Harwich Archives - Essex Book Festival https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/tag/harwich/ 28 May -30 June 2025 Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:19:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.5 New Project Celebrates The Coastal Heritage Of Great Yarmouth, Harwich and Orford Ness http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/new-project-celebrates-the-coastal-heritage-of-great-yarmouth-harwich-and-orford-ness/ Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:09:44 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=9871 Funded by Historic England and run by community-driven art and design organisation Kinetika, ‘Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures’ is a story-gathering project uniting communities in Great Yarmouth, Harwich and Orford Ness. With a special emphasis on coastal heritage, the project centres on inclusivity, working with diverse local communities. The project aims to gather 150 stories and... Read more »

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Funded by Historic England and run by community-driven art and design organisation Kinetika, ‘Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures’ is a story-gathering project uniting communities in Great Yarmouth, Harwich and Orford Ness.

The Orford Ness coastline. © Lucia Barbagallo

With a special emphasis on coastal heritage, the project centres on inclusivity, working with diverse local communities.

The project aims to gather 150 stories and images reflecting the area’s 3 stretches of coastline.

Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures: Harwich workshop with filmmaker Marley Karazimba. © Marley Karazimba

Community stories

Project partners Essex Book Festival (Harwich and Orford Ness) and Out There Arts (Great Yarmouth) have worked alongside local groups, in collaboration with writers and digital artists, to uncover individual stories and shared narratives through walking tours, heritage site visits and creative expression.

In Harwich, the Essex Book Festival team worked alongside filmmaker Marley Karazimba, wordsmith TriggerBliss, and Kate O’Neill, sound archivist at Essex Record Office. Participants were the Electric Palace Cinema Young Film Programmers, the Connect Without Limits Autism Group, African Families in the UK, and Refugee, Asylum Seekers and Migrant Action (RAMA)

With the support of the National Trust, the creative team of Essex Book Festival, photographer/filmmaker Lucia Barbagallo and writer Emma Kittle-Pey enjoyed access to the internationally important coastal nature reserve Orford Ness. This remarkable experience inspired story-gathering sessions with communities in Orford

In Great Yarmouth, 5 local community groups took part in workshops led by filmmaker Mark Hannant and author Belona Greenwood: Men’s Walk and Talk, a men’s mental health organisation; Heritage for Wellbeing, a mental health organisation created by the Restoration Trust; Stomping Ground, a Great Yarmouth Youth Club for young people aged 11 to 18; Great Yarmouth Refugee Orientation Service; and Herring House Homeless Support Charity

Beach of Dreams Flag Dance by Charlene Low on Great Yarmouth Beach. © David Henry Thomas

Creative display at the Beach of Dreams Festival

The stories, memories and images from workshop participants will inspire written work, drawings and photographs created by artists, which will be revealed to the public in digital content and designed silk pennants.

The pennants, which are part of the Beach of Dreams national commission, ‘The Beach of Dreams Silks’, will be displayed during free, family-friendly events and walks from 28 to 30 May across Harwich, Orfordness and Great Yarmouth and will remain in the communities as enduring symbols of their stories and identity.

Orford Ness and Harwich, both steeped in history, have different stories to tell – it has been a privilege finding out more about these two extraordinary coastal destinations.

Ros Green
Essex Book Festival Director

We are really pleased to have funded this project in the East of England, where coastal heritage plays an important part in the lives of local communities in three towns with very different histories. Through working with artists, people will have a chance to explore the heritage on their doorsteps, unearth hidden histories and celebrate what makes their towns so special. The project will also enable people to reflect on the future of their places as this coastline changes.

Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator
Historic England
David Whittle from Harwich Museums (centre) gave a guided tour of Harwich, sparking inspiration for participants to design their own silk flags (c) Marley Karazimba
In contrast to the busy town of Great Yarmouth and port of Harwich, the former top-secret Cold War site of Orford Ness is now a peaceful wildlife haven. (c) Lucia Barbagallo

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Beach of Dreams Silk Design Workshops with Ali Pretty http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/beach-of-dreams-silk-design-workshops-with-ali-pretty/ Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:13:45 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=9853 Sunday 19th January 10am – 4pmAli Pretty – Beach of Dreams Silk Design Workshops (Free, Drop-In All Day)1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich, CO12 3ER Kinetika and Essex Book Festival have been funded by Historic England to gather stories and images of Harwich as part of the national UK wide coastal arts festival Beach of Dreams.... Read more »

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Sunday 19th January 10am – 4pm
Ali Pretty – Beach of Dreams Silk Design Workshops (Free, Drop-In All Day)
1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich, CO12 3ER

Kinetika and Essex Book Festival have been funded by Historic England to gather stories and images of Harwich as part of the national UK wide coastal arts festival Beach of Dreams.

We will design and make 50 silks representing 50 stories from Harwich. These silks will join the national commission – an evolving installation of over 600 silk pennants that will tour the coastlines of the UK in May 2025. beachofdreams.org

They will be installed in Harwich on 28 May where the stories will be shared on a promenade walk led by artist TriggerBliss.

If you would like to contribute a story and design a silk do join Ali’s workshop on 19th Jan. (Free, drop-in, no booking required)

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Our Coast Eco Youth Project Harwich http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/our-coast-eco-youth-project-harwich/ Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:50:02 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=9564 If you answer yes to these questions and want to know more, email ourcoastecoproject@gmail.com. This fully funded art and environment project for young people 16-23 will give you the opportunity to get your voice heard about environmental issues. Through workshops and field trips with artists and scientists, you will look at creative solutions to climate... Read more »

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  • Are you aged 16-23?
  • Do you live in Harwich or Dovercourt?
  • Do you care about the environment?
  • Do you have time to spare on Friday afternoons through the summer?
  • Do you want to earn £25 Amazon vouchers?
  • If you answer yes to these questions and want to know more, email ourcoastecoproject@gmail.com.

    This fully funded art and environment project for young people 16-23 will give you the opportunity to get your voice heard about environmental issues.

    Through workshops and field trips with artists and scientists, you will look at creative solutions to climate change problems facing young people today, have fun and meet new friends too!

    Join the Youth Eco Project social evening for pizza and collage workshop

    A social evening will be held on the 19th July from 4pm at the Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre for any young people who are interested in the project.

    There will be pizza and a climate change collage workshop and a chance to let tus know what you actually think of climate change.

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    Our Final Week http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/our-final-week/ Wed, 26 Jun 2024 12:49:56 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=9525 As we head into our final week, the festival is taking on a criminally good dimension, starting with the annual Dorothy L Sayers lecture at Witham Library, which features bestselling author and audience favourite Vaseem Khan. Vaseem will be talking about his fourth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series, Death of a Lesser... Read more »

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    As we head into our final week, the festival is taking on a criminally good dimension, starting with the annual Dorothy L Sayers lecture at Witham Library, which features bestselling author and audience favourite Vaseem Khan.

    Vaseem will be talking about his fourth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series, Death of a Lesser God, set in 1950s Bombay where the prejudices and bloody politics of the era are engulfed in flame.

    Photo of Vaseem Khan. Death of a Lesser God book cover

    Continuing the international theme, we’re thrilled to be welcoming ex-Labour minister and life-long human rights campaigner Peter Hain, who similar to his ex-colleague Alan Johnson has also turned crime-writer, to talk about his latest thriller The Lion Conspiracy.

    Photo of Peter Hain. The Lion Conspiracy book cover

    A delicious mix of mafia-style smuggling, illicit night fights and tense shoot outs, Peter’s event forms part of our Criminally Good Day at Harwich’s Electric Palace Cinema. Anyone who enjoyed Alan Johnson’s event at Chelmsford Library should make a beeline for this one!

    Closer to home and continuing the Criminally Good Day theme, local beach enthusiast and educator Libby Scarfe will be running Seaside Explorer: Litter is Criminal Beach Workshop for families on Harwich Beach.

    Expect stories about marine creatures and sea-pollution. Explore the natural coast environment. Take part in a beach clean and then get creative with the treasures foraged on route. Designed for 5+ and the young at heart, why not seize the day and help protect and celebrate this magical strip of the Essex coastline.

    Seaside Explorers Beach Workshop
    M 1931

    Wrapping up the day there will be a screening of Fritz Lang’s legendary ‘M’ (1931), which is widely regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time and ‘The Blue Print for the Serial Killer Movie’. Film buffs will not want to miss this one, particularly the opportunity to see it in one of the country’s oldest surviving purpose-built cinemas replete with its silent screen, original projection room and ornamental frontage still intact.


    The History Books

    Wrapping up this year’s Essex Book Festival – our 25th Edition – we’ll be stepping back in time to the beautiful Layer Marney Tower.

    Boasting the UK’s tallest Tudor Gatehouse and stunning grounds, it’s little wonder that it was one of Henry VIII’s favourite Tudor Palaces, and even less of a wonder that it’s our favourite Tudor palace! The good news is that festival tickets include free entry to the Tower and the Gardens.

    Layer Marney Tower 3x2

    Authors on the menu include historian and the acclaimed author of Blood, Fire and Gold: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, Estelle Paranque, who offers up a fascinating new perspective on Tudor history’s most enduring story: the tragic life and execution of Anne Boleyn.

    In her latest book Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle asks how this courtier’s daughter became the Queen of England. What it was that really tore apart this illustrious marriage. How she became the whore of England: an abandoned woman executed on the scaffold. While many stories of Anne Boleyn’s downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her tragic fate.

    We will also be joined by Ysenda Maxtone Graham who will be talking about her book Jobs for the Girls: a brilliant new history of women’s lives in the workplace by the Sunday Times bestselling author of British Summer Time Begins.

    Photo of Ysenda Maxtone Graham. Jobs for the Girls book cover

    For our final event of the day, co-presented by EA Festival, we will be joined by the illustrious historian and writer Simon Heffer. Simon will be interviewed by Rowan Pelling and will be sharing insights into his latest book.

    Photo of Simon Heffer. Sing As We Go book cover

    Sing As We Go is the fourth and final volume of his critically-acclaimed sequence of books that chart the history of Britain from the accession of Queen Victoria to the outbreak of the Second World War.

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    “Jaw-dropping” http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/jaw-dropping/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:27:18 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=7862 “Harwich is a town so well known, and so perfectly describ’d by many writers, I need say little of it: ‘Tis strong by situation, and may be made more so by art.” We couldn’t agree more with Daniel Defoe who included Harwich in his walking tour of Essex in 1722, and we are absolutely delighted... Read more »

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    “Harwich is a town so well known, and so perfectly describ’d by many writers, I need say little of it: ‘Tis strong by situation, and may be made more so by art.”

    We couldn’t agree more with Daniel Defoe who included Harwich in his walking tour of Essex in 1722, and we are absolutely delighted to be heading back there for our opening weekend on 3rd and 4th June.

    One thing not to miss is former senior police office Jackie Malton, the inspiration for Helen Mirren’s character DCI Jane Tennison in TV drama Prime Suspect. Jackie will be talking about her compelling memoir The Real Prime Suspect – a “jaw-dropping” book in the words of Val McDermid – at the Electric Palace Cinema as part of our Criminally Good Day.

    Jackie’s police career in London Met was notable for her rise within the ranks of a very male, heterosexual organisation while being a woman detective who was openly gay. Having worked in the Flying, Murder and Fraud Squads, Jackie also acted as a whistle-blower against police corruption in the 1980s. A particularly pertinent subject in 2023.

    Our other writers include award-winning crime writer Ruth Ware, BBC radio presenter James Naughtie, and spoken word poet Brenda Birungi, ‘Lady Unchained‘. More news to follow on the silent film to be screened on the Electric Palace’s original 1912 silent film screen on Saturday night.

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    NEWSFLASH!Change of Date for James Naughtie’s event in Harwich Electric Palace Cinema http://ec2-35-176-91-154.eu-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/newsflashchange-of-date-for-james-naughties-event-in-harwich-electric-palace-cinema/ Tue, 04 Apr 2023 13:46:18 +0000 https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/?p=7807 Due to unforeseen circumstances, BBC Presenter and lead on Radio 4’s Bookclub James Naughtie’s author event at Harwich’s Electric Palace Cinema has been moved from 11.30am on Saturday 3rd June to 11.30am on Sunday 4th June. Not that we’re complaining – that gives us an extra day in Harwich – and a chance to catch... Read more »

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    Due to unforeseen circumstances, BBC Presenter and lead on Radio 4’s Bookclub James Naughtie’s author event at Harwich’s Electric Palace Cinema has been moved from 11.30am on Saturday 3rd June to 11.30am on Sunday 4th June.

    Not that we’re complaining – that gives us an extra day in Harwich – and a chance to catch our breath after all of the marvellous things on the menu on Saturday’s Criminally Good Day.

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