BRANWELL’S bicentenary year is drawing to a close, so our final free Tuesday talk of the year, on December 5, will see our learning officer Sue Newby deliver ‘a retrospective’ on the troubled Branwell Brontë.

We’ve enjoyed discovering more about him this year, and the poems of our creative partner Simon Armitage, and the brilliant recreation of Branwell’s bedroom, have really helped visitors get a sense of who Branwell was. Join us on 5 December to hear Sue look back on the year.

The end of Branwell’s bicentenary year means Christmas is approaching – a time of year we all love at the museum.

If you’re looking to treat somebody to a pre-Christmas gift, we still have spaces on our very intimate Brontë Treasures by Candlelight evening on Friday, December 8 at 7.30pm. This very special evening costs £85 per person, and includes a glass of wine upon arrival.

If you don’t have the excuse to treat yourself, there is another opportunity to see the museum by candlelight at our late-night Thursday on December 14.

The Parsonage will be dressed for Christmas, and we’ll be serving sherry in the shop, where we have some very beautiful Christmas cards on sale, and prints of the Parsonage looking very wintery – prefect gifts for any Brontë fans.

We will also be joined by local author SR Whitehead, who will be happy to sign copies of his latest books. We were so busy last year, we had to nip out and buy some more sherry, so come along if you want to instil some Christmas cheer!

As is always the case on our late night Thursdays, after 5pm, entry is free to visitors providing proof of residence in BD22, BD21, BD20 or Thornton.

We have our final event of the year on Sunday December 10, an event postponed from October.

Simon Armitage and actor Adam Nagaitis, who played Branwell in Sally Wainwright’s To Walk Invisible, will be in conversation with Yvette Huddleston, arts correspondent at The Yorkshire Post.

We were very disappointed when we had to postpone this event in October, but are delighted that we’ve managed to reschedule before the end of the year, and surprisingly we still have a few tickets left.

Don’t delay in booking if you want to hear Simon and Adam discuss the various ways in which they chose to approach Branwell. It should be the perfect conclusion to Branwell’s bicentenary year.

More from me next time about our January events.

Like last year, although the museum will be closed in January for our deep clean, and the preparation of our new Emily Brontë exhibition, the shop will remain open, and we have events on Saturdays January 6, 13 and 20, and will be joining West Lane Baptist Centre’s Movie Monday on January 8 with a screening of the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights.

Details of all events are on the website bronte.org.uk/whats-on or call 01535 640192.