Bridget Crowley - Dancer, Teacher, Author

Bridget has had an extensive and varied career in the arts. She once had both toes on the ground as a dancer, she then became a teacher, an art historian, a gallery educator and an audio-describer. But always – in between all this – she wrote. Her writing has covered many fields, but children’s books are a special pride and joy.

Back in April this year, Bridget gave a talk at Hypatia entitled ‘Whatever Next..?’ taking us through her "desert island discs" and memories of her extraordinary life in the arts.

Educated at Elmhurst, a leading theatre school, later became a student at the Rambert School where polio interrupted her training. Recovered sufficiently to dance with various companies in Paris and London. Taught dance and drama, becoming Head of Theatre Training with special responsibility for dance at Arts Educational Schools, London. Independently founded Dancers Anonymous, a company for students just emerging into the dance world. DAs as they were (and still are!) known, continued for 15 years, spending a month at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and touring the south and west of England during weekends and holidays.  

Mid-life, she took a BA and subsequently an MA in the History of Art at Birkbeck, London. Employed by the National Gallery as a freelance in the Education Department, learning how to really look at paintings from the young people she taught. Became Outreach Officer accompanying visiting exhibitions to galleries all over the country, working with schools and  ‘any group of individuals that normally don’t or can’t visit galleries.’

Long after official retirement she continued to freelance for the Royal Collection, writing and delivering their creative writing sessions for schools and writing accessible entries for the National Gallery website. She became an audio-describer for blind and partially sighted visitors to art galleries and theatres, including the National Theatre, and, for Vocaleyes, all round the country.

In between times, she has written four children’s books, one of which was short-listed for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the USA. A fifth, Wake Up, Mr Kean, was published in June 2024 and is available in our Women in Word bookshop (Chapel St).

1.     What do you consider your greatest achievement?

At a recent reunion, one student said ‘We always felt you were on our side’. I hope there are others that think the same. If so, I think that’ll do.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

The next project that comes along.

3. What do you owe your mother?

Difficult to say – let’s just put it that my mother was not sympathetic to my hopes and ambitions. I don’t know if that’s the reason, but it seems that, early on professionally, I rarely found help when I sought it. When it came, it was usually unexpected and I took it with both hands, always with great gratitude. It allowed me to get on and do things myself. But I realise now, that when making things happen for me, it has made them happen for other people, especially young or disadvantaged ones, and this has given me the greatest fulfilment. 

4. Which women inspire you?

The many women I work amongst, who achieve things quietly and without a fuss are an inspiration, especially when they share my sense of humour. I believe in fun to help the learning along. But if I have to choose one individual, I would say Doreen Swinburne-Smith. Doreen gave me the voice that has since allowed me to speak poetry and to audio-describe for blind and partially sighted audiences, with I hope, sensitivity and discretion. She coached me for the Poetry Society Gold Medal, which took more than two years. She was endlessly sympathetic, demanding but patient, and full of humour – a proper teacher. In spite of many physical disabilities and being constant pain, she decided to go for the medal herself, and beat me to it by six months!

5. What are you reading? 

Reading for pleasure for any length of time is difficult for me now. I dip in and out a lot, especially poetry - Byron’s Don Juan in short bursts is always a joy. Maybe I’ll get to the end one day, but I laugh so much, it hampers progress. I hope there’s time!

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

Gender barriers in the arts are less in evidence these days, I think, thanks to those who have gone before. But as a young woman it was very definitely, ‘you’re a girl – until you’re 21, you will do as you’re told’. I didn’t of course, but it always had to be contended with and it set me back in many ways. But I made up for it later, I guess!

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

The good old education, education, education! By that I don’t mean learning by rote the current dry, anti-art school curriculum but learning by instinct, experience and delight about the world - and please, keeping a sense of humour too! 

8. Describe your perfect day

There have been and still are so many! Let’s go into the realms of fantasy – I’d start with a warm up, once a dance class, nowadays Pilates, then a couple of hours in a studio working with students on a piece of choreography. Early afternoon in a gallery with a school group having fun writing about paintings and such. Next a walk by the sea, with a poem arriving suddenly out of the blue. Evening in a theatre audio-describing a really superb, demanding production. Lastly a couple of hours having the current writing project go just right. Food would come in somewhere I suppose, but I’m not too bothered about that – a tomato and cucumber on rye will do.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Statues don’t mean very much to me – they’re more use to pigeons and seagulls. Much better I think, to remember women by showing and celebrating their work in more practical, accessible, memorable ways. Even better, do it while they’re still here to enjoy it. Like this! Thank you!

Jayne Howard - Director of Arts Well

Jayne Howard is the Creative Health Associates Programme Manager at the National Centre for Creative Health (www.ncch.org.uk ) and is also the founding Director of Arts Well CIC (www.arts-well.com), a social enterprise that places arts and creativity at the centre of health and wellbeing.

Jane was nominated by several of her peers for her ‘commitment, tenacity, passion and drive in the field of creative health and health for over 25 years’.

Jayne was Director of the national-award winning Arts for Health Cornwall for 11 years, during which time it delivered a wide range of programmes and had far-reaching impact on individuals, organisations and communities and received the Arts and Health South West Outstanding Individual Contribution to arts and health in 2016.

In 2016 Jayne founded Arts Well as a CIC to continue the important work of making creative health opportunities available to the communities of Cornwall. With Jayne's extensive knowledge of the arts and health sector and with experience of working at both strategic and practical levels, Arts Well develops projects and programmes, taking an outcomes-based approach and using co-production models in the development of its work. She leads from the front with passion, tenacity and sensitivity and supports others to thrive and develop. 

Her belief in the power of creativity to transform wellbeing in communities and individuals is grounded in a career in education and public health; over 20 years of initiating, advising and collaborating on arts-based health projects in Cornwall; a strong sense of social justice and a passion for the arts and the power of partnerships.

She was a teacher of English and Drama, before moving into the NHS where she held a variety of senior management roles including as Director of Public Health for Central Cornwall. She is a qualified teacher, workplace coach and mentor and has postgraduate qualifications in art and design history, English literature and professional writing. She has lived in Cornwall for almost 30 years but is still a proud Brummie and Aston Villa fan.

She doesn’t use social media on a personal basis but you can follow Arts Well’s social media here.

1.     What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Personally – raising 3 boys into wonderful men who are great partners for the women in their lives.  I can’t take all the credit for that – I have a husband who has been a fantastic role model for them.

Professionally – no question, it was the setting up of a GP service for homeless people in Cornwall which is still in operation. It is often difficult when you work in a big organisation (I was working in the NHS) to point to something which changed because of you or a decision you made, but this is definitely something where I can say that I made a difference. Lots of people helped – I worked in partnership with the late Steve Ellis, an inspirational leader at St Petrocs, and had support from others in my team, so it was not a solo effort, but I feel very proud of having battled some considerable opposition and challenges to set up a service to support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

2.     What motivates you to do what you do?

I think my whole working life has been characterised by a need to tackle social injustice and inequality and I know that creativity has a huge role to play in this. People often think of ‘the arts’ or being creative as something that is a luxury, or a privilege for other people, but creativity is fundamental to our humanity. It really can transform lives – we saw this during the pandemic, where people of all demographics, including those living in the most difficult of circumstances, instinctively turned to arts, crafts and culture to help them cope. My work is about trying to find ways in which those opportunities are available to all and embedded in our health and care system.

3.     What do you owe your mother?

A love of literature, poetry in particular, which has been an absolute mainstay in my life. I can remember my mum reading poems to me when I was quite young – The Highwayman, Arabia, Kubhla Khan, Tarantella – and I know these off by heart now. Although I didn’t always understand exactly what they were about, I fell in love with the words and the feelings they evoked. My mum was – and stlll is – always immersed in one or more books, so a love of reading came early on. We used to go the local library in Birmingham every Saturday morning, after shopping, and we would separate off – me to the Children’s section, whilst she was in the main library – and then meet up at the issue desk to get our books stamped. I used to sneak a peak at her books and so began reading Howard Spring, Agatha Christie, Jean Plaidy and the Jalna novels way before I was really old enough to appreciate them fully. That continues to this day – Mum and I swap books and recommendations all the time, as well as going to the theatre together. I cannot imagine living without literature.

4.     Which women inspire you and why?

There are so many! The best bosses I have ever worked for have all been women. The team of women that I currently manage are so inspirational. The headmistress at my secondary school, Miss Wilks, really inspired me. She was someone who had been a bit of a rebel and went on to become an amazing educational leader. She taught me to channel my rebelliousness so that it was for something, rather than just against things. Other teachers too – Miss Jones, my English teacher and Mrs Sanderson, who taught me German, but so much more besides. They both had such an appetite for life, taught me to embrace new experiences and were also kind and compassionate. More recently, I have been inspired by all those women who worked their jobs and home-schooled their kids during Covid. Their efforts encouraged me to keep going at times when it seemed difficult to get through each day, though I had nothing like their pressures to deal with.

5.     What are you reading?

I’ve always got more than one book on the go. I’m reading Fatal Isolation by Richard C Keller, about the heatwave of 2003 in Paris, when thousands died. It’s about urban social policy and about how societies need to protect their most vulnerable members. I’ve just finished another non-fiction book, Hellhounds on his Trail by Hampton Sides, which is an account of the manhunt of James Earl Ray. It was gripping – even though I knew the ending! I’m generally a fiction fan, and both these non-fiction books are written in a way that is more like a novel. I’m working my way through the novels of Barbara Comyns, whom I came across only recently. She mainly wrote in the 1950s and 60s and never achieved mainstream popularity. Our Spoons Came from Woolworths explores issues of class, poverty, motherhood and feminism – I highly recommend it. My current audio book is another twisty suspense novel by Lisa Jewell, None of This Is True. I walk to and from my office most days, which is a 50 minute walk each way, so I have plenty of time to listen to novels and I find that crime and thrillers are my go-to whilst I am enjoying the fresh air and river views.

6.     What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I went to an all-girls school, which I felt very resentful about at the time, but I can see that it definitely encouraged us to believe that women were easily equal to men.  When I started work it was a bit of a shock to find that my gender was used against me – men with less ability were more readily promoted and casual sexual comments were par for the course. There was behaviour that I would definitely call out now, which I didn’t feel able to at that time.  I also felt that my desire to have a career led some people to view me as some sort of ‘career bitch’ who put her job before her family. But I think that young women today have a much harder time of it than I did and I feel that I – and others of my generation – took our eye off the ball and thought that the hard-won rights we enjoyed were here forever and not under threat. Pressures on young people, and young women in particular, feel much greater and I worry about their mental and emotional wellbeing.

7.     How can the world be made a better place for women?

We need to educate and nurture our boys and men better, focus on how we bring up and teach boys in all countries and cultures. Out of interest, I asked my husband what his response would be to this question, and he said the same!

8.     Describe your perfect day.

Waking up in Paris, croissants at a pavement cafe, a bit of flaneuring, visiting an art exhibition.  Delicious lunch followed by a couple of hours of reading and a siesta then dinner with family and close friends, ending the night with a crepe and a glass of something lovely, people-watching at Le Brebant on the Rue de Montmartre.

9.     Who would you like to see remembered by statues in Cornwall?

I’m not really a fan of statues – I’d quite like to see a ‘Fourth Plinth’ idea whereby we have a space where female achievements can be acknowledged for a period of time, but it changes regularly, keeping up to date and responsive.

10.  Give us a tip

Get a banana guard! A banana is a superfood, but I can’t bear ones that are bruised or a bit mushy. My banana guard means I can transport them without fear!

Anna Wilson - Author

Congratulations to Anna Wilson, our Woman of the Month for September. 

Anna is a writer, based in Penzance, who has published over 60 books, poems and essays for both adults and children. Her children’s series, Vlad the World’s Worst Vampire has been translated into thirteen languages. Her picture book Grandpa and the Kingfisher was shortlisted for the Wainwright Nature Prize in 2023.

Her memoir: A Place for Everything – my mother, autism and me, is about her mother’s late diagnosis of autism at the age of 72. It has been reviewed as “a seminal work in this area” by the world expert in autism in women, Professor Tony Attwood and was featured on BBC Woman’s Hour. Anna shared her experience with us at Hypatia, back in March 2023.

Her latest book A Story of the Seasons is published by Nosy Crow and the National Trust in 2024.

As well as writing, Anna teaches creative writing. She was an Associate Lecturer at Bath Spa University and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Exeter Penryn. She is running a - now fully subscribed - community reading group at Hypatia under the Reading Round project. The project is funded by the Royal Literary Fund.

Please join us in congratulating Anna on her wonderful achievements, and we look forward to her inspiration here at Hypatia.

@acwilsonwriter on Instagram and Threads

www.annawilson.co.uk

Royal Literary Fund profile: rlf.org.uk/writer/anna-wilson

1.     What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Publishing my memoir A Place for Everything. Autism in women was not very well understood when my mother was diagnosed in 2015, so it was difficult to find a publisher who was interested.

2.     What motivates you to do what you do?

I am motivated to write simply because I can’t not write. It has always been the way I make sense of the world, ever since I started keeping a diary when I was 7. I am motivated to teach by the great joy I receive from people when I see that “light bulb” moment or when a student gets a publishing deal.

3.     What do you owe your mother? 

Gillian was a stickler for spelling and grammar and loved the rigour of language-learning. She pushed me to do well academically and I owe my editorial career to her as well as a love of languages in general. I read French and German at university and went on to learn conversational Spanish. Mum’s true love was Latin, but even though I didn’t study the classics after O Level, her passion was handed down to me in the form of a fascination with how many western languages work.

4.     Which women inspire you and why?

My grandmother. She had to leave school at 14 to become a dressmaker. She was a very creative woman, so spending time with her involved lots of craft activities, including making miniature gardens, cutting out paper dolls and making clothes from paper for them, baking cakes, sewing… All these activities have found their way into my non-fiction books for children.

5.     What are you reading? 

I have just finished Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore whose beautiful lyrical writing I have admired for years. This was her first novel after years of writing poetry and books for children. It is set in 1917 and is about D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda and their friendship with a local (fictional) girl Clare Coyne who becomes an artist. It covers topics such as shellshock and xenophobia and is very moving. I need a break before picking up anything new!

6.     What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I did not even think about this until I was 16 when I went to a mixed school and came slap-bang up against incredibly confident young men who would talk over me in class and laugh at my opinions. Until then I had had a single-sex education and been raised in a family of strong women with a father who was gentle and encouraging and never made me feel anything was beyond my capabilities. Suddenly I was forced to realise that I would have to speak up or be silenced if I was going to work with and compete against men. In the workplace I have been frustrated by how male writers have often been paid more than women, even when it comes to running workshops in schools.

7.     How can the world be made a better place for women?

I would have to echo previous women who have been interviewed by you – it needs to be safer. The #metoo movement shone a light on too many stories – it was shocking to hear that we all had experiences to recount which we had not dared speak about before – and there have been too many more recent examples in the media of violence against women.

8.     Describe your perfect day

Get up as early as I can, walk the dog down to the coast path, come back and have a coffee and write, then meet friends at Rising Embers sauna in Newlyn, dip in the sea and have another coffee while chatting and laughing with the wonderful women I have met in Newlyn and Penzance. Write more in the afternoon and end the day with a glass of wine and a good book or a drama on the telly.

9.     We’ve noticed there really aren’t many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall – who would you like to see remembered? 

Laura Knight. I know she was not Cornish and I know we are already lucky enough to be able to see her work in the Penlee Museum, but she was a remarkable artist who evoked the glory of the West Penwith landscape in ways that still stir the soul to this day and her portrayal of women is always raw and true. She had stiff competition from her male contemporaries, yet in 1936 she was the first woman to be elected a Royal Academician since the eighteenth century. That alone merits a statue, surely?

10.   Give us a tip? 

Writing is like swimming in the sea in winter. Sometimes it is easy and glorious, sometimes the very thought of it leaves you cold. But the more you practise, the better you get at it. So just dive in! 

Fiona Wotton - Strategist, Researcher, Creative Producer

Fiona is Chief Executive of the Creative Kernow Group, responsible for the development of the organisation including business planning, strategic partnerships and income generation across the four companies in the group.

Prior to this she was a member of the senior management team at the charity - founding and running Cornwall 365, the cultural destination programme and popular What's On events. Fiona's PhD explored the sustainability of creative communities using Complex Systems theory. She is a Fellow of the RSA and the Clore Leadership Programme. 

She lives in Pendeen with her husband, twin teenage girls, a puppy and a chicken.

@creativekernow
www.facebook.com/CreativeKernow
www.creativekernow.org.uk

 1.  What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Surviving the early years raising my twin girls whilst trying to finish my PhD. I was very sleep deprived for a few years and wrote a lot of nonsense but learned a lot about how to prioritise and proved to myself that I was definitely a completer-finisher!

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

I believe our lives are brighter, happier and more fulfilling when we make time for creativity.  But not everyone gets access to opportunity or encouragement or training and I'm proud of the role that Creative Kernow plays in providing support for creative communities and individuals whether they are trying something for the first time or turning their talents into developing a business. As well as the social importance of creativity we can see this in economic terms as the creative industries are growing faster than other sectors and make a growing contribution to Cornwall’s economy.

3. What do you owe your mother?

One of my earliest memories is following my Mum on my tricycle around our village as she sorted out allotments, broken paving stones and welfare payments as a parish councillor. She has given me a strong work ethic and sense of civic duty; empathy and compassion for others and a knack for starting productive conversations with total strangers. I wish I could have inherited her ability to knit and sew too though!

4. Which women inspire you and why?

The women who inspire me are the mothers and care givers who cheerfully pack more and more into each day to keep their families and communities happy and healthy whilst the world seems to continually conspire against them. There's plenty of them just in Pendeen where I live and millions the world over.

5. What are you reading?

I always have lots of books on the go at once. I'm reading Maps of our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer and dipping in and out of The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessell.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

When I was younger I was often the lone female voice and was made to feel like my views were not worthy or intelligent enough or that I shouldn't be asking questions. So I stopped volunteering them and sometimes even stopped thinking them. It was easier just to defer to my male colleagues with the bigger voices but all the time it was eating away at my confidence. It stems from differences in the way which men and women tend to communicate. We are made to think of these differences as biological but this overlooks how socially constructed these behaviours are and how male colleagues also struggle to be heard if they don't conform with the supposed norm.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Sadly we have to start with making it safe. We have to keep speaking out and acting to eradicate violence against women.

8. Describe your perfect day?

I would be awoken by sunlight and birdsong not an alarm. It would be sunny and warm and we would breakfast outside overlooking some amazing view. There would be time at the beach and siestas and cocktails. In the evening we would be outside listening to live music or watching theatre as part of some fantastic festival with all our friends as the sun set and the stars came out.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

After all the recent controversy about statues I wonder whether there will be a move away from this way of commemorating achievement? I'd prefer to remember people through something that gets used frequently and becomes a landmark. Think of all the Passmore Edwards buildings there are around Cornwall which are used as libraries or public spaces. So I'd love to visit the Emily Hobhouse Reading Room or the Rose Hilton painting studio.

10. Give us a tip?

Never underestimate the power of a few deep breaths.

Janet Axten - Researcher, Writer, and Lecturer

cREDIT: Adj Brown/ adjbrown.com

Janet is a researcher, writer, and lecturer; for many years she has specialised in the history of the St Ives area and the artists who have lived and worked in the local community. Janet is now concentrating on researching the women who worked in the textile industry in West Cornwall.

Born in London, Janet moved to St Ives from Birmingham in 1985. In 1993 she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in History from the Open University and in 2004 gained an MA in Cornish Studies with the University of Exeter.

Janet acted as personal assistant to Patrick Heron from 1988 until his death in 1999. Later that year she became the personal assistant to the artist Bryan Pearce until his death in 2007. In 2000 Janet wrote Bryan Pearce: The Artist and his Work, and four years later, Bryan Pearce and his Artist Friends.

 Following her three-year association with the St Ives Tate Action Group (STAG), which raised substantial funds towards the building of Tate St Ives, she wrote Gasworks to Gallery: The Story of Tate St Ives, published in 1995. Janet became a Specialist at the Tate and regularly gave talks on the displays to visiting groups.

 In 1996 she co-founded, and for twenty-four years was Heritage Manager of the St Ives Archive, a charitable organisation staffed by volunteers, that collects and stores information about all aspects of St Ives and its history. Janet has been on the Committee of the St Ives September Festival and is currently on the committees of the Friends of St Ives Library (FOSIL) and the St Ives Community Charter Group. Janet is a Trustee of the St Ives Arts Club.

 As well as currently researching women in the textile industry, a subject that has so far never been explored, Janet is an inaugural member of the recently created ‘Crysede Collective’. The Collective brings together curators, specialists, students, and makers from across Cornwall to celebrate the working processes of the Crysede Silk Company (1918-1953) which was based in St Ives between 1926 and 1939. Her particular interest covers the detailed history of the company itself and the women who worked there.

 In 2008 Janet was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh with the bardic name of Porthia y’m Kolonn-vy (St Ives in my Heart).

Instagram: @textilesincornwall

What do I consider is my greatest achievement?

Being able to grow as a person, especially later in life, because of the people I have met and the things I have learned. As a result, I have gained in confidence and found the energy to take on a series of projects I should once never have thought possible.

What motivates me to do what I do?

Being given a task and accomplishing it successfully. Public speaking to appreciative audiences is especially important to me. It provides opportunities to share ideas and findings on a variety of subjects with my listeners. Then, following on through general discussions, I add to my knowledge and widen my group of interested contacts.

What do I owe my mother?

Her resilience, her strength of purpose, and being able to take an interest in the people around her, even as she approached her 100th birthday.

Which women inspire you and why?

Women who are independently minded, no matter what course in life they pursue; especially if they can achieve their goals in the face of adversity.  I am also inspired by women who can teach me to see the world in a different way.

What am I reading?

Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes by Claire Wilcox, Bloomsbury 2020

The Point of the Needle: Why Sewing Matters by Barbara Burman, Reaktion Books, 2023

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubbenhold, Black Swan, 2020

The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton: Victorian England’s “Scandal of the Century” and the Fallen Socialite Who Changed Women’s Lives Forever by Diane Atkinson, Chicago Review Press, 2013

The Walnut Tree: Women, Violence, and the Law — A Hidden History by Kate Morgan, Mudlark, 2024

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

More than sixty years ago I trained as a secretary. In those days women were not expected to have a career other than teaching, nursing, office work, or – more significantly – being a housewife. As the years went by, I was able to move outside those stereotypical roles. For probably twenty years, I didn’t have a great deal of ambition, so accepted life as it came along. When I moved to St Ives almost forty years ago, I very soon discovered that I was part of an energetic and creative community within which I could play a role using my early skills. During this time, I have always been myself. If I have come across barriers of any kind, I take a different path.

How could the world be made a better place for women?

Current entrenched misogynistic attitudes across the world ensures that the lives of women are constantly being put dangerously at risk. Until men learn to understand and appreciate that living and working alongside women is for everyone’s mutual benefit, there will always be a wide imbalance between the sexes.

Describe your perfect day?

A perfect day is when I can add to the research I am doing, perhaps because of an unexpected conversation or something I have read. Fitting in a solitary walk is important, as I love to explore the countryside around St Ives – it is so much more peaceful than the town. And it is usually on those occasions, with nothing to interrupt my thoughts, that I come up with positive ideas.

Statues of women around Cornwall – who would I like to see remembered?

I am not a great fan of statues. I think that women who have made a positive impact in their community should be remembered by having buildings/rooms etc named after them. Then, when events take place in those venues, their names are continuously recalled. In this way a greater number of women can be honoured.

A tip?

Always be curious by asking questions.

Amanda Harris & Annamaria Murphy - The Writers' Block

cREDIT: STEVE TANNER

This month we are celebrating not one but two wonderful women! Congratulations to Amanda Harris and Annamaria Murphy, founders of The Writer’s Block, our Women of the Month for June.

Amanda Harris retired from The Writers’ Block in November, having worked in the arts in Cornwall for over 35 years. She was administrator for Kneehigh Theatre for 12 years followed by brief jobs with Radio Cornwall and ACT, the becoming Director of Kernow Education Arts Partnership (KEAP) which is where she met AnnaMaria in the early 90s.

After years running arts and creative projects in schools across the artforms, they decided to focus on creative writing, literature and storytelling. And so was born The Story Republic, which developed into a performance team with its own distinctive style and voice as a unique training ensemble for emerging performers. 

The Writers' Block swiftly followed which began as an imaginative installation at Cornwall College created by artists to unleash the imagination and story in children and young people.  It too has grown as adults and the wider community have also joined in with workshops and events.  The reach is now much broader and The Writers' Block now proudly wears the title of The Writing Centre for Cornwall. 

Amanda is a Bard of the Gorsedh and volunteers with the Qfund, Young & Talented Cornwall and Chat Play Read, a literacy project for the under 5s. Since retiring she has created a blog (www.departingfromredruthstation.com) to dive into her greatest joys of reading, writing, walking and travelling by train. She is working on her second novel. The first, Behind the Lines was published by Scryfa in 2018.

Annamaria Murphy is a published writer and was a long-term member of Kneehigh latterly as a writer including Red Shoes and Tristan and Yseult. Anna has written for C-scape Dance, Theatre Alibi, Rogue and A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings for Little Angel Theatre.

Anna co-ran the Story Republic and Writing Squad Kernow and was lead artist of Kneehigh’s Rambles walking the road less travelled gathering stories new and old. She has just retired for being artistic director of The Writer’s Block.

Radio 4 plays include: Rosie's Beauty, Nine Lives, Scummow, The Ballad of Pickard Boots, plus three short stories and most recently, Curious Under the Stars and The Severn Serpent.

We interviewed both Amanda and Annamaria together, and here’s what they had to share.

1.     What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Annamaria:
The Writers’ Block (and the Story Republic) because I think we created something really unique and imaginative, with a whole team, and also have provided a lot of employment for artists and writers and workshop leaders. I'm really proud of how we trained our attendees and they've now gone off into all sorts of areas.

Amanda:
I'd agree. I absolutely I think it's brilliant what we've done – but also its impacting part of the cultural sector, the Cornish cultural sector. It has quite a distinctive style.

The number of performers and writers who've come, maybe with less confidence and we see them disappear into the distance or they’ve come back in and become key members of the team. It’s a wonderful thing and I don't think there's many organisations like us –  and this is nationally – where you are a writing organisation but who also have a performance team linked to it. I think it's quite unique from the discussions I've had with other groups.

Annamaria:
It’s not by design, but our main team is female led, but that isn't a decision we've made consciously. [So why do you think it's been female led?] I think because The Writer's Block is about enabling and I think (and this is a big generalisation) that women tend to be enablers and encouragers.

Amanda:
I think you're right. The other thing I'm really proud of as well is that I've sustained a career all the way through and brought up a family and I feel really chuffed – you know, I'm still here. And, I've enjoyed it all. There's been a lot of joy. It hasn't always been easy of course.

2.   What motivates you to do what you do?

Amanda:
I do like to feel useful. One of the motivations for The Writers’ Block was that the chair of the board at the time said that literacy levels were really low in Cornwall, despite our schools being lovely, with really motivated teachers. There was something missing. So we thought, what could we do that could support literacy? We can't teach grammar, teachers are trained to do that. But we can teach and engage young people's imagination and I'm absolutely firm in the belief that if you have a story to tell, you will want to tell it best of your ability. And so our whole thing was about getting the story. And then children could go back to school and tailor it and make it beautiful.

So that usefulness – but within our skill set you know – is what motivated me.

And the other thing – and I’m going to say this – was the opportunity to work with Amanda.

Annamaria:
My motivation is, as a writer, the ordinary extraordinary and other people's stories. Unearthing stories. We did a project in Penzance called the Shop of Stories: you came in and there was counter with jars of words and objects that have stories, with storytellers, writers and artists, it became this extraordinary space. And then we did another one called the Bank of Stories. Amanda and I have developed this style - over 40 years - and we would have a lot of other artists input. We've worked with lots of artists to create our spaces.

Amanda:
We met working for Kneehigh theatre. So there's always been a theatrical element in there. It's just in the DNA of it really. That sense of wonderment. That sense of going on a journey where you don’t know the outcome …

Annamaria:
A lot of people assume that lot of Cornish children have access to the beach and the woods, but actually that's not true. There's a high degree of not being able to afford to go to the beach or the woods; there's a perception that it’s on your doorstep and it’s free. So it’s giving children something to write about. There are so many things to find in the imagination. So that is really important.

3.   What do you owe your mother?

Annamaria:
I owe my mother humour, but also shielding me and my brother from hardship and poverty that we were in but we probably didn't know. She was a single mother and she shielded us which was extraordinary really. It was only in later life that I understood the hardship she faced.

Amanda:
One is outdoor-ness. We were lucky enough to have some land but she talked about guardianship rather than the ownership, and I thought that was really good. She felt a responsibility for the land.

The other thing is she had this huge stock of quotes that she quoted at us constantly. She confessed she must have been a naughty child, as they were a result of punishments; she had to go and learn bits of poetry by heart. Only in later life I realised where they'd come from, by which time they were in my head because I’d heard them so often. She gave me the love of language. I did think for a long time that she had made them up herself …

4.   So, which women inspire you and why?

Amanda:
When I moved to Cornwall and then got the job at Kneehigh Theatre, I really knew nothing about that world. But the people in that company, for me, were quite extraordinary; I didn't know about that world of living in the imagination and theatre - it wasn’t a nine to five, it was a whole way of living.

There were two women in that company; Sue Hill and Annamaria.  Sue is an extraordinary artist, a full force of nature. No compromise, and all about the art. The other was Anna with her extraordinary creativity and very individual way of thinking. I was sometimes lost in an innocence of not knowing; she was always kind.

There’s another two women that I’ve encountered through my work; Jo Davies and Mari Eggins. Jo Davies is CEO of Wild Young Parents Project. Jo fights for young mothers, at all levels! And the most amazing Mari Eggins who runs Carefree Cornwall. It started as a tiny little organisation in Camborne and is now countywide. They create networks and support for young people in care so that when they leave care they have a peer group, and they have confidence. Those two women have made a huge difference in their communities and they are selfless as well.

Mo Mowlam; what a great woman, what a loss. She was instrumental in the Good Friday Agreement. She had this ability in politics to bring groups of people together and find that compromise that you have to find, but she was special.

Annamaria:
Amanda is the most amazing strategic thinker. I might put a bit of fairy dust on the projects, but Amanda actually conceived a lot of the projects and I probably get the praise for it. She is also is one of the cleverest people I know, speaks several languages, is incredibly well read, and is rather a good writer.

Amanda has this gift of knowing what's needed to work with that group. That's so important because you can have a million brilliant ideas for writing projects, but unless they've got a heart and a group of people that you know is going to be brilliant for them – then it’s just another arts project. You need strategic thinkers in the arts, and it’s what Amanda is brilliant at.

Mary Kelynack of Newlyn - I did a whole project based on her called the Rambles project. I love the fact she had no idea about going to London, where it was, but decided she was going to go (on foot) to the Great Exhibition, meet Queen Victoria and claim a pension she was entitled to. Wow, what a woman.

There’s Maya Angelou and Margaret Atwood. Margaret doesn’t give a shit as she's got older. She's an activist, writer, and a prophet, I think. She’s extraordinary and she’s still writing.

5.   What are you reading?

Annamaria:
Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry, who is one of my favourite writers. He writes in this amazingly rich, extraordinary way. One of his famous books is called The Secret Scripture- he often writes about how religion has stifled a whole generation. I must have other books lined up or I will go into a panic. The next one I've got to read is called Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

Amanda:
I've just finished The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning. There was a BBC about it back in the 90s. It's set in two places, the trilogy goes from Bucharest to Athens. It’s absolutely gripping. The theme is displacement; and it just fits with today. In all this chaos the main characters are trying to work out who they are.

I have read this absolutely extraordinary book by Andrew Lanyon, Rabelais And Cervantes On The Road To Cornwall. He's imagining that Rabelais and Cervantes, both young men before they wrote their famous works. One is Spanish, one's French, and they're actually from different times, but they meet in a carriage on their way to Cornwall. He is an absolute original thinker. Much of the book is about what makes a good story and his thoughts on that.

6.   So what gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

Annamaria:
It's an interesting question because I feel I haven't yet had any. When I think back on my life and career I think that, particularly in the capacity of the Writers’ Block, we haven't taken up as much space as we should have both physically and metaphorically. Too busy getting on with the work, enabling others and we're not shouting “we’re here”. We get overlooked. Men seem to have the confidence to do that more. So it's about taking up space.

Amanda:
I can honestly say I'm very lucky to have been alive in a time of feminism and strong women. I can remember walking the streets of London thinking no one's going to stop me doing this. I believe I might have limited myself and that may come partly from my education; these days it’s “you can do anything’ - I don't ever remember this.

Annamaria:
In my secondary school, our choices as a career were airhostess, teacher or nurse. Our first lesson in domestic science was to iron a man's shirt. I was born in 1957 to iron a man’s shirt. Never got over it. That wouldn't happen now. Making instant coffee was the second lesson. Victoria sponge in five different methods.

7.   How do you make a better place for women?

Annamaria:
Policies for women made by women, and feeling safe.

When you have the fear of a man like Trump getting into power in one of the world's biggest democracies – a known misogynist and sexual assault as president – and a group of white men reversing Roe vs. Wade, this all has a disturbing psychological factor. It’s deeply worrying – it pervades the psyche.

I just went to see Emma Rice in her powerful show, Blue Beard. She’s subverted that text – she’s turned it on its head and there's a startling pitch at the end. Her art is joyful and theatrical and then there's this rage that comes up through it; that women don't feel safe on the street, and violence against women have gone up in this decade.  

So it has to be policies. For women, made by women and for us to feel safe as we go about our business.

Amanda:
I feel so privileged. What I can't bear this is wasting of female talent and female input. There are parts of the world where females just don’t get a chance. And I find that heartbreaking.

We need a world that acknowledges the needs of children without sacrificing women. This notion, this perception, that actually rearing children is all women are good for still exists in so many places. Condemned to a life of domestic service. If that is the way society is run then there are never going to be role models. There never is any somebody for girls to look up to and say, gosh, I want to be like her.

Malala Yousafzai has done extraordinary things around the world; a brave, young girl. She globally changed attitudes. We need more of her in a way. And I do think the young generation are not going to put up with it, they're brave.

Annamaria:
When we’ve done storytelling projects it’s been really hard to find women’s stories because stories were written by men. What is good is that museums are aware of that now. As writers you have tiny facts about a woman, then it's your job to imagine her life. I was just talking to Claire Ingleheart about that - she did a project called Women in Song and she didn't have any songs about Cornish women. So her and I and other writers have written a series of songs about Cornish women, but we had to build and imagine the facts. But as you know, museums are so important actually to tell those stories. That’s what we can contribute. I love what you're doing here [at The Hypatia Trust], I think that's what we need. More HerStories. creating HerStories.

8.   Describe your perfect day?

Amanda:
Well, it would be in Cornwall on a sunny day. It doesn't have to be hot, but I would like the sun out. I would have breakfast in the garden, just listening to the birds - I love that moment. And then a walk on the cliffs. And I'd have sandwiches on the coast. (Have you ever noticed how much better sandwiches taste when you're outdoors? Just a boring cheese sandwich, amazingly elevated). And a great film in the evening, or theatre.

Annamaria:
Mine would be in a city, or even a different town. In a cafe with Espresso and my writing notebook. I'm never happier than sat in cafe just streaming thoughts. I never write about myself - just writing, drawing.

Amanda has started a lovely blog writing about her journeys, travelling from Redruth. Something like that is like my dream because I just write. I hear a conversation and do little stupid drawings and in my notebooks and sticking things in - that's when I'm in my element. Obviously being with friends and family means the world to me but if I was just doing something for myself this would be perfect.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Amanda:
I do believe in statues not being up forever. I really do. When Edward Colston came down it was about time, he should’ve been taken down sooner. I love the fourth plinth for example; it allows for innovation, quirkiness. You can move on; have a laugh one time, and cry the next.

I would choose a woman called Hazel Barrowman, who died sadly about 25 years ago. She was an art curator at a Royal Cornwall Museum. She was she was quite learned – she wrote books crysede fabric too. She did this great exhibition which the Town Council insisted on being taken down because it had full frontal male nude. She was almost single handedly responsible for the beginning of community lantern parades in Cornwall, she commissioned people to create these lanterns. And that started the City of Lights thing, and there are now London parades.

Sadly, she got meningitis and died way too young. It feels like she should still be here, and celebrated now as an elder and a grandee. Someone we should be celebrating.

Annamaria:
There's a lady called Sheila Vanloo. She lives in St Austell and she is a brilliant community activist, always volunteers. If you need an audience, she's there. She's a huge supporter of all artists and art forms. And she's just the most marvellous Cornish woman who's the most humble. She now runs the St Austell Arts Theatree.org.uk. She's just got voracious energy.

10. Give us a tip?

Annamaria:
One thing: always carry a notebook. Because you never know what you might hear, or see.

Amanda:
When I retired people said very kind things and Keith Sparrow drew a lovely cartoon of me juggling on a unicycle and it just said at the bottom: EVER ON. Apparently I say it a lot. It’s just a word for “keep going”. The Writer's Block wouldn't have existed if we’d lost our funding, and the question was; What should we do next? And it's like: EVER ON. Especially to the new team in charge!

Charlie Lewin - environmental campaigner and textile artist

Charlie Lewin is an environmental campaigner and textile artist and has been working with recycled fabrics and second hand clothes for the past 15 years. She is based in St Levan and the main themes that drive her work are social and environmental issues and the expectations on women in society today.

She recently helped Stina Falle curate “Women’s Work” at the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston, an exhibition championing women, which launched in March on International Women's Day. It showcased collaborative work and art by celebrated women from Cornwall and was inspired by Denny Long. 

This May Charlie is part of both Open Studios in Cornwall and PZ Studios showcasing her intriguing and offbeat hand-felted jugs, vases and images made from hand-felted wool, reclaimed fabrics and found plastic waste decorated with machine embroidery and appliqué.

We are also delighted to announce that, during June, we are displaying some of her work including exhibits from the Women’s Work exhibition at our Women in Word bookshop for visitors to view.

“In the past 18 months I have found myself drawn more and more towards working in 3 dimensions. For the most part I’m still using wool to felt with but I am really enjoying experimenting with shape and form. Gleaning from my mother’s ceramics a joy of structure, proportion and balance but without the clay and firing! 3D wet felting has its own complications – not least the shrinkage necessary to create something substantial enough to stand up – let alone hold water – and yes these pots can hold water – for a while anyway!!

Social and environmental issues continue to direct the themes in my work, and I’ve been exploring the use of lettering, Celtic knot-work and ancient imagery with which to decorate these pots with my ideas and concerns, I also enjoy the challenge of sewing in 3 dimensions! 

I have begun to explore using other materials in my work too – plastic waste found on the sea shore, old torn clothing, waste packaging… it’s certainly not as pleasant as working with fabric, but interesting to investigate! I'm really lucky, my studio is set in beautiful surroundings close to some of the best beaches in Cornwall, the Minack Theatre and Porthcurno Museum are close by.”

Open Studios Cornwall 2024 will run from 25 May to 2 June 2024.
www.openstudioscornwall.co.uk/participant/charlie-lewin-felt-at-sea/

PZ Studios runs from 25th May to 9th June, at Unit 7 Wharfside Shopping Centre, Penzance

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Well, I’ve hung out the laundry! I say that jokingly but actually part of me thinks that this is kind of key. I’ve spent a lot of my life since marrying doing the drudgery and that is an achievement, but it’s so rarely recognised. And I was just hanging out the laundry this morning and thinking, here I go again.

I’ve been a Mum. And that has been an amazing privilege… 

Physically, I’ve given birth without any conventional medical intervention, which felt quite powerful at the time.

Emotionally, I dealt with my Mum dying suddenly and without warning.

And mentally, well, is to keep going every day. Despite being fully aware of the catastrophic environmental crisis that we all face.

What motivates you to do what you do?

Well, I think there is still time to address the climate and ecological crisis. Some people say that we’re all going to die anyway so what’s the point? But I wonder what gives us the right to destroy all other life on this planet? And that’s where we’re heading.

We are so out of balance, we’re so out of kilter. And this is what’s causing this massive destruction of the planet. We’ve had this patriarchal system that has not been tempered by listening to the feminine side. And if we just redress that balance.

Men have a huge role to play, it’s not a male versus female thing. It’s this heavily dominating, patriarchal system - the very suppressing of the feminine or the Mother Earth if you like. Chris Packham recently said; “We’ve not lost species, we’ve destroyed them. There have been mass extinctions in the past but this isn’t extinction. This is extermination”. We are acting like Daleks! And we have to change direction. It doesn’t have to be this way.

We really can turn things around if we just allow nature to breathe, there is a potential beautiful future and so that’s what motivates me.

I think having children puts some perspective on to it. But it’s not just human children. It’s all life - at peril because of patriarchal action.

What do you owe your mother?

Well, she was amazing. She was also stuck in this patriarchal system and followed it so much. She was a housewife. And she was very gentle and hugely loving and so with that, I learned a softness and patience and a frugality. She had an infinite capacity to love; and somehow love keeps coming…

She taught me my sewing skills. She was a potter, and I realise I am intrigued by vessels too.

I think probably the most important thing was her creative energy and she showed me that creativity can heal. When there’s a problem, a difficulty, a depression, a loneliness, it’s creativity that can take us out of it. And I think that’s very powerful.

She gave up work when she got married. And she had children, and was a housewife. And it took a long time for her to stand back up and find herself. She just sort of gave up for us constantly. And I think children need that. You know, children need somebody to be constantly loving and giving, otherwise they get caught up with trauma. We need a strong, safe and loving grounding. And it’s extraordinary actually, when you have children, how that loving just keeps coming out of us.

When mum gave up her work, I think it was difficult for her - I’m not sure it was a choice. I think it was an expectation that she fell into - possibly, happily. I never had that conversation with her.

Which women inspire you and why?

I am inspired by passionate articulate politicians and leaders like Caroline Lucas, Mhairi Black and Jane Goodall. If we would only listen to them, if they weren’t criticised for what they wear!

We do not stop to listen to powerful women speakers as a society. In particular, women politicians that have heart at the centre of their work. Other women politicians who have a strong patriarch - if you like - they haven’t done us service at all.

I’m also hugely inspired by my daughters, Rose and Holly Lewin. They have a very clear love, it just shines out of them. They’re understanding, they’re sensitive, they’re strong, and they’re calm. And I’m inspired when I’m around them.

And the last group of people that really inspire me are the other women who continue to work for social and environmental justice. I’m thinking of people like Greta Thunberg, but also people like the West Cornwall Extinction Rebellion Group, who are mostly women and they meet every Saturday at 10 o’clock at the Redwing Gallery, Penzance and work out how to make change happen. They are really inspiring.

What are you reading?

So I’ve got a fantastic book on at the moment, called the Great Cosmic Mother; Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth, by Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor. It took them over a decade to write, and it’s riddled with the most excellent research. It’s actually like an alternative to the Bible; I know some lovely Christians but I feel that much of Christianity suppresses women and so I struggle with it as a religion.

I’ve got a stack of other books by my bed to re-read;

Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie
The Patriarchs by Angela Saini
Finding the Mother Tree by Dr Suzanne Simard
Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Also waiting to be read:
The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie
Sorry for the Inconvenience, But This Is An Emergency, by Lynne Jones
Grandmothers of the Light by Paula Gunn Allen
Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

Well I’m white, and middle class, so I’ve had almost every privilege and comfort. But being female I have been left, well, deeply frustrated without a voice and without any expectation on me. I was told to accept an unjust world and that a woman’s place is in the home. I was brought up not to have any ambition whatsoever. I was taught fairy tales; you know helpless maidens and handsome princes.

At secondary school, all the girls were taught home economics. And I remember very clearly being told that we would get married and we would have children. I just remember thinking ‘how is that definite?’ It was expected and accepted. In the meantime, all the boys had access to the most amazing machinery and the wood workshop and the metal workshop. I guess I’m hugely jealous that the boys had the most amazing tools and equipment. You know, we just had the ovens!

I was expected to help my mum and my grandmother. And I’ve got two older brothers who I love dearly but they weren’t expected to help so much - the patriarchal system we are so fully plugged into it without even questioning it… I think if I’d been born male, I would have achieved much more than I have, but I feel that my place is to is to work to redress this balance. So I’m pleased to be a woman.

I don’t regret any of the things that have happened to me, but being a woman has constrained me. I wasn’t expected to do anything more than have my own children.

There’s a classic punch cartoon by Riana Duncan (1988) of five men and a woman around the table. And the comment is “That’s an excellent suggestion, Miss Triggs. Perhaps one of the men here would like to make it.” That’s how things were in my earlier years, before I was married with children.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

I’ve been thinking about this - we’ve had 6000 years of history, haven’t we? That’s eradicated the previous 200,000 years of Herstory! The achievements over that period just dismissed as myth.

The patriarchal system that we live in, has exploited our planet - using its resources without thought for anything other than profit and domination. And we’ve got to redress this balance. We need to start with language, it’s so male orientated. Repatriate, expats etc. If we support something we patronise it. We need to change the focus of our language entirely. We need matrifocal systems and matrilineal societies, and matriarchs who are listened to, and old wives tales believed, rather than dismissed.

• We need reciprocity over ownership, we need intuition to be valued

• To value process over having a goal, the doing of something rather than the achieving of something

• We need community at the heart of our society and creativity at the centre of our work

• To give thanks for what we have and not hold on to excess

• And we’ve got to put love into our every action

Describe your perfect day.

So my perfect day I would wake up to a green power sharing coalition. Where decisions are advised by citizens assemblies, on health, transport, energy, ecology and carbon neutrality.

My day would involve being creative with women and children, teaching and sharing the chores with everyone.

We’ve noticed there really aren’t many, if any, statues of women around Cornwall. Who would you like to see remembered?

I don’t know of that many statues but there is a miner statue at Geevor and there ought to be at least a Bal maiden beside him. But I think my choice would be a carer, or a cleaner.

What is your top tip?

My favourite phrase at the moment is: Put love first - before doing anything, make your actions loving actions. If we just put love first the world would be a very different place…. 

Oh yes and there’s a fabulous tree planting group at the Bosavern Farm. It’s a great group and they’ve planted 1000s of trees but it’s not just tree planting, it’s tree care as well. There are 1000s of young trees there that need weeding and looking after. So it’s tree care too. If there’s anyone local who wants to do that, it’s something fun and the best thing for our environment.

Vicki Aimers - Book Artist and Authorial Illustrator

Vicki is a Book Artist and Authorial Illustrator based at Krowji in Redruth. She works with a number of heritage organisations such as Kresen Kernow, Hayle Heritage Centre, Museum of Cornish Life and the Royal Cornwall Museum, bringing archival stories to life in creative ways through workshops and public events.

She is also a PhD researcher at Falmouth University with their Fashion and Textiles Institute, studying the stories surrounding the archival stitched samplers in the county’s museums, finding out what happened to the young makers and their educators and what can we learn as a community from their lives. This is a collaborative doctoral research project working closely with the museums and local groups, who are now the custodians of these important textile narratives.

Vicki is the founder of the Palimpsest Project (insta: palimpsest_project). This is an initiative recording the stories of women, however fragmented, through a variety of creative projects and at various events. She has been working for some time exploring the history of piecework and researching the photography of Lewis Hine (American photographer and social reformer, 1874-1940) with a collaborative project entitled ‘Take One Square’.

As well as her PhD, she is currently working on a number of projects with several organisations looking at the lives of amazing local women from the past including Elizabeth Carne (1817-1873, a project in partnership with Hayle Heritage Centre and other researchers) and Catherine Payton Phillips (1727-1794). Her travelling installation and education programme ‘Catherine’s Cabinet of Curiosities’ has been shown at a number of locations and festivals such as Morrab Library, Fun Palaces, Open Studios, Krowji, Kresen Kernow, and Redruth and St. Ives Libraries.

As part of this initiative, she has homegrown with her family over 300 apple trees from several Cornish apple varieties to give away at various artist residencies and events. These saplings have acted as a token of Catherine’s idea to grow fruit trees to feed communities and to ‘beautify wastelands’. The project is called ‘Kitty’s Orchard’, and she says “they may never grow edible apples due to the genetics of apples, but there is an inspiring passion for life in every seedling. It is also a lovely legacy for Catherine that there are at least 300 new trees in the world. Hopefully one day, by continuing with this project it may become one of the biggest and widest spread ‘orchards’ in the world - all thanks to the idea of an extraordinary woman in Cornish history.”

She lives in Camborne and is happily married to Lee who she met when they were 14 at school, and remembers being told off by a teacher for holding hands in the playground!

Krowji

Insta: vicki_aimers

‘Sweeping the heavens’- screen print and part of a zine collection about the life of the Astronomer Caroline Herschel, 2019

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is having my two daughters. They are my everything and I’m very proud of them and all they do. Medically, I wasn’t meant to have children due to suffering from severe endometriosis all my life and having numerous operations, so to have two beautiful girls has been the biggest blessing. They are very artistic and talented, and just lovely, kind and thoughtful people. Both have made wonderful lives in Cornwall, and I am very lucky to have them so close.

My second achievement is following an unconventional route through art and education. I’ve always studied in my own time since I was 18, even while working full time in local government or being pregnant. I attended many evening classes, part time courses and then as a mature student gaining a Degree and Masters to eventually lead onto my PhD. I value every course, workshop and evening class to be where I am today. Education is one of the greatest privileges; it should be valued and never taken for granted.

Finally, moving to Cornwall was a huge achievement, as it was a moment of thinking only with our hearts. It’s a place of inspiration and wonder for me. I feel very happy to live here, to have my family close by and to have made wonderful friends and contacts over the years, who have supported me with all my ideas and projects.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

Working with archives is a constant source of motivation for my creative practice. I feel I have the best job in the world. Just being absorbed in research and finding out what happened to inspiring women from history drives me forward.

Also having that haptic process of making in whatever I do. While I’m researching I’m also sewing or drawing. Even when I’m waiting in the car, I’m writing, stitching or sketching something. I was the mum at the school gate in my car sewing, while waiting for my daughters to come out at the end of the day.

I’m not digitally minded at all. I love papers, scissors, glue and a sketchbook. That’s my ‘happy place’ and fuels my practice. My daughters kindly help me with any digital work, which I really appreciate.

3. What do you owe your mother?

I’m very fortunate to have two special mums in my life – my mum Linda and my mum-in-law Brenda. They are my rocks when times are hard, and they have always surrounded me in kindness and care. I owe to them my ability to love, overcome challenges and to follow my dreams.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

Caroline Herschel (1750-1848, Royal Astronomer, Comet Hunter and House Keeper for her brother William Herschel). I studied her life and scientific discoveries for my MA at Falmouth University, and I was struck by how humble she was about her achievements and how much she had contributed to the world of astronomy and science.

When she asked about her work and her devotion to her brother William (Royal Astronomer, World Class Telescope Maker and Composer, 1738-1822), Caroline said,

“I am nothing, I have done nothing; all I am, all I know, I owe to my brother. I am only the tool which he shaped to his use – a well-trained puppy-dog would have done as much.”

She never wanted anything more but to be of use to her brother and her nephew (William’s only son) John Herschel (1792-1871), who also became a famous scientist. When John was a child, they would carry out experiments in teacups, pepper boxes and tea canisters on her kitchen table. This devotion to her family was the thread that ran through everything Caroline achieved, and I feel there is a similar thread that ties me to my family. Their happiness always comes first.

Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010): When I’m lost creatively, there are certain artists I look to and Bourgeois is one of them. Her writing, sculptures, books and drawings, inspire me in so many ways. I don’t think there has ever been an artist like her. She had a deep connection to her childhood memories, which I can really relate to.

Rebecca Elson (1960-1999): She was an astronomer and poet who died very young. Rebecca was extraordinary because she was on the cusp of finding out unknown phenomena about the universe and particularly Dark Matter (a hidden astronomical mass), when she sadly passed away. Fortunately, she left us with her beautiful legacy – her research, notebooks and poems, published in her book ‘A Responsibility to Awe’ (2001). Her poetry speaks of science, spirituality and a love for life – for me, her words put everything into perspective.

‘Wastelands to Wonderlands’ - Artist Residency Programme 2022 onwards

5. What are you reading?

I just love everything about books… book shops, libraries, the way they feel in your hands, the quality of the paper, illustrations, typefaces, their smell, annotating books etc. etc.

At the moment, I’m reading a lot of books for my PhD studies that I wouldn’t usually read, which is really interesting. It’s taking me out of my comfort zone, particularly texts by Dr Maureen Daly Goggin, which are fascinating.

I’m also enjoying reading Phillipa Gregory’s ‘Normal Women’ (2023) and a beautiful book written by my Director of Studies at Falmouth University, Dr Kate Strasdin ‘The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes’ (2024). They are inspiring books for research and for pleasure.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never personally experienced an obvious gender barrier. Saying that, the historical women I have researched did hit barriers throughout their lives because they were female and in a different time. They were also educated and determined at a point in history when women were not expected to have a mind of their own. This made them a threat to some of the men they encountered, and they received criticism and little acknowledgement for all their wonderful work.

One such woman was the astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin (1900-1979), who I greatly admire for her intelligence and quiet confidence. She discovered what stars were made from, which changed the world of astronomy at the time. Yet, she was never given recognition for her discovery, which was credited to her male colleague who took her idea and published it as his own.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

I believe there are several things that could happen to make the world a better place for all women..

• Access to education should be a global priority

• I also feel strongly about providing full health care at every stage in a woman’s life - our bodies go through so many changes in one lifetime, but still there is little funding and research to fully understand all the repercussions of these changes for both our general health and wellbeing

• More done by governments and policing authorities to make women feel safe both at home and out and about - no girl or woman should ever feel fearful for their safety and stop doing the things they love

• Finally, for women to have more say in world politics and on environmental issues, which would make it a better place for all

8. Describe your perfect day

Waking up to the sound of a blackbird is the most beautiful music to start a day. I would also like to spend the morning in my studio at Krowji sketching and exploring new ideas. In the afternoon, being in a café with good coffee and cake while sewing or reading. For the evening, watching the sunset down by the sea with my family and a flask of tea. Finishing at bedtime, listening to a podcast while I sew.

9. We've noticed there aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

For my degree I looked at the plight of the migrant mother and her search for a safe home. At the time, I was working with the Royal Cornwall Museum looking at the Cornish Diaspora to Mexico in the 1850s and the number of women and children who didn’t make the long journey, in search of work and a new home. While studying, the Syrian crisis was shockingly unfolding. Seeing daily on the news women surrounded by their children and their belongings walking for miles to find a safe home, made me think how those Cornish mothers would have felt not knowing where they were going.

Today, with the various wars going on in the world those images are sadly repeated – women, their children and possessions all searching for the safety of home. A statue to honour migrant mothers would say a lot about the families who have gone before us and those who are suffering today.

10. Give us a tip?

I have three…

• Always be yourself

• Treat others as you would like to be treated and be kind

• Never take anything for granted

a collage of images from HER PhD research with Falmouth University and the county’s museum service (St Agnes Museum)

Check out Vicki and her work here:

Artist Residency - Cornerstone Library Building

Krowji - Palimpsest Project Forgotton Stories

Krowji - Take One Square

Vicki Aimers - Krowji profile

Vicki Aimers - LinkedIn

Vicki Aimers - The British Art Club

Vicki Aimers - Cornwall Artists Index

Vicki Aimers - Gorsedh Kernow Creativity Award - We gathered what we could

Printmaking Today - summer 2004

Artists’ Book - Mrs. Isabella Beeton's Emporium of Zines 2016

Jane Griffiths - Professor, Poet and Maker

Jane has many strings to her bow. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wadham College, where she teaches medieval and early modern literature in English. Her research is primarily on poetry of the 15th and 16th centuries; her first book was on the early Tudor poet John Skelton.

She’s also a poet, having six books published by Bloodaxe, most recently Little Silver (2022). In the past she’s worked as a letterpress printer and lexicographer, and formally trained and worked as a bookbinder for several years. Lately she spends much more time on jewellery-making and painting, and has work in galleries in Oxfordshire and West Penwith. Bringing these things into conversation with each other is her desire.

We asked Jane about her connection to Cornwall:

“Since 2014, I spend half the year at my cottage in St Just. I’m from Exeter, was brought up in Holland but I came back to England when I was fifteen. My parents stayed in Holland and I was unofficially taken on by a family with strong historical St Ives connections, so I started spending a lot of time there.

A friend of the family put me in touch with Melissa [Hardie-Budden] and she asked me over to Newmill in the spring of 1991 - and of course, Melissa being Melissa, we became and remained friends. And I was hugely touched when Phil asked me to read at her memorial event at The Exchange.”

Poet & Cat is a showcase for Jane’s jewellery, painting and collage and other artefacts made by way of escape from her daily work with words.

www.poetandcat.design

Instagram: @poet.and.cat

1.   What do you consider your greatest achievement?

It’s probably having got to where I am now, despite (or more probably because of) its inconsistencies: I’m happy to be part of Oxford, and very grateful to have the opportunity to teach in its tutorial system, which brilliantly fosters independent learning – but I’m equally happy to have a creative practice that’s entirely independent of the university. It feels a real achievement to be holding those things more or less in balance, and I’m probably particularly aware of how easily that might not have happened because I was brought up in Holland and taught in Dutch between the ages of eight and sixteen; when I came back to England, English was my second language and I didn’t really have a home in the country. It would have been very easy to slip through the cracks, and if I hadn’t been supported by several people who had no obligation to, I probably would have gone under. Even so, there were knock-on effects for well over a decade, and I’m astonished as well as proud to have fashioned a life in which I’m able to work and make in ways that interest me.

2.   What motivates you to do what you do?

I began writing when we left England for Holland, almost certainly as a kind of compensation for being separated from my friends and from a city and landscape I’d been unquestioningly at home in. It became the only available way of making sense of the world, and I think that’s probably true still of my poetry and painting: both keep returning to houses – often lost or vanishing ones – that directly or indirectly recall my childhood home in Exeter.

Bookbinding and jewellery-making are probably rather differently motivated: there’s tremendous satisfaction in creating an object that’s entirely separate from oneself and has an independent existence. Decades ago at the London College of Printing, when my year group being taught how to cover a book in vellum, our tutor warned us that if we got a crease in the spine we’d never get it out again, and it would still be there centuries after our deaths. It was an effective warning – but I also loved the thought that traces of our making process would carry on like that. 

In my academic work, I feel I’m uncovering those processes. It’s very easy to forget that even canonical works – Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales or Milton’s Paradise Lost – didn’t always exist and that someone once sat over a blank page bringing them into being in real time, not knowing whether they’d succeed. I’ve always been drawn to authors where that process is most visible; they may have been dead for over 500 years, but they feel like kin.

3.   What do you owe your mother?

Language! She taught me to read at a very early age (two or three), and I’ve clear memories of her holding up flash cards for me, and then of reading to her a year or so later while she looked after my new-born brother.

And also the permission not to have children. A lot of mothers would have been pressurising, and she never was.

4.   Which women inspire you and why?

I’d probably say that I ‘admired’ rather than ‘was inspired by’ – though I suppose the two shade into one another. My grandmothers, first, both of whom were very independent-spirited. And then a lot of writers and artists, for their work and for their lives. When I was thirteen or fourteen, I came across that iconic Cecil Beaton photo of Nancy Cunard – the one where she’s posed against a spotted background with a very sharp 1920s bob and enormous bracelets all the way up both arms – and I was fascinated by her very personal style. Then when I read the Anne Chisholm biography of her, I discovered she had been a poet and a printer, and she became my heroine for combining writing with craft AND with complete self-possession. Later, Woolf – again, for combining writing and printing, and also for capturing so perfectly what she called the flight of the mind. Later still, Elizabeth Bishop for her scrupulous attentiveness to her work. And Romilly Saumerez-Smith, first for her work as a binder, then as a jeweller: there’s such texture and depth in both they seem to capture the passing of time in 3D, possibly as Woolf does in words. In a different way entirely, the mothers of some of my childhood friends, especially Lottie’s mother Linda Hoare and Hannah’s mother Bernhese Woodman, for their warmth and tolerance of chaos and for evidently having lives of their own that we were on the margins of – but also seeming so easily to accommodate us.

5.   What are you reading?

For work, two doctoral theses and forty-one job applications! – even though it’s the vacation and I was hoping instead to be reading the 15th-century French-English bilingual poet Charles d’Orleans. I’m also returning to another 15th-century poet, James Ryman, who uses a great deal of repetition, and thinking about what that tells us about his composition practices. Outside work, I found a copy of Elizabeth Bowen’s Bowen’s Court in a second-hand bookshop the other day, and I’m very much looking forward to re-reading that. I’ve just read Pearl by Sian Hughes – a brilliant book about childhood loss that spins off a gorgeous medieval alliterative elegy but is entirely its own thing – and Inscription by Christine Whittemore, which was another happy find along with the Bowen. I tend to get obsessed with certain books of poetry and keep them by the bed for months: at the moment it’s The Kingdom by Jane Draycott, Nigh-No-Place by Jen Hadfield and City of Departures by Helen Tookey. I also gravitate towards memoir and non-fiction that reflects on creative processes: I’ve recently been reading Polly Barton, Moyra Davey, and Sara Baume, among others.

6.   What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

That’s an interesting question. When I was young, I was very aware that both my grandmothers had to leave school in their mid-teens, whereas my parents assumed I would go to university, so (even though my father once said ‘girls aren’t really any good at science’) my sense was that the hurdles had been overcome. That sense was also fostered by being at a former men’s college as an undergraduate; it had only been mixed for 9 years when I arrived, but there didn’t seem to be any difficulties. More recently I’ve become a lot less sanguine. In the first instance that’s for personal rather than professional reasons, but it has made me more alert to a certain kind of dismissiveness professionally as well. So I suppose I feel it’s an atmosphere and a set of assumptions I’ve had to contend with, rather than specific hurdles. I’m reluctant to think that this has had much direct impact – but also suspect that I too have internalised a lot of the assumptions, and that they’ve very much coloured how I’ve presented myself.

7.   How can the world be made a better place for women?

I think that varies enormously depending on where in the world you’re thinking about. At the moment of course it’s impossible not to see that some of the most fundamental things that would make it a better place for women would also make it a better place for all of humankind: the absence of violent nationalism, of terrorism, of narcissistic and manipulative politicians. How that ‘absence’ might be achieved when all those things are so powerfully present, I can’t imagine. Similarly, what would make things better for women in the ‘West’ would be an entirely different culture over the past few thousand years … But impossibilities aside, and thinking about daily life in the UK, it would be a start to work to eradicate what I the assumption shared by many men that theirs are the lives and the work that matters, and that they are and should be in control. I often see glimpses of this even in entirely decent men who’d be shocked to realise they thought that way; it’s something that’s bred in. I’m very sceptical of most aspects of our school system now, but I think it’s possible schools are attempting to do something to counter that. There are a lot of things working against them, though.

8.   Describe your perfect day?

Waking in early summer with the light through the curtains showing that it’s sunny outside. Perhaps going for an early swim; certainly having nothing scheduled except perhaps a drink with friends in the evening, and having a poem and a series of paintings as work in progress which is going well. Working on them without interruption except for coffee and lunch in the garden and knowing that there are many more identical days to come, with no imminent deadlines.

9.   We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

My immediate thought was ‘Melissa!’ [Hardie-Budden] – but she said in her Woman of the Month interview that she doesn’t think statues are a good use of money, and I’m inclined to agree. My sense is that no one really looks at them until they decide that one stands for something they disapprove of. I’d rather read, see, or learn about someone’s work than look at a representation of them. So what seems more important is a forum for bringing women’s work to wider attention – like Hypatia, of course.

10. Give us a tip?

Virginia Woolf says it best, in The Waves: ‘Let a man get up and say, Behold, this is the truth, and instantly I perceive a sandy cat filching a piece of fish in the background. Look, you have forgotten the cat, I say.’

Sarah Bell - Artist and Printmaker

Sarah is a professional artist and printmaker living in Penzance, creating paintings and prints related to the sea and her home town. Sarah’s images often portray strong females inspired by her sea-swimming friends, combined with images taken from black and white photos of the Olympics in the twenties and thirties, or film from the forties.

Since starting the gallery three years ago, Sarah’s paintings and screen prints have found homes in the US, Canada, Germany, South America, India, China and Singapore to name a few.

In the 1980s Sarah trained in illustration at the prestigious art school at Kingston University where she found her love for making joyful art. She went on to live and work as a high profile illustrator in Amsterdam for 10 years before meeting her husband Nigel, in Devon, in the late 90s.

Sarah has just been chosen to design 18 flags for Penzance Promenade this year! We can expect colourful images celebrating the sealife around Mounts Bay. She will collaborate with Penzance marine specialist Katie Maggs (@tonicofthesea) who will help provide inspiration, knowledge and some amazing reference photos from under the sea. There are plans for prints, a colouring book, educational resources and workshops on the theme of Mounts Bay sea life.

https://sarahbellart.co.uk/
Insta: sarahbellart_pz

1.    What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement personally is helping to keep my daughter alive and sane during the many years of serious illness she had throughout her teenage years. She had a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital five years ago at 21, and our small family really went through the mill: it had repercussions throughout every aspect of our lives. My husband Nigel kept us steady through many storms over many years.

Business wise, one of my biggest achievements is having been able to make my living from art my whole life. Whilst it certainly hasn’t made me rich, I’d rather compromise on money rather than being creative and doing something I love. The previous generations of my family had to work in cotton and paper mills in very hard conditions for little money. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been born in a time and a country where so many opportunities have been available. A couple of centuries ago I’d probably have had three options: penniless wife and mother of innumerable children and dead at 36; sex worker or working cleaning fireplaces in the local cotton mill owners’ “Big House”!

I’m also really pleased that I finally got to move to Penzance five years ago, after many years of hoping. Our area; the people, nature and history inspire nearly all my art. I feel part of the community of amazing supportive women here. I no longer feel like a fish out of water!

2. What motivates you to do what you do?  

I’m an artist; I love looking at things, thinking about things, noticing things, making things. It’s my calling. Making things with my hands is really important to me: digital stuff just exhausts me mentally and makes me feel frustrated.

3. What do you owe your mother? 

The gift of love. Knowing that you were wanted, as a child, and loved unconditionally gave me such stability growing up. We were a poor family in terms of money, but knowing that my mum loved me so much and was always supportive of me was beyond value to me. She also insulated me from my dad’s anger and depression: ever present in our house. I was always aware of it, and affected by it, but her resolute cheerfulness, good nature and sense of humour got me through. My dad’s family had a history of mental illness, which has been passed down into my generation. Fortunately my mum comes from a big family of eight. I had four aunties and three uncles. I was always around my aunties when I was growing up and I could see what a support network they were for each other.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

Virginia Woolf. I came across a copy of “A Room of One’s Own” in a second-hand bookshop when I was at art college in London at the age of 21.  I found her message so powerful. About how women throughout history had had their creativity repressed by a worldwide society run by men. Of becoming a possession of someone else as soon as you married: yourself, any money, property, children became the property of your husband. The speech she gave about the need for a small income and a room of one’s own in which to have the time, peace and space to be creative.

At the time I read the book I was revelling in having a room of my own for the very first time in my life, a tiny room with a bed, a wardrobe, a bedside cabinet, and a sink, at my college Halls of Residence.

I have remarkably little in common with Virginia Woolf! I don’t come from a highly cultured metropolitan family, with an aunt who bequested me a small monthly income for life. I don’t move in intellectual circles, and in all honesty I find her novels pretty hard going. But I admire her for the quality of her thoughts; her opinions on what women needed, and the beauty with which she expressed them. I also admire for her integrity in the way she lived, persisting with life as long as she did with the mental health issues she had to deal with.

Female war journalists: Lyse Doucette, Lindsey Hilsum and Kate Adie. I really respect any woman who put themselves in foreign, hostile warzones, often in countries where women are kept inside the home, with few freedoms, rights or access to education. I’m a Quaker, and Quakers believe in non-violence, non-judgement and equality for all. Sometimes I struggle with the concept of pacifism when seeing powerful countries invading and dominating smaller, less powerful countries or communities with fewer resources. My natural instinct is to fight back. But diplomacy and mediation can only be the solution in the long term.  Seeing reports from these journalists reminds me of how truly fortunate we are to live in a country which, despite all the things we complain about, is still one in which we can express ourselves. But I believe also that we need to be proactive and vigilant to make sure that people who would like to take those rights away from us don’t succeed.  I’ll always remember something that Lyse Doucette said when she was on Desert Island Discs: “Home is the most beautiful word in the English language…”  There are so many displaced people, both globally and tight here in the UK. I’m so grateful to have a home and stability.

My mum, Olive Altham, who taught me to be honest, be kind, to speak up for myself and believe in myself.

My daughter, Eliza Bell (who I’m proud to say, is a former Hypatia Woman of the Month!) who has incredible energy, strength of will and character. She’s gone through so much with so many challenges to her health with a chronic lung condition and surviving heart failure. She created an amazing podcast which supported thousands of others going through the organ transplant journey, raised lots of money for the hospital that saved her, and now has a successful company called Penporth Marketing. Her new office is just above The Hypatia Trust on Chapel Street. She is a self-made woman!

My Aunties: Doris, Lillian, Mary, Mildred. All factory workers when they were young. They had no educational opportunities but were all intelligent women.  Strong, kind, funny and supportive. The backbones of their families.

My English Teacher at Secondary School, Sue Hunt. She encouraged my love of literature, theatre and public speaking. She coached me to speak in public and helped me find my voice. Still my friend, and still inspiring.

Faye Dobinson. A fellow artist, Penzance resident, wonderful woman. She rallies our community, speaks from the heart, began the Monday Night Peace Gatherings and is a big inspiration to me. I’m sure she’s already been a Woman of the Month, but if not, I’m nominating her. (Hypatia edit: Faye has!)

5.     What are you reading?

Books are a huge part of my life. I go to bed early every night to read for a couple of hours; it’s non-negotiable. If only I could feel the same about exercise! I’ve been alternating four books over the last month.

Gabor Mate, “Scattered Minds”: The origins and healing of Attention Deficit Disorder.

I know there’s an epidemic of us women discovering or suspecting we have ADHD. I thought it was just a lot of hype until my coach suggested that my chaotic life might have something to do with the possibility of ADHD. Who knew the contents of this book would all feel so familiar?

Oliver Burkeman, “Four Thousand Weeks” Time Management for Mortals.

Former Time Management specialist Burkeman managed himself into burnout and decided to take life more slowly. Our lifetime averages out at a shockingly short four thousand weeks. Time to use that time well rather than worrying about the way that other people are using it ( or not using it).

Sharon Blackie, “Hagitude”

As older women we can often feel invisible. But in fact we hold remarkable power in what we’ve have experienced, seen, done and thought. Our voice can be influential and a force for good if we think it is and if we allow it to be. So many women feel lost in mid and later life and we need to support women to regain their self-belief, importance and strength. Our world needs us!

Alan Furst, “The Foreign Correspondent”

I can’t not have a novel on the go! Stories are so important. This one is set in Paris in the 30s and features an Italian journalist who’s been hounded out of Mussolini’s Italy. Fascism is taking over Germany, Italy and Spain. He secretly works for an underground resistance newspaper whilst working as a journalist for Reuters news agency. Quite riveting….

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

As I’ve almost always worked as a freelancer and have been my own boss, rather than working within companies, I think I’ve been more fortunate than many women.

However in my personal life, my first marriage gradually fell into very traditional gender roles and I found myself shrinking in order to keep the peace. I was losing my sense of self and becoming a shadow. I felt oppressed, depressed and ignored. I finally found the strength to leave. The following year was the worst of my life: feelings of guilt, depression, worthlessness, and because I was the one to leave I had no home and spent a year sofa surfing and house sitting. But I’m so please I made that move and eventually rediscovered what made me “me”. My female friends kept me afloat.

Now I’m married to a wonderful, kind man, Nigel, who keeps me steady when I’m rocky and supports me in everything. I’m glass half-empty; he’s glass half-full. We’re equal and a good team.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?  

If women had equal access to good education, control over their own fertility, money, political power, and had a choice as to whether or not they followed the local religion or societal expectations, this world would be a much better and, I think, more peaceful place.

8. Describe your perfect day

Breakfast in a good cafe with my husband and the newspapers. A good trawl in a bookshop or two; a walk by the sea, a bit of sketching outdoors, hearing birdsong, being amongst trees. A cocktail or two followed by a Japanese meal with my girlfriends. And a book at bedtime!

9. We've noticed there aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

There could definitely be a statue of Virginia Woolf, and one of Barbara Hepworth too, in St Ives. And there could be statues of female farmers, flower pickers, bal maidens from the mining industry, and female fish packers who contributed to Cornish society, supported their men and brought up the families in poor and challenging conditions. We need to redress the tradition of statues featuring mostly men who made a lot of money, killed people or held a lot of power.

10.  Give us a tip?

Try to stay kind and strong.

Hilary Tyreman - Head Teacher

Hilary has recently retired as the headteacher of St Mary’s C of E school in Penzance, a role which she has held since 2010. In 2017, she was asked by the Local Authority to help at Madron school and since 2019, the two schools have been in a federation with her in the lead.

Her teaching journey has taken her to many places, from volunteering with UNIPAL in the Gaza Strip to teaching in Croydon and Inner London before settling in Cornwall in 1988. She has taught in and around Penzance since 1998.

In her spare time, Hilary is involved in a number of local music groups. Having studied music at university, it remains her passion, and she loves to see children flourishing musically.

1.     What do you consider your greatest achievement?

As a Head Teacher, finding and giving opportunities to children  and staff alike and seeing them grasp it with both hands and run with it. Concertedly, working collaboratively with Rev Sian Yates of Penlee Cluster to establish holiday club provision and family worker support as part of our core school offer putting children and families at the centre of our work.

2.     What motivates you to do what you do?

A passion to ensure that every child has equal opportunity in life, no matter their background, and to give them a community that can support them in doing so.

I think our aspirations and how we approach them are shaped from a young age, and I always aimed to make sure that children have the start they need not just in life but day-to-day. This includes universal breakfast provision, strong early language support, and promoting values and respect to one another.

In Penzance, levels of poverty have sadly increased in recent years.  But it is also an area of great creativity and community. I am really proud of the partnership with Rev Sian Yates of St Mary’s Church in the establishment of The Rainbow project providing holiday club provision and also now has two family workers to help support families in the area.

As a Head Teacher, I have been privileged to be able to create a world shaped by strong values within the walls of a school. I hope that these values continue to be ones that the children bring with them into the world outside.

3.     What do you owe your mother?

My mother was 22 at the start of the Second World War and this had a huge impact on her political views. The post-war Labour government was about rebuilding a different Britain that allowed all to be aspirational. My mum was fully committed to these ideals, about making things more equal and making things better for ordinary people. I owe her my political beliefs, my strong desire to make a difference and, importantly, of sticking to my convictions.

4.     Which women inspire you and why?

I owe all my success in life to inspirational women who were around me from my mother and sisters, to those who inspired me in school and helped me on my journey as a teacher, to those whose words inspired me from afar.

The first woman that inspired me was my primary school music teacher, Ruth Fielding. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would have ever picked up the violin. She had a way of recognising, encouraging and supporting children to reach their potential, and as I studied music and later began my journey as a teacher she was someone I always looked back to as an example of how I wanted to be.

Further afield, Hilary Clinton inspired me, and not just because we share a name! Her book ‘It Takes A Village’ articulated a strong vision of how we should truly work together to ensure that our society values children and we recognise how women are crucial in collectively making a difference across the world.

5.     What are you reading?

I find it difficult to keep up with reading during term time, so I tend to rely on short stories and poetry, which I can fit in around education journals and children’s books I read. Now that I’ve retired I’m looking forward to picking up new books and catching up on what I have missed.

At the moment I’m reading A Poem for Every Winter Day, edited by Ali Esiri, and Letters from Klara by Tove Jansson. I often find myself coming back to Tove Jansson – I find her very economical in how she gets complex ideas across in a few words and I admire her creativity across a range of art forms.

6.     What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

In primary schools, even though a lot of teachers are women, when it comes to leadership roles, there is still a disproportionate amount of men in these positions.

This is a twofold problem. Firstly, as a woman early on in my career, I faced sexist remarks from men in leadership, commenting on clothing, making you feel generally uncomfortable, and playing power games.

Secondly, a lot of the models of leadership in teaching are written by men. As a woman I very much favour collaborative models, which some men and even some women have certainly struggled with.

In my experience, a lot of the barriers I have faced have not been overt, but a by-product of the patriarchy and the assumptions that men make about women as they pursue their goals.

7.     How can the world be made a better place for women?

I think more recognition, respect and celebration of all women and of the skills women can bring to situations to ensure things can be solved truly collaboratively with an emphasis on forming connections between people and getting away from power games and creating divisions. And for sure we still need young people to see examples of women taking on roles in all areas of life.

8.     Describe your perfect day?

My perfect day would have to include walking. I always enjoyed walking with my mum along the coast in the South East of England where I grew up. Since moving to Cornwall, I have always tried to make time on my weekend to walk the Cornish coast path.

I’d also have to include some sort of music-making in my perfect day. For me, no day is really complete without music, which is why I always put an emphasis on it in my work with children at the schools I have taught at, and in my personal life too.

If I still have time on this perfect day, I’d find time to read and discover some new vegetarian food. And of course, I would have to end the day the perfect way, too: with a cat on my lap!

9.     We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

There are many women that could be celebrated in West Penwith; Maria Branwell, mother of the Brontes, Cornish suffragettes, composers and artists. We have so much talent in Cornwall;. Barbara Hepworth, Laura Knight, Judith Bailey to name a few. There should be a whole book recognising women’s creativity in Cornwall. Might set this as a retirement project!

10.  Give us a tip?

Believe in yourself. Be kind to yourself and others. Be courageous and try to make a small difference each day and never underestimate the difference you can make.

Katrina Wagstaff – Green Funeral Director

Katrina started life with a lot of travel and living abroad with her parents and sister in Europe, Canada, Algeria and Libya which impacted on her in different ways. It was a great opportunity to meet different people and to understand different perspectives and cultures as well as to enjoy different cuisines and music. However, Katrina felt a desperate need to put down roots so, after qualifying as a furniture designer and maker at the London College of Furniture and working in London for a couple years, she moved down to Cornwall in 1990. It was whilst doing a two-year day- release welding course at St Austell College that she met Terry on a teacher training course. Katrina taught the Design Technology ‘A’ Level course for five years before they started a family and married. Katrina and Terry were self-employed as artists but, to supplement their income, Katrina worked part-time as a medical secretary and a development officer for a credit union.

When Katrina’s father died suddenly in 2012 and they couldn’t find a non-traditional funeral director, they decided to arrange his funeral themselves. It was challenging but surprisingly fulfilling and identified a hole in the market. In 2014 Katrina and Terry started The Cornish Funeral Company – a green and alternative funeral company that covers the whole of Cornwall and sometimes beyond.

Katrina continues to work on creative projects and writing when time allows.

www.thecornishfuneralcompany.co.uk
info@thecornishfuneralcompany.co.uk

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Professionally – Having the nerve to start The Cornish Funeral Company - a new, green disruptor business in an area that was male-dominated, is naturally challenging, potentially off-putting and in which we had absolutely no experience.

Personally – I consider my greatest achievement to have brought up our two wonderful children under sometimes challenging health and financial circumstances and helping them to launch into the world as happy and confident adults.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

I love being a funeral director. Obviously, there are difficult times and it is 24/7, but I enjoy meeting people, being able to care for the deceased and to enable bereaved families and friends to say farewell to their loved ones through beautiful, authentic and individual ceremonies. We are also strongly committed to promoting green funerals and won the Green Funeral Director Award 2022 as well as a being Highly Commended at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards 2021.

3. What do you owe your mother?

I owe my mother my passion for food, cooking skills, healthy eating, love of gardening and an awareness and openness to alternative therapies and ideas.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

I am inspired by women who bravely stand up for and act upon their beliefs irrespective of the personal cost and consequences such as Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. Then there are the millions of ordinary women who are either working in tiring, challenging and sometimes monotonous jobs whilst caring and trying to do their best for their families under difficult circumstances or, conversely, having to give up work to care for an elderly parent, spouse or disabled child which often leaves them isolated and losing their identity.

5. What are you reading?

I don’t get much time to read so tend to listen to audiobooks whilst I cook and garden. I’m currently listening to Salmon Rushdie’s The Golden House – intriguing and challenging.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

The perception that women are equal. I was ten and my sister seven when we lived in Algeria and were unable to play outside as it was deemed inappropriate – we were stoned and chased several times. Five years later in Libya, I experienced serious sexual harassment which infuriated me although I understood the cultural sensitivities. Both experiences made me aware of the high levels of misogyny and male chauvinism in our own western society. Although I went on to train in male- dominated arenas, I held my ground. Ironically, the worst sexism and patronising that I have experienced in a workplace has been from “professionals” when some men, feeling threatened or challenged by a (small) woman expressing justified displeasure or anger, would become unpleasant and unreasonable. Traditionally funeral directors have been male but times are changing and many more women are entering the business which makes sense as so much of our work involves compassionate caring, support and good organisation.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

To have more women working together at the top as I think that women are generally better at collaborating and are less competitive.

To have free/less expensive, quality childcare so more women can return to work should they wish to.

Financial and social recognition of the many women who put their lives on hold to care for the elderly, sick and disabled.

8. Describe your perfect day?

I was lucky enough to have it on my birthday this September. We’re rarely all together but both our children took the day off work and the four of us went for a walk and picnic on Roughtor up on Bodmin Moor. It was a gorgeous sunny day with a strong wind to cool us. I remarked that it had been a prefect day and how blessed I felt. It makes me smile just to remember.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

I’d like to see a statue/statues that recognise the thousands of Bal Maidens who worked in the Cornish mining industry doing jobs that were hard, sometimes dangerous and often involved toxic materials.

10. Give us a tip?

Love yourself and be kind to yourself – as women we are hard on ourselves and have a tendency to run around trying to look after everyone and everything without taking sufficient care of ourselves.