Lowdham Book Festival Friday 16th – Saturday 24th June 2017 Lowdham, Nottinghamshire and extra events in July! Tickets: The Bookcase, Lowdham 0115 9663219
Lowdham Book Festival
Friday 16th – Saturday 24th June 2017Lowdham, Nottinghamshire
and extra events in July!
Tickets: The Bookcase, Lowdham 0115 9663219
Friday 16th June Lowdham Book
2 Festival Box Office 10–4 Mon to Sat 0115 9663219
Hello and welcome to Lowdham Book Festival 2017. This is our 18th year and we are delighted to bring you a fantasticline-up encompassing the worlds of fiction, politics, gardening, literary history, music and food! With the usual eclecticmix of talks, music, film and discussions, we hope there will be something for everyone at this year’s festival – do comealong and join the fun!
Jane Streeter and Ross Bradshaw
www.nottinghambooks.co.uk
www.fiveleaves.co.uk
Become a Friend of Lowdham Book FestivalTake advantage of discounted tickets for many of our events and receive our programmes before anyone else – plus a£5 voucher to spend at the summer festival!
All for just £15 a year! (£25 for couples)
Send a cheque (payable to Lowdham Festivals Ltd) along with your name, address, and email address if you have one,to: Lowdham Book Festival, The Bookcase, 50 Main Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BE
Why not join when you order your tickets for this year’s festival and save money immediately!
Festival 2017 Friday 16th June
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Bach Society. Guy Turner studied Musicin Cambridge before teaching. He isnow a Lay Clerk at Southwell Minster,Secretary of the Southwell MusicFestival and conductor of BinghamChoral Society. Sarah Jane Carlin is arecitalist, opera/music theatre artist,and oratorio performer, and was in theGold medal winning Cantamus Choirin the World Choir Olympics.
Plus a special performance fromSoundswell Community Choir.
A talented trio to get the festival off toa great start!FREE event
8pm Lowdham Village HallMain Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BD
Daniel Smith Blues Band
Daniel Smith has been one of the mostexciting talents to emerge on theBritish blues scene. In 1994 he first
Friday 16th June12.15 – 1pm Southwell Minster, Church Street, Southwell NG25 0HD
Lunchtime at the Minster – Dave Machell and Friends
We are delighted to launch the festivalwith this special lunchtime concert.Dave is an established composeracross a variety of musical genres, withwork performed by the NottinghamSymphony Orchestraand the Nottingham
shot to prominence with Sonny Black,gaining rave reviews from press,audiences and fellow musicians alike.1999 saw him launch his own solocareer and form The Daniel SmithBlues Band. Daniel mixes virtuosodriving barrelhouse boogie woogiewith an authentic down-home bluespiano style, reflecting influences fromAlbert Ammons, Memphis Slim andOtis Spann through to Jools Holland.Tickets £12.50
Saturday 17th June Lowdham Book
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Butcher’s Hook, isset in GeorgianLondon and is thebrilliantly dark andunexpected tale ofAnne Jaccob, ayoung girl
determined to take her life in her ownhands, at any cost… Janet will bechatting to Fanny Blake, publisher,journalist and author of six novels. Sheis also books editor of Woman & Homemagazine (and previously lived inLowdham!)NB – you don’t need to belong to areading group to come along to thislovely event! Tickets: £15 includinga copy of The Butcher’sHook plus coffee and cake.
Saturday 17th June10.45 am– 1pm Lowdham Village Hall,Main Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BD
Reading Group morning – Janet Ellis in conversation with Fanny BlakeWe are thrilled to welcome Janet Ellisas our Reading Group author this year.Janet is a TV presenter, actress andwriter, best known for presenting BluePeter, and Jigsaw. Her debut novel, The
6.30 - 8pm Lowdham Village HallMain Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BD
An Evening with Alan Johnson – The Long and Winding Road
Join us for a very special evening as we welcome Alan Johnson back toLowdham Book Festival, this time totalk about the third volume of hisaward-winning memoirs, coveringLabour’s electoral victory in 1997 to hisappointment as Home Secretary in2009. Alan will be in conversation withBBC Radio Nottingham’s John Holmes.Tickets: £8 full, £7 concessions, £6 Festival Friends.Bar available.
© Neil Dunn
Festival 2017 Sunday 18th June
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7pm Lowdham Village HallMain Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BD
Festival Film Night - The Light Between Oceans (12A, 2 hrs 13 mins)Based on the bestselling novel by M. L.Stedman, this is the heartbreakingstory of a lighthouse keeper and hiswife living off the coast of WesternAustralia, who raise a baby they rescuefrom a drifting rowing boat. StarringMichael Fassbender, Alicia Vikanderand Rachel Weisz.Tickets: £6 full, £5 concessions, £4 Festival Friends. Bar available plus hot drinks, popcorn,icecreams and home made cakes.
Sunday 18th June 3 – 4.30pm Lowdham Village HallMain Street, Lowdham, Notts NG14 7BD
Called to Account – with Dame Margaret Hodge MP MBE
Margaret Hodge is a British Labourpolitician, who has been MP forBarking since 1994. She has served inmany government departmentsincluding the Culture and CreativeIndustries. From 2010-2015 she wasChair of the Public AccountsCommittee, and in this fascinatingbook she shines a light on some of themost alarming and important financialissues facing the country today.Tickets: £8 full, £7 Concessions, £6 Festival Friends. Café serving tea and cakes.
Friday 29th September
La La Land(12A, 2hrs 8 mins)Friday 27th October
Viceroy’s House(12A, 1 hr 46 mins)Save the date – Sunday 12th November
There will be an afternoon showing of afilm appropriate for Remembrance Day.
Film Fridays September –November 2017Lowdham Village Hall, Main Street, Lowdham. 7.30pm.Tickets: £6 full, £5 concessions
There is a licensed bar at all the FilmFriday evenings, plus ice cream,popcorn, hot drinks and a deliciousselection of home made cakes.
7.30 – 8.45pm St Mary’s Church, ChurchLane, Lowdham NG14 7BQ
Diaries of a Wildlife Photographer – with Jack PerksThis talk explores Jack’s work as awildlife photographer in his homecounty of Nottinghamshire, as well as all over the country. He has featuredand worked on Countryfile,Springwatch and The One Show andrecently published his first bookentitled Freshwater Fishes of Britain. A fascinating illustrated talk. Tickets: £6 full, £5 concessions, £4 Festival Friends
Monday 19th June 2 – 3.30pm St Mary’s Church, ChurchLane, Lowdham NG14 7BQ
Paradise Found: The Lost Gardens of Heligan – with Stuart Dixon
We are delighted to welcome backLowdham Festival favourite StuartDixon.
Stuart is a Horticultural lecturer, writerand broadcaster, currently featuring onBBC RadioNottingham forthe gardeningshow. Tickets: £5 full, £4 concessions, £3 Festival Friends
Tuesday 20th June 7.15 – 8.45pm St Mary’s Church, ChurchLane, Lowdham NG14 7BQ
Toby Faber: 90 years ofexcellence in cover design
Faber and Faber is the last ofthe great publishing houses toremain independent. As thegrandson of its founder, Tobygrew up steeped in its books. He was MDfor four years and remains on the board.This lecture traces the Faber storythrough its covers and designs, featuringartists from Rex Whistler and BarnettFreedman to Peter Blake and DamienHirst, and design concepts includingpioneering typography. Toby will alsoshare some personal insights andanecdotes, whether it is Lord of the Fliesbeing rescued off the slush pile, or thedecision made while he was MD to turndown Life of Pi. …Tickets: £8 full, £7 concessions, £6 FestivalFriends (includes a glass of wine)
Monday 19th – Tuesday 20th June Lowdham Book
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breathing and relaxation techniques.In her book Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.Emma offers fresh and simple tips tokeep our minds healthy using literaryrecommendations and recipes tocreate a perfect mindful day, withoutthe need for expensive detox or farflung retreats!Tickets: £5 full, £4 concessions, £3 Festival Friends
7.30 – 9pm Lowdham Village HallMain Street, Lowdham NG14 7BD
Reservoir 13: Jon McGregor
Derbyshire, midwinter. A teenage girlgoes missing. The villagers are calledup to join the search, fanning outacross the moors. Meanwhile, there iswork that must still be done: cowsmilked, fences repaired, pints poured.Life goes on, as it must.
Jon McGregor, author of Even the Dogsand If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable
Wednesday 21st June10.30am - 12.30pm WI Hall, MainStreet, Lowdham NG14 7AB
Classic Retro Favourites: a cookery demonstration with Jackie Skinner and Catherine HumphriesA big welcome back to Jackie andCatherine, who will guide us throughsome some classic dishes (with thehelp of a surprise guest!)Tickets: £5 full, £4 concessions, £3 Festival Friends
2.30- 4pm WI Hall,Main Street,Lowdham NG14 7AB
Literary Meditation with Emma Mills
Westminster Psychology graduateEmma Mills lives in Nottinghamshire,and is an expert in meditation,
Things, brings us his first novel in sevenyears: the story of many lives hauntedby one family’s loss, unfolding over thecourse of thirteen years in a smallvillage. As an experienced performerof his own work, Jon will lead theaudience on a journey through thelandscapes and hidden stories of hisnew novel, Reservoir 13.Tickets: £8 full, £7 concessions, £6 Festival Friends
Festival 2017 Wednesday 21st June
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7 – 8.30pm St Mary’s Church, ChurchLane, Lowdham Notts NG14 7BQ
Joanne Harris and The Storytime Band
There is a story the bees used to tell, which makes it hard to disbelieve….Joanne Harris is the internationallyacclaimed author of CHOCOLAT andmany other best-selling novels. Hercareer also includes writing for TV,opera and musical theatre and her livestorytelling has become a popularTwitter phenomenon. From thesesegments a whole book of stories has
Thursday 22nd June 2 – 3.30pm St Mary’s Church, ChurchLane, Lowdham Notts NG14 7BQ
The Great British Village Show – with Matthew Biggs
Matthew trained at The Royal BotanicGardens, Kew where he is now alecturer, and is a regular panelist onBBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time.He has written several books, leadsgardening tours worldwide andcontributes to many gardeningmagazines. In his new book he goesbehind the scenes at the Village Showto bring us prize winning recipes andinterviews with show veterans, givinga unique insight into the quirks and
qualities of agreat Britishtradition.Tickets: £6 full, £5concessions, £4 Festival Friends
emerged – thought-provoking, funny,sad and completelyoriginal.
HONEYCOMB, acollection of 100dark and inter-connected tales,illustrated by Charles Vess, will bepublished next year. Meanwhile,Joanne and the Storytime Band havecreated #Storytime: a live showfeaturing tales from the book, alongwith projections, original music andsongs, written and performed byJoanne and the band of which she hasbeen a member since she was atcollege. This intimate, engaging, quirkyand darkly magical show is appealingto audiences of all ages, but especiallylovers of folklore, fantasy and fairytale.Tickets: £10 full, £9 concessions, £8 Festival Friends (includes a glass of wine)
Thursday 22nd June Lowdham Book
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© Jonathan Jacobs
Festival 2017 Friday 23rd June
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James was a founder member of TheLate Show, is a Fellow of the RoyalSociety of Literature, Visiting Professorat Bath Spa University, and theCommissioning Editor for Arts at BBCRadio 4.
He was Artistic Director of the BathLiterature Festival from 2010-2013, andHead of Literature at the SouthbankCentre in London from 2013-2015.
He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and isa hugely entertaining speaker – we arein for a treat!Tickets: £40(includes drink onarrival, two courselunch, glass ofwine, coffee and abook). Menuavailable onbooking – dietaryrequirementscatered for.
Friday 23rd JuneHarts Restaurant, Standard Hill,Nottingham NG1 6GN11.30am – 2.30pm
Literary Lunch withJames Runcie
James Runcie is an award-winningfilm-maker and the author of the verypopular ‘The Grantchester Mysteries’series of books, the adaptation ofwhich is currently showing on TVstarring James Norton as SidneyChambers.
8pm Old Ship Inn, Main Street,Lowdham
A Warthog Promotions Event - Harp and a Monkey
Songs about cuckolded mole catchers,a lone English oak tree that grows atGallipoli, care in the community andmedieval pilgrims… we can only betalking about the folk experimentalistsHarp and a Monkey. The harp ‘n’ banjodriven electro-folk-storytelling ofMartin Purdy, Simon Jones and AndySmith is imbued with a deepLancashire sensibility that shinesthrough in their beautifully crafted andsometimes spooky vignettes ofnorthern life, love and remembrance.Tickets £10
11–12.00: Charlie Peace, with Michael EatonWI Hall, Main StreetCharlie Peace was a notoriousNottingham rogue in Victorian times,who became a national figurecommemorated in music hall songs,waxworks and articles in the illustratedpress of the day. Michael Eaton,screenwriter and playwright, haswritten a book about Charlie, his life
and times and the way hewas portrayed in Victorianmelodrama - and up to themodern day in nurseryrhyme.
11–12.00: Historic graffiti, with James WrightMethodist Chapel, Main StreetLocal archaeologist (and Lowdhamregular) James gives an illustrated talkon the lost worlds found on the wallsof our historic buildings, in caves androckfaces where the lost voices of
unknown individuals come to us withtheir drawings of ships, daisywheels,knights drawing their swords, demonsstalking the brickwork and everyanimal imaginable.
11–12.00: Staring Directly at theEclipse, with Henry NormalMarquee behind the Village HallBetter known as the co-writer of TheRoyle Family, and The Mrs Merton Show,producer of Alan Partridge andPhilomena, Henry Normal has returnedto his first love - poetry. He organisedthe Nottingham Poetry Festival in Apriland this new collection is his firstpoetry book for twenty years. Much ofthe material comes from the Radio 4programme A Normal Family, coveringloneliness, human frailty and other
conversationstoppersleavened byhis trademarkhumour.
Saturday 24th June Lowdham Book
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Saturday 24th June, 10am–5pmVillage Hall, Main Street, Lowdham
All Day Book Fair and Café
Throughout the day the Village Hallhosts a café run by mmm… deli,serving hot and cold drinks, saladsand paninis, cakes and ice-cream. Thebookfair is spread over the VillageHall, a marquee behind the hall, andassorted gazebos. It featurespublishers, charities, book tradeorganisations, booksellers with newand second-hand books, and cards.There are displays of old-fashionedletterpress printing equipment. Freeauthor talks and talks about bookswill go on throughout the day. Therewill be books for children and adults,bargain books and books signed byall the authors appearing during the festival.Entry is FREE to the bookfair and all events. No tickets required.
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12.30–1.30: Oliver Cromwell, with Martyn BennettMethodist Chapel, Main StreetMartyn examines the life of OliverCromwell – one of the mostcontroversial figures in history. Hechallenges long-held perceptions ofCromwell and the Commonwealth,arguing that they need to be placed atthe core of early Modern British andIrish history.
12.30–1.30: The Things We ThoughtWe Knew, with Mahsuda SnaithMarquee behind the Village HallMahsuda is of Bangladeshibackground and lives in Leicester.
12.30–1-30: Gossamer Days, with Eleanor MorganWI Hall, Main StreetEleanor, from nearby Thurgarton, talksabout spiders and their relationship tohumans.
Spiders’ produce has been used in gunsights and underwear, but there’s moreto spiders than a nice piece of silk.Eleanor has been researching spidersworldwide for the last ten years and hertalk will transform the way we thinkabout them.
Her first novel traces what happenswhen the chronically sick,housebound Ravine recalls whathappened when her best friendMarianne disappeared. Mahsuda wasrecently given the accolade of beingan Observer new face of fiction for 2017.
2–3.00: Jane Austen on men andmasculinity, with Deirdre O’Byrne Methodist Chapel, Main StreetAusten’s writing is fascinating on themale persona, whether she is writingabout family, money, inheritance,dancing, emotions, courtship, marriage,friendship, responsibility, jobs, reading orappearance. Deirdre O’Byrne teachesEnglish and Irish literature atLoughborough University.
2–3.00: The Cut, with AnthonyCartwrightWI Hall, Main StreetThe Cut a Brexit novel, is published onJune 23rd, the anniversary of the votewhich tore Britain apart. It is a fictionalresponse to a complex issue; a novel ofquestions, not answers. It is also a plot-driven page-turner by one of the mostexciting novelists in the country. Some
of hisearlier workwas writtenentirely inthe dialectof the BlackCountry!
Saturday 24th June Lowdham Book
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2–3.00: Storytelling and why we needit to survive, with Trish NicholsonMarquee behind the Village HallOne of two New Zealand writers at thefestival, Trish, an anthropologist, talksabout A Biography of Story, a culturalhistory of the power of stories in thecomedy and tragedy of human affairsfrom our foraging ancestors to thedigital age. She shows how stories givemeaning to life and challenge“alternative facts”.
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assistant to founder of MilanFootball & Cricket Club,Herbert Kilpin came a longway from his humble roots inNottingham. But while heonly played for the love offootball and died in obscurityin 1916, his club went on to becomeone of the most successful and famoussides in the world: AC Milan. This is hisstory - soon to be a film.
3.30–4.30: Brand New Beat, with Deborah Tyler-BennettMarquee behind the Village HallIt’s the 1960s. The world of variety isfading and televisionis king. There’sBeatlemania and thefirst stirrings of whatwould become theSummer of Love.Deborah will bereading short storiesabout that era.
3.30–4.30:Shoestring Presspoetry reading,with Peter Blandand Rennie ParkerWI Hall, MainStreetPeter Bland
emigrated to New Zealand in the1950s and became a leading actor anddirector on stage and screen. Here hewill be reading from RememberingEngland, a theme taken up in his newcollection, launched today. He will bejoined by Rennie Parker, taking ashorter journey from Lincolnshire whowill be reading from her newcollection The Complete Electic Artisan.
3.30–4.30: Herbert Kilpin, The Lord of Milan, with Robert NieriMethodist Chapel, Main StreetFrom Victorian lace warehouse
Saturday 24th June 11am–4pmCommittee Room (marquee lined)in Lowdham Village Hall
FREE Family Fun at theFestival!
Tales Inside theIndoor Tent!Come along andjoin in with ourcelebration oftraditional talesfrom Hans ChristianAnderson to the Brothers Grimm.There will be storytelling and musicfrom festival favourites Theresa andXimena, plus crafts, a treasure trail,surprise guests and of course, cake!Feel free to dress as your favouritefairytale character – prizes for all!
Look out for more details onwww.thebookcase.co.uk nearer the time.
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18 Festival Box Office 10–4 Mon to Sat 0115 9663219
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The Bookcase /Five LeavesVoucherThe Bookcase opening hours:Monday - Friday 9am–5.30pmSaturday 9am–4pm
£1.00 off any bookpriced £4.99 or more
Redeemable duringLowdham Book Festival atThe Bookcase, 50 Main Street,Lowdham, Nottingham NG147BE, or at Festival stalls run byThe Bookcase or Five LeavesBookshop
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Tuesday July 4thDismembered: How the attackon the state harms us all with Polly Toynbee & David Walker
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane,Lowdham, Nottingham. 7.15 – 8.45pm A welcome return to Lowdham fromGuardian journalists Polly Toynbee andDavid Walker, who will take us on a vividjourney into the public services on whichwe all depend. As the UK faces itsuncertain future, this book spells out howmuch we need a functioning public sector, and how it must be paid for.Tickets: £8 full, £7 concessions, £5 Festival Friends
Festival 2017
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Friday June 2nd How To Handle Later Life – with Marion ShoardFriday July 7thSmall Island by Little Train: A UK narrow-gauge adventure – with Chris Arnot Friday September 1st Nottingham in Literature– with Dr Deirdre O’ByrneFriday October 6thHistory of Poverty in Britain– with Dr Andrew GrittFriday November 3rdFrom Here We Changed The World –Pilgrims and Rebels from North Notts– with Adrian GrayFriday December 1stChristmas Prose and Poetry – with Voice Versa
Lowdham Festivals & The Bookcase presents:
First Fridays June – December 2017
All First Friday talks take place in LowdhamPrimitive Methodist Chapel, Main Street, Lowdham, 2 – 3.30pm. Tickets: £6 full, £5 concessions, £4Festival Friends (always including tea & cake!)
Sunday July 2ndSponsored Walk in aid ofLiteracy Volunteers inNottinghamshire Schools
10.30am. The Horse and Groom, 10Main St, Linby, Nottingham NG15 8AE To celebrate the 20th birthday of TheBookcase last year we published A LiteraryTrail: 20 Miles in Nottinghamshire in order toraise money for a very worthwhile localcharity. The Literacy Volunteers work in localschools to promote reading for pleasure andto encourage reading skills. Today we will bewalking a 5 mile section of the trail throughLinby, Newstead and Papplewick, led by Bill Bottomley who devised the route. A sponsor form will be given with yourticket in the hope that you might help us with ourfundraising. Do join us!Tickets: £5 (includes The Literary Trail booklet rrp £5.99)
Lowdham Book Festival InformationTicket informationTickets are available from The Bookcase, 50 Main Street,Lowdham NG14 7BE over thecounter, by mail or by creditcard over the phone (FestivalBox Office is 0115 966 321910am–4pm Monday–Saturday)or, subject to availability, on thedoor at events.
If ordering by post pleaseenclose a first class SAE andinclude a contact telephonenumber. Cheques are payableto Lowdham Festivals Ltd. Thereis a 75p surcharge for postageon credit card telephonebookings. Tickets are notrequired for free events.
Travel information for LowdhamLowdham is off the A6097 (Bingham to Doncaster) andA612 (Nottingham to Southwell) between Newark andLowdham.
Lowdham railway station: A brisk ten minute walkfrom the centre of the village.
Lowdham bus stop: Pathfinder 100 buses drop offONLY at the bottom of Main Street by the cricketground/war memorial, seven minutes from the mainFestival site.
Car parking: There is car parking at the Village Hall andon and off Main Street. There is limited car parking atthe Methodist Chapel and the WI Hall and opposite theLibrary on Franklin Road. There is a car park at St Mary’sChurch.
Note: car parking fills up quickly at popular events –please allow time to park. If you require disabled parking,please contact the Festival Box Office in advance.