It has been a few days since we completed our Mother’s Boy Weekend with Patrick Gale at Launceston Town Hall. From the 4th-6th of March, we hosted a selection of events that celebrated Charles Causley, Cornish poetry, Causley’s hometown of Launceston and Patrick Gale’s brilliant new novel that captures all of the above. Read on as we reminisce about our Mother’s Boy launch …
Day 1, Friday 4th March:
Our weekend of events began on Friday 4th March with the Zoom launch of our Young Person’s Poetry Competition. Arriving at Cyprus Well, Charles Causley’s final home, Patrick Gale revealed this year’s theme of ‘Home’ from Charles’ iconic writing desk. Our theme for this year reflects how significant Causley’s hometown of Launceston was as inspiration for his work. Entry is now open, and you can find out more via our competition page.
In the sunny afternoon, Patrick and the Causley Trust team made our way to Launceston Library for our student workshop and talk. GCSE students from Launceston College and university students from Falmouth had the opportunity to ask Patrick all about his inspiration for Mother’s Boy, the process of writing the novel, the life of Charles and Laura Causley and broader questions about publishing. One of the most interesting takeaways from the event was that Patrick always begins writing his novels in ink, something he encouraged the students in attendance to try.
Day 2, Saturday 5th March:
Then on Saturday morning the Causley Trust team gathered at Cyprus Well to prepare for the Coffee and Cake Morning with Patrick. In between indulging in a selection of local cakes and pastries, our guests got the exclusive opportunity to have one-to-ones with Patrick and ask him all about Mother’s Boy, Charles Causley and Patrick’s other literary works. This event, held in Charles Causley’s study, was an immersive experience in which our guests could explore Cyprus Well and get a feel for Charles and Laura, while discussing them in the context of Patrick Gale’s latest book. One of our guests had travelled 292 miles for the event and remarked that it ‘had been well worth it […] to visit Charles Causley’s home and see how he lived.’
Our evening events at the Eagle House Hotel began with our screening of Jane Darke’s documentary Cornwall’s Native Poet. Following an introduction to the film, Jane and Patrick chatted about Charles, his position in the Cornish literary canon, the foundations for Mother’s Boy and then took questions from the audience. After a short break, this led into a fantastic performance by folksinger Jim Causley, who has famously put Charles Causley’s poetry to music. This was interspersed with conversation between he and Patrick, referring back to the film which features several of Jim’s songs. One of our attendees told us that ‘having Charles [Causley’s] poems set to music gave them a new dimension. What a great evening and experience.’ The night concluded with a fantastic encore from Jim, of which many of our guests sang along.
Day 3, Sunday 6th March:
Sunday marked the final day of our Mother’s Boy weekend with an interview and book signing event at Launceston Town Hall. Petroc Trelawny led an interesting discussion with Patrick about the origins of Mother’s Boy, his research process and uncovering the lives of Charles and Laura, where there has always been such mystery. We were delighted that several people in the audience had actually known Charles and Laura. The Bookery from Crediton set up a marvellous table of Mother’s Boy books and other titles by Patrick Gale, which were bought and then signed by Patrick just beside the painting of Charles Causley by Peter Douglas Edwards in the town hall — the perfect end to our fantastic weekend of events in Launceston.
A big thank you to Patrick Gale for all of his work and support and to Jim Causley, Petroc Trelawny and Jane Darke for helping shape our weekend programme.
Mother’s Boy is on sale, now!
