An act of vandalism

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner publishes Richard Wilcocks's statement about the proposed closure of the Red House:

To close down the Red House Museum in Gomersal in less than nine months’ time and to believe the fantasy that all would be well if its functions and services could be shifted wholesale to Oakwell Hall would be a great mistake.
A ‘cut’ like this would cause irreparable damage, and an important part of the heritage of Spen Valley and of the whole country would be lost.
It would be impossible to recreate what we have now, especially if this seventeenth century treasure was sold to a developer to be turned into flats, which would add insult to injury.

The capital gain which might result from the sale would have short-term effects on the Kirklees Council budget.
The long-term effects, on future budgets in a more favourable economic climate when the council would want (hopefully) to make up for this act of vandalism, on the local tourist industry and on the reputation of Kirklees as a place where local history and heritage is treated with respect, would be enormous.
Red House is of crucial importance not only for those dismissed in the official impact statement as ‘Brontë enthusiasts’, a choice of words which implies that they make up a minor group in the same league as train-spotters.
It is also of importance for anyone who believes that the most fitting memorial to Mary Taylor, a highly significant historical figure, not only because of her lifelong friendship with Charlotte Brontë, is the museum situated in her house.
Perhaps that should be national memorial – let’s move beyond the parochial.

A Telegraph article about the threats to grouse-shooting in Yorkshire has brought the following to our attention:

[Richard] Bannister describes the estate as "my passion". He is understood to spend £500,000 a year on it, employing six keepers – despite not charging shooting fees and just inviting guests.
His land, in "Brontë country" includes the ruins of Top Withens, the farmhouse whose bleak location above Haworth reputedly provided inspiration for Heathcliff's fictional home in Wuthering Heights.  (Adam Lusher)

Does that mean that Top Withens belongs to Mr Bannister?

The Oregonian selects the best movies seen at Sundance 2012:

Wuthering Heights. Director Andrea Arnold (“Red Road,” “Fish Tank”) brinks modern techniques and unlikely casting to bear on the hoary Emily Brontë classic, creating a muscular and vital new vision. (Shawn Levy)

 Valentine's gifts 2.0 in The North Jersey Record:

Spice up the gift of an e-reader by pre-uploading classics like “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell or “Wuther­ing Heights” by Emily Brontë. (Erinn Connor)

And more Valentine tips on Rochester Hills Patch:

Christine Hage, director of the Rochester Hills Public Library, said Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was the first love story she read, back when she was in seventh grade. (Megan Swoyer)

Among the weird places compared to Wuthering Heights we can add Ecuador today. From The Pioneer Press:

Should the hills become too monotonous, they are interrupted at times by vast spreads of the eerie paramo grass, which gives the countryside a distinctly moorlike quality - as though the Ecuadorian terrain has somehow managed to include scenes from "Wuthering Heights." (Natalie Gallagher)

Fiction Examiner reviews The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson:

Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern is a modern day gothic romance and mystery in the same vein as Jane Eyre and Rebecca, particularly Rebecca. (Rory O'Connor)

It seems that this year's Queen Citrianna is a Brontëite (The Progress Times); The Page 69 Test is applied to Margot Livesey's The Flight of Gemma Hardy; tHe crooKed WorD, the noisy bookworm and To the Real World and Beyond posts about Jane Eyre; Tropical Velvet has re-read Wuthering Heights; semprelastessastoria (in Italian) reviews Jane Eyre 2011.