The moors, my mistress

The Telegraph & Argus talks about tomorrow's (December 29th) activities in Haworth:

A double wedding anniversary celebration will be held at Haworth Parish Church tomorrow.
It will be 200 years since the Reverend Patrick Brontë, father of the famous sisters, married his wife Maria. He was vicar at Haworth from 1820 to 1861. It will also be 39 years since the current Priest-in-Charge, the Reverend Peter Mayo-Smith and his wife Eileen, were married.
To mark Patrick Brontë’s double-centenary the bell-ringers at the parish church will carry out a two-and-three-quarter- hour full peal.
Simon Burnett, the Haworth Church bell captain, said: “A full peal of bell involves 5,040 changes in various methods.”
Earlier in the day, the bell-ringers at Guiseley Parish Church, where Patrick and Maria were married, will also be attempting a full peal.
The Haworth peal will start at 3pm.

Keighley News gives more information about the bell ringers' full peal attempt:

The bell ringers will attempt a full peal, which consists of 5,040 changes and takes about three hours to ring. It requires great concentration on the part of the ringers as any mistake invalidates the performance. The peal is scheduled to start at 3pm. The ringing band will consist of four members from Haworth, one from Oxenhope and will be conducted by the president of The Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers. The guild will also ring in the New Year over midnight. The art of change ringing dates back to the 17th Century and is almost only practised in this country. The ringers at Haworth are always on the lookout for new members, so if you are interested, contact the ringing captain, Simon Burnett, on 07815 186074 or (01535) 643928. You do not need to be strong or musical and you would be joining a national ‘fellowship of ringers’ and most of all you would help keep the Brontë Bells ringing.

Yorkshire Post remembers that this Sunday, December 30th, BBC's Countryfile will be quite Brontë-related:

The dramatic landscape believed to have been the setting for Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights is continuing to inspire another Yorkshire artist.
Ashley Jackson set up his easel at Top Withens, above Haworth, to give a lesson in sketching to BBC Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison. The results will be screened on Sunday.
Mr Jackson’s fascination with the site began with a first visit in 1966 when he was accompanied by fellow artist and friend Stanley Chapman. He brought schoolchildren to see it in 1972 and continues to campaign for the preservation of the Yorkshire heritage site.
He said: “When I was 16, I wrote in my sketchbook that I wished to do with the brush what the Brontës had done with the pen. Today at 72 my passion remains the same for Yorkshire and the Brontës; I hope that Countryfile will allow others to view the moors as I see her – my mistress, with all her womanly contours.”

More best-of-the-year film lists that feature Wuthering Heights 2011. Now the Frederick News-Post:

2. A disarmingly stripped-down version of Emily Brontë’s classic doomed romance between Heathcliff and his beloved Cathy, it’s the same story you were forced to read in high school, but director Andrea Arnold’s stark, gritty style is what makes this retelling so effective. (It’s also notably the first production to cast a black actor as Heathcliff, inspired by the book’s description of him as a “dark-skinned gypsy in aspect.”) U.K.-born Arnold has become known for her contemporary, hard-hitting dramas like 2010’s superb “Fish Tank,” filming with jittery handheld cameras and utilizing only natural light. She brings the same type of aesthetic to the 19th-century-set “Heights,” transforming the Yorkshire moors into a dark, menacing creature, with its oppressive fog and wind, muddy fields and heavy rain. The moor appears to be a character itself, standing in for the characters’ repressed, often wordless love affair. It’s a beautifully shot, slow-burning melodrama, and it seeps in under your skin and lingers with you for days. (Michael Hunley)

And Television Without Pity:

8. All too often, cinematic adaptations of classic 19th century novels arrive onscreen already feeling like museum pieces. That's not the case with Andrea Arnold's raw, stripped-down version of Emily Brontë's oft-filmed 1847 romance, which has a vitality and immediacy rare to this genre. Although Arnold's decision to cast a black actor as Heathcliff garnered the most attention, her boldest creative decision was to root the story's events so strongly in nature. Filmed on location on the windswept, desolate moors of Northern England, the movie captures how petty the characters' personal dramas seem when set against such a majestic backdrop, but also how their cruelty to each other in the name of love is, ultimately, part of the natural order of things. (Ethan Alter)

The Seattle Times:

Best kid performance: In addition to Wallis (above), kid-sized kudos to Zoé Héran in “Tomboy,” Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward in “Moonrise Kingdom,” Isabelle Allen and Daniel Huttlestone in “Les Misérables,” and the young cast of “Wuthering Heights.” (Moira MacDonald)

Washingtonian's After Hours also mentions the film. But, of course, Andrea Arnold's film also figures on some worst-films-of-the-year lists:

Andrea Arnold’s completely unnecessary remake of “Wuthering Heights” does so many things wrong it almost deserves an award for wrong turns. This painfully slow adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel clocks in at two hours and nine minutes, and if it only felt that long you’d count yourself lucky. The absolute lack of chemistry between Kaya Scodelario as Catherine and James Howson as Heathcliff is one of the reasons there’s no romance whatsoever here. Arnold’s screenplay can’t find a redeemable characteristic in any of its characters. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is not just bleak—it’s murky. Some scenes are actually difficult to see. The color has been bleached to near black and white in places but if you want “Wuthering Heights” in black and white, they made that version in 1939. It was photographed by Gregg Toland, who also photographed “Citizen Kane,” and it looked a lot better. The new version was photographed with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is actually less wide screen than the 1939 version, and no, I have no idea why. Solomon Grave and Shannon Beer play Heathcliff and Catherine as teenagers. They bear no resemblance to Scodelario and Howson. (Jim Dixon in Capital District Movies Examiner)

Movie Reviews also posts a bad review of the film.

Digital Spy talks about one of the upcoming episodes of Emmerdale (January 10, 2013) which has several Brontë references:

Elsewhere, Bob is listening to Wuthering Heights on audio book and when he and Dan both flirt with Vanessa in the café, Dan is envious of Bob's charm. Dan reads The Idiot's Guide to Wuthering Heights while at the garage and questions Moira about women. Bob tries to persuade Brenda to go to Brontë night and mischievously lets Dan think people will be dressing up in costume. 

Daily Mail's Mike Read's Poptastic Puzzlers includes the following question:

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was published in 1847. In which year did Kate Bush top the charts with her song with the same name?

A: 1976 B: 1978 C: 1980

The Lancashire Telegraph has an article about walking to Wycoller Hall and remembers the Brontë links associated with the place:

Spend some time around the hall, which has a fascinating history. The Brontë family knew it well and they had a friend in the area called Eyre. The book was therefore easy to name and Charlotte called Wycoller Hall Ferndean Manor. Although the hall is now ruined, I have a copy of an old print which shows Wycoller Hall enjoying Christmas in 1650. (Ron Freethy)

Albeit they seem to be mixing Wycoller Hall and North Lees Hall, where the Eyre family traditionally lived and which Charlotte visited while on a stay in Hathersage with Ellen Nussey.

Otago Daily Times recommends Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair;  Lady Lira uploads a drawing inspired by Wuthering Heights; Kiss the Book posts about Catherine Reef's The Brontë Sisters; Ms. Yingling Reads posts about Catherine Reef's book and Heather Vogel Frederick's Wish You Were Eyre; ekúltura (in Hungarian) reviews Villette;  Stef's Book Room talks about Wuthering Heights.