\!l:be ~askell ~octetp THE GASKELL SOCIETY HOME PAGE has all the latest information on meetings. http://gaskellsociety.co.uk If you have any material or suggestions for future Newsletters, please contact Mrs Helen Smith, 11 Lowland Way, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA 16 9AG. Telephone - 01565 632615 E-mail:
[email protected] Treasurer: Clive Heath, 39 Bexton Lane, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 9BL Membership Secretary: Miss C Lingard, 5 Moran Crescent, Macclesfield SK11 8JJ NEWSLETTER ISSN 0954 - 1209 Sprin~ 20 16 - Number 61 Editor's Letter Helen Smith The sesquicentenary of Elizabeth's death is now over. Welcome to 2016 and to the Spring Newsletter. The highlight of the sesquicentennial celebrations was for me the afternoon at John Rylands Library Deansgate. Under the watchful eye of Archivist Fran Baker and Laura Caradonna, Collection Care Team Leader, we were permitted to look at and even touch the foolscap MS of Wives and Daughters. Other items on display included a rather recriminatory letter from Mr Dickens to Mrs Gaskell, the oval miniature (water colour on ivory) of young Elizabeth, photographs of Elizabeth in later life, and items from the Geoffrey Sharps collection. Fran brought these to life (metaphorically speaking) for us, and Laura enlightened us about the science of paper and inks and showed us an oak gall or oak apple (used for many centuries in ink production). On 13 January we celebrated the New Year by lunch at The Cottons. Soprano Rosie Lomas with accompanist Andrew Burr created the post-prandial entertainment. Rosie sang folk songs, (including 'Oldham Weavers' like Margaret in Mary Barton), art songs, Shakespeare's Sonnet 104 set to music for Rosie by Dominic de Grande, and operatic arias which she interspersed with facts and fiction from Mrs Gaskell (of whom Rosie has tremendous knowledge and understanding).