Floods once again

The Guardian lists some of the 2016 highlights, including

The blizzard of cultural anniversaries marked in recent months might have induced a certain fatigue, but 2016 does promise several dates that will be hard to ignore. Looming large are Shakespeare’s 400th and the Brontë Sisters’ bicentenary (marking 200 years since Charlotte’s birth). Stratford-upon-Avon and Haworth Parsonage, the two geographical centres for fans of the Bard and the Brontës respectively, have been gearing up for these landmarks for months. (Vanessa Thorpe)

The October issue of The New York Review of Books included a review of The Art of Thomas Bewick
by Diana Donald:

Diana Donald does not try to rival these two provocative attempts to locate Bewick within art theory. She does however map the extensive impact the engraver had on Victorian culture, above all the resonances his work held for writers ranging from Tennyson and the Brontës to the critic John Ruskin. (Julian Bell)

The Independent has an article on the comedians Bridget Christie and Ivy Suttie. Bridget Christie says:

We'd love to work together again – we wrote a pilot once about the Brontës; it was brilliant, so God knows why it wasn't commissioned – but I think it would be hard to act alongside her. I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye without corpsing – she's funnier than she realises. (Nick Duerden)

 Сегодня (Ucrania) discusses Jane Eyre in the context of true love and loyalty:

— Алеша, мы уже говорили о моем любимом персонаже Шерлоке Холмсе, давай теперь поговорим о твоей любимой героине — Джен Эйр из книги Шарлотты Бронте. С чего вдруг она? Эта, по нынешним меркам, типично правильная зануда?
— Нынешние мерки меня мало интересуют. У меня свои. Джен Эйр — крайне редкий для нашего социума образ. В литературе таких много, в жизни  — почти нет. Она образована, знает несколько языков, хорошенькая, хотя думала о себе скорее как о дурнушке. А еще она гордая, трудолюбивая. И главное — умеет любить, причем любить для нее важнее, чем быть любимой. Еще она принципиальна, всегда имеет свое мнение...
— Нынешние женщины скорее решат, что Джен Эйр — просто дурочка: отказалась от брака с богатым аристократом лишь потому, что у ее "принца", мистера Рочестера, неадекватная жена! Подумаешь! Сдала бы ее в сумасшедший дом и жила бы в замке хозяйкой! И мало того, что она убежала, когда он был красив и здоров, так еще и вернулась, когда он — уже калека, а замок сгорел… Немногие понимают, что на самом деле это — подвиг. (Read more) (Анастасия Белоусова and Алексей Курилко) (Translation)

Teoria Criativa (in Portuguese) posts about Jane Eyre.

Finally a look at the severe flooding surges in West Yorkshire. Pictures and videos of the Haworth damages can be seen here, here or on the Brontë Sisters, where there's also a quite clear explanation of why this is happening once again (remember the floods of 2004?). Keighley News reports:

A fire chief has praised Haworth residents for their community spirit during yesterday's flooding chaos.
Keighley watch commander Darren Armstrong said villagers had rallied round to help those affected and to support emergency services personnel.
Firefighters spent much of the day at Mill Hey, where there was severe flooding.
Part of the former Royal Oak pub, due to reopen next spring as the Mill Hey Brew House, was swept away.
Around half a dozen homes were evacuated and the Spar store and other businesses were flooded.
Three people had to be rescued from a car which had become stuck in the flood waters.
Fire crews from Keighley, Silsden, Rawdon and Hunslet pushed out a bridge wall to divert water as levels continued to rise.
And they used pumps to help clear away some of the deluge.
A kitchen to feed people was set-up at the railway station on the Worth Valley line, which had been closed due to the flooding.
"The community was fantastic," said Mr Armstrong.
"People were filling bags with ash for folk to use as sandbags, volunteers on the railway opened-up their facilities and Spar and others gave food.
"Everybody really pulled together."

Picture Credits: Paul Jones