“A film isn’t a film until you talk about it with someone else”

Francine Stock: In Glorious Technicolour

By Lili Bidari

I take my seat in the cosy, intimate Wharfeside auditorium and instantly remark on the infectious chatter of excitement around the room. Clearly we are all fascinated by film and anticipate with enthusiasm this event which claims to guide us through “a century of film and how it has shaped us”, all through the words of the acclaimed TV and radio presenter and novelist Francine Stock.

Applause slowly settles into silence as the audience eagerly listen to the speaker, nodding in agreement at every opportunity. The talk comprises of a rather chronological account of key moments in film, identifying their “effects on our identity and morality”. We embark our journey through film from the early 20^th Century, beginning with the “utterly compelling” ‘Afgrunden’ (1910) from where Stock introduces us to the idea of aspiration being a critical element to Hollywood’s success. This becomes one of the key concepts of the talk.

We are shown clips aplenty, sometimes accompanied by witty comments by Stock. Sniggers sound at Stock’s remark that “the sales of vests plummeted” after Clark Gable removed his shirt revealing he was not wearing a vest in 1934’s “It Happened One Night”.

After each clip is shown, Stock gives a brief summary of the importance of that particular film in shaping our views of certain cultures or on ourselves. The clips act as evidence for the claims that Stock is making; for instance, she speaks to us about how “the idea of improving yourself is central to Hollywood” and then goes on to depict this concept through a clip of ‘A Star Is Born’ (1937) in which the main character, a young girl, comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom.

We pass through the decades, broadening our understanding of how our expectations have been affected by our “constant exposure to film and video culture” and eventually reach the 21^st Century where ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004) concludes our voyage with its thought-provoking storyline based on memory erasement, and Stock again states how different techniques in the film are conjuring up new ideas in our minds to further influence our identity.

“Watching a film is like a trance.” Francine Stock’s personal viewpoint on film seeps out during the talk. At the end of the talk, there is a question and answer session and Stock responds to all the questions from the audience with the same level of sophistication and articulation in her answers as she had all throughout the talk.

I came out of the auditorium with a huge amount of insight into the world of film and it’s progression over the decades. I found the talk very interesting and Francine Stock was a brilliant speaker who I definitely recommend all film-lovers to grab any opportunity to listen to!

The King’s Speech

Anna Semple, Roundhay School Ambassador

I attended Peter Conradi and Mark Logue’s talk about their book, The King’s Speech at the King’s Hall, fittingly.

The venue was located directly opposite the train station, so it was very accessible.

The hall was almost full: most of the audience was middle aged and elderly. However, I felt very welcome, as the staff were extremely friendly.

The event started off with Peter Conradi talking about how the book relates to the film. They told the story of the film came to be. The person who originally came up with it went to the Queen Mother out of respect to ask if he could write something about her husband. She said, “Not while I’m alive”.

It was also interesting to hear how the film was wrong in certain points. The main thing they portrayed inaccurately was the argument between Lionel and the King. Apparently, it wasn’t an all out shouting match: they just drifted apart.

They also told how they feel the most interesting point of the story is before and after where the film ends. After the film ended, the King and Lionel stayed in touch.

As well as telling us lots of interesting facts about the film (such as that originally Hugh Grant was wanted to play the king), the event provided an insider’s view into the story, as Mark Logue is Lionel’s grandson.

It was weird to think that the bookish son of Lionel in the film was the father of Mark.

They read some of Lionel Logue’s diary entries, which provided a fascinating look into his life.

Peter Conradi was very witty. When he asked how many people had read the book and only a handful of people put their hands up, he said “Some authors may be discouraged by this- I see it as a business opportunity”, which made everybody laugh.

It was really interesting to hear about their relationship with the film.

However, they didn’t only talk about the film. They spent a lot of time talking about their book. They were both very articulate and I found it very easy to listen to them talking.

Then they asked for questions. There were some very interesting ones, such as one asking why the Queen Mother said no.

I really enjoyed the event, and I wasn’t alone: as I went out, people were saying how much they liked it, and there was a long queue of people waiting to get their books signed.

Our evening with a Tory Radical

By Rachel Whitaker, Lily McIlwain, Ruth Mitchell and Rachel Balmer
Student ambassadors of Roundhay School Technology and Language College, Leeds

As a group, we attended Nigel Lawson’s talk about his new book, “Memoirs of a Tory Radical” on 11^th October 2011 at 7.30pm BST in the Kings’ Hall in Ilkley. We were greeted at the door by a friendly ambassador who directed us to the box office so that we could collect our tickets. The audience mainly comprised of middle-aged to elderly residents of Ilkley. We were among the few under 21s in the audience. Lord Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and “one of the chief architects of Thatcherism”, began his talk apologising for addressing us seated, then swiftly moved on to his thoughts on the current economic crisis. He was confident and articulate in his opinions, and expressed them coherently and in a persuasive manner. As Year 12 humanities students, some of the finer economic points went over our heads, but his main ideas were carried across. He spoke about his new book, “Memoirs of a Tory Radical”, which he wrote just after the Labour government took over, and has not edited since (he deemed this “dishonest” to his readers). He then went on to speak about some of his more controversial views, such as his opinion on climate change and carbon emissions. He then opened the floor for questions, many of which were based on the economy, although there was a passionate one from a professor on the state of climate change.  He put forward a very well-informed argument, to which we had the urge to applaud, however Lawson did not share our views. He interrupted the questioner with “are you finished yet?” and then proceeded to name his point “ill-informed”. The majority of the audience laughed at the professor and applauded Lawson, declaring their political allegiance.

We found the event interesting, and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the event and the cup of tea (and refills). It made us think, even though we didn’t agree with all of Lord Lawson’s points on climate change, as he said that it is more cost effective to adapt to climate change than to spend money resolving the issue. We found that Lord Lawson was a captivating speaker; however he had a tendency to be a little mean-spirited, especially to some of the people who posed questions. He amused the audience with his comments about his previous weight.

We enjoyed the event, and the staff were very friendly and helpful, however we feel more could be done by the organisers to attract a younger, more diverse audience to their events.

Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess

Review written by Iram Hussain, 12 years old.

Kill all enemies is a book about 3 kids (Rob, Billie and Chris) who all go through a life full of hell. Whether its from being unwanted or just unloved. This book gripped my heart from the very beginning.

These 3 kids are either trouble makers or out-casts however they are all just wanting to be loved and understood. Billie is a fighting 14 year old who is nothing but trouble ( however her care worker sees someone different). Rob is  strong and big (but his step dad sees someone to humiliate) and Chris is struggling at school (but his dad sees a no-hoper) They all have their own individual sad story in which they all finish by finding confidence and happiness. In some bits of the book you’ll feel the characters pain and others you’ll just want to laugh out loud. It’s full of mixed emotions and also contains some highs and lows as-well. If you are looking for something good to read this will be your book!

‘Saying what everyone secretly thinks’: An interview with Janet Street-Porter

By Lucy Simpson, Year 13

‘Opinionated’ is the adjective that first comes to mind at the mention of the

name Janet Street-Porter.

Both Controversial and successful as the title of herbook suggests: “Don’t let the bastards get you down”.

Going from a journalist whose career started at just 21, she rose to one of the few female executives at the BBC.

This interview gave us a little more than just a sneak peek into her life.

The King’s Hall was full, as people filed into the dark room, quite a contrast from the blazing sunshine outside.

The audience, mostly women aroundJanet’s age of 64, responded vibrantly to Janet’s anecdotes and her shockinguse of taboo language with one woman shouting out in agreement. It was clear a lot of people were followers.

The interview opened with Janet being introduced to Ilkley, her jokey comment about remembering “being stood in that bloody queue in Betty’s” set the event off with a light tone accompanied by a roar of laughter from the crowd.

As she gave us her opinions on money, diet (“eat whatever you like”), staff away days (“I don’t do bonding”), and supermarkets (“giving something back? What a load of bollocks!”), the atmosphere was buzzing.

On reflection, Janet stated, “People like to hear my opinions because I say what everyone secretly thinks”.

Now onto to her career with some welcome inside information.

Janet explained how she found her way into journalism, which was accompanied with a question from a budding young journalist in the crowd. “Make yourself indispensible” was the advice she gave, that and good old-fashioned discipline.

Finally, an interview with Janet Street-Porter wouldn’t be complete without the topic of walking. A description of the countryside as “a museum” gave us an insight into her unique way of seeing things reflected in her use of language. The audience was engaged.

As the floor opened to questions it was clear she was admired and respected from the crowd: one woman described her as “refreshing”, and another woman said to Janet: “You paint pictures with your words”.

However, theaudience had a spike too as one woman briefly silenced Janet when after Janet had given her answer the woman said “Excuse me but that wasn’t what I meant”.

Another asked “You seem fearless, but are you really fearless?” To which Janet replied with characteristic honesty “I’m not fearless in everything I do”.

After watching the interview it was clear why so many people had sacrificed their time in the hot British sun that we so rarely get.

It was an event I would definitely recommend and the audience left with Janet’s final advice fresh in their minds: “Learn to like yourself just the way you are: it’s cheaper, less

demanding and a whole lot more fun”.

Sheila Rowbotham

Raisa Butt, 17

The doors close on an idyllic day at Ilkley Playhouse and the lights are dimmed just before the speaker is due on the stand.

Before the talk, I noticed that despite the majority of the audience were at least twice my age there seemed to be an excited ambience as if we were in the presence of something great.

The speaker is introduced as Sheila Rowbotham- one of the giants in women’s history.

Her talk begins with the challenges that were faced by women throughout the twentieth century.

Already, the audience is deeply engaged in her words, which are spoken with a clear passion, evident from her own involvement with the 1970s women’s liberation movement.

As the talk moves on, I found that the subject of women’s progression covers about every aspect you can think of from riding through town in brown bloomers without a skirt, to managing the household.

But one idea that remained ever present, was how ‘women will never be great until they reach some sort of emotional freedom.’

For women in this period, freedom meant challenging the very means of society, as well as economy, in order to gain self- worth.

Personally, as a young woman living in the 21^st century I was astounded by the fact that even though the female gender has gained so much in the last 100 years, there are still aspects of society that remain unchanged.

By this I mean that even now, women’s wages are still less than men’s.

In addition, Rowbotham’s words regarding motherhood resonated to the modern world so aptly, that the Hollywood movie ‘Cheaper by The Dozen’ was referenced for the idea that the mother was still manager of the household.

When the time came for questions, I asked her if there was a moment in time, where she felt that women’s rights had truly changed.

With a smile, she replied education and how it can truly transform all aspects of a woman’s life.

This answer made my think of how young women today can take education for granted whereas back in the 1880s-1920s, the very idea of a girl going to school would be outrageous.

This variety of opinion regarding women’s rights can be found in Rowbotham’s book ‘Dreamers of a New Day’, a title that exemplifies how women should ‘take risks for joy.’

Review of Musical Mystery Tour

Lois Bradley

Simon Mayer and Hilary James performed Musical Mystery Tour at Ilkley Playhouse on the afternoon of Sat 1^st October.  They sang songs and talked about different instruments such as the guitar and the violin.  The room was filled with young children under the age of 8 and their parents.  The theatre was too warm to be sat in for just over an hour and it was hard to concentrate on the show because of that.

The show was interactive and after half of the first song I lost interest.  The younger children seemed to be enjoying it until about half way through when they started to get bored.  All of the songs had the same tune but with different words and played with different instruments.

Although I didn’t enjoy the show it was well-rehearsed and I would recommend it to families with children aged 8 and under.

Cocky Outspoken Brilliance

Lauren Brooks

The brilliantly-opinionated Janet Street Porter came to Ilkley Literature Festival on 1^st October 2011 in the Kings Hall at 3pm.  She was there ‘just for the fun of it’ and also to promote her new book called, ‘Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down’. The title itself tells you exactly what Janet is like.  She’s not afraid to be different, cocky and a little insane.  The atmosphere was amazing – the kind where so much is expected you feel the speaker will let you down but of course there’s never a dull moment with Janet.  Coming out of the hall I overheard a woman say, ‘I have a new-found respect for her that I’ve never had before’ and that certainly is the way with Janet.  Perhaps it’s the awe you feel at just how much she has achieved – being an architect turned journalist turned BBC executive – or just the way she puts you at ease.

Probably just about the only thing I could have to complain about is the heat.  Why is it that in England nobody will expect reasonable weather in October ?  She was easy to listen to and connected with the audience immediately by saying, ‘Got to love Yorkshire but you’re stuck in that bloody queue at Betty’s thinking IT’S ME, no I know my place, but it’s just general bollocks really!  Specsavers are already sweating..!  (Specsavers are the literature festival sponsors).  She just has the confidence to say exactly what she thinks, ‘I’m just me, a fully functioning being.  It goes in my brain and comes out my mouth.’  Janet had fully-pledged opinions on supermarkets and what foods we should eat.  She delivers in a very comic way and received a round of applause after almost everything she said.    She doesn’t agree with supermarkets over local shops and is fed up with being told what to eat, that ‘you’re more likely to die of a bloody heart attack worrying about what not to eat,’ and says one of her favourite things in life is going into a supermarket and heading straight for the reduced section.

If I had to give you one quote to describe Janet it would be most definitely be this, ‘I hate the bloody honour system.  Dame Janet?  F***off.’  She describes writing a column as, ‘a bit like running a marathon’, and in my opinion she has won the gold.  So, would I recommend seeing Janet Street Porter?  If you’re ever lucky enough to have the chance: without a doubt.

Battle of the Sexes!

Megan Spellman-Ross.

Picture the scene- it’s early October and incredibly sunny. I’m here at the Ilkley Literature festival to experience the promotion of the book ‘Dreamers of a New Day’ by the professor Shelia Rowbotham. The spacious room is crammed with women of an older generation, and everybody is grateful for the comfy seats and air conditioning. The excitable atmosphere is easy to detect, and silence falls as the refined woman is introduced to our eager eyes.

The words she speaks to us are clear and dignified; this intelligent woman tells us how once upon a time (certainly before yours truly was born) the female gender began to question what little rights they had, and demanding equal pay and more information about birth control. These strong, now iconic women found it “especially tiring to play one part endlessly”-for if a woman was to feel masculine, why not act it? Culture was gender specific and it was their belief that this had to be resolved.

Professor Rowbotham is clearly passionate, and makes this subject matter fascinating and quite inspiring for me, speaking as a female who is currently receiving the benefits of a proper education. Every single person in the room is without a doubt listening intently as this academic dryly quips humorous quotes from her book, which causes everyone to laugh in appreciation at how much times have changed. It was said that “Women will never be great until they achieve a certain emotional  freedom.” Which I believe holds true to this day. Why, if we do not voice our opinions and stand for what is morally right, the repercussions would be terrible.

Questions were put forth about how women are affected by David Cameron’s public cuts, and about the defining moments of feminism. Both questions were well answered in an articulate manner. I have truly learned how much I should be grateful for, and I am currently questioning how much progress still needs to be made as men are still superior. That’s the problem with the battle of the sexes-there’s too much fraternising with the enemy!