Stephen Kirkby and John Spencer. Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Kirkby.
Eye - 07 July 2017
From conscience and costumes to showing kindness
Conscience and costumes
One Friend’s performance of George Fox’s words has inspired another to reach out.
John Spencer’s portrayal of George Fox in his one-man presentation (19 May) resonated with Stephen Kirkby, of Durham Meeting.
Stephen attends re-enactment events dressed in period Quaker costume and hands out tracts against wars and the causes of war.
He told Eye he has done this a number of times and that, although he was dressed as a man from the 1660s and the enactors were focussed on the second world war, ‘it did not seem to matter!’
When asked what prompted him to perform this unusual form of peace witness Stephen spoke of a long personal history linked to pacifist witness, with its roots in his childhood: ‘My parents were both Quakers but also social historians… I also liked the idea of dressing up and re-enactment (my four siblings used to be dressed up as urchins at the Christmas fayre held at the Castle Museum in York, where dad worked).
‘My first outing four years ago was to gatecrash an event at Wallington Hall in Northumberland. It was a world war two enactment and I turned up in black wool surcoat, hat and hobnails…
‘I spent the day talking with display people and visitors, and giving out CAAT [Campaign Against Arms Trade] leaflets…
‘It turned out that the owner of Wallington, Charles Trevelyan had been a pacifist all his life and suffered for it in the first and second world wars. So, I felt at home and only one military enactor wanted to “have at me” for sharing pacifist views.’
Stephen said he ‘began to cut my teeth’ and felt that he could ‘make a witness and have fun at the same time, once I got over my stagefright’. The majority of the enactors he has met have shown support for the pacifist position.
On 18 June he and John Spencer joined forces to attend a ‘battle re-enactment show and multi-period living history display’ in County Durham.
Stephen also plans to attend re-enactments of George Fox’s era: ‘I will soon be visiting 1650 civil war enactments and will be making some modern versions of the tracts that early Quakers used, but with modern references.
‘I will continue to support CAAT and hope to travel in dress to the demonstrations against the arms trade in September. I also hope that others will join us… Lots of people wanted to chat about modern Quakerism so that was a bit of outreach as well.’
Is there a cherry on the cake for anyone else contemplating similar witness this summer? Stephen assures Eye that John had an effective barrier to heatstroke, in the form of ‘a lofty hat stitched to a rather fetching nylon wig’.
Providing refuge
‘Few Friends will know about Quaker help for the many Portuguese people driven abroad by the civil war in Portugal in 1828,’ Toby Bainton, of Henley Meeting, wrote in a recent missive to Eye.
The observation was prompted by the unearthing of an obscure memoir in Cambridge University Library. Memorias historicas, politicas e filosoficas da Revolução do Porto by Joaquim José da Silva Maia was published in 1841. On pages 159-60 it reads: ‘Only the Quakers were the benefactors of the Portuguese refugees, receiving them with warm fraternity.’
Toby elaborates: ‘It describes the impulse of Quakers in Falmouth and Plymouth to provide the refugees with shoes and clothing, and a school for the younger refugees to enable them “to read and write and know the Christian doctrine”.’
Showing kindness
The latest statistics from The Trussell Trust show that UK foodbank use continued to rise during the twelve months in the run-up to March 2017.
Connie Hazell, of Bournemouth and Fordingbridge Meeting, wrote to Eye to share that: ‘A relative living in Russia writes that they, too, have foodbanks. In addition, some of the supermarkets have a “Kindness Shelf”, on which shoppers may put bread, fruit and other perishable goods. Whilst open to the occasional abuse, the contents are very much appreciated by people who cannot get to the foodbank or who are really hungry and in urgent need of something to eat.’
Connie reflects: ‘I like the idea of a kindness shelf and also an imaginary one where we can remember past kindnesses and receive a prompt or two as to kindnesses still to be done.’
