760 900 or www.subscriptionrooms.org.uk

Not to be missed!

Songs of Change – meets on Tuesday nights at Paganhill Maypole Village Hall. We are led by Sophie Sterckx (formerly “Greatorex”). This is an open group drawing on songs from about peace, the earth, equality, etc.