Tag Archives: Activities

King Henry VIII focus of author event at Lord Leycester

Warwick Books and Warwickshire Libraries and Information Service, as part of their ‘Meet The Author’ series, are bringing two authors to the Lord Leycester Hospital on Wednesday 2nd May.

The night will be an opportunity to discover more about the legend that is King Henry VIII.  Harriet Castor, whose historical novel VIII tackles the life of the young king and she will be joined by Nicola Shulman, a historian whose work Graven with Diamonds is an account of the life of Thomas Wyatt, a poet and courtier in the time of the notorious monarch.

The family life that drove him to the levels of cruelty that marked his reign is the subject of much of VIII and his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon is also integral.  Graven with Diamonds  is subtitled The Many Lives of Thomas Wyatt: Courtier, Poet, Assassin, Spy and casts a historian’s light on the life of one of the key figures in King Henry’s court, a poet who held heavy influence over the young king and his minister, the sinister Thomas Cromwell.  Through his poetry as well as accounts of his eventful life, Nicola Shulman paints an evocative picture of the age.

The event is priced at £3.50 (£2.00 concessions), part of the library’s Meet the Author series of talks by leading writers, takes place at 7.00pm.  Previous authors have included Emma Donoghue, author of ‘Room’, and Sally Vickers.

Tickets must be booked in advance from Warwick Books on 499939 or at Warwick Library on 412189, Kenilworth Books on 855784 or Kenilworth Library on 748900.

Keith Smith of Warwick Books said “Both of these authors will bring a unique insight into the life of one of the country’s most famous and notorious monarchs and will provide a fascinating evening for anyone interested in this period of English history.”

Kate Mackie of Warwickshire Libraries said “We continue our work with Warwick Books in providing first class authors. This evening is a departure from our usual venue at Warwick Library as the Lord Leycester Hospital is able to offer a more appropriate historical setting to the evening.”

For the full Meet the Author programme (see www.warwickbooks.net).

Further information on upcoming events at Warwick Library can be found at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/events

How do we know about Warwickshire’s past?

An exciting new series of discovery sessions involving lively discussions, artefacts, archives, specimens and illuminating information about Warwickshire’s past starts at Warwickshire County Record Office next month.

Held in the spacious searchroom at the record office, these regular sessions, entitled How Do We Know…? will focus on different topics across the Warwickshire Museum collections, including archaeology, geology, social history and archives.

The first session ‘How Do We Know Where all the Archaeological Sites are in Warwickshire?’ takes place on Saturday 25 February at 2pm. In this session Ben Wallace, the Historic Environment Record Manager from Warwickshire County Council, invites people to come and find out about the Warwickshire Historic Environment Record.

The record has information about all types of archaeological sites and monuments in the county covering all periods of the past from prehistoric through to modern. Who knows what workshop attendees will be able to find in their local area.

‘How Do We Know About Warwickshire’s Geological Past?’ is for those keen to know more about Warwickshire’s ancient landscape. On Saturday 24 March at 2pm, attendees are invited to learn all about how the rocks and fossils in the field and in the museum collections act as evidence for Warwickshire’s changing environments, climates and ecology through time. Jon Radley, Curator of Natural Sciences at Warwickshire Museum will lead the informative session.

Finally for this season, those interested in researching their family tree are invited to attend ‘How Do We Know About Our Family History?’ on Saturday 21 April at 2pm. This practical session for ‘absolute beginners’ will provide lots of opportunity to use the local and national sources available at the County Record Office, including parish registers, census records and online sites.

Rowan Fisher, Learning and Community Engagement Officer for Warwickshire County Council, said: “This exciting new series is a great opportunity for those keen to learn more about your areas of interest or discover something altogether new with experts and specialists from the relevant fields.”

All sessions take place at Warwickshire County Record Office, Priory Park, off Cape Road, Warwick, CV34 4JS and cost £6.00 (concessions £5).. Sessions can be booked on an individual basis.  Please call 01926 738959 to book your place.

Future topics for the summer will include sessions on aspects of the museum’s costume collection and local history archives.

An e-Fayre to remember

Nuneaton Library is to host an e-fayre on Saturday 11th February 10am – 1pm with all members of the public welcome.

An e-fayre will give e-safety advice and online guidance for families with Warwickshire County Council’s senior e-learning adviser.

Items families can find out more about include

·    Saving money online with Nuneaton Credit Union
·    Searching for jobs and training opportunities with a Next Step advisor.
·    Shopping safely online
·    How to set up an email / facebook / twitter account with a Library Information and Learning Officer
·    Web site of the day demonstrations promoting Library Service online information sites such as Britannica Online, Ancestry.com and KnowUK

The eFayre is free for all to drop in –no need to book in advance.

Andrew Button, Warwickshire’s virtual library access manager said:  “This is an ideal opportunity for the public to get free advice on shopping, saving and searching safely online – an activity that is becoming more and more important and relevant to our everyday lives’.

New Year at the County Record Office

County Record OfficeThis new year take a new look at local history and ancestry with January’s programme of events at the County Record Office.

Family Tree Maker on Saturday 21 January from 9.15am to 12.15pm will help people creatively display the results of family history research. The workshop, led by family historian Jennifer Cranfield costs £12 and explores the Family Tree Maker genealogy software programme (2010 version onwards) and shows participates how to get the best out of it.

Get behind the scenes at the County Record Office on Monday 23 January from 10am to 11.30am. An archivist will show visitors how to use the record office, take them on a tour of the strongrooms, and offer a chance to view original records up close whilst explaining how they are cared for. The session fee is £6 or £5 for concessions.

A morning session on Saturday 28 January from 9.15am to 12.15pm gives participants a peek at The Way We Used to Live. The £12 session with local historian Christine Hodgetts will examine what the wills and inventories of our predecessors reveal about their everyday lives, relationships and expectations. It’s a practical session offering experience in finding and reading wills.

All of these workshops take place at Warwickshire County Record Office, which is located at Priory Park, Cape Road, Warwick, CV34 4JS.

Unless otherwise stated, places must be booked in advance by calling Warwickshire County Record Office on 01926 738959.

The record office is involved in safeguarding, managing and developing Warwickshire’s archives so that they can be accessed, interpreted and enjoyed by all those with an interest in Warwickshire’s past and its people. The office houses records dating from the twelfth century up to the twenty first.

For more information about the County Record Office and activities visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cro.

 

Inspired by exhibition

Warwickshire MuseumWarwickshire County Council’s Market Hall Museum in Warwick extends 60th birthday celebrations by inviting families to take part in some free workshops.

The museum celebrated 60 years of being open as a county museum in 2011. ‘Rewind – 60 Years’ a special exhibition called  marked this diamond anniversary and presented objects, specimens and stories that have been collected over this time.

Part of the ‘Rewind – 60 Years’ project involved three artists-in-residence at the Museum getting inspiration from the objects on display to create their own pieces. These artists were Jacqui Rowe a 2D artist and writer, 3D artist Ros Ingram and ceramicist Robin Wade.

The creative trio spent a month working in the museum. During this time they had plenty of time to soak up the history of Market Hall, and get to know the collections and artefacts in more detail which they responded to with their own chosen art form.

To tie together the 60th anniversary exhibition and the artists’ residency, a new show called ‘Inspired by…’ presents their alongside the museum artefacts that inspired them. This repositions collections as not only objects from Warwickshire’s past, but as both natural and human-made works of art themselves.

Museum staff hope families will also come and get ‘Inspired’ with some free and crafty activities on Saturday 21 January 2012. The day offers the chance to explore the new exhibition and take a detective trail around the museum throughout the day or join in with the free workshops between 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

Two interactive craft sessions will be on offer. Families can choose to make a creative 3D collage with fabric and paper using words and images linked to the objects on display or they can join the ceramics workshop, make a storage jar and help construct a collaborative vessel inspired by a Roman jar from Alcester.

Events throughout the day are free and offered on a drop-in basis so there is no need to book. Activities are suitable for all ages but children must be supervised.

Michelle Alexander, Museum and Natural Environment Manager for Warwickshire County Council said: “This will be an imaginative and fun way to mark Warwickshire Museum’s anniversary. We’re looking forward to unveiling the artists’ creative responses to the museum’s collections, and inviting families to come in to create masterpieces of their own.”

Do you run a kids club?

A county information service wants to hear from anyone who runs a local group for children, young people and families in Warwickshire.

The Family Information Service (FIS) is the ‘go to’ agency for anything children and family related. Each year the service helps hundreds of parents work their way around the maze of information relating to things like childcare, support and benefits.

As well as data on registered childcare, the service holds a comprehensive range of information about local activities such as toddler groups, activities, support services, youth groups and sports clubs. It works hard to keep these details current and relevant, and makes them easily accessible to people who search on the Warwickshire Directory.

The service is calling out to anyone running these activities to get in touch and share details about their groups to help parents quickly find out more about services on offer to them.  

Elaine Coates, FIS Manager said: “Our job is to make it as easy as possible for families to find the information they need, but sometimes we have to rely on people keeping us informed about what’s going on in local areas.

“The activity directory is really easy to use and groups can add their own information by following the instructions online at http://directory.warwickshire.gov.uk/, or they can speak to a member of the team about sharing their details by calling 0845 090 8044.”