Practically applicable classics

The Telegraph and Argus sums up all the goings-on in Haworth village:

The jewel in Bradford’s tourism crown is getting a much needed boost with a host of projects currently underway – but civic leaders say more investment is needed to keep tourists flocking to Haworth.
The historic village is undergoing a major transformation thanks to a project to revamp the picturesque Main Street and a £1.25m restoration appeal to renovate Haworth Parish Church, which is the burial place of the Brontë sisters.
English Heritage is also investing significantly in the village and the church, which it placed on its at risk register in 2010. The organisation has agreed to pay 80 per cent of the costs to repair the parish church roof, subject to match funding being found, and is offering 80 per cent grants to reinstate original features on shop fronts in Main Street.
It is also working with traders to identify cheap ways to improve the town’s appearance, such as removing advertising boards from Main Street.
Haworth Parish Council chairman John Huxley welcomed the boost in activity in the village but says much more investment is needed in future.
He said: “We are making good progress but there is much that still needs to be done. Bradford Council has got a decision to make about Haworth.
“For many years we have heard this phrase that we are the jewel in Bradford’s tourism crown but really and truly we need to understand what they mean by that.
“There needs to be a considerable investment in the village if it is to become an attractive proposition for tour providers.”
One of the biggest bug bears, he says, is parking.
Coun Huxley said: “There isn’t enough parking in the village and we have an issue with clamping at the Changegate car park.
“The people who run events in the village say coach companies are reluctant to come to Haworth because there isn’t an official drop off and pick up point or anywhere for the drivers to rest up.
“I understand what I am saying here will cost the Council some money but such is the pressure on Haworth now from tourism it really does need some investment.
“English Heritage have put their money where their mouth is and come up with 80 per cent funding for projects. I understand the issues the Council is facing but it would be wonderful if it could start providing the remaining 20 per cent when the economy improves in the future.”
Coun Huxley also claims Haworth needs a village manager to co-ordinate projects to improve tourism and preserve heritage. He said he hoped it could be something Bradford Council could provide but suggested the post could be funded by the parish council if there was no alternative.
He said the parish council had also discussed creating a Brontë quarter in and around Church Street with the Parish Church, the Brontë Parsonage Museum and the Old School Room to create a heritage trail for visitors to follow.
But he added the proposals could come to nothing if plans to build almost 1,000 houses in Haworth over the next 17 years, proposed in the council’s draft Local Development Framework, were approved.
“To start changing the landscape will make it difficult to attract investment to Haworth in the future and it will be difficult for Bradford to promote it as a tourist destination,” he said. “We need to take a big overall view of Haworth and a more strategic approach to it.”
The Airedale Partnership has been examining the overall economy in the Worth Valley and Haworth, including tourism, and is working with Haworth Parish Council on a masterplan for the future. The Partnership has helped secure English Heritage grants for the main street and enabled Brontë Parsonage Museum to temporarily have an artist in residence.
Dave Melling, rural programmes coordinator for the partnership, said: “Tourism has been around in Haworth for a long time but we need to take a step back and think about how is that doing at the moment, what can we do to make it better and what can businesses do for themselves.”
Despite the work being undertaken in parts of Haworth, an important part of its heritage still remains under threat. The Old School Room, built by Emily and Charlotte and Anne Brontë’s father Patrick, is in a bad state of repair.
Part of the roof collapsed between Christmas and New Year and the upper section of the building has now been declared unsafe and has been closed to the public.
Despite an upsurge of support for Haworth Parish Church appeal, at least £20,000 still needs to be raised in the next two weeks before English Heritage will release the grant for the first phase of work.
Averil Kenyon, chairman of Brontë Spirit – the committee tasked with saving the Old School Room – said: “The situation is dire now. We are waiting the outcome of a grant application to English Heritage but until we get some funds we can’t do anything with the roof.
“The whole area looks a bit sad at the moment and possibly the Old School Room is the saddest thing in it. If we do manage to improve the building it will have a knock-on effect for the whole area and enhance the visitor experience.”
Ms Kenyon said building owners Haworth Parish Church had given Brontë Spirit one year to begin repairing the building and they had less than seven months left to make progress. She said: “I don’t know what will happen if we don’t get the money. The building will have to be sold off. That would be a great shame.”
The Brontë Parsonage Museum, which is a hugely popular attraction, is also still reeling after it lost out in a bidding battle to get a rare Brontë manuscript which went up for auction last year.
The museum’s collections manager, Ann Dinsdale, says more investment is needed in the village. She said: “We are doing our best here to preserve the parsonage but the village is getting to look quite shabby. I think Haworth will continue to slide in the present economic climate unfortunately. There needs to be an investment commitment and economic masterplan needs to be drawn up but I don’t know if that can happen.”

The Times also takes a look at the housing plans controversy.

Reuters informs that,

"The Descendants," "Moneyball" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy" are among the finalists for the USC Libraries Scripter Award, which honors both the screenwriter who adapted a literary work and the original author of that work.
"A Dangerous Method" and "Jane Eyre" round out the nominations for the Scripters, which will be presented on February 18 at USC. The nominees were chosen by a 32-person selection committee made up of filmmakers, critics and academics.
"Jane Eyre" was perhaps the most surprising entry on the list, which left off "Hugo," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "The Help," "War Horse" and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," among others.

Is it really so surprising? We will know if Moira Buffini gets the prize next February 18.

Movie City News reviews the film:

It’s in many ways, a faithful movie, one that at least respects its source. But how can you really sympathize in the ways Charlotte wanted us to sympathize with Jane — to admire not her looks, but her brains, her pluck, her persistence, her bravery — when she’s played by a stunner like Wasikowksa, however disguised, however made “mousey?” Poetic license, I guess. (Mike Wilmington)

BBC News wonders  about unfinished works:

There's a long list of great authors who have left work unfinished, often because of illness or death. Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, to name but a few. An industry has grown up around them, of so-called "continuators" - writers eager to finish the stories that they began.

Strictly speaking and judging from what's extant today it was only Charlotte who left work unfinished, though.

Some people are a bit narrow-minded. Apparently the question of reading the classics only depends on whether or not they teach you to speak correctly. From Money Marketing:

Ample Financial Services managing director Colin Parkin says this raises the question of whether the subjects being taught are still relevant and says: “I think teachers probably do not have enough time but is what we teach and examine relevant anyway? Reading the classics like Charlotte Brontë might be good for basic education but does it teach children to talk correctly? Time needs to be spent on practically applicable subjects.” (Rachael Adams)

That, of course, depends on your definition of 'practically applicable'. To us, the classics are highly so.

The person writing the cinema listings for The Mirror would sadly seem to agree with the above statement:

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Cert 15, 129mins *
Starring: Solomon Glave, Shannon Beer
A poor lad is taken in by a wealthy family in this offbeat adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel. This is about as dull as it gets. (David Edwards)

While the Cambridge News suggests a few movies that could comply with David Cameron's suggestion that 'the British film industry should support "commercially successful pictures"'. One of them is:

Jane Eyre's Wuthering Pride and Sensibility. Brontë-Austen smackdown, with Anne Hathaway. (Paul Kirkley)

Which we find truly hilarious.

The answers to the 107th King William's College, 'Isle of Man general knowledge paper, probably the toughest quiz in the world' are now online on the Guardian website. Number 10 is all about Catherines and includes Catherine Earnshaw.

James Howson, our latest Heathcliff, is all over the news for, apparently, 'racially abusing his former girlfriend'. See for instance BBC News. Whereas on the plus side, Mia Wasikowska, our latest Jane Eyre, is reported as being the face of Miu Miu's spring/summer 2012 campaign according to Vogue.

The Celebrity Cafe reviews Kathryn Alice's Releasing a Person: Recover from a Breakup or Divorce CD by stating,

The truth is … if a person was really your soul mate they would never have left. A true soul mate always returns. Just like in the movies. Think of Jane Eyre returning to Mr. Rochester or Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. These couples could not stay apart. (Jackie Morrison)

Chasing the Light And Real Life is Rubbish post about Jane Eyre 2011; My Daily Adventures in Hong Kong... And More reviews the original novel; Large Yellow Dog Studio has visited Haworth; Ryder Islington's Blog reviews Wuthering Heights; SonnetDreams uploads to YouTube a reading of Emily Brontë's The Night is Darkening.