Ulverston is special - is it? Why?

In the course of correspondence with Stephen Knott of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London over The Railings pottery project ( http://www.myulverston.co.uk/railings/) he wrote:


"I am fascinated by the general creative environment in Ulverston. I hope that I will be able to visit it at some point in the future to see if for myself."

I replied:

Stephen,

I think the creative environment has a lot to do with the size of the town which has held fairly relatively constant for many hundreds of years (% of total population) - now 12,000 with the closest town Dalton some six miles away.

Being a market town with a long history it has also acted as the centre for the surrounding area . It has had little to do with the far newer Barrow which has a very different culture.

Forty years ago it had thirty active pubs of very varied character; one the Bee Hive was just someone's front room and acted as the home of the Morris Dancers of the area, others had special interest groups like pigeons, folk singing, teachers, historians. The Town has had many breweries - Hartley's was the last substantial one with a strong following and a folk group, Bag of Rags, that sung songs about the beer. They were very good and attracted crowds to their events.

The character of the town attracts creative people to come and live here - John Gill and Sue Fox (www.deadgoodguides.com) found us in the '70s and brought Welfare State International ( http://www.welfare-state.org/) to set up its home at what is now the Lantern House (http://www.lanternhouse.org/ ).

They started us off with several alternative activities on Carnival Day which they ran.  It was a great activity which ran out of steam because of lack of support possibly because of too much input came from Welfare State - it's a difficult balancing act.

Some activities like the Flag Fortnight ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMqGGQutP10 ) and the Lantern Procession have survived but are in danger of being over managed by people seeking the limelight. Our  Flag Group came into being because there was the very real worry that the tradition would cease because of lack of support for the then organisers.

For creativity to thrive it needs to be independent of authority. In some senses it needs a cause which can be just bucking against authority and refusing to conform.

In my view those depending on grants have a hard time because the self esteem of the facilitators is put into question.

We also have a school which has attracted some very impressive teachers both now and in the past. Now we have Richard Butler who stimulates small musical groups of all kinds who perform both officially going abroad to events in Europe ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BraWY-oCVXE ) and others that perform both at their own events and perhaps busk in the town to raise money for a pet charity.

In the past we had an outstanding teacher of dance at the same school who also led her pupils on European tours.

We also have several bands that play on a regular basis in the Market Square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0XwnsPLYt4

I guess the answer may be that we have lots of little groups operating independently so there is always one that is in the ascendent when one starts to bite the dust.

Thanks for your interest.

I think Ulverston is well worth a detour and now with high speed trains is getting closer all the time - I think 3.5 hours from Euston is possible.

We here don't think of London as far away, we come down regularly for the day - in fact my partner and I will be visiting the Miro exhibition at  Tate Modern with a quick visit to  Tate Britain and the British Library - within the month.

Best wishes

Remember there's a belief in London that there's nothing much worthwhile north of Watford Gap.

We just feel sad that you're missing out.

Why else would I return time and again having first come here in 1960, lived in San Francisco and London in the mean time and back here to stay?

Geoff Dellow

If you were to write along similar lines what would your explanation be for "Ulverston's creative environment"

The Monday Interview - Thursday Market Bookseller

We have strong connections with Literature in the town:

Good bookshop down Market Street,the cafe´below, the stalls, and the Word Festival

Browse through the new and second hand books with a cup of coffee at the Novel Cafe´in in the Market Square if the market is not on. Comfortable chairs access to the Internet upstairs. Arts and crafts on display. Special area upstairs for the kids. An amazing place.

Time for a new approach

In order to have more influence in effecting change in Ulverston, it helps to be a councillor.

(Even though one can do a lot as an individual in direct contact with council officials and suppliers of services like United Utilities)

People perhaps avoid becoming a councillor because of the stereotypes of attending pointless meetings where little is achieved.

But does it have to be this way?

How about becoming a councillor in order to be better placed to question officials about the way they carry out their duties and then if policy needs changing, to target these committees where these decisions of policy are made.

What I suggest is that more people consider becoming a councillor without a commitment to attend meetings just because the system demands it.

So I propose to try and get elected at the three levels of local government:

In three year's time - at Town Council and at South District level ,

Then again at Cumbria County level in four years' time.

How about it - will you join me?

It need not require much of your time as there would be no comitment to attend time consuming meetings.

The more of us there are, the more effective we could be at getting the system to work in Ulverston's favour.

It will be a question of personalities being elected rather than unthinking party politicians

Which view do you support?

At attempt to disperse young people with high pitch sound using a device called a Mosquito by Appleby Police or

Help Create a Bright Future for Cumbria's Young People with a Penrith based charity that promotes partnerships between the community and schools using "Creative Ambassodors".

The first is funded by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and is being used to tackle anti-social behaviour problems at an Eden sports club. The Mosquito works by emitting a high-pitched buzzing noise that causes discomfort to young ears, usually under the age of 25, but cannot be heard by adults.

Some would see this action as negative and aggravating the problem with young people and alienating them from society. It is seen as being discriminatory towards the young in the same way that the was done against the Jews or even towards old people.

Do the people in Appleby believe that it will help solve a problem ; simply move it on elsewhere; or even worse aggravate the gap between young people and those older.

EDINBURGH is set to become the first place in Scotland to ban this controversial device .

It is not known how many may be around Edinburgh, but deputy education leader David Beckett said the proposed ban would send a message to would-be buyers that it is not welcome in the Capital.

The campaign has won the support of human rights groups including Liberty, whose director, Shami Chakrabarti:

"What type of society uses a low-level sonic weapon on its children? Imagine the outcry if a device was introduced that caused blanket discomfort to people of one race or gender, rather than to our kids," she said.

“These devices are indiscriminate and target all children and young people, including babies, regardless of whether they are behaving or misbehaving,” Sir Albert Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner for England told the BBC. “The use of measures such as these are simply demonising children and young people, creating a dangerous and widening divide between the young and the old.”

On the other hand Creative Ambassadors are seen by others as encouraging young people to be positive.

" The regeneration of Cumbria depends on motivating and raising the aspirations of its future workforce.

To meet the challenges of tomorrow’s world, today’s young people need creative talent, enterprising attitudes and the confidence to develop innovative ideas and practices to address the needs of the future."

To find creative practitioners around Ulverston click here - there are lots!

Which approach do you favour?

My visits to the Town Council over the past 18 months suggest that there is only one councillor that attempts to engage with young people. The rest suggest that this is someone else's business and there is no sense of urgency to see projects through.

Is it surprising that they get angry?

What are your views?

Liberty and Kent County Council are against the Mosquito