Issue 03 - The Pilgrim - March 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Features The Pilgrim March 2012
Bookcase
My Favourite book
Bishop Paul Hendricks
detects a Christian dimension in
J.K.Rowling’s best-selling Harry
Potter series.
Cutting the fabric of her
faith to suit the Stations
I don’t know if I have a single favourite
book, but the Harry Potter series
would certainly be high up on my list.
There is a strong plot line, a range of
well-developed characters, humour —
and some moral and emotional depths,
which come through more strongly as
the series
continues.
Harry is a good person, but he is not
over-idealised. He is by nature a rebel,
not above breaking school rules. He
makes mistakes: for example in the
last book, he has a row with his friend
Ron that he could probably have
avoided, and which causes much pain.
He has a very strong sense of what is
right, and often sacrifices his own selfinterest
because of this, but he still
has to struggle with anger in various
situations.
Drama often arises from the shortcomings
of the adults.
Professor Snape hates Harry, whose father
was his boyhood enemy.
Different aspects of this history
emerge through the series, with Harry
at times forced to reconsider what he
thought he knew about his father. We
only get the full picture at the end,
when Snape himself has been killed.
Then we realise why he behaved as
he did and we’re left with the sadness
of knowing what might have been, if
only things had worked out a little bit
differently.
Though the books do not refer directly
to religion, there is an
intriguing parallel with Christianity in
the final book. Harry can only defeat
evil by allowing himself to be killed by
his enemy.
There is a scene towards the end,
where he faces up to the fact that he
must deliberately walk to his death — a
sort of Gethsemane scene, in fact.
As I read, I knew Harry must come
through somehow, but I admit I
couldn’t see how. With typical skill,
the author did solve the problem – and
in terms which fitted in perfectly with
what had already been revealed earlier
in the story.
This was an ending that, like the series
as a whole, was not only cleverly
done but genuinely moving as well.
Canadian textile artist Anne Kelly tells Greg
Watts how she went about illustrating Steps of
Pain, Steps of Hope; Reflections on the Way of
the Cross by Monsignor Matthew Dicken, vicar
general of Southwark diocese.
“I had collaborated previously with Monsignor
Dicken on the design and production of an embroidered
hanging for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to London
in 2010,” she says.
“I started the research for the stations by looking
at traditional and modern interpretations. I
looked at Gill’s work in Westminster Cathedral,
but also less well-known examples, such as a Scottish
printmaker called Adrian Wiszniewski.
“I wanted the stations to have a unifying motif
so used the geometric layout reminiscent of
stained glass windows as a background. They were
to be reproduced (all but the cover) in black and
white, so I decided to use shades of white, grey
and black.
“The first station was hard to produce, as it
would set the tone for the images following it.
Once I had started the series, they developed organically
and it was easier to decide on their layout
and format.”
She says that two of the stations particularly
pleased her. ‘The first, as I love the pattern of the
water falling, and the sixth, where Veronica wipes
the face of Jesus. This was chosen as the cover
design and was produced as an embroidered
piece.’
Anne was born in Montreal and trained as a fine
artist and say that because of this much of her
work starts with drawing. “I draw in stitch and
keep sketchbooks, often painting as well. I started
to produce and exhibit multi-layered textiles
based on natural forms in 2004.
“They were very well received and developed
into larger narrative pieces and commissions. I use
a mixture of techniques, including machine and
hand stitching, collage and appliqué. I am currently
co-writing a book on collaborative textiles,
Connected Cloth, due out next year.”
She lives in Tunbridge Wells, where she has a
studio. She teaches art and textiles part-time at a
small independent school near Goudhurst.
“My studio is a repository for all kinds of fabric,
art and textile materials and working there is inspiring
and motivating. I collect old and forgotten
domestic textiles and clothing, which I like to
reuse and incorporate as whole pieces or in sections
of my work.
“I am often given pieces of fabric and whenever
I travel anywhere, whether at home or abroad. I
love collecting fabric and haberdashery.”
www.annekellytextiles.com
Dickens 200th celebration
This year is the 200th anniversary
of the birth of
Charles Dickens and there
are many events in London
and Kent to celebrate the
man who is arguably Britain’s
greatest ever novelist.
Until June 10 The Museum
of London is running an exhibition
entitled Dickens in
London. It includes original
and rarely seen manuscripts
of his most famous novels,
including Bleak House and
David Copperfield.
Excavated items from
Jacob’s Island in Bermondsey,
depicted by Dickens in
Oliver Twist, will also be on
show. The National Portrait
Gallery has a display of
prints, drawings and photographs
of Dickens’ life. It
runs until 22 April.
Author Lucinda Dickens
Hawksley will be giving a
talk called Why Dickens still
matters at 11 am on 7 March
at Gravesend Visitor Centre.
She will examine the man
behind the books, his journalism,
social campaigning
and how he made a difference
to the world in which
he lived and why his ideals
remain relevant today.
Elsewhere, The Brook Theatre
in Chatham will be
showing Adrian Preater’s
adaptation of Great Expectations
at 7.30pm on 17 March.
In May the Cuming Museum
in Walworth Road will stage
an exhibition about the
poverty and social injustice
in Southwark during the time
of Dickens’ childhood.
Artist Maggi Hambling has
been commissioned to design
a sculpture to illustrate
Dickens’ relationship with
the Borough area. It will be
erected in the Tabard Street
piazza between St George
the Martyr, which featured in
Little Dorrit, and the site of
the Marshalsea Prison.
Movie tells
story of Opus
Dei founder
There Be Dragons, a movie portraying the
life of Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva,
is now available on DVD.
The film tells the story of two childhood
friends, Josemaría and a fictional character
Manolo and how their lives take very
different paths in the midst of the Spanish
Civil War
It was directed by Roland Joffe, whose
credits include The Mission and The Killing
Fields, and shot in Spain and Argentina
A release date for cinemas in the UK has
yet to be set.
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