A collaborative project involving University of Gloucestershire, the Dean Heritage Centre and local volunteers and schools to establish a unique literary collection, has been awarded £133,8867 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The literary papers of past Forest of Dean writers will be conserved and made available to researchers, schools and the public.

The new project will bring together a unique collection of material spanning more than 200 years, some written in local dialect, that reflects the landscape, people and places of the Forest of Dean.

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The Forest of Dean Writers Collection will complement Dean Heritage Centre’s archive of British television playwright Dennis Potter (1935-1994), which was also the product of previous work with the University.

The two-year-long project will see the original handwritten manuscripts, including poems, novels, play scripts, notebooks, drawings and photographs held by descendants from all over the UK and the US, become part of the Forest community museum’s permanent collection.

Specialists from University of Gloucestershire will work with museum staff and local volunteers to research and catalogue the more than 400 unique items making up the new collection, while a series of events and exhibitions will showcase the fascinating new material.

Schools will have access to the collection’s literary, historical and dramatic content, to give their cross-curriculum work a local flavour and raise literary aspirations.

Unique Material

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Among the unique material making up the new collection are previously unknown poems by “Forest Poetess” Catherine Drew (1784-1867); work by poet, biographer and literary editor Leonard Clark OBE (1905-1981); books once belonging to war-poet FW Harvey (1888-1957; a never-before seen novel by Valerie Grosvenor Myer (1935-2007) better known as an academic and biographer; a memoir by former collier and farmer Fred Boughton (1897-1985) written in Forest dialect with parallel “Queen’s English” translation.

Many of the papers were discovered by Dr Jason Griffiths and Dr Roger Deeks during their research for the University’s “Reading the Forest” project that was launched in 2015 to engage the public with the work, life stories and achievements of writers and poets from the Forest.

Dr Jason Griffiths said: “We’re so thrilled to hear we’ve received this support from the Heritage Fund. Thanks to The National Lottery players, more people will learn about the Forest of Dean’s rich and distinctive literary heritage.

“The work of these authors is of intense local interest, but it is also part of a much wider national body of work that captures the rich texture of this country’s fascinating places and people.”

Dr Roger Deeks said: “The literary heritage of the Forest of Dean is an important part of its wider cultural heritage. Many of these writers overcame economic hardship and class prejudice to achieve what they did. The story of their lives and careers will inspire young Foresters.”

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Creative Talent

Dean Heritage Centre manager, Mark George, said: “This new collection plays an important part in our plans to diversify the museum’s displays and the new stories we tell about the Forest’s history. It will bring new visitors to the Centre too.”

Nicola Wynn, head of collections at Dean Heritage Centre, said: “This is fantastic news. I am so looking forward to working with this new collection. Alongside our existing Dennis Potter archive, this new material demonstrates the incredible depth of creative talent that has come out of the Forest of Dean over the years.

“Engaging young people with this work could create a whole new generation of Forest writers and poets.”

LOTTO Hamburg is turning to adesso to be its partner for social media. adesso is now the digital media agency in charge of the strategy and content behind all social media channels run by Hamburg’s state lottery company. The experts from adesso’s Digital Experience (DX) division, who specialise in online marketing, branding and social media, made a convincing pitch, earning them a four-year contract with the client.

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LOTTO Hamburg has relied on adesso’s services for traditional IT projects in the past. Now the two companies are launching their first close collaboration in the field of social media. “We are delighted that we were able to convince an exciting customer like LOTTO Hamburg of our services, which include professional photo and video productions, along with strategy concept creation and creative services for traditional social media content,” says Madelaine de Nève, Social Media Team Lead in the DX division of adesso, describing the contract.

Creative, entertaining, bold: adesso delivers target group-oriented strategy

Through the strategic reorganisation of its social media channels, LOTTO Hamburg aims to position itself as a responsible gaming provider with a strong connection to Hamburg. To address the target group, the existing communication strategy is to be enhanced in terms of both content and visuals. The collaboration will take into account LOTTO Hamburg’s values, as well as the restrictions associated with the lottery industry. “adesso took a creative, entertaining and bold approach to meeting our expectations in the tender,” said Thomas Hinz, Head of Online Marketing and Sales at LOTTO Hamburg. “We are very much looking forward to working on our social media activities together and taking them to a new level.”

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adesso delivers big-picture input

LOTTO Hamburg was looking for a partner who had an excellent command of the entire digital and customer experience, as well as a superior understanding of the lottery business. adesso was able to impress the client with its unique hybrid offering of creative, consulting and IT services. Backed by many years of industry experience in the lottery sector, adesso provides ideas and inspiration that take the big picture into account. In addition to the social media team, the adesso SE performance marketing team will also be working for LOTTO Hamburg.