Everyone's been asking about the Sassoon archive. The latest news, in case you haven't already heard it, is that Cambridge University Library has succeeded in acquiring the papers at a price of £1.25 million. We know that many of you contributed to the purchase, and the Fellowship hopes to hold an event in Cambridge this year to celebrate the arrival of the papers at their desitnation.
If you would like to find out more, here is a link to the Reuters news report.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BH00F20091218?type=artsNews
Those who read BBC History Magazine will be interested to hear that Sassoon is featured in the "My History Hero" section in the February 2010 issue - OUT NOW!
Our favourite artist, Soren Hawkes, has sent us this link - take a look!
http://www.legion-magazine.co.uk/picture-galleries/men-horses-and-mud/
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An invitation from The Edward Thomas Fellowship to SSF members to join them
Fields of Vision: an informal study-day devoted to the lives and writings of Richard Jefferies and Edward Thomas Saturday 8th May 2010, Liddington, Wiltshire
This study-day is a collaboration between the Edward Thomas Fellowship and the Richard
Jefferies Society. It will examine both writers, particularly their shared interests and concerns,
and the Wiltshire landscape that they both knew and wrote about.
The distinguished poet, novelist and literary scholar, Jem Poster, who is currently preparing a
new edition of Richard Jefferies: His Life and Work by Edward Thomas for Oxford University
Press, will be the keynote speaker. His lecture is entitled 'First Known When Lost: Edward
Thomas, Richard Jefferies, and the Rural World'. There will also be talks by Richard Emeny (a former Honorary Secretary of the Edward Thomas
Fellowship, who has written and lectured prolifically on Thomas and various related
authors) and Terry Lloyd (a Swindonian, and since childhood an enthusiast for the works of Thomas and Jefferies, who has thoroughly explored their landscapes on foot).
This event will be held in Liddington Village Hall, from 10.30 to 4.30. Participants may bring
a packed lunch or eat in the Village Inn nearby. During lunchtime, publications and other
merchandise from the Edward Thomas Fellowship and the Richard Jefferies Society will be offered for sale in the Village Hall, where there will probably also be a second-hand book stall. All Saints' Church will be open to visitors.
Places at the study-day cost £15 (£5 for students and unemployed people), which include
refreshments but not lunch. Bookings must be made before 1st May. A full programme and a
booking-form can be downloaded from the Fellowship's website at <www.edward-thomas-fellowship.org.uk>.
At the end of the afternoon, there will be an opportunity, using car-share, to visit St James's
Church at Eastbury, Berkshire, which features an impressive engraved-glass window by Laurence Whistler, commemorating Edward and Helen Thomas, and where Helen is buried in the churchyard.
For more information about the study-day, contact
its co-ordinator, Martin Haggerty: <martin@envoy.dircon.co.uk> or 01723 - 37 55 33.
AND.......
In the Footsteps of Richard Jefferies Sunday 9th May 2010, Coate, near Swindon, Wiltshire
Andrew Rossabi, a former President of the Richard Jefferies Society, who has written introductions to several new imprints of Jefferies' works and is currently working on a new biography of this writer, will lead a guided walk (with readings) along the east side of Coate Water, over Cicely’s Bridge, to the Gamekeeper’s Cottage at Hodson, where walkers may look around the garden and view the old thatched cottage, as well as the bluebells in Hodson Woods. The return route takes in the west side of Coate Water, where a picnic lunch may be eaten (alternatively eat at the Sun Inn, Coate). In the afternoon, until 4.30 pm, everyone will be welcome to explore Richard Jefferies' home, watch the film Jefferies Land, and share readings from Edward Thomas's and Jefferies' works.
This event is free and no prior booking is required. Gather at the Richard Jefferies Museum, Coate, for a 10.30 start.
