Challenges posed by AI by Nick Holland.

 

Nick Holland

@Nick_Holland_

My latest blog post looked at the Brontes and technology, and at the challenges posed by AI today. I've just asked an AI server to create a picture of the Bronte sisters using a computer, and this is what it's come up with!

Video, Bronte sisters heading home.

Pretend you are one of the Brontë sisters and you are heading back home:

 facebook/andrea.gyarmati

The Old post Office Haworth.

 

The restored shop front is almost complete; we just need to add the corbels and the horizontal sign panel to the top

From the Facebookpage of the Old Post Office Haworth

The Old Post Office Haworth | Haworth | Facebook:

Over a year of careful planning has gone into the design and details of the front of the Old Post Office. We were keen to bring it back to an early Victorian style, complete with smaller window panes and narrow glazing bars. Many thanks to our talented local joiner, Richard, for his meticulous work in making and fitting all the windows and the panelled stall riser.

The Heritage Officer was keen to retain the existing front door and, although it is later in style (probably Edwardian), it sits well in the newly painted shop front.

The removal of incongruous concrete steps under the shop window was a massive task, but well worth it; we have now revealed the original cellar window and reinstated the railings around the drop.

The front of the building will also feature a hanging sign on a Victorian-style ornate bracket, and a heritage Sugg lantern.

N.B. The larger top step has a little groove in it to carry rain water away from the centre of it! It would form a puddle and freeze in winter without it.

Bronte rings in the collection of the Bronte Museum.

 

Nick Holland

Real Bronte treasures here - these are some of the Bronte rings in the collection of the Bronte Parsonage Museum. Central is a very important ring - the wedding ring of Charlotte Bronte!

Anne Bronte's carnelian necklace.

 

Nick Holland 

@Nick_Holland_

 :  On Good Friday, here's one of my favourite Bronte treasures - Anne Bronte's carnelian necklace and a tiny portrait by Charlotte Bronte of 13 year old Anne wearing it!

Beautiful little film of The Parsonage in the snow.

 (5) A Walk Around the Bronte Table | Facebook

Russian cultural delegation.

Nick Holland on Twitter  "Literary pilgrims come to Haworth from across the globe. This 1954 photo shows the visit of a Russian cultural delegation! On the left is Leonid Leonov, novelist and playwright and six-time winner of the Order of Stalin. Patrick Bronte's portrait is keeping an eye on them! https://t.co/0UV2X9v75M" / Twitter

twitter/Nick_Holland

Christmas, best wishes.

Anne Lloyd: My Brontë Stories

 I started to learn Anne Lloyd because we both are Brontëites.  I am following Anne's blog, she is following me. I knewAnne is writing about Charlotte Bronte and her husband Arthur Bell Nicolls. Anne visited Haworth and Banagher.

Anne Lloyd posted on her blog: Stay at Home Artist: For the past ten years I have been writing a Brontë novel from the view point of Charlotte's husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls. Well, I thought I was writing a novel. What I now find is I have been writing many, many Brontë short stories that run from 1798 to 1906. The collection is called," My Heart is in Haworth. "

I have always meant to weave these stories into one narrative and have tried to do so for years. But so far they stubbornly refuse. So I'm now publishing them as they were written, and posting them periodically on this blog. 

I have decided to do it this way because I'm tired waiting for this book too! The time is now on the platform I have. 

The stories are offered to the public for free,but they are copyrighted of course.

The book hasn't been written in chronological order by any means. In one writing session I could zip to two or three different decades of the story and often did. So it is in keeping with the endeavor that my writing doesn't appear in an orderly timeline either. 

There are far more romantic and dramatic scenes than this one to be sure. But this one elbowed itself to the front of the line!

The scene is the fall of 1854, the Nicholls have returned to Haworth from their honeymoon in Ireland. 

At this point it is important to say something about Arthur Bell Nicholl's appreciation for poetry so that part of my story doesn't seem fantastic. Arthur did not write poetry. But he was sensitive to it and utilized his fine voice to recited it for friends and family most of his life. 

We know this because Rev. George Sowden, the younger brother of Arthur's great friend, Sutcliffe Sowden, recalled Arthur did so a great deal and that.... 

" On one occasion, he repeated by heart, from the beginning to end , and without a single mistake or a moment's hesitation, Tennyson's long and exquisite poem "The May Queen" With the charming Irish pathos which he threw into it, it was delightful to  hear." 

And we know George wrote this because the dedicated research of Ian and Catherine Emerson and their discovery of his 1890s article published in a church magazine,which they republished. 

George Sowden's recollections of the Brontës

My first installment. "Miss Emily's Stone " set in 1854.

My first installment. "Miss Emily's Stone " set in 1854

Christmas in Haworth.

  Every year at Christmas time, Haworth is lit by twinkling fairy lights and pretty shop windows. Our cobbled street is home to wonderful independent shops, bars and restaurants, cafes, hotels and pubs, and every weekend in December leading up to Christmas, Haworth's residents and traders host bands, choirs, carol singers, processions and parades for visitors to enjoy. Home | Christmas In Haworth

A Tour of the Bronte Sisters House - Bronte Parsonage, Haworth West York...

 

IN THE PARSONAGE GARDEN.

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night’s decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

                       EJB 1838

 The garden has never looked better than it has this year.  It was a dry summer, so we did lots of watering to keep the plants comfortable; the leaf cover from the graveyard trees is so dense in summer that even when we have rain it doesn't always get through.  The roses have been stunning. They love the sun, as do many other beautiful plants in the garden.  The challenge is more in the shady beds so in the last couple of years we have put more work and more of our budget into improving them.  We have bought quite a number of pots and containers which enables us to move plants to fill gaps as needed.  Our policy now for the garden is to make it more environmentally friendly - if you see seed heads left on or overflowing foliage, don’t think we’re being lazy, we’ll be leaving these for food and shelter for the wildlife and we are also thinking about how to bring water to the garden without using mains. 

It’s a new era; we have the will and the skill of our gardeners, so we intend to do our bit for the planet.
 
Jenny Whitehead

Read all: bronte.org.uk

THE BRONTË SOCIETY ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR.

The Brontë Society is pleased to announce the permanent appointment of Rebecca Yorke as Director of the Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum.  Rebecca, who first joined the Museum in early 2015 in a marketing and communications role, has been a member of the organisation’s senior management since 2016 and has held the post of Interim Director since June 2021.

Julian Sladdin, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said. “Following a rigorous internal recruitment process, we are delighted to appoint Rebecca to the role of Director of the Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum.  The Board continues to be impressed by Rebecca’s commitment to the organisation and is excited by her clear vision for both the Society and the Museum. We have every confidence that she will continue to steer our organisation to further success and look forward to working with her to ensure that as a museum and charity we are resilient, inclusive, forward-looking and relevant to future generations.”
 
On accepting the role, Rebecca said,  “I am thrilled to be appointed Director of the Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum, to have this opportunity to build on all that has been achieved in recent years and fulfil our mission of bringing the Brontës to the world and the world to Yorkshire.  It’s an exciting time to lead one of the country’s most-loved heritage organisations as we prepare to celebrate Bradford as UK City of Culture in 2025 and the Museum’s centenary in 2028 and I would like to thank the trustees for their faith in me,  and all my Parsonage colleagues for their continued commitment and support.” bronte.org.uk

Charlotte, Anne & Emily Bronte - Walking in the footsteps of the Bronte ...