As a member of the organising committee of the Rye Arts Festival, director of the newly-formed Music Lifeline CIC (formerly known as The Music Well), community bus driver, assistant at the Rye Foodbank, the safeguarding lead for Rye Youth Zone (RYZ), performer with Ryebellion Drummers at civic events in Rye and beyond, and having spent two years as the Mayoress of Rye, Niki Stuart has devoted countless hours to enriching the cultural and community life of the town. Let’s discover a little more about her through Three Degrees of Curiosity.
Over to you, Niki.
Which three things would most people would be surprised to learn about you?
- I was a trustee of a children’s charity at the age of 28.
- I started a sandwich delivery business with my friend Liz (yes, the one who now lives in Brisbane) and we took over the feeding of office dwellers in Soho and then Canary Wharf as it was being built and occupied!
- I appeared as a footnote in an exhibition of Camille Pissarro’s work in Tokyo as I had discovered that Pissarro had copied and used illustrations from Punch in his work.
Which three famous people, living or from history, would you most enjoy sharing dinner with?
This could become such a cliché. I would like to have dinner with Harriet Tubman and find out how she ever managed to extricate so many slaves from under the noses of their masters. How ever did she, as not only a woman but as a black woman, manage to coordinate such a feat?
Pol Pot would be interesting. It would be fascinating to know what goes through the mind of a dictator who was hell-bent on destroying his own country. How could it ever be a good idea to remove experts, the educated and those accomplished in the arts?
On that note how about Ai Weiwei? I am sure he would like to interrogate Pol Pot! I find his resilience inspirational. I also find his art thought provoking and utterly intriguing.
Please may I have several gins after the experience? I don’t expect the dinner to be a bundle of laughs! For that I would have Tim Minchin and people I used to teach with!
What are the three qualities you most admire in other people?
Tolerance, tenacity and honesty.
If you could wave a magic wand, what three things would you change for Rye?
- Remove the need for a food bank.
- Increase the amount of affordable housing.
- Improve transport links… Get the railway to go to Camber, and Rye Harbour!
What are your three happiest memories from your two years as mayoress?
Every day a joy! Andy and I were so privileged to be the mayor and mayoress. Andy had to work hard and I just went along for the ride, and what a thoroughly enjoyable ride it was! Obviously going to Walmer Castle and meeting King Charles III was a happy memory. I would not call myself a royalist, but it was the ultimate honour to be presented to our Head of State.
An incredibly happy memory was sharing the Mayor-Making with friends who had supported Andy and understood his selfless motivation for wanting to represent the town.
Which, I suppose, is my third happiest memory – being able to tell dignitaries from other Cinque Port towns and mayors in Kent and Sussex just how great Rye is. Because it really, really is a very special place that punches above its weight in so many ways.
Which three places always make you feel at peace?
- My beautiful garden in Rye.
- At Frank’s Bar on top of the disused multi-storey carpark (now called Bold Tendencies) in Peckham.
- Standing looking out to sea: I don’t mind where but I think Camber is hard to beat – just make sure you walk away from the crowds which it is always possible to do!
Which are the three books you return to time and again?
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor. I have recommended and bought this book for so many people. I absolutely love it. He has such a poetic way of writing. It is story of people who live in the same road. They have ordinary lives. They would be overlooked by almost everyone but we, the readers, are given a glimpse of what makes them tick. It is absolutely beautiful.
I am afraid it is a bit of a theme. My next book would be The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen. It is a well-written tale of a child growing up in a totally confusing world that she does not fit into. Her parents are members of a sect in rural Britain and she is largely ostracised at school as she is so different. She creates a world of make-believe in her bedroom out of rubbish discarded by others. Both these books make me tearful just thinking of their beauty.
Third book, cor blimey! Anything by Anne Tyler. I save them. One day I will have read them all and then I will be sad.
What are the three pieces of music that have shaped your life?
What a nightmare of a question! I know my favourite track of all time is Everything I Own. It has multi-layered memories for me. David Gates wrote it and this song was my standout track on one of the first albums I bought when it came out in 1972, when I was 12. I then bought a tape of Reggae Magic from a corner shop on the way to a party in the East End as it contained Ken Boothe’s version of the song… At that party I met our very good friends Liz and Morgan with whom we (Andy and I) moved into a flat in Camberwell. They then emigrated to Australia – I hope it wasn’t because of us!
My second choice would be Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt. When Andy and I were doing our ‘We Love EU’ tour pre-Brexit we stumbled across a tourist information office in Paide, Estonia which is (unbeknownst to us) Arvo Pärt’s birthplace. It is a small, run-down town but the immense pride of place and the high esteem in which Pärt was held was palpable. I then heard his music. We were lucky enough to have this played by Cordelia Williams and Tamsin Waley-Cohen at last year’s Rye Arts Festival. To hear this wonderful piece of music played in the beautiful setting of St Mary’s church was a highlight of my life!
Third piece? Wow, almost impossible! But I think I will plump for You Can Get It If You Really Want by Jimmy Cliff. I used to lead the singing assemblies when I was the deputy head of a primary school in Southwark. The school had been on special measures when I took up the post and many of the children were disaffected and a bit feral! The team turned it around and hearing the children singing such uplifting words, and believing them, was pure joy! It was a job I loved, although it was definitely the hardest one I’ve ever had!
Which three concerts or performances have left a lasting impression on you?
I was at university in Manchester and was lucky enough to see Joy Division before Ian Curtis died. It was mesmerising. It was a night that Iggy Pop was also playing. Andy and I went to Iggy Pop and then legged it across Manchester to see Joy Division. The reason for the late start of the second concert? Joy Division went to see Iggy Pop too, but I think they then got a lift to the next venue! Watching Ian Curtis singing Lost Control Again will haunt me always, especially as I had Iggy Pop’s sweat-stained bit of toilet paper in my pocket having caught it when he threw it to the crowd!
The Rye Arts Festival had Kando Bongo Man play a couple of times. He and his group play such joyous wonderful dancing music. Being so close to them at the front and dancing the night away – magical! The added bonus was hosting the band and chatting to them all.
OK how about Bob Dylan at Blackbushe? It really does seem that half the people I know who are my age, or a bit older, were in the crowd at Blackbushe. It was such a wonderful day!
If you had a completely free day, what three things would you spend it doing?
Reading, visiting art galleries and exploring hidden streets in an unknown village.
What are the three best pieces of advice you’ve ever been given?
As a teacher it would be ‘Do No Harm’. I taught many very vulnerable children who had extremely difficult home lives. Their behaviour was often very challenging. What they needed was understanding and compassion, and sometimes not to engage in the lesson that was being taught but rather occupy themselves with construction on the carpet or a quiet place to sit. We were one of the first schools to introduce counselling sessions and brought ‘Place to Be’ into school.
My father gave my brother two pieces of advice – drink a pint of Guinness a day and if you want to sack someone stand very close to them. He was a civil engineer and once had to let a construction worker go and found, to his cost, that he should have been standing closer as he only just managed to avoid being hit by the spade the man had in his hands. He gave me no such advice, which is a bit of a shame!
Anything else? I am not very good at following advice!
Which three words do you hope people would use to describe you?
Reliable, conscientious and intrepid.
If Music Lifeline could achieve three ambitions over the next five years, what would they be?
As we are still to properly launch the first is easy! Decide on a logo, print some leaflets and get the word out about us!
Improve the mental health of the population of Rye. Ensure that we can offer music therapy sessions to those who would benefit from this intervention.
Ensure that all children in Rye and in surrounding schools get good music education. Ensure that children have the opportunity to sing and play a musical instrument and engage in group activities.
What are the three possessions you would find hardest to part with?
Photograph albums of travels and adventures.
My wedding presents. Andy and I got married fourteen and a half years after being together. We didn’t need anything as we had all the possessions we needed. So we gave friends and family a small bank money bag and asked for something small but meaningful. We did not want anyone to spend any money but if they felt they needed to the limit was £5.00. We spent the morning after our wedding looking at all the wonderful gifts we’d been given. They are now in a print tray in our kitchen that we can look at every day. They include a box of matches from a pub we used to go to with friends, a clay pipe dug up from someone’s back garden, a lock of hair from my first haircut, a bone butterfly purchased by friends on their honeymoon, sand from a beach in Thailand, a thimble with the Newport Transporter Bridge on it and sheep poo from the most easterly point in Australia. Yes, I shall not part with these fantastic memories that conjure up each and every friend and relative who gave them to us.
Are my dog and cat possessions? If they are I am NOT going to part with them!
Finally, if you could leave readers with three words that sum up your philosophy of life, what would they be?
Explore the unknown.
You can find more about this year’s Rye Arts Festival in this Rye News article.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .