Crime Fiction and Reality

May 23, 2023June 19, 2023Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

How do you write a prison based novel when you have never been inside yourself?

How do you help prisoners to aim for better lives when they come out of prison?

How do you research local history for novels set in previous decades?

Which prisoner covered himself in butter to fight, and delay his slippery arrest, after his football team lost a game?

These are just a few of the questions that were answered during the course of last Saturday afternoon with our two brilliant local authors and speakers – Frances Brody and Veronica Bird OBE.

You may know of the acclaimed author Frances Brody, as she is very well known for her very popular Kate Shackleton mysteries, some set in Yorkshire, including Haworth and Saltaire but you may not have heard of Veronica Bird OBE who was the first female governor of HMP Armley in Leeds and of her aptly named autobiography, Veronica’s Bird.

This dynamic duo who met through Frances’s research into her new series of novels, the Brackerley Prison mysteries, thoroughly informed and entertained their large audience. As well as the writing of her novels and her characters, Frances also spoke about local history research and the use of news cuttings in libraries including the valuable collection in Keighley Local Studies. She also included notes on the craft of creative writing and very helpfully to budding authors in the audience, gave some really good advice on making a start at writing a story or novel, overcoming writers’ block and on how to find interesting minor stories to set within the main plot.

Veronica spoke about her deprived upbringing and subsequent hard won career in some of Britain’s most challenging prisons. She also highlighted the lack of literacy amongst at least 50% of prisoners with consequential feelings of hopelessness and sadly an increased chance of re-offending on release. Both Veronica and Frances support the Shannon Trust that helps with learning to read and improve other basic skills so that prisoners, “can pursue wider opportunities and thrive in the community”. Veronica also told us some amusing stories of what can happen when the occasional slip-up in prison guard vigilance occurs such as the attempted sale of prison knickers at a local market stall. Never destined to be a best seller, however, not one pair was sold.

Veronica, now retired but still working with prison inmates, also works for various charities including Ukrainian refugees, and was awarded her OBE for her charitable works. On Saturday, both speakers raised funds for their chosen charities and Frances Brody very kindly donated to Bradford Libraries two large print versions of her novels, including A Murder Inside (the first prison based novel), as well as an audio version of A Mansion for Murder, her latest Kate Shackleton mystery.

We thank them both for a great afternoon of information, education and entertainment and thank Alice and Felicity, the volunteers who so efficiently supervised refreshments.

Keighley Local Studies Team

A Mansion for Murder Audiobook by Frances Brody — Frances Brody helps a new writer with a problem

Frances Brody speaking at event — Frances Brody helps a new writer with a problem

David Kirkley, Keighley’s gentlemanly historian

April 19, 2023June 19, 2023Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

It was with great sadness that staff at Keighley Library heard of the recent death of David Kirkley. David had not only become a major contributor to Heritage Days and Keighley local history but also a friend to the library staff.

David was the other half of the Schools’ Heritage Group, together with Jan Rotheram. This was set up a few years ago and ever since, their wonderful photograph collection has provided a source of displays for Heritage Days and other events held in Keighley Library, in particular the Local Studies Library on the first floor. These displays always won a brilliant reception from locals, as families and friends pointed out their old school selves or others they recognised and reminisced about the “best days” of their lives. In 2022, David had put on another great display for us of local school sport photographs to accompany a talk on Keighley and football in the 1950s by Mike Halliwell.

Before Covid, David came at least once a week to Local Studies for a catch up with other locals, equally enthusiastic about Keighley’s history and we learned a lot from them and their projects in our turn. David supported this historic library in both word and deed and was amongst the first to support the wonderful musical heritage events. We, the staff, always enjoyed chatting to him, he was a knowledgeable, reliable, kind and helpful gentleman and we shall all miss him very much indeed. We are not surprised that in other areas of his life such as the Cougars’ rugby club, he was held in such high regard, a local legend indeed.

Keighley Local Studies staff.

New Opening Hours

March 31, 2023Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

Please note our new opening times from next week, Monday 3rd April

Bradford Local Studies

Keighley Local Studies

International Women’s Week in Keighley Local Studies Library

March 20, 2023June 19, 2023Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

International Women’s Week in Keighley Local Studies Library was celebrated with another popular talk by Irene Lofthouse in full costume. Over 50 people ignored any remaining difficulties of ice and snow to hear about some of the inspirational women of Keighley at the turn of the century.

Margaret Winteringham (first British born female MP in Parliament, child and family welfare campaigner); Rachel Leach (early Dalton mill owner and business woman); Lady Ethel Snowden (campaigner, speaker for women’s rights, ILP member, BBC Board of Governors); Frances Smith (mill worker, councillor, champion of child welfare and public health and first woman director of the Co-op Society Ltd); Margaret Pickles (a Keighley Guardian, a member of the Keighley Union Relief Committee who championed better conditions for the poor and taking children’s upbringing outside the workhouse environment) were just some of the women brought vividly to life by this entertaining actor-historian Irene Lofthouse, who, we are proud to say, does much of her research here in Keighley using our renowned Local Studies’ collection. Our holdings include the Lady Ethel Snowden Library, Down Memory Lane articles by the late Dr Ian Dewhirst MBE, news cuttings, local histories and archives, including a large collection of resources on local mills and their owners. Please see our leaflet guides on this site.

Women in Publishing

Keighley Local Studies also put on a display about women in publishing with reference to an excellent online article on the British Library website by Dr Margaretta Jolly, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex. This examines the progress made by women in the world of publishing, alongside women’s suffrage and rights’ movements that inspired publications such as the Spare Rib magazine and the establishment of Virago press whose archive is now held at the British Library. The article also notes the emergence of greater diversity in the industry to be inclusive of the working class and also minority ethnic representation with a look at Margaret Busby OBE Hon. FRSL, the youngest and first black woman director of a publishing company. There is plenty online about Margaret Busby who is a patron of Independent Black Publishers and was appointed Chair of Judges for the Booker Prize in 2020. Her latest book New Daughters of Africa (ISBN: 9780241997000), an international anthology of writing by women of African descent, is available from Bradford Libraries.

There is a great reading list attached to this article but check out the following sites for more information:

https://www.bl.uk/womens-rights/articles/print-purpose-and-profit-women-in-publishing

https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/feminist-literature-puncturing-the-spectacle

https://www.blackheroesfoundation.org/people/margaret-busby/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/22/margaret-busby-the-uks-first-black-female-publisher-everyone-assumed-i-was-there-to-make-the-tea

We also featured the emergence in Bradford of two female Asian publishers at Bradford based Fox & Windmill, Habiba Desai and Sara Razzaq.

This is the first independent book publishing company for British South Asian writers, established in 2021. Their inspiring collection of short stories and poetry from British South Asian writers, Into the Wilds, bridges the gap in the publishing industry for writers from a different background.

https://foxandwindmill.co.uk/

Women in the Printing Industry

The printing industry itself was also covered with reference to another article about women’s experiences in the printing industry today but also the first woman to have her own printing press and to employ and to train the first young women in the industry, Emily Faithfull (1835-1895). Emily, a vicar’s daughter, trained as a printer and typesetter and launched the Victoria Press in London in 1860. Its aim was to promote women’s rights to skilled and decently paid employment. The Press printed The English Woman’s Journal, considered the first British feminist periodical, edited by activist-poet Bessie Rayner Parkes. Emily was appointed publisher-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria in 1862. The full article can be read at the following site:

https://www.printweek.com/briefing/article/women-at-work-the-push-for-gender-diversity-in-print

Keighley Local Studies also holds a small selection of 19th century broadsides (single sheets of commentary, song or poetry) and previously has collaborated with Piston, Pen & Press an AHRC-funded project that aimed to “understand how industrial workers in Scotland and the North of England, from the 1840s to the 1910s, engaged with literary culture through writing, reading and participation in wider cultural activities”. Check out their web site for more information please:

https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/

It just goes to show that inspirational women are everywhere, should be celebrated and their struggles and achievements recorded. We are pleased that Bradford Libraries and Archives on their bookshelves, displays and in their Local Studies’ departments can share in their journey past, present and future.

Gina Birdsall, Local Studies & Archives Assistant

A Sleigh Full of Health and Wellbeing. HOME TOWN SOUNDS –The Haleys and John Drury play Keighley Library

January 16, 2023Bradford Libraries 1 Comment

Santa came early to Keighley Library bringing the precious gift of Live Music on Friday night, 2^nd December. A growing atmosphere of happy anticipation and pure joy filled the room as first John Drury and then the Haleys took to the library floor to thunderous applause – and we are not joking here or being Charles Dickensy just for the season. The gigs at Keighley Library, that pay for themselves incidentally, have become so popular locally that tickets sell out literally within hours. Glastonbury eat your heart out!

It is a truth universally recognised that listening to music improves mood and promotes feelings of wellbeing. Music shared combats loneliness and creates a sense of community spirit. In the words of the legendary John Denver, “no matter what language we speak, what colour we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: we are the same.”

This month’s gig was no exception as regular library borrowers, friends, family, fans and first time library visitors queued for a big slice of communal wellbeing and musical magic. A performance of this scale and calibre to be held, for the very first time in the evening, added to the Christmassy getaway feel that, for some local people this year, could well be limited to this library experience and the books borrowed to escape into over the holiday.

John Drury is a singer songwriter from a London-Irish background who now hails from Oxenhope. His songs have been described as ‘poetry with music on top’. He writes about the little as well as the big things in life, and believes deeply that ‘we are all in this together’. Friday night though was all about the cover versions with a couple of his own compositions thrown in for good measure. He proved to be the ideal ‘support’ act and from the off had the audience in the palm of his hand, clapping and singing along, troubles of the outside world forgotten for the time being!

What to say about the Haley Sisters? The sisters were born and raised in the village of Harden near Bingley and from a very early age they followed in their parents’ footsteps. The siblings have appeared alongside many respected artists since launching their professional career back in 1989, Freddy Fender, George Hamilton 1V, Raul Malo, Nathan Carter and Daniel O’Donnell. On 28^th May 2017, they performed to a sell-out audience at the London Palladium and in April 2018 they were the opening act for the first of its kind, the Roy Orbison ‘In Dreams Hologram Arena tour’.

Becky and Jo-Ann are now award winning vocalists who could easily sell out the Grand Ole Opry in good old Nashville, Tennessee. Think a female version of the Everly Brothers with a magical natural blend of vocal harmonies with Becky on rhythm guitar and Jo-Ann on bass. The third member of the group is Becky’s husband, songwriter and steel guitarist, Brian ’Smithy’ Smith. Brian has worked on many recording sessions in Nashville including Crystal Gayle’s ‘Three Good Reasons’ album.

Proving that music really is in the genes, we were also treated to a song or two from 80-year-old Pa, Tony Haley, who taught us how to yodel with a rousing version of the Frank Ifield classic which earned him a standing ovation led by our very own Town Council Mayor.

Our other guests included Trevor Simpson and his wife Denise. Trevor is a former FA Premier League and international football referee, the author of two bestselling music books ‘Small Town, Saturday Night’ and a walking encyclopaedia on anything to do with Elvis.

Regular library customers still discuss gigs of years’ past and this will no doubt be one of them in the future. We will now let the music do the talking, see for yourself below and rock on 2023!

Keighley Local Studies Library.