The Hypatia Trust's 12th Thanksgiving Dinner took place at Trevelyan House on Thursday 27th November.

As usual, it was very well subscribed. So many people wanted to attend that a few late applicants had to be disappointed.

The event was linked to the Launch of the book A Passion for Nature - 19th Century Naturalism in the Circle of Charles Alexander Johns.

The book was written by Deirdre Dare and Melissa Hardie and is published by Patten Press & Jamieson Library.

The evening began with bubbly and canapés at The Old Custom House, which is directly opposite Trevelyan House, and is another of Penzance's historic buildings.

We were there at the invitation of Barnes Thomas Fine Arts, and the authors signed copies of their book for the guests.

It is with sorrow that we record the death, on Thursday 21st February 2008, of our Hypatia Trusted Friend, Libby Bryan.

Libby was a notable paediatrician whose specialty was multiple births. She was also an engaging character who was a delight to know.

We would like to send our condolences to her husband, Ronald Higgins, and the family.

You can read her obituary inThe Times by clicking here and in The Daily Telegraph by clicking here .

The Jamieson Library at Newmill is named in her honour, and this photograph was taken on 11th October 1986 when she officially opened the Library. Melissa and Phil have visited Shetland and stayed in Jamie's croft near Reawick a number of times. Melissa was with her there in 2000 to celebrate her 90th.

She died on 18th October 2007, and was treated to a wonderful wake, hosted by family (nephews and cousins), for numerous friends at Bixter Village Hall, after her burial at St Mary's Chapel, Sand, where only the chancel arch stands of this pre-Reformation chapel.

Melissa is indebted to Bess Jamieson, Elisabeth Nicolson, Barbara Mortimer, and Margaret Macauley for being in close touch, and welcomes other Nightingales to send their memories for inclusion in a Celebratory Book about Jamie.

The picture on the right shows Jamie on 22nd November 1991 when she was presented with the British Empire Medal from Magnus Sheater, the Lord Lieutenant of Shetland.

We were very sorry to hear recently of the death of Frances Truscott.

She was a supporter of Hypatia for many years and an extremely engaging personality. We will greatly miss her.

For more information click here.

We are continuing our support for local charity, ACE, who promote primary education in village schools in Uganda. Previously we raised funds for ACE at one of our thanksgiving dinners.

A group from Penzance visited the Ugandan schools in October 2006. The party included several pupils from Mounts Bay School who have been raised substantial funds for ACE during the last school year.

The group also carried equipment to deliver personally to David Epidu, ACE's representative in Uganda.

He was presented with a laptop computer, donated by The Hypatia Trust. Another supporter has donated a digital camera and a card reader, and also a flash drive.

This picture shows Angela Peake, the founder of ACE, handing over the laptop to David.

The idea of taking this equipment is to try to improve David's ability to communicate and report to ACE. He will be able to write reports and letters and to take pictures. He will then be able to load them onto the flash drive, take it into town, and send his material from an internet cafe.

Some of the material he sends will be used to update the ACE website so that supporters can keep up to date with the progress being made. It is hoped to add a page to the website for each school.

The tenth annual dinner was the best attended yet. Justin and Miki Ashton catered for well over 50 people in The Lime Tree, producing a delicious turkey dinner.

The big news was that John Garrihy had completed the Penzance People's Mural, which was up in its full glory for the occasion.

There were exhibitions in every room, mostly related to the People of Penzance.

Also on display were copies of the books which have been written by friends of Hypatia and published during 2006.

The proceeds of the raffle, which amounted to £144, were donated to ACE.

The Hypatia Trust partnered The National Trust in presenting an exhibition and trail at Lanhydrock House, near Bodmin, during the opening season, 18th March - 31st October 2006.

The exhibition featured the women who have lived in the house since 1642.

Rather than being near to the east end of the church as previous research had indicated, her gravestone stands in the easternmost corner of the old graveyard, between the stones commemorating her sister Mary Willyams and Mary's baby grandson, Frederick Rogers.

The unembellished stone bears a lichen clad oval cartouche with a simple inscription:

LYDIA GRENFELL
1829

On Saturday 26th November 2005 we continued our series of annual November 'Thanksgiving' dinners - this year we had a Greek theme. After all, Hypatia was a Greek scholar although she lived in Egypt.

We were fortunate to have our member, Donna Anton, to make several Greek specialities.

We added £5 to the price of each ticket and donated it to ACE - our local charity working to improve education in Uganda. We also held a raffle with the proceeds going to ACE. In all ACE will receive just over £200.

You can learn more about ACE by clicking here.

We held a Sunday afternoon tea party to celebrate the publication of the new edition of Chatter of Choughs.

The editor, Professor Lucy Newlyn, and the illustrator, Lucy Wilkinson, together with the production editor, Donna Anton, were all present, as were several of the contributing authors. Two of them read their poems. Three of the pupil prize winners also came along to receive their prizes and read their poems.

We each have a writing voice that is unique, vibrant and compelling.
This true voice is how we recognise one writer from another.
Through exercises and a supportive environment this course is designed to help free this voice and allow it to speak in its own way.

JT

The Trust's second visiting resident acedemic was Jennifer Taylor (JT). She was at Trevelyan House for two months, and gave a short series of lectures, entitled Transatlantic Meditations.

She came to us from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, but, since the devastating hurricane at New Orleans, she has moved to Cornell University, New York. She is a graduate assistant and PhD candidate.

Her academic interests are transatlantic studies (England and America 1500-1900) and literary theory (focusing on feminist, psychoanalytic, and new historical theories), women's literature and history, colonial/postcolonial studies, and film.

Were the Salem Witch trials an American anomaly?

With the rebirth of transatlantic studies in America, scholars of so-called Early American literature have begun to call attention to the continuities and discontinuities involving the leap across the proverbial pond.

This talk offers not an explanation for the trials, but an exploration of possible precursors to this event, such as the lives and trials of Anne Askew and Anne Hutchinson.

What makes a text 'American'?

While location may be the obvious answer in the contemporary world, the origins of the form have been hotly contested amongst British and American scholars of the eighteenth century.

Recently, it has been argued that the sentimental female protagonist of the Early 'English' novel was a contribution of the 'American' captivity narrative.

This talk seeks to question the notion of origins altogether.

Has the liberation of women been steadily progressing throughout history?

The purpose of this final talk is twofold: it first seeks to demonstrate that history in terms of women's rights has not been necessarily and continually progressive.

Second, it seeks to bring together the histories of women's liberation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century as they influenced one another. 7

'The Long Walk Home'
(the internal and emotional landscape of a writer)

We presented a talk by

William E. Nothdurft

at Trevelyan House on Tuesday 1st February 2005

Award-winning Seattle writer Will Nothdurft is the author, co-author, or ghostwriter of more than a dozen non-fiction books. In his occupational career, he is also a public policy consultant with many outstanding publications and reports to his credit.

Among his ghostwriting credits are Between Hope and History (for Bill Clinton), Common Sense Government (for Al Gore) and A Life on the Edge (for mountaineering legend Jim Whittaker).

Will's best-known book is Ghosts of Everest, the story of the 1999 expedition that found the body of famed English explorer George Mallory, who disappeared near the summit of the world's highest mountain more than 75 years ago.

Published in nearly a dozen languages, it has received two international literary awards and was described by Publishers Weekly as "a book of historical importance that reads like a detective thriller."

Will's latest book, The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, published by Random House, unravels another exploration mystery.

Says Publishers Weekly of Nothdurft's latest book, "An engaging mix of history and desert drama, this Indiana Jones-type adventure is first-rate popular science."

We have recently said goodbye to our first international Professor-in-Residence, JoAnna Stephens Mink of Minnesota State University.

The Poetry and Prose of Emily and Anne Brontë

Tuesday 23rd November 2004

Often overlooked by both readers and critics, the two youngest of the Brontë writers merit our attention because of the ways they incorporate landscape and spiritual imagery into their novels and their poems.

“She opened the door of the West to me”: Thomas Hardy’s Cornish Connections

Tuesday 30th November 2004

Hardy’s first visit to Cornwall in March 1870 was signficant personally and professionally. His return in March 1913 prompted some of the most beautiful love poetry in the English language.

The third Thanksgiving Party took place at Trevelyan House on Saturday 27th November 2004.

There was dinner with wine, music, and exhibitions in all rooms.

Claudia Hoffmann (Violin and Celtic Harp) and Malcolm Sutton (Piano) performed music by Elfride Andree, Kreisler, East European Folk and free improvised music on the violin, the piano and the celtic harp.

In addition Claudia explained about music in different cultures, the use of scales in ancient traditions, the ancient knowledge of music used in healing and religious traditions and demonstrated basic musical instruments from different cultures used for healing.

The picture shows Malcolm and Claudia at a previous recital in Trevelyan House. Claudia is holding her own violin and Malcolm is holding the violin which he made himself, which Claudia played that evening.

Musical instruments with their various shapes and sounds can be a source of strength to all of us: they might either show us qualities we have already got, but might not be aware of, or others we still want to develope.

In this workshop we both touched and connected with the special quality and power of various instruments. Being in touch and listening to the sound, the instruments "speaking" to our inner selves. The workshop introduced us to a variety of instrumental sounds and offered great possibilities for self expression in addition to the fun and pleasure of improvising freely with music.

Today we worked with music on a deeper level. We chanted along Chakras and practiced breathing techniques.

The musical pulse of rhythm and overtone instruments duplicates the pulse of our brain waves so that performing on those instruments leads us to deep meditation and trance.

Botanical drawing was important in the days before the camera. Botanists and scientists were dependent upon artists who could create accurate drawings of plants and flowers.

Melanie Crump led this course, held one day a week between April and July, 2003

Greek goddesses lived life to the full: Aphrodite, goddess of love, born from the sea; martial Athene, born from her father's head; Artemis, free to run and hunt where other women dare not go.

The women of Greek drama take control: Clytemnestra wreaks terrible revenge on Agamemnon when he returns from war with the Trojans with a female slave; Lysistrata leads a sex strike in protest at war.

Everywhere the public places of ancient Athens were decorated with magnificent images of women. Drinking cups and water vessels regaled the user with the female form. But, did these images in text and object reflect the true position of women in 5th century Athens?

On Thursday 20th March Dr. Ronald Gaskell introduced the fascinating world of one of New England's finest poets to a packed house, providing us with perspectives on chosen poems.

Poems and notes were provided to participants and contributions to the subject actively sought. Hypatia Library books on Emily Dickinson were also on view.

Sylvia Plath

On Thursday 27th March Ronald Gaskell discussed theAmerican poet, Sylvia Plath.

Her works as represented in the Hypatia Poetry Collection were also shown.

'Tell You a Tale'

On the afternoon of Saturday 22nd February Far West Writers presented a story telling afternoon.

The authors began their 4th year of storytelling together by coming to Penzance for the first time.

We were intrigued and entertained by Diane Johnstone, Llyn Evans, Jenny Hamlett, Sally Crabtree, Angela Stoner, Valery Cons and Pauline Liu-Devereux in Hypatia Trust's attractive new members' room.