Friday 31 October 2008

Halloween - a Horrible History

Fascinating facts, folklore, and some fab fireworks thrown in for good measure...

Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday celebrated on October 31st. The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night and began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

Jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday. Pumpkins were later adopted into the tradition when Europeans arrived in the New World. They took seeds back to Europe where they quickly became popular.

The Irish are also believed to be responsible for instigating the tradition of 'Trick or Treating': townsfolk would visit neighbours - in preparation for All Hallow's Eve - and ask for contributions of food for a town feast.

Orange and black are the traditional colours of Halloween. Orange is associated with the autumn harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.

Halloween the movie was made in only 21 days in 1978 on a shoestring budget. The film was shot in the springtime and used fake autumn leaves.

If you see a spider on Halloween, it is said to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.

The common little brown bat of North America, myotis lucifugus, is the longest-lived mammal of it's size, with a life span averaging 32 years. Don't worry though, there's no need to stay indoors after dark: it eats insects, chomping its way through a staggering 1,200 mosquitos per hour at peak feeding periods.

In the USA, Halloween is the second biggest seasonal money-spinner behind Christmas. Each year 2 billion dollars are spent defensively stocking up on trick-or-treaters' candy (the same amount that Canada has pledged to combat global warming!)

Halloween Events & Fireworks - North Norfolk

Blickling Hall Friday 31st October
Halloween Spooktacular!
Timed entry between 6pm & 8.30pm. Family Halloween event with spooky story telling and ghoulish happenings in the Hall. Children’s fancy dress competition and seasonal food in the Restaurant. Adult £7.50, child £4, family (2 + 2) £21 Booking advisable on 0844 800 4308

Felbrigg Hall Friday 31 October, 11am – 3.30pm
Halloween Trail. Follow the trail around the grounds and solve the 'spooky' clues. Normal admission prices apply. £1.50 for the trail. No booking necessary.

Holt Country Park Friday 31st October-Sunday 2nd November
Gruesome creatures trail, from Visitor Centre, also Toddlers pumpkin trail, 10am-4pm free.

Bewilderwood, Hoveton Friday 31st October
Giggling Pumpkin Parade and launch of Bewilderbats, 10am-4.30pm adults and children over 4 years £10/concs £7.50/children (3-4) £5, family ticket £45, 01603 783900.

Saturday 1st November and Sunday 2nd November
Monster Party, old fashioned party games, Twiggle disco and all the fun of the treehouse adventure park for final open weekend of the season, 10am-4.30pm (last admission 3.30pm) £10 (five-59), senior citizens (60 plus) £7.50, children (three-four) £5, under threes free/family ticket £45 (six people, one of which must be an adult, extra person £7.50).

Letheringsett King's Head Friday 31st October
Children's Fancy dress Halloween party 5-7.30pm.

North Walsham, Sadlers Wood Friday 31st October
Friends of Sadlers' Wood Halloween event, spooky stories and chestnut roasting over bonfire, meet by the dip in the woods, 5.30pm.

Overstrand, White Horse Friday 31st October
Fancy dress Halloween party, led by the Audio Junkies, 7pm.

Aylsham, Bure Valley School Saturday 1st November
Fireworks display, barbecue, toffee apples, gingerbread men and hot drinks available, gates 6pm, Guy Fawkes competition 6.30pm, bonfire lit 6.45pm, fireworks 7pm £3.50/children £1.50 advance from JP Post and Martin's in Aylsham, on gate £4/children £2.

Corpusty Saturday 1st November
Traditional family bonfire and procession, refreshments and tombola available, procession 6pm, bonfire and fireworks 8pm. Collection for local charities.

Sheringham Sports Field Saturday 1st November
Firework display organised by Sheringham & Beeston Scouts, bar, food and hot soup available, gates 6.30pm, display 7.15pm £2/children £1/family ticket (two adults, three children) £5 advance from Blyth & Wright, Whistle Stop and Starlings in Sheringham, on the gate £3/children £2/family ticket £10.

Spixworth, Grange Farm, Buxton Road Saturday 1st November
Firework display organised by 1st Spixworth Sea Scouts, barbecue and side stalls, gates 6-9.30pm, bonfire lit 6.30pm, displays 7.15pm and 8.15pm £3/children (five-13) £2 advance from Spixworth Post Office and Co-operative Store or £3.50/children £2.50 on gate (under fives free).

Worstead Village Hall, playing field Saturday 1st November
Firework display, children's entertainer Stevie Spud (village hall) 5.30pm, performance of fire stick twirling and dancing by Amber Hale, 6.30pm; children's firework display 6.45pm; main display 7pm £3/accompanied children £1.

Bodham Playing field Sunday 2nd November
Fireworks display and bonfire, barbecue and soft drinks available, gates 6pm, bonfire 6.45pm, fireworks 7pm £2/children £1/family ticket £5 (two adults, two children).

Friday 24 October 2008

Meeting ‘The Maestro’ - virtuoso of local colour

North Norfolk painter Derek Inwood talks to Hatfield Hines’ Clare Hatfield about life, work and the art of simplicity.

CH: What is the trigger for you, which sparks off the idea for a picture?

DI: My work is about colour. It starts with a mood and that gives me a colour.

CH: Where do you prefer to work?

DI: I capture the mood on the spot by taking oil pastels with me, and then work up canvases in the studio. Sometimes I do local scenes straight into oil paints.

CH: How would you describe your style of working?

DI: I am a natural painter. I basically like looking at things – I am interested in the art of looking and seeing through the eyes.

CH: Which subjects most interest you?

DI: There is nothing complicated about my work. I like to paint figure compostions on the beach, boats, groins, passing ships.

CH: What most excites you about the process of making a picture?

DI: I like to take a flat surface and then transform it into a painting just with colour. Just with colour you can create space and relationships between things in a scene. You can create people, sky and people doing things.

CH: How do you feel your work has changed over the years?

DI: My work has slowly evolved rather than really changed over the years – it has always been about colour.

For more information about Derek Inwood, and a catalogue of available works, access Derek's artist profile page at:

http://www.hatfieldhines.com/artistProfiles/DerekInwood.html

Derek Inwood runs from 1st to 29th November, 2008.

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am-5pm; Thursdays: 11-2pm

Friday 17 October 2008

Colour is good for you – it’s official!

Japanese scientists have proved that colour is good for you in a recent study.

In an experiment conducted at Kyoto University Hospital and published in the Japan Journal of Nursing Science - a test group of adults were first biochemically measured for stress. They were then shown a variety of colour images of natural landscapes and re-measured.

In the experimental group after viewing the colour images, the negative mean mood score decreased.

Also, 40% of the subjects were shown to have had their mood changed to a more parasympathetically dominant state.

This is the opposite of the stress-building ‘sympathetic state’ which governs the ‘fight or flight’ reaction and instead promotes rest and sleep and is asociated with encouragement of healthy digestion, relaxation of the muscles, slowing of heart rate, calming of breathing, lowering of blood pressure, and improved immune system function.

Conclusion: a healthy dose of art appreciation before bedtime can be the perfect antidote to the credit crunch!



Friday 3 October 2008

It's a shard life - the perils of Paris a La Boheme

Norwich was transported back to 1830s 'Garret Paris' last night in Ellen Kent's latest touring production of Puccini's La Boheme.

Set against a classical amphitheatre backdrop, the opera follows the love lives of Rodolfo - a penniless poet - and Marcello - a struggling artist, who eke out their creative crust in a Montparnasse studio along with friends Colline - a philosopher - and Schaunard - a composer. As Rodolfo falls for neighbour Mimi - a sickly seamstress who drops by to borrow a light - so Marcello rekindles old flame Musetta - now mistress of rich diplomat Alcindoro.

The Eastern European soloists gave bravura performances, especially Ruslan Zinevych as Rodolfo. His diminutive stature (he still fell a matchbox short of Mimi despite stonking 2.5" cuban heels) belied a tremendous, warm, emotional voice which captivated the audience. Also noteworthy were the sonorous Petru Racovita as Marcello and Maria Tsonina as Musetta. Tsonina's wholehearted physical acting, which included table dancing, chair-toppling and plate smashing (shards of which flew down over the edge of the stage into a very startled string section of the orchestra - perhaps payback for a slightly off-key harp performance during Act I...) was a perfect balance for Mimi's poignant, more sombre scenes.

Taken from the stories of Henri Murger, Puccini's characters are based on real-life inhabitants of the Latin Quarter: Rodolfo on Murger himself, Musetta on Mariette, a popular artist's model (whom Murger described as having 'a neat figure, plenty of coquettishness, a dash of ambition and hardly any education') and Mimi on a young, pale, sickly girl called Lucile. While Murger's Mimi was a small, delicate-yet-mercenary 22 year old, whose blue eyes contained 'an expression of almost savage brutality,' Puccini's Mimi is - rather - a tragically doomed, saintly beauty.

The audience - which gradually succumbed to Mimi's contagious, consumptive cough - were also gripped by this production, enriched by smoke effects, snow and fire.

To see venues and book tickets for this touring production, click on the link below:

Full Diary