News 76 February 2024

Wilson’s News 76. February 2024

Contents
Newsletter 76 contents:
1. A New Trustee
2. The Projects Priorities for 2024
3. Updates
4. More Pieces in the Wilson Jigsaw
5. Key diary dates to note and keep a lookout for in 2024

1. A New Trustee
Following my return to Berwick last year I joined the Board of Trustees in June.

After 40 years of working away, as a lawyer, in various jurisdictions and countries, I have come back to my roots to begin my own next chapter. Part of which, I hope, shall include greater involvement in the Wilsons Tales Project. I have been connected to the tales now for around 8 years taking part in re writes.

I have been warmly welcomed by all fellow Trustees and it has been a pleasure to put faces to email addresses. I am much inspired by their individual and collective knowledge of the tales and the actual history that underpins many of the stories.

I am currently in the process of taking over the reigns from Richard Wilson to edit the “Followers” newsletter. (Not at all daunting as a task given the expertise and experience I am replacing…)

But, as the saying goes, every journey starts with a step and every piece of writing starts with the press of one key. So, as I start in this editorial role, herewith, two requests of you Followers readers.

Firstly, please bear with me as I may blunder and trip over words and formats. I am used to writing for different audiences with different requirements in terms of how they want information presented to them.

Secondly, please provide feedback on my efforts. I am keen to get this right so that you as an audience get as much as possible out of the updates finding them useful and informative.

I remain grateful to Richard for his ongoing support and encouragement in my endeavours.

Denise Bradshaw newseditor@wilsonstales.co.uk

2 The Projects Priorities for 2024
As you will recall last year marked the Project’s 10th anniversary and the 74th Newsletter recited an impressive list of the charity’s achievements to date. It included and reflected how the Projects key objective of “aiming to entertain” has evolved the illustrated, the different ways and media through which this has been achieved.
At the December Board meeting, mindful that the first decade was behind us, the Board reviewed where and how the project might proceed into the next decade.

Accordingly, the Board have agreed the following priorities for the next 12 month period.

Engaging and partaking in more live events:

Some specifics of which include the following:

1. Finding a venue for the 2024 Beans and Bacon Dinner: (Food always being a key priority). The restaurant in the Berwick Maltings that has hosted the last two dinners has now, sadly, closed.

Andrew Ayre has been speaking to the proprietors of various purveyors in the locality. A number have expressed interest in hosting the supper and possibly also running events involving eating, drinking, live storytelling, talks, listening and chatting. As a concept they might be considered as “Tastes and Tales” evenings. Updates in the next newsletter.

2. Playfest 2024: Presenting adaptations of the tales, both in Berwick and more widely around the borders for example in Duns and Alnwick. Updates in the next newsletter.

Possible New Developments

1. Moving onto the art of “Live Storytelling”. The Board are looking at the possibility of making this form of tale sharing an embedded feature of the project. With that in mind we are looking into the possibility of creating a post and sponsoring a “Raconteur in Residence”. We are currently considering what such a post holder might do, where and when and how they would fit in to the project. Obviously funding options need to be explored. Updates on this item will be included in future newsletters.

2. On “Live Storytelling” as it has featured in the project so far: Chris Adriaanse, whose storytelling at the 2023 Beans and Bacon Dinner was so warmly received, is looking at more of the tales to see what he might like to work with next.

Better sharing of News, Updates and Events of interest

1. Followers News: We aim to send out the Followers News with greater frequency, which, depending upon readers feedback to the below questions, may include a weekly supplement in which individual tales are re told in a serialised form.

For some time the project has been considering how best to get the re-writes of tales to wider audiences. The printed, illustrated collections are arguably the most attractive option, particularly to bibliophiles and those wedded to the printed word, but they only attract a small paying customer base. This means, certainly until such time as any fashion or trend to buy the books in number takes off, their ongoing production cannot be sustained as a means of getting new tales into the public sphere.

With that in mind I am asking you to give feedback on your appetites for the following.

Option 1: Would there be an interest, among Followers, for the tales to be serialised and emailed out, as supplements to the Followers News?

Option 2: In addition to considering the possibility of producing written serialisations, the Board is examining how easily tales might be converted into podcasts. Would followers prefer that as a medium through which to enjoy the tales?

Option 3: Would followers like to have both options 1 and 2 available and accessible?

Please e mail and let us have your thoughts to newseditor@wilsonstales.co.uk

Project Governance

1. The Board has undertaken to complete a review of all matters relating to the Governance of the Project. This shall include looking at policy documents, relevant guidance and forms to ensure their ongoing compliance with the the laws and regulations that govern the running of charities. It should also ensure that there are in place effective policies and processes that will enable the project to engage more readily in activities where there is a face to face interaction with the public. This is of particular import when dealing with more vulnerable members of the public.

It is anticipated that the new editions of the documents will be circulated to all Board members in the first quarter of this year, for discussions and revision to enable their earliest adoption.

3. UPDATES
1. Wilson Memorial Restoration

As ever we are grateful to Stephen Platten’s resilience, stamina and dogged determination in continuing to work on this.

As of December 2023 he was able to report to the Board as follows:

He continues to pursue possible funding sources for the renovation of JMW’s tomb. He shall be approaching The Freemen of Berwick who have recently confirmed funding for a statue of the town’s local legend, “Jimmy Strength”. This funding might be secured on the basis that it too, will be for the benefit of the people of Berwick.

2. The Life and Times of JMW

On the 17th January, Mike Fraser, author of An Exile Returns to Berwick, the first biography of John Mackay Wilson, presented a talk, organised by the Berwick History Group, on the life of Wilson. Unfortunately, seasonal bad weather affecting transport and transport routes meant that turnout was low. Feedback from those able to attend was very favourable. A number of attendees admitted to knowing little about Wilson. Mike has been kind enough to say he would happily give the talk again. It could be something that would fit well into a “Tales and Tasting” event, which if it is convened in the summer should enable more people to attend. Updates in the next Newsletter.

4. More pieces of the Wilson Jigsaw
1. Definitiv eine deutsche Ausgabe
Founder and Board member of the Project, Andrew Ayre is, as I mentioned in my introduction very knowledgeable about Wilson, the tales and matters connected thereto including matters dealing with the publications of the tales and their influence on culture over the decades.
Previously his researches uncovered an edition of the tales, published in Germany but written in English. In January he tracked down an edition in German. It is currently held in the Chicago library.
Expertly applying his basic German he is confident that the first tale in The Red Hall or Berwick 1296.

He found the library search site form the National Trust.
the following link will take you to the edition which has been helpfully uploaded. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.81361680

2. Fellow Board member, writer and sleuth of historical mysteries, Jan Anderson has been digging further into what happened to JMW’s widow following his early death.

An illustrated account of what she has unearthed will be in the next Newsletter.

5. Key diary dates to note and keep a lookout for in 2024

1. 3rd Beans & Bacon Dinner. Wednesday 2nd October 2024.(Venue to be confirmed.)

2. February 18th 2024 Alnwick’s Northumberland Hall hosts Wilsons Tales as a local producer of local stories, as we participate in a local makers marketplace.

Alongside other local independent authors, and among craft producers, we have a small stall to sell our Revival Editions, and talk to the public, and potential writers, dramatists, and competition entrants about the Tales, their history, and about how we are reintroducing The Tales in print, as drama, and with new digital media as audio.

3. Annual General Meeting. To be held on the 10th April 2024 (Time and location to be confirmed). If any followers would like to attend please let us know by CoP on Monday the 1st April 2024 so that we can arrange an appropriate venue.

4. Watch out for the announcement of the launch and closing date of the 3rd 100 Word Story Competition. (But get idea collecting and drafting now, late summer will soon be upon us).

Stockists
We’re delighted to help the cause of local and independent bookshops. Even more so when they stock Wilson’s Tales.
Now available from these high street locations;

Slightly Foxed, Bridge Street, Berwick. : https://business.facebook.com/slightlyfoxedberwick/
Berwick Heritage Centre, Walkergate, Berwick : https://berwickhods.org.uk
Greives, Church St , Berwick : https://www.facebook.com/Geo-C-Grieve-Ltd-214226152007347/
Main Street Trading, Main Street, St Boswells : https://www.mainstreetbooks.co.uk/online-bookshop
The Reading Room, The Square, Melrose :https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/thereadingroommelrose
The Village Shop, Cornhill-0n Tweed. : https://www.facebook.com/CornhillVillageShop

and if you missed last year and Volume 7, you may purchase them both together at a reduced price, but only on our website.
goto
https://www.wilsonstales.co.uk/shop/ to purchase, or any of the booksellers above

Copyright © 2024 Wilsons Tales of the Borders, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you asked to receive information when you attended an event or opted in via the website,

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JM Wilson Book now available

Now available here www.books2read.com/b/49DAVX

“Health and Home are Powerful Magnets”.
An Exile returns to Berwick.
by
Mike Fraser BA (Hons) MSc MPhil

 

John Mackay Wilson – the Writer of Tales of the Borders and Editor of the Berwick Advertiser 1832-1835


Mike Fraser

Mike lives in Berwick upon Tweed and writes and lectures on Northumberland political history, including studies of Sir William Beveridge and Sir Charles Trevelyan. He now turns his attention to a native of Berwick and his writings.
John Mackay Wilson (1804-1835) was the writer of Tales of the Borders and Editor of the Berwick Advertiser 1832-1835. At this turbulent stage in British history Wilson wrote his popular Tales, transformed the Advertiser and wrote controversial editorials on Grey, Peel, Wellington, the Great Reform Act, religion, trade unions, the Poor Law and the role of Freemen. Quoting extensively from Wilson’s prose and poetry Mike, in the first extended examination of Wilson’s life and work, discusses what his writings tell us about Berwick and Britain at the dawn of the modern age.

Praise for Mike’s Sir William Beveridge: the Man, the Report and the Berwick Division –
“I think it is terrific” – Steve Richards, Political Commentator

“This study should be in the House of Commons Library” – Sir Alan Beith (former MP for Berwick and now Lord Beith)

“I very much enjoyed your piece which taught me a lot about Lord Beveridge’s Northumberland career and later life” – Professor Jose Harris (Beveridge’s only Biographer)

It’s been a busy autumn. 2 Live events, our Pop Up Museum and the launch of Volume 3, now available either directly from us at £8-50 (cheques payable to The Wilsons Tales Project) or at Grieves in Berwick. 6 more tales and their background  together with 5 new illustrations by local artists and the next instalment of Wilson’s biography.

An excellent Christmas present idea!  

Over 350 attended one or more events with us during 4 days of the Berwick Literary festival. Feedback on our Pop Up Museum  was very good. There were 243 visitors 86% found it fascinating and 98% would recommend it. Many came back for a second visit and 61% spent over 15 minutes there and 20% more than 1/2 hour. Most thought it could have a permanent place as part of Berwick’s cultural offering.

 We got some useful feedback and chance to experiment with concepts. Most negative feedbacks were venue specific or that they didn’t have a long enough opportunity to take it all in.

The challenge is to see if we can make it into something more permanent!

Wilson’s Tales at the Scottish story telling centre.

 Charles Nasmyth provided the front cover illustration for Volume 3 and is providing more for next year as an illustrated interpretation of an entire Tale. He will be working on this at the Scottish Story Telling Centre, on The Royal Mile , Edinburgh as part of his exhibition running there from 7th November till 26th and he will be there in person working on his tale on 17th November between 10.30 and 2.30.

 

 

 

 

May 2015 and Forwards…

We also continue to discover further editions of the tales. The photograph is of a reprint in 1887 as part of the “Kenilworth library” series. A selection of what were considered to be literary classics from the back catalogue of the time.

Our March “revival” life event was a success and again attracted an audience of around 60.

We have been awarded some funding from the ‘Pen and Palette’ fund and the ‘AONB’ programme to let us make a start on producing some more professional display material for the project and make a start recording some of the retelling of the tales for future repeat use. More on all this latter. We still await a further funding decision on this.

The first of our revival editions of The Tales is close to selling out with only limited copies now available.

Exciting research from one of our readers has recently suggested that Wilson’s tales may have actually contained the first ‘who dun it’. This has traditionally been attributed to Allan Edgar Poe in literary circles for his short story ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, first published in 1846. A tale which one suspects Conan Doyle largely lifted his ‘Sherlock and Watson’ characters from and it the unexpected twist in the tale was that it was an Ourang-Outang that did it!

However the tale of ‘The Forger’, written by Alexander Campbell and published in 1835 as part of The Tales, predates this and contains all the aspects we would recognise as a ‘who dun it’ or ‘detective story’.

Finally a date for the Diary. Northumberland Theatre Company are bringing their stage version of ‘Lancelot Errington: A Tale of Lindisfarne’ to the Berwick area in October. It will be told in the Town Hall on the 10th October with a background talk on the event it depicts, the Jacobite 1715 uprising.

It will also be presented as part of a suite of 6 tales as part of ‘A Wife of the Gallows & Other Tales’ at Paxton House on the 11th October and then tour to other venues.

Our profile continues to rise. Our revival edition was reviewed in ‘Scottish Field’ and we were recently invited to and attended the Wigton Spring Book festival.

Fourth revival event on 15th March 2015 at the Guildhall, Berwick-upon-Tweed

A second opportunity to enjoy ‘The Monomanic’ (the photograph is of the cast taken in the Picture Gallery at Paxton House at the time of the first performance in November 2014.)

Mary Kenny , a professional storyteller , will be retelling ‘Judith the Egyptian’. Mary had the following to say about the tale and her preparation:

“You may wipe images of pyramids and sand dunes from your mind’s eye, for this is a tale closer to home and of a different grandeur, of a proud race whose name is connected with the small town of Kirk Yetholm – Royal seat of the King of the Gypsies. Set amongst the towering Eilden Hills, and along the banks of the Tweed, this romantic story of love and pride winds, inevitably as the river runs to the sea, to a dramatic and fateful conclusion. My task as an oral storyteller working with this extraordinary, encyclopaedic collection of tales is to adapt what can be difficult and outmoded written language, and re-interpret the story sensitively for telling to a new audience.”

Re-written as short plays by retired Eyemouth GP Michael Fenty are “The Monomaniac” an early description of post-traumatic stress and the events giving rise to it during an eventful trip to India. And “The Monks of Drybrugh”, presented in radio style by the Duns players provides an amusing finale to the evening. Both of the latter tales have been

Future events in 2015.

1st May at the Wigton Spring Book festival, where Morag Eaton’s “Red Hall” prints will also be exhibited.

In October 2015 we have the launch of ‘Revival edition, Volume 2’ at the Berwick Literary Festival , which will be an expanded edition, containing 6 tales with companion pieces on the historic context and the first chapter of a biography on Wilson and the Tales.

The Fifth Revival event is a re-telling of the true tale of the seizure of Lindisfarne castle as part of the 1715 Jacobite uprising on the 300th anniversary of the event. Look forward to ‘Lancelot Errington and his nephew Mark; A tale of Lindisferne’. A joint collaboration between The Berwick 900 Project, Northumberland Theatre Company and the Northumbrian Jacobite society.