Month: November 2017

From Robin Felix

“Canon White who is Canon Theologian and Sub-Dean at Westminster Abbey has agreed to be involved in the CK Festival. “

This delightful drawing was sent to Fanny Kingsley on June 1875  several months after CK’s death. Its author was Prince George, second son  of Edward VII and who later became George V in 1910.  He wrote this card on his tenth birthday.

The card shows  the close relationship CK had with the Royal family which was possibly the reason why Alexandra,  the Queen Mother,  was at the top of the list of patrons of the 1919 Eversley pageant.

One of the events planned for the festival is a performance of Andromeda, a choral work of 1300 bars composed in 1903 by Cyril Rootham ( 1875 -1938)   and based on CK’s poem, Andromeda.

This is a substantial choral work and local schools and choral societies will be invited to take part. It will be the first time the work has been performed in over 100 years.
One idea we have is to involve schools in following the process of bringing this  historical manuscript to life. From typesetting the score, interpretation, rehearsals, through to the final performance.

Read more about Cyril Rootham here

We are also delighted to announce  the Duke of Wellington has agreed to be  a supporter of the Charles Kingsley 200 project. The 4th Duke was a patron  of the 1919 Festival Pageant  echoing the  present Duke’s interest in local heritage.

2/11/17 The Committee: David Lister, Robin Felix, Sharon Elliott, Peter Ormrod and newly appointed Treasurer Graham Fortune, met with Andrew Bateman, Tourism Manager, at the county council offices in Winchester.

Andrew expressed his enthusiasm for the Charles Kingsley 200 project with a promise of support in several areas including marketing and media promotion.

This was a very positive meeting with Hampshire CC clearly behind the project and seeing many positives in it. This is on the tail of the successful media strategy they applied to the Jane Austen 200 celebrations.