Hobnobbing

The Alnwick Garden

A while back I posted that I'd started doing some volunteer work in my spare time, for a local charity that runs a social group for people with learning difficulties. It turns out that it was even more rewarding than I expected as I received an unexpected invite to a party last week. It was, by my standards anyway, a high class affair but then I'm more used to a sausage roll and a can of vimto at my parties.

Our Hostess, The Duchess of Northumberland

The occasion was the first annual Lord Lieutenant's Garden Party for Volunteers and Carers in Northumberland hosted by the Lord Lieutenant herself, who also happens to be the Duchess of Northumberland. Such a prestigious gathering demands a venue to match and luckily enough the Duchess knows of one - The Alnwick Garden, just outside her house, and a pet project of hers.

Garden Sculpture

Naturally I was allowed to bring a guest along and I could think of no more deserving person than my own dear mother, who's recently recovered from a painful knee operation. I always get a bit stressed on what to wear for occasions like this and the invitation letter gave only subtle hints on this subject. For instance it's never a good idea to tell someone like me to 'please wear what you feel comfortable in' or there's a good chance I'll turn up in my boxer shorts. Similarly when it says 'ladies may wish to wear a hat' is that a discreet way of saying 'WEAR A HAT!!'? One can never tell with posh people. The final hint was that 'a 'Garden Party' theme is very much encouraged' but I guessed that didn't mean I could wear my Hawaiian shirt. In the event we decided on a 'smart casual' look, me in a decent shirt but no tie, and mam in a hat but with an option to leave it in the car.

Water features

In the event mam's choice was wiser than mine (no surprise there). The Duchess herself was wearing a hat so that validated mam's decision instantly. I on the other hand was probably the scruffiest bloke there, with pretty much everyone else wearing a morning suit or at least a tie. Bah.

Fountain Rainbow

Poor wardrobe choices aside, the rest of the day was great. The weather was dry and sunny, there was free grub and we had a lovely stroll round the gardens enjoying the various water features, plants and flowers. The only thing we missed out on was talking to the Duchess as she circulated among the various guests. This was an unfortunate consequence of me prioritising food over socialising, though anyone who knows me will cheerfully admit I'd cheerfully barge HM The Queen over if it meant getting my paws on a cream bun.Who knows, perhaps one day I'll get the chance to?

Garden

Whoosh

The Late Shows 2 - The Geek in The Keep

Newcastle at night. As seen from the roof of the Castle

 If it's May it must be time for The Late Shows, the annual 'culture crawl' around Newcastle, when the city's galleries, museums and historical attractions throw open their doors late at night. The Late Shows has been around since 2007 in Newcastle but this was only my third year of being involved as a volunteer.  For the previous two I was based in St Nicholas' Cathedral but this year I got my dream gig of being in the Castle Keep, just down the road. For a castle-lover like me, there couldn't be a better place to spend a Saturday night.

Busy

The role of the volunteer is simple - welcome visitors, answer any queries and hand out the Late Shows speciality (and very popular) glowsticks. I arrived at the castle as requested at 18.30, ahead of the scheduled opening at 19.00, and got a taste of how intimidating the building is as I climbed the first set of stairs to knock on the large locked door.
Once inside I had a quick scurry around to see what lay in store for our visitors. In addition to the building itself, as a special Late Shows treat there was a band playing in the Great Hall and an art installation on the roof. Speaking of the roof, I knew the opportunity to see Newcastle at night (see the above picture) from one the highest points accessible would be a big draw in itself. Once I'd satisfied my own curiosity I took up station at the entrance and awaited the grand opening.

Still busy

The next four hours are pretty much a blur. For a large building, the interior can be quite cramped (mainly due to the thick walls) and there was a joyous, if slightly claustrophobic, atmosphere as hordes of people descended on us. At times it felt like we were under siege so great was the tide, and we were forced to regulate the people coming in due to overcrowding. Come chucking-out time at 23.00 I was still turning people away.




 


When I left the Keep there was still one suprise in store, the entire side of the building was lit up by a projection especially for The Late Shows. A spectacular end to a breathless night.

A projection on the castle walls

Hexham Book Festival 2014

So spring is here and I've emerged from hibernation to start blogging again. Rejoice!
The subject of this particular blog is a book festival I've been attending in the nearby town of Hexham, where various authors have been giving talks on the books they've written . It first came to my attention last year but I never got round to attending any of the talks so I promised myself this year would be different.

I wasn't expecting to find that much of interest to me, thinking most of the books would be about detectives, boy wizards or kinky sex, and my own area of interest, medieval history, would be ignored. How wrong I was...

What better setting for medieval history?

The first talk I found of interest was given by Alison Weir, who wrote the first account I ever read on The Wars of The Roses so I owe her a lot. Even better, the lecture was to be given in Hexham Abbey, which has it's own connection to the Roses War, as it's believed Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duck of Somerset and Lancastrian commander, is buried there after being executed after the Battle of Hexham in 1464. The subject of the talk was Alison's latest book, an account of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, whose marriage to Henry Tudor united the warring factions and ushered in the Tudor age. Elizabeth is far from my favourite character in this period but I found the talk entertaining and the Q & A session that followed was quite lively; Alison didn't come across as a great fan of Richard III and I think some of his fans were in...

I then attended a talk on the 1513 Battle of Flodden, which saw the biggest ever Scottish invasion of England. This was in the less evocative setting of The Queen's Hall, the local theatre, given by author George Goodwin. This was less well attended than the Alison Weir lecture but I found his style very engaging and thoroughly enjoyed the talk.

The Yurt, location for badger-chat

 Next up was a talk given by Phillipa Langley, who sprang to fame last year during the discovery of the body of Richard III in a car park in Leicester. Phillipa, of the Richard III society, was the key figure in raising the funds and directing the operations of the dig. I saw a documentary on the excavation and Phillipa came across as a determined, if slightly bonkers, character but that was more to do with tv editing I think. In the flesh she was as passionate as I expected but (thankfully) not as intense.

A nice young man from The Guardian

I also attended a bonus talk (if you bought tickets for three you were able to choose a fourth for free) so picked a subject I have a passing interest in - badgers. A friendly young man from the Guardian, Patrick Barkham, was promoting a book he'd written on everyones favourite black and white mammals so I popped in to the yurt (yes, a yurt) to see his talk. Once I'd overcome my hilarity at seeing a guardian nature writer who actually did feature glasses, a neat beard and a jumper (I didn't check to see if he was wearing sandals), I became engrossed in the talk and came away both enlightened and entertained. At one point he asked for a show of hands, confirming at a stroke my suspicion that I am indeed the only person in Hexhamshire who's never seen a badger :-(

Here's to Bookfest 2015!