What’s on in York: “Hungate – The First 2000 Years” Peter Connelly Lecture

16th October

6:15 pm – 7:45 pm

Venue: Friargate Meeting House, Castlegate, York YO1 9RN

 £10.00

The archaeology of Hungate, York has provided evidence for at least 2000 years of continuous human connection to this low lying parcel of land nestled in the Foss valley.

During his talk Peter will trace these connections from the use of the area as a Roman cemetery on the edge of Eboracum, through the organised development on the fringes of Viking Age Jorvik and onwards across time to the start of the 20th century when Hungate was called home by a large working class community.

By illustrating the perspective of the last 2000 years, Peter will reveal how certain choices in the past have influenced the development of the Hungate, we see today. He will finish his talk with a personal view of how contemporary decisions, may influence the development of Hungate in the future.

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What’s on in York: Remarkable Occurrences – Circumnavigate the World with Captain Cook

York Explore Library

October 3rd @ 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm

 £5

Sail with Cook at a reading of Remarkable Occurrences – Patrick Lodge’s third collection of poetry including a sequence celebrating Cook’s first voyage. York musician Judith Haswell provides appropriate musical interventions.

Between 1768 and 1771, Cook circumnavigated the world in a refitted Whitby-built collier, re-named the HMB Endeavour. Ostensibly to view the transit of Venus across the Sun from a vantage point in the South Seas, Cook’s secret instructions required him to search for a mythical southern continent. In so doing he sailed around and New Zealand as well as mapping the west coast of Australia. It was probably the greatest feat of seamanship the world had seen since the original navigation from Polynesia of the ancestors of the Maori.
Patrick Lodge’s third collection of poetry from Valley Press – Remarkable Occurrences- takes as its title the title of Cook’s journal of the first Endeavour voyage. The second half of the collection comprises a long sequence of poems celebrating Cook’s voyage. Not a history, a narrative nor a biography, the poetry is a personal reaction to Cook’s, to paraphrase the captain of starship Enterprise, boldly going where no –one had gone before.
Patrick Lodge will be reading from the sequence and other poems from the collection. He will be accompanied by the accomplished York-based multi-instrumentalist, Judith Haswell in a musical/poetical collaboration celebrating Cook’s voyage.

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What’s on in York: The moment that gets you in – Poetry workshop with John Foggin

York Explore Library

October 3 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

 £15

“Everything ..depends on the quality of the moment; whatever kind of poem it is, it’s the moment that gets you in.” Clive James

A poetry workshop that will offer moments to ignite your own poems, and help you to find your own
A fast moving practical workshop which will focus on memory – of sight, sound, touch and empathy as the basis for re-imagining those moments that are significant, around which a poem can grow.
You’ll explore the elements that dramatise a poem – the who, the where, the when, the what and the why – and use imaginative memory to recreate and share them.
In two packed hours you’ll do five or six writing tasks; you’ll be offered lines to start you up, and structures to keep you going; if you want to you’ll have a chance to share some of your writing, and to recognise when you’ve created those moments that ‘get you in’.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re an established writer or a beginner. When we look at that blank page, we’re all equal. You won’t have time to worry about it.

John Foggin is a prize-winning poet, and writer about the teaching of writing.
His work has appeared in The North, Magma and The interpreters house, and in anthologies including The Forward Book of Poetry [2015, 2018].
In 2016 he was a winner of the Poetry Business International Pamphlet Competition judged by Billy Collins.
He has published five pamphlets and two collections of poetry. His new pamphlet Dark watchers is published by Calder Valley Poetry [June 2019].
More than 75% of his published poems started life in workshops; he says that if he didn’t go to them he probably wouldn’t sit down and write.

The workshop is presented in partnership with York Literature Festival

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Archaeology conference is back in York!

City of York Council and the York Archaeological Forum are set to host its annual conference, with this year’s event focussing on ‘’Discovering Anglian York: Digging in the Dark’.

The popular conference will take place on Saturday 16 November at West Offices on between 10am and 5pm.

The event provides an overview of current knowledge and recent archaeological discoveries.

The speakers reflect the varied membership of the forum with representatives of local archaeological contractors and specialists, the University of York and University of Huddersfield and York Museums Trust, including:

  • Dr Mary Garrison (University of York) Alcuin and York: Evidence for a Central Place
  • Ian Milsted (York Archaeological Trust) When 2 + 2 = 5: Looking for the Anglians under York Minster
  • Dr Andrew Woods (York Museums Trust) Interpreting the Coinage of Anglian York
  • Professor Julian Richards (University of York) & Dave Haldenby (Independent Researcher) The End of Anglian Yorkshire: the Scale and Impact of Viking settlement
  • John Oxley (City of York Council) 30 Years Old and Still Going… Where Next for the York Deposit Model?
  • Professor Richard Morris – open discussion (University of Huddersfield)

Places cost £15 with a number of limited reduced-fee student places available for £5 each via: www.york.gov.uk/info/20214/conservation_and_archaeology/2027/annual_archaeology_conference

Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said: “York is one of Britain’s great historic cities and it’s fascinating to hear all about the archaeological work that is being carried out in York and to learn more about some important recent research.”

John Oxley, City of York Council Archaeologist, said: “York is one of the leading archaeological cities in Europe. This conference brings together experts who will cast new light on life in the city during the Anglian period. Others will tell us how this information is being shared and how it will be used to shape the future of the city. It is sure to be a very exciting and informative day.”

What’s on in York: In conversation with Anna Potter – The Flower Fix

York Explore Library

September 27 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

 £7.50

A conversation and demonstration with Swallows and Damsons founder, Anna Potter.
Fox Lane Books and York Explore bring you Swallows and Damsons founder, and author of The Flower Fix, Anna Potter. We’ll be chatting to Anna as she demonstrates her floral-design skills, and talking all things floristry and learning more about Anna’s unique approach.
Founder of Swallows and Damsons in Sheffield, Anna’s originality and quirky approach to floral art has attracted thousands of followers on Instagram.
There will be the opportunity for questions as well as the demonstration making use of seasonal and local flowers.
Anna’s book, The Flower Fix, will be available to buy and have signed at the event.
There will also be raffle tickets for the chance to win Anna’s demonstration bouquet. 

Tickets