Quite exceptional. I recently joined the executive council of the Richard Jefferies Society. I'm no Jefferies scholar but do like his nature writing and have a clear aim that any involvement of mine should be aimed at spreading the word of Jefferies to a wider audience. A separate Trust runs the Richard Jefferies Museum near Swindon and Mike Pringle is their voluntary director. Today he has completed a week long 175mile cycle ride to follow in the footsteps of Jefferies, visiting each house possibly one of our greatest naturalist writers was associated with. That was part of the aim the other was to fundraise for a planning application to extend the museum.
This has been floating about since I was a trustee of the Museum and long overdue as the Museum, the birthplace of Richard Jefferies, has gone from a threat of closure and possible demolition to being a much visited hub for the arts with Jefferies legacy as the driver. While there is some useful agreement between the Society and the Museum, there is also a separation when discussing how best to advance that legacy. Personally I think there are two directions of travel, the academic and literary aims are core to what the Society does as is getting the name of Jefferies out there to the public. I do believe both are of value and there are interesting times ahead. I'd not made my donation yet, but this morning I did and it's wonderful to read Mike and all his efforts have surpassed the £3,200 aim for the costs of the planning application. Well done Mike.
No comments:
Post a Comment