Although 14 or 15 people travelled to Howarth, I wasn’t one of them due to a heavy cold. So, I’m using Angel’s review:

“Today the seniors visited the Bronte family museum house in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

Getting to Haworth isn’t easy. We took a train from Manchester to Hebden Bridge and from there the Bronte Bus, going up steep hills and narrow winding roads for nearly 10 miles. The village is basically a main street, which goes up to the top of a hill, where the parish is. Even today it is a secluded site and difficult to access.

However, Haworth has the Bronte’s own special appeal and gets a lot of tourism. It’s full of cafes and shops of all kinds. It’s a charming little English town. We ate at Haworth. I got myself a Yorkshire pie, which is like an Argentinian or Galician empanada, big and tasty.

Patrick Bronte, the father of the famous Bronte sisters, had been born in Ireland. He married Maria Branwell in 1812, near Leeds, and the marriage bore six children. In 1820 he obtained the incumbency of the Haworth Parish House for life, where Emily and Charlotte Bronte lived most of their lives. In 1821 Maria died and Patrick Bronte remains a widow with six children and his demanding salary as a priest. Her sister-in-law took care of the education of the little ones. The family had a brief and disastrous stay at Cowan Bridge School from 1824 to 1825. Little Maria and Elizabeth returned sick and died in 1825. Patrick brought the other siblings to personally educate them in Haworth.

Many years later, Charlotte immortalised Cowan Bridge as the infamous Lowood School of “Jane Eyre”. The Bronte family recreated an imaginary world, amidst Haworth’s loneliness, that cultivated their creativity. In 1847 Charlotte published “Jane Eyre,” the same year her sister Emily published “Wuthering Heights” and in 1848 Anne Bronte published “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” They all used aliases and all three died young. Emily died in 1848, aged 30. Anne died the following year, aged 29, and Charlotte died in 1855, in the early stages of her pregnancy, aged 38. Patrick Bronte died in 1855. He outlived his wife and six children.

The Bronte sisters novels are categorised among the most relevant works of English literature with both Haworth and Yorkshire Peaks starring. The museum shows the house where the Bronte family lived, the bedrooms of each of them and their father, the kitchen and living room, as well as details of family life. An original manuscript of “Wuthering Heights” is on display in a room. It was a very interesting and instructive visit that left me wanting to reread “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”. I read both as a teenager and remember very little.”

Photos from the day can be seen here.

Fighting HIV Stigma

On 1 October 2022, a march has been organised in London:

• to mark the 40th anniversary of the first case of HIV;
• to remember those who have sadly been lost to the virus; and
• to fight the stigma surrounding the virus. 

George House Trust are partnering with 20+ HIV organisations.

They will be gathering with colleagues from 12.00 noon on Saturday 1 October on London’s Belvedere Road, opposite St Thomas’ Hospital, behind County Hall, to march to Trafalgar Square. Everyone wanting to fight HIV stigma is welcome – whether you have been on many demos or this is your first.

The International Day of Older People

The International Day of Older People is observed on 1 October each year. The United Nations General Assembly voted to establish the day, which was observed for the first time on 1 October 1991. This year’s theme is ‘The Resilience and Contributions of Older Women’. 

Did you know?

• The composition of the world population has changed dramatically in recent decades. Between 1950 and 2010, life expectancy worldwide rose from 46 to 68 years.

• Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050. 

• Prevalence figures based on a survey of 83,034 people in 57 countries found one in every two people held moderately or highly ageist attitudes (ie stereotypes and prejudice).

Black History Month

This year’s Black History Month is from 1 October to 31 October 2022. It’s celebrated annually across the globe, but originally stemmed from the United States of America.

The theme for Black History Month 2022 is “Time for Change: Action Not Words.”

To get to a better tomorrow, we can’t just focus on the past. The past is in the past. We can acknowledge and learn from it, but to improve the future, we need action, not words. We need to come together around a shared common goal to achieve a better world for everyone.

This year’s Black History Month in October is more important than ever. It’s not just a month to celebrate the continued achievements and contributions of Black people to the UK and around the world. It’s also a time for continued action to tackle racism, reclaim black history, and ensure black history is represented and celebrated all year round.