Winter 2013 edition of Words Down the Line

Our winter warmer edition is ready for you to collect at Wivenhoe Station or look at in our 'Words Down the Line' section. There is a wry comment on 'the Christmas jumper' from Hazel Humphries.  Candyce Lange, Gloria Lloyd and Melissa Hursthouse contribute three beautiful poems of yearning. 

Here's a little more about the contributors:
Hazel Humphreys has lived in Wivenhoe for two decades and after studying philosophy and a Masters in Film Studies at Essex University and has run the town's comedy club for the last six years. An ex-pat Scouser, Hazel loves the comforting flow of both nature and language in semi-rural Essex.

Melissa Hursthouse, painter, writer, lover of all creatures great and small, writes for the sheer love of language and all that it can do.  Having previously lived in Wivenhoe, she returned 5 years ago from London after pining for the lovely 'country life'.     

Candyce Lange has been writing poetry (and fiction) since high school in Minnesota. Moved to England in 73, and now Clacton-based. A regular visitor to PoetryWivenhoe.

Gloria Lloyd is an International Organisational Development Consultant. Inspired to write prolifically after an experience whilst visiting Monet’s garden in Giverney, she has since written over 2000 poems.  Married to David, they have one Son Matthew and spend many happy hours in their holiday home in St Osyth.

The leaflet has been designed  by Charmaine McKissock.

Station Garden as Winter approaches...

Nadia, the Station Garden Volunteer, writes:
'I have really enjoyed working in the Station Garden over the last 6 months, under the close guidance of Jean Routledge. Despite the recent strong winds the garden is still looking good. At our last session we planted some raspberry canes and removed some of the wild strawberries to make space to plant onions and garlic. The roots were tough to dig up, so it was really satisfying once they were finally out!  I am looking forward to seeing how the garden develops over the colder months, and would encourage anyone wishing to get involved to get in touch as its a really lovely patch to work on. I am completely new to gardening so can honestly say that working in the Station Garden has been a great introduction, especially as I don't have a garden where I live.'

Here is a link to Transition Town Wivenhoe which is part of the global Transition Towns movement - finding ways to live a more connected, healthier, happier, sustainable and low carbon way of life! Wivenhoe is a town of around 10,000 people on the River Colne in north Essex, England.
http://transitionwivenhoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/station-garden-update-nov-2013.html

“Underground Maps Unleashed”

We are excited to present our November & December 2013 Exhibition:  “Underground Maps Unleashed” by Wivenhoe residents Maxwell Roberts & Liz Newton.

About The Exhibition: Maxwell Roberts has designed and tested numerous experimental rule-breaking maps: these have charmed or infuriated people worldwide! Some of his maps have been shown to be easier to use than official designs. Maxwell's work has been exhibited in the Colchester Minories gallery, London, Germany, and USA.


This exhibition is particularly exciting, as it’s the first time these designs have been shown in their natural habitat, on a railway station. Liz Newton contributed the embroidery in the Ticket Hall.

About Maxwell Roberts & Liz Newton
Maxwell Roberts lives in Wivenhoe with partner Liz Newton. He is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Essex. He has researched into intelligence and reasoning, but in 1999 designed his first Underground map, and the two halves of his life (maps and psychology) gradually merged. He has published two books on map design, "Underground maps After Beck" (2005) and "Underground Maps Unravelled" (2012).

Liz Newton, originally from Devon, obtained a degree and PhD at the University of Essex and is currently a lecturer in psychology at London South Bank University. She embroidered her first Underground map for the cover of the book "Underground Maps Unravelled", the second version is on display. Now, she is looking forward to knitting jumpers with art deco patterns.

Please visit our Art Section to see more about the pieces exhibited.

You will also find there contact details for Maxwell Roberts.

Autumn exhibition celebrates first ever Wiv Words Festival

A wonderful Autumn exhibition, celebrating Wivenhoe's first Literary Festival, WivWords, on the 12th and 13th October 2013.

  Exhibits include:

• Poetry by Jo Gould, illustrated by C. McKissock
• Poster for Wiv Words Festival presenting ‘Paperformance’
• The latest work of Wivenhoe artist Alison Stockmarr
• Posters of ‘London and Wivenhoe scenes’ by Miles Black, aged 6

July/August 2013 Exhibition by artist Jane Ostler

Jane Ostler presents a vibrant exhibition of her paintings on silk and printed paper, as well as original poetry. Jane works as Art Development Officer at the Level Best ArtCafe Colchester. She mainly paints in oils and watercolours from her studio in a small space in the back of her garage or in the garden. Her poem on Platform 1: “Sweet Orange” reflects the exhibition themes of crossing geographical and emotional borders. 

Jane believes images have the power to alter our state of mind and art can heal. A main theme of the exhibition concerns the unexpected blessings we can discover on an ordinary day. In this exhibition she engages with the maritime tradition of the sea farer and expresses themes of travel, isolation, and the wonder of being alive.

For a full view of the exhibits, please go to our Art, Craft and Poem sections.

To contact Jane: 07941837433 or janeostler@gmail.com

Brita's Beautiful Boxes of pansies

Brita's Beautiful Boxes of pansies

The pansies in front of Wivenhoe Station are beautifully tended by staff member Brita.

A wonderful community event

During an exceptionally hot and strangely sunny Bank Holiday, the station 150th Anniversary was attended by hundreds of cheery well-wishers, many in Victorian dress. Aaron and Brita had got the station looking spick and span - not a cobweb in site.

The station and garden looked beautiful dressed in bunting. In the ticket hall the special anniversary quilt by Wivenhoe Quilters looked stunning.






The commemorative plaque was unveiled by Mayor Penny, after an introduction by Operations manager, Stuart.






The special bookmarks and Words Down the Line leaflets disappeared like hot cakes, as did the goodies that The Community Railway Partnership gave out.

 

 

The exhibitions of ancient luggage, milk floats, poetry, artwork and photographs all added to the special atmosphere.

The Station Pub car park was full of antiquated stalls and the pub was buzzing, with the barmaids beautifully decked out in burlesque attire...

A wonderful community wvent

Station Master's Garden open to visitors on 6th May

 

Spring seems finally to be upon us and things have started growing with gusto in the Station Garden. Unfortunately a good proportion of them are weeds!

Chris, Jean and Nadia recently met at the garden for a spot of weeding and general tidying up. It was good to see several things sprouting up aside from weeds. A plethora of forget-me-nots are covering many parts of the garden. Other than where they were interfering with other plants, we left these because they look very pretty. The flowers are edible and can be used to garnish salads (or cocktails!).


The garden will be open to visitors on the 6th May as part of the the 150th anniversary of Wivenhoe station from 12-2. You are very welcome to come and have a chat and see what's happening in the lovely little garden.

For a full description of what is being planted in the garden, please go to: http://transitionwivenhoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/station-garden-update-spring-seems.html

Railway Anniversary Banner

On behalf of the Wivenhoe Quay Quilters, Peter Hill presented a banner to Wivenhoe Society President Tom Roberts and Vice-Chairman Pat Smith that they had made to commemorate the arrival of the railway to Wivenhoe 150 years ago. Quay Quilters have produced this magnificent piece of work that had been designed by Anne Wellington and made by Jane Brooks, Janice Alston and Janet Bateman.

Prize-winning photographer Will K Davis contributes to station Anniversary

'Lines' by Will K Davis

The work of Wivenhoe-based photographer, Will K Davis has been published in a number of photographic journals, including Practical Photography and PhotoPlus. He is the Winner of the National Gallery’s ‘Exploring The Landscape’ 2013 competition. ‘Lines’ is an abstract photograph of the Wivenhoe railway lines, created specifically to celebrate 150 years of the Wivenhoe Railway Line.  

Website: www.willkdavis.com

Email: willkdavis@gmail.com

Wivenhoe Photography Group contributes to Anniversary celebration

'Dreaming the Past' photograph by Adrian Multon, incorporating a drawing by Charmaine McKissock

Adrian Multon is delighted to be part in this exhibition marking 150 years of Wivenhoe Railway Station. Off the Rails commissioned Adrian Multon to create the above photograph on the theme of the present and the past of Wivenhoe Station.  'Dreaming the Past' uses cutting edge skill to incorporate a line drawing by Charmaine McKissock into the composition. This gives a dreamy ghostly feel to the atmosphere of the picture.

Adrian is a freelance commercial photographer. His commissioned work includes product, advertising, catalogue and editorial photography.Adrian also works with individuals and groups of all ages to improve their photographic and image editing skills.In 2010 he ran a series of one day Photoshop Workshops at the Nottage.

Adrian's personal work nestles somewhere between fantasy and reality, and is broadly guided by the pictorialist movement of the late 19th and early 20th century.He has exhibited in Colchester, London, Brighton, San Francisco and, of course, his adopted home town of nearly 20 years, Wivenhoe. His work has been published in various books and magazines, including front covers for Fusion Flowers and Colchester 101 magazines.

website: www.adrianmulton.co.uk

email: photo@adrianmulton.co.uk

Adrian belongs to the Wivenhoe Photography Group (WPG). WPG is an informal collective of photographers who meet once or twice a month to take pictures and discuss photography in the context of the wider art world. They also undertake the occasional group exhibition.They are not a camera club, so it doesn't matter the size of your equipment - just what you do with it.They do not charge any subs, and the only criteria for joining are enthusiasm for art and a relaxed attitude to life.

6 year old artist commissioned for anniversary exhibition

Off the Rails commissioned artist Miles Black from Wivenhoe to design a poster for Wivenhoe Station’s 150th anniversary. Miles is now aged 7 and joins a long tradition of Wivenhoe artists. He works with great commitment using charcoal and poster-paints, especially still life and landscapes. His dream is to be a professional artist, such as Manet, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Henri Rousseau.

Wivenhoe Station Memories

 These photographs of Wivenhoe station and station staff from past times have been donated by the curator of Wivenhoe Memories exhibition, John Stewart, to Off the Rails for their special 150th Anniversary celebration in May 2013.

What is‘Off the Rails’ project all about?

‘Off the Rails’ is about local people contributing to the appearance and community feel of their station. So we came up with the idea of showcasing local creative talent.

We believe in encouraging budding artists, writers, craft makers and gardeners to share their work with visitors to Wivenhoe station.  We also invite more established writers and artists to contribute to a rolling programme of exhibitions.

Wivenhoe attracts many visitors and residents because of its vibrant arts and literary scenes, and a large number of rail travelers use the station every week. Whether you are queuing at the ticket office, waiting for a train, or just feeling a bit blue, we hope the exhibits will delight, challenge or inspire you on your journey.

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Photo by Matt Linley

 

In 2012, the project won a National award for its community work.