LV21 returns to Medway
Plus new poetry from Wolf Howard, we review the George Vaults, Sam Hall's new graphic novel, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more
If you looked out to the river earlier this week, you might have seen an iconic red vessel being towed back home. LV21, a former lightship that now acts as an arts venue and cultural space, has returned to Medway following eight years spent in the Gravesend wilderness. We’ve been talking to the owners to find out more. Further down, we chat to Wolf Howard about his new collection of work, we review the George Vaults, Sarah Hehir reviews Sam Hall’s new graphic novel, and of course, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
Phew. Onwards…
LV21 returns to Medway
This week, floating arts venue LV21 returned to Medway, which, frankly, is were it belongs. Steven was very happy to catch up with owners Gary Weston and Päivi Seppälä at Chatham Historic Dockyard to talk about how they came to own a lightship, how they brought it back to Medway, and what we can look forward to in 2025.
For the uninitiated, a lightship is essentially a floating lighthouse. It was used to help other ships navigate potential threats. Surprisingly, LV21 isn’t the 21st lightship. “They started numbering them”, explains Gary, “but it went over a hundred. So, they went back to zero and started again.” This particular vessel was the last built by Philip and Son and is the youngest surviving lightship, being in service from 1963 until it was decommissioned in 2009.
Gary and Päivi both work in the creative industries and wanted to secure a space they could develop as an arts venue. They wanted something with history and a story they could bring back to life whilst repurposing for the arts.
“We couldn't afford any of those expensive buildings of that nature”, says Gary. “I was looking at houseboats at the time and over time, those two ideas started to merge together.” Gary could see how much space was available in a cargo ship, and then Päivi spotted an advert for a lightship in the newspaper. “That ship was totally inappropriate for us,” explains Gary, “because it was wooden and used to sink a lot.” Despite that, the idea of a lightship had caught their imagination.
There followed a series of Google searches, which led to them finding out about steel lightships. There were not many available, if any, that were affordable to them. They contacted Trinity House, the government agency that runs lightships and lighthouses in the UK and asked them if they had any for sale. 18 months later, Trinity House emailed highlighting a ship coming up for sale. The timing was great as Gary and Päivi received EU funding for a maritime heritage project. They made an acceptable bid for LV21, paid for with their own money, “income from the business and credit cards”, and were able to use the funding to pay to have the ship towed to Medway.
“We had done a lot of prep, a lot of research”, says Gary. “We'd spent over two and a half years getting ourselves into a position where we were comfortable committing to it.” Their intent was to have the ship as a cultural asset and a public space. “The original plan,” says Päivi, “was to moor before Rochester Riverside was developed. There was the opportunity to moor there and establish ourselves there before the development happened.” However, that was not to be, and the only viable place available to them on the Medway at that time was Gillingham Pier, where they stayed for six years. “Right from the start, the ship was used as a space,” explains Päivi. “We always had to use the ship in the best way we could in whatever condition it was in.” They were under pressure from the start as they had committed to being the headline act of the Fuse Festival before they even had the ship. “We had six months to turn it all around, to make ourselves look as presentable as possible. We painted the whole ship by hand, did external repairs. She looked as good as she could for the performance.” The show was incredible, and they introduced themselves to 7,000-plus people with a 40-minute pyrotechnics extravaganza.
Being at Gillingham Pier, however, was a struggle. They used the time they were there to make the ship as functional as possible. During its life as a lightship, LV21 had been automated, and so time was needed to make the ship person-centred with efforts like returning natural light and insulating against the cold. “We removed the bulkheads and made our biggest public space, the recreation room”, says Gary. “We took the galley back to its original layout, which had become the control room, opened up the generator space into a single space again rather than being compartmentalised and scraped a lot of bitumen by hand.”
LV21’s time in Medway came to an end in 2016. The inaugural Estuary Festival was taking place, “and it was very Essex heavy.” There was little planned on the North Kent side. Gravesham Council were interested in bringing LV21 to Gravesend. Initially, the plan was only temporary, to go there for the festival, but it soon became clear the council wanted them there longer. “We'd been in Gillingham for six years at that point, and we got itchy feet”, says Päivi. “It's a ship. It needs to go places.” It was a good move for the ship to be in a more accessible place, and Medway’s loss was Gravesend’s gain. “LV21 is our flagship, but our operations are 90% away from the ship. It's festivals, it's working with schools, it's working with community groups. That's the main activity, outside of being a heritage asset.”
They were there eight years until this week when they returned to Medway. After months of conversations, an opportunity arrived with a week’s notice, during the last suitable tide until spring. It was meant to be. “For over a year, we've been looking around to see what options there were, and the Dockyard always seemed like there was an opportunity to be had.” They discussed their plans for the ship and Medway-based projects. “Our major strategic projects at the moment are based in Medway.” It made sense for the ship to come back to Medway, and the Dockyard kindly offered a temporary mooring. “I think we probably owe you a thank you as well”, Päivi kindly acknowledges, “because you were gently campaigning.” Gary smiles, adding, “and you got us the CEO’s email.”
It shouldn’t have been so hard to get LV21 back to Medway. Seeing that red ship as you come down the hill into Chatham Dockyard is a beautiful thing, next to steel locomotives, surrounded by other historic vessels. When the Dockyard opens in the spring for the 2025 season, LV21 will be ready and waiting to work in partnership with Medway’s Tiller and Wheel. The intent is to provide a community place, supporting artists in residencies, and more. Gary says there will be “conversations with the Dockyard to see how best LV21 can support the offer here.” Päivi adds that “she's in the right place for us to concentrate on the long-term future in Medway. We have no plans to leave Medway.” Gary has a couple of final people to thank for getting the beloved ship back to Medway. “We have to shout out to Adam Taylor (River Projects Manager at Medway Council) and Paul Cowell from the arts team. It just feels that everybody wants us to be here. It feels like we're at home.”
In brief
💥 Get Ready Comics in Rochester is moving to a new, larger store. The new unit is the former Hairstyle Avenue, immediately next to Blue Boar Lane car park, and might even have opened today.
🔥 KentOnline has been to visit Gurkha Fire in Chatham. It’s a rave review.
💪 Woodlands Gym in Gillingham will close and be turned into a children’s centre and community kitchen. The owners cite decreased membership for the demise of the gym.
🎺 Congratulations to the Medway Band brass band who recently won First Prize at the Wessex Brass Band Contest, along with prizes for Best Cornet for Elaine Williams, Best Trombone Section, Best Championship Section Band, and Best Conductor!
No news in brief
Over 18 months ago, the Brook Theatre was closed for improvement works financed by £21.5m from council borrowing, the Levelling Up fund, and the Future High Streets Fund. Since then, not much seems to have happened.
We checked in with Medway Council to see how the works were going:
“No improvements works have taken place to date.”
We hope you will join us in looking forward to the grand reopening when people can enjoy using the improved theatre. We asked when that might be:
“No specified date.”
Queuing for Nothing
Wolf Howard, ‘Gentleman Amateur’, drummer in The Chatham Singers, original Stuckist and cat owner, has a new book of poetry out. We spoke to him online about ‘A Queue for Nothing’, at least when his cat would allow him to reply.
Wolf’s poetry is eminently relatable, with his funny asides and insights into the every day, the surreal and the regular crossover between the two. “I think they’re tinged with a sort of romantic sadness”, says Wolf. It’s an approach to both his art as well as his words. At first you might think what he is doing is simple, but there is a depth that highlights the subtle beauty of life ticking along in the background.
“Damn, the cat’s here, making it hard to type.”
His new book, ‘A Queue for Nothing’, captures that with original poems accompanied by charcoal drawings. He describes these drawings as “nice and quick with hardly a single correction.” There are also two short stories at the back of the book, which Wolf enjoyed writing. A couple of poems have been previously printed but only in a limited-release collection. That previous collection, ‘This Wild Horse of a World’, was a limited print run of 53 copies and is no longer available.
“This cat’s sitting on the keyboard now.”
As a result, to most readers, all of the work here will be new. A video of his poem, ‘The Talking Magpie’, can be found amidst Wolf’s social media pages. “I might put it on YouTube, I guess.”
There are currently no planned readings, though sometimes Wolf will read his poems at gigs he does with Billy Childish when they perform as the Chatham Singers. “I have recently had this idea of reading on board the lightship LV21 (see above), but I haven’t told the owners yet.”
“I have to go and feed the cat, he thinks he’s hungry again. Or wants to go out and come straight back in.”
A Queue for Nothing can be ordered directly from Wolf via Instagram or purchased in Store 104 on Rochester High Street.
Local charity’s successful art auction
As mentioned repeatedly in recent weeks, Second Chance Medway held a charity art auction last weekend. Chair of the charity and writer of this edition of Local Authority Steven Keevil spoke exclusively to this publication to tell us:
“I just want to thank the artists, Sun Pier House, Gary Weston, Local Authority readers, and the bidding public. We raised over £3,000 and that money will be going to support families facing food poverty this Christmas.”
Out to Lunch: The George Vaults
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to The George Vaults in Rochester…
At the bridge end of Rochester High Street is this multi-venue mainstay of the area. Offering a variety of bars and, more importantly in the context of this feature, a lunch menu, there are also vaults with a crypt dating back to 1325 that in twenty-plus years, this writer has no memory of actually visiting. The combined restaurant and bar area is friendly, and the waiting team welcoming. I was quickly seated and looking at the very tempting menu.
I ordered a thick-cut smoked bacon steak, pan-fried and glazed, with maple syrup and zesty orange, served with a fried egg, golden fried potatoes and pineapple salsa, with sauteed garlic mushrooms. In a fit of pique, I ordered a portion of maple-glazed pigs in blankets from the nibbles section as well.
The nibbles were almost a mistake because, as tasty as they were, they were served cold. Apparently, this is because they were from the ‘Nibbles’ part of the menu. This was not clear to me, the menu, or the friendly waiter who had to check for me. All of this was a distraction from the main meal, which was delicious. More places should offer a bacon steak if only to make me happy. The pineapple salsa was a good accompaniment to the bacon, and the egg over the fried potatoes was an almost perfect side.
I heartily recommend going for a lunch of great food in the George Vaults. If you do go, please let me know what the crypt is like.
Review: Three Instances of Meeting Jarvis Cocker by Sam Hall
Review by Sarah Hehir
Medway playwright and graphic novelist Sam Hall has just published a new graphic memoir released by local publishing powerhouse Wordsmithery. Sarah Hehir has been reading it…
I’m a big fan of Sam Hall’s artwork. I love the cartoon lines, the bold colours and the fanzine feel to her books. But don’t be fooled into thinking simple means simplistic. Or that a quick read is a superficial one.
‘Three Instances of Not Meeting Jarvis Cocker’ is sophisticated: the sparse words and striking graphics lead you through the story of love and loss that we’re promised on the back cover. We’re invited right into the narrator’s memory of the 1990s and early 2000s, where nostalgia meets grief. I’m not fooled for a minute by the slightly arch gameplay on the first few pages. If it’s supposed to help keep us at a distance, all it does is perch us at the top of the track to give us time to buckle up before taking us on a raw and beautiful rollercoaster ride. It manages to be both huge and understated.
Some of the most difficult questions are literally boxed off, like ‘Why didn’t she tell her family?’ while the big philosophical, existential, heart-breaking revelations are contained in short floating thoughts against a black background. Whether it’s true or not (none of it is, some of it is), it’s a powerful read.
And the fact our narrator (whether Sam Hall or not) didn’t meet Jarvis Cocker is not the point. It kind of doesn’t matter. Not at all. But now she’s written a super cool graphic fanzine-feel autobio-fictional memoir about not meeting him, I hope she does.
Three Instances of Not Meeting Jarvis Cocker is available now via Wordsmithery.
Events this week
📚 Until 30 Nov - Medway River Lit // Month-long series of weekend events across Medway featuring writing masterclasses, panels, poetry, drama and more. Various locations. Highlight:
Sat 23 Nov - Lost Islands of the Medway River // Talk on the histories of the islands, who lived on them and what they look like today, before they disappear from sea level rise and the ravages of erosion. Chatham Library. Pay what you can.
🎶 Sat 23 Nov - House of Gain Records Listening Party // Debut Release with Live Music from The Missing Persons List. Analogue Music, Rochester. Free
🖌️ Sat 23 Nov - Waygooze Print Fair // Print fair selling affordable art, activities, and their legendary tombola. Intra Arts, Rochester. Free.
🧱 Sat 23 Nov - Gillingham’s National Brick // Lego play area for kids, life-sized builds, rare sets and mini figures. Medway Park Sports Centre, Gillingham. Tickets from £8.
🎭 Sat 23 Nov - Modern Image of Dorian Grey // New play by Aimee Ridell takes a social media angle on the classic story. Spotlites Theatre, Chatham. Tickets from £11.
❓ Wed 27 Nov - General Knowledge Quiz // Questions err toward the nerdy side of things, with a prize hamper available. Playopolis, Rochester. Tickets £4.50.
Don’t forget to check out our new events page. We’ll continue to include the events for the current week in these Friday briefings, but we’re aware that it’s often last minute, or things might be sold out by the time you read about them here. Our events page aims to solve that by offering a view of everything interesting happening over the next few months across Medway.
The page is still a work in progress, and there’s a good chance we’ve missed something interesting. If you are holding or know of an event that will likely interest us, let us know via events AT localauthority DOT news - thanks!
Remember that our Medwayish shop contains a wide range of Medway-related gifts and products designed by local creatives. We have books, mugs, t-shirts, prints, and other fun bits and pieces. Check it out!
Footnotes
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Wild Nature by Lupen Crook and Heavens Journey by Wild Billy Childish and The Chatham Singers.