All they that saw them

What a brilliant session yesterday. Two hymns brought to a close our formal seminar series for this academic year.

James opens with a fantastic introduction, as we learn about these astonishing sources, and how they became held in the BFI. All the small anecdotes are included alongside the bigger picture. Then to the films. (It's not the same, but click on the links to watch on screen online (on campus only, I think).

Firstly, Every Valley. I was moved by this remarkable film, and I'm still not sure why. Of course Handel always has that effect, but even so. Truly beautiful. A cliché, but what wonderful poetry. Edgar Anstey, one of the great documentary makers, shows Wales at work. The buses and trains deliver people between work and home. Never has progress marched to such a wonderful tune. 'Messiah', no less. Yet pathos too: this is not the kind of celebration we could have now. We couldn't make the film, and we wouldn't give it the credence. There's no believable sense of progress as there was then.

Then my birthday treat: Elizabethan Express. It's festival time, summer 1954, and we follow the progress of the express service, non-stopping, from King's Cross to Waverley. Set to verse, it looks at the nuts, bolts, seats, timetables, track, train, and restaurant carriages. With the speed of a greyhound and the strength of a boar, the This isn't the hard shock of Every Valley - it's the froth on the cappuccino to the intense espresso of Every Valley, but no less hymnal. This is a celebration, to my mind, of these skills and crafts which so many working people had. More fool the wealthy passengers on this holiday special, if they can't see what a beautiful piece of art their journey was.

It comes to an end, and people struggle to find the words, somehow. The pictures and music and words were wonderful. Thanks so much James.

And so our journey too is nearly at an end. There are still a few spaces for Peterborough - I suggest you turn up at the Demontfort Hall entrance onto Victoria Park at 8:45 tomorrow if you haven't booked. Dropping me a line is a good idea. All that steam and coal and metal and light. See you tomorrow.

Elkes Memorial Lecture: 22/3/2010

You are warmly invited to the seventeenth Elchanan & Miriam Elkes Memorial Lecture. William Parsons (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC) is going to give it on Remembering the Past for the Sake of the Future. Starting at 6.00 pm on Monday, 22 March 2010, in the Rattray Lecture Theatre, and there's a reception at 7:00pm in the Charles Wilson Building. The talk will focus on how perpetrators seem to learn from history that the world always has "reasons" for not preventing genocide and mass atrocities. Although we build effective memorials and we are seldom capable of prevention, individuals, groups, and nations can push back on mass hate and violence.

A little more on the speaker: before becoming Chief of Staff, he served as the Museum's Director of Education and was responsible for developing educational programs both in Washington and throughout the nation. For the past thirty years, he has been involved in writing, speaking, and creating programs that advance public awareness and knowledge about the Holocaust and genocide and the implications of this history for the world we live in today. In 2002, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Cornell College for his career work in Holocaust and genocide education.

His published works include: Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior ( 1982); The Middle Passage (1986); A World of Difference: Teacher/Student Study Guide (1987); The African Meeting House: A Sourcebook (co-author, 1988); Everyone's Not Here: Families of the Armenian Genocide, A Study Guide (1989); and Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views (co-editor, revised for 2004 publication under a new title: Century of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts).

In our lab

Well I hope you enjoyed Friday. What an occasion! Some thanks need to be given, first of all. To the wonderful music provided by Pete Allen, to the various bakers, the ticket inspectors, and many others. And of course to Lord Bragg for entertaining and informing us in his customary style. We'll have the Labcast up as soon as possible. In the meantime, why not read this piece from the Mercury
about the event? It was on page two of Saturday's print edition.

Who could follow Mel B? I hear you ask. Only James Patterson, is the answer. This Friday, 19^th March at 4:30pm (refreshments) for a 5:00pm start, a film screening of some treats from the British Transport Film Unit. Looking at utility, at their history and accession (James was responsible for this when he was a curator at the BFI), and enjoying them too! Popcorn and soda provided in this warm up to...

Sunday, 21^st March. Take a bus to Peterborough, and then ride around on steam trains, with tea and cake, and the opportunity to get off and have a meander around Peterborough, go for lunch and view it's beautiful Cathedral. Steam and Gothic. What more do you want? Doing history with your hands. History what you can smell, what you can touch. To book your place on this, please give £10 to Lucy Byrne ([email protected]) sharpish - spaces are filling rapidly. Final programme available tomorrow, so I won't bother you with the draft now.

CFP Huddersfield PG (19th April D/L)

You'll all rememebr Tosh from Foreign Bodies bakc in November. He's now organizing a workshop of his own. Veyr sensibly they are having a very broad remit, so any historical topic will be welcome. If you fancy it, then send over your abstract by Monday, 19th April. Bound to be a good, supportive environment for giving a paper, especially those of you who haven't before.

Creative cities

Douglas has sent details of this College event taking place in collaboration with other Midlands universities on 24th March at 5:30pm. Bianchini is going to be talking about creative cities. He's comparing Leicester to European places. More details if you click on the photo.