Jane Austen statue approved for Winchester
WINCHESTER City Council has approved plans to put in a statue of Jane Austen within the grounds of Winchester Cathedral, where she is buried, to mark the 250th anniversary in 2025 of the novelist’s birth. The cathedral revealed the preliminary designs for the statue in March (News, 8 March), commissioned from the figurative sculptor Martin Jennings. His maquette depicts Austen as risen from her writing table and searching outwards. Work will now begin on the life-size sculpture, which is to be installed for the Inner Close, which was once the predominant cloister of St Swithun’s Priory, in September. Mr Jennings said: “A sculpture of a terrific figure could be just one interpretation, but I hope mine pays full tribute to the essential elements of her moral vision and her greatness as an writer.” The Vice-Dean, Canon Roland Riem, thanked Mr Jennings, the private donors, and “those that have offered feedback”.
Southwark’s Director of Music, Ian Keatley, dies
THE Organist and Director of Music of Southwark Cathedral, Ian Keatley, has died suddenly while on holiday, aged 42, the Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley, announced on Tuesday. In a statement on the cathedral website, he wrote: “As a Cathedral community, we’re so deeply shocked and are finding it hard to consider. Our hearts exit to Ian’s family, who were all here on the cathedral with him just a few weeks ago, as happy with him as he of them.” Dr Oakley described Mr Keatley, who joined the cathedral in 2019, as “an incredibly talented musician” who “loved his work here on the cathedral and had many friends”. Mr Keatley had been a vicar choral at Wells Cathedral, and had served at Westminster Abbey, the Chapels Royal, and the Tower of London, and had been Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. “Colourful, stylish, an individual of substance and reflection, he loved wine, good food, travel, and his many friends,” Dr Oakley said. “He also took his faith seriously and understood his choral direction as a vocation, translating our faith into sound.” Obituary to follow
National Churches Trust casts off Huw Edwards
THE former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards, 62, of Southwark, who, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, on 31 July, pleaded guilty to a few counts of constructing indecent images of youngsters, has been removed as vice-president of the National Churches Trust. Mr Edwards was arrested in November 2023, and charged on 26 June, but his arrest and the costs weren’t made public by the Metropolitan Police until 29 July. The Trust said in an announcement last week: “We are shocked and saddened by the recent developments.” It had, it said, 28 vice-presidents “who advance the reason for the charity. . . These are all unpaid voluntary positions.”
Squadron drops ‘Crusaders’ nickname
THE Lincolnshire-based RAF 14 Squadron is to drop its unofficial nickname, “Crusaders”, after a confidential service criticism was partially upheld, the BBC reported last week. The Squadron, formed in 1915, was nicknamed after flying missions within the Middle East. A spokesman said: “Our focus have to be on not giving prominence to any offensive term that goes against the values of the Royal Air Force. . . The traditions and informal nicknames utilized by the RAF within the earliest days of the service have a spot in our history; nevertheless, some aren’t any longer appropriate within the twenty first century.” Organisations have questioned the usage of the word “crusades” in recent times, and imagery surrounding medieval religious wars.
Bell tolls for Earth Overshoot Day
THE tenor bell of All Saints’, Glossop, in Derby diocese, tolled 100 times on Monday evening of last week to mark Earth Overshoot Day — the date on which “humanity’s demand for resources exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that 12 months”, a church press release said. All Saints’ received a Gold Eco Church award in November 2023. Margaret Roberts, a licensed lay minister, said: “It seemed ironic that the day on which we remember how annually we’re blessed with the harvest that provides us our each day bread can also be the day we lament our over-consumption.” The Tower Captain, Andrew Fearnley, said: “Bells have been rung on this site for hundreds of years, and for a lot of reasons. . . We tolled the tenor, our heaviest bell, for Earth Overshoot Day, and to spotlight the moment within the 12 months when the earth now exceeds its annual use of resources.”
Last likelihood to acquire free portrait of the King
CHURCHES have until 15 August to use for a free official portrait of the King as a part of an £8-million scheme, under the previous Government, to display the image in public buildings (News, 12 April). Places of worship were initially excluded from the list of eligible places under the scheme, but were later included under an extension confirmed in May. Councils, courts, schools, police forces, fire and rescue services, and prisons were among the many buildings originally included.
