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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338808142016-07-29T18:55:35.316+01:00my blogA writer's lifeCryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-15547444957715380242016-07-26T09:57:00.000+01:002016-07-26T09:58:10.182+01:00The sunshine & prosecco edition

It's 'summer season' time at Theatre Royal Bath with another determined-to-please production: While the Sun Shines by Terence Rattigan is another WW2 farce and, as with their previous show (Coward's Present Laughter), I found myself compelled to upwardly revise my sniffy opinion of this genre. The storyline may be absurd but it's a delight to watch, with a fabulous set creating 1940s Albany both outside & in, gorgeous costumes, sharp direction and superb cast. There are shades ~ or rather gleams ~ of Oscar Wilde and PG Wodehouse, but this hilarious parody of social mores has hidden shadows too, evoking an era of insecurity as social status totters while bombs fall and black-out nights bring war-time wildness.
In his inherited luxurious chambers, the Earl of Harpenden finds his real 'war effort' is the struggle for the lovely Lady Elizabeth (Alexandra Dowling), against the blustering charm of American Lieut Mulvaney (Rupert Young) and the cunning of Clouseau-esque French Lieut Colbert (Nicholas Bishop), with the mix confused further by tart-with-a-heart Mabel Crum (Tamla Kari), and Elizabeth's gambling father (Michael Cochrane). All are excellent, and Rob Heaps as the Earl, potentially the most facile stereotype of all, brings huge charm and subtle strength to the role. Christopher Luscombe's direction ensures brilliant timing and I came out with eyes sore from laughing.
On till the end of the month, highly recommended. (images Tristram Kenton)

Back in Frome, Tic Tac Toe is addressing another era of social values in The Scandalous Love of Oscar Wilde, a monologue analysis of the writer's attitudes and the path to his downfall. Luke Stuart superbly inhabits this role in a piece still in development, directed by Geoff Hunt and written by Calum Grant, to be shown at Merlin Theatre on August 6th. The preview was at the Cornerhouse, which also on Saturday offered the marvellous All Nighters' Northern Soul with dancing on a nostalgically-talc-scattered floor until late.

More live music on Sunday from flaminco guitarist Joe Taylor at the Archangel in the afternoon, here with his other guitar in singer-songwriter role.
And I'm ending this celebration of drama and music on a personal note: thankyou to everyone who sent birthday messages, and to those special friends who made sure I had prosecco as well as sunshine to complete a perfect day...

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-13030387971489909122016-07-22T09:30:00.002+01:002016-07-22T21:30:40.450+01:00Bohemian rhapsody in the Aegean

Regular followers will remember I've been regularly visiting Skyros and returning all aglow since this blog arrived blinking into cyberspace in 2006. Recently I decided to step back from leading courses, much as I've always loved my groups, to focus on new directions but the magic island called me back in the most exciting way ~ with camera in hand, to proxy-enjoy all the creative, spiritual, and physical activities of Atistsa bay. Here the friendliest group imaginable included me in their daily life from Qi Gong on the pale beach in early morning to singing at dusk, with dancing at night under the full moon. (Thanks Mark Gunston, film-maker & windsurfer extraordinaire, for the image)

Atsitsa is on the remote, neo-hippy, West coast where pine forests creep down to the pale pebbled bays and the sun sets vermillion on the wine-dark sea: for a more essentially Greek vibe you need to cross the island to the Skyros town where life on the cobbled streets seems hardly to have changed since Achilles' days, though down on the sandy shore nymph-wear is scanty and beachbar music is ambient chill-out. I came back with a full memory, both personal & technical, of dazzlingly beautiful moments ~ over 100 posted on my facbook page ~ feeling rich in connections and reconnections.

Amazingly, Frome was also enjoying 30+° heatwave when I got back, which must have been tough for the Frome Half Marathon. Mayor Toby Eliot and Deputy Al O'Kane participated and happily our 2016 Festival Poet Laureate, John Christopher Wood has decided to take his role seriously and to honour the occasion. Here's The Uses of Mayor Ware, which features not only audacious rhyme but a really neat final couplet. Enjoy!

The Mayor is doing a 10K run. He's doing it for charity.
It's to try to raise some money, And to make it feel more funny
He's doing the whole thing In full mayoral bling,
Which for charity hilarity has no parity.
A chain of office weighs a ton; Running in it's not much fun.
So to schlep around a whole 10K Is a feat extremely schleppity.
But he's not doing it all alone - He's running it with his deputy.
 Councillors like these are good for Frome; It's party politics that wrecks it.
These feisty Independents are A much more positive Frexit.
And it's a turnaround beyond compare, Politically it's rather stunning
 First to be running for Mayor, And now to be Mayor for running.

Next week Annabelle and I are heading for Shropshire with our Time Walk, to 'walk through nearly five billion years tracking the story of our home planet, marvelling at the way everything on earth has evolved from stardust' in the lovely location of Carding Mill Valley.  I've been reading David Eagleman's fascinating insights into the intricacies of the human mind Incognito, finding even more to marvel at, and still more summer ahead!

I'll end with a look back at the magic island from two of my favourite places: the headland of Atsitsa bay, and Plateia Rupert Brooke at the top of Skyros town, perfect to watch the southern rocks turn slowly from grey to lilac as the sun sets...
Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-23870751803104413872016-07-11T23:06:00.000+01:002016-07-12T22:31:07.778+01:00Our revels now are ended....
Day Ten has come & gone in Frome Festival and all the festivallers are knackered. In previous years I've reported throughout the week ~ daily, even, one year ~ and now there's far too much to mention everything that was exciting or delightful or for varied reasons simply splendid, so I'll just pick out a few personal highlights ~ there's a much more extensive album on my facebook page.

MUSIC was amazing throughout. The Frome Street Bandits provided a superb opening for the first big open-air event, parading through the sunny evening streets to perform in the market yard for the Food Feast, and Pete Gage Band gave a storming session at The Cornerhouse on the final day. I absolutely loved Al O'Kane's Magical Folk Garden at Archangel, four nights of superb folk-rock performances in a mesmerically decorated environment, where I was stunned by the Bookshop Band, overwhelmed by the Cedar, entranced by the lively Pigeons, and enchanted by Emma Shoosmith & Al O'Kane himself. There was music everywhere in town throughout the week, from really great little folk, country, & jazz bands in pub courtyards & gardens to memorable sell-out sessions at the Cheese & Grain like the marvellous Billy Bragg.
 VISUAL ARTS enhanced the festival vibe everywhere too, with over fifty artists in the Open Studios trail and other small events too ~ I especially liked Mutartis Boswell's weird pieces in the Cellar, Robert Lee's strange things in boxes, and Ciara Nolan's big black&white photographs of Humans of Frome at the Silk Mill- a good place to pause between events for tasty Peruvian tapas in the courtyard and wine...

DRAMA is always a major interest for me, though as with all festivals, clashes are inevitable. Nevertheless Fringe Theatre had to be my priority: our production Time Slides was on for two nights, the second of which sold out completely so we had to send walkups away as over forty people squeezed into the upstairs room at the Cornerhouse to enjoy our three excellent young actors, Gabrielle Finnegan, Tiffany Rhodes & Matt Harrison, with Patrick Dunn adding atmospheric live music. There's a great review in the Fine Times Recorder which explains what's going on better than I can, even though I wrote the play... and the feedback is all on our Nevertheless page ~"Very good acting and intriguing thought-provoking script" sums up the general view, I'm happy to report.

The other stand-out production for me was Legends of Frome, an 'immersive theatre' piece devised by the Edventure creative arts course and performed at Sun Street Chapel. Taking as starting point the older traditions of town life like weaving and baking, and using a range of interactive devices involving masks, mime, song and storytelling, this young team involved us as audience, in small groups, in a journey of sensual experiences so that gradually we all became participant performers in the living story of our town. An amazingly ambitious piece that worked extremely well.

WORDS are always a strong element in the festival, and Frome Writers Collective organised some excellent events for prose writers: the first weekend saw Writers in Residence in cafes and pubs throughout the town with a busy Small Publishers' Fair at the Silk Mill, and for the final Sunday there were workshops and a talk from literary agent Jane Judd at the library. For poets & poetry lovers, Liv Tork hosted a terrific Hip Yak Poetry Slam at the Archangel and my Festival Poetry Cafe at the Garden Cafe was also a great evening and a full house. Here's our superb guest Steve Pottinger (his scathing satiric poem Stabberjocky has since gone viral) with our new 'Festival Poet Laureate' John Christopher Wood, who will revisit us later in the year as a guest himself, hopefully with more strange odes.

Frome Festival more than any other I've known is a real community celebration, with so many free events for everyone to join in ~ pubs like the Archangel and the Artisan have hosted childrens' activities by day as well as evening music, and the Childrens' Festival in the market yard was amazing. There's an 'open garden' trail too, although I didn't have time this year, and so much more ~ I shall keep thinking of people & acts this post hasn't mentioned as I fly off, now, to Greece for a week in Atsitsa Bay on Skyros island...
Have a lovely time, Frome, basking in the afterglow of another really good festival...

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-46752246479169727852016-06-30T13:17:00.001+01:002016-07-01T10:42:19.817+01:00Summer storms & classic drama

The Tempest is tale of turmoil caused by power struggles among the old, redeemed through love by the young. How wonderfully calming then, to sit in Frome's splendid amphitheatre, a circle of twelve massive stones created to celebrate the European Union, and watch a quartet of talented young actors perform this story in the evening sunshine of the day an imposed, unnecessary, vote threw our country into disarray. (This blog is about arts in & around Frome, not politics, but as one of the bard's least attractive characters said, if you prick me do I not bleed?)
So I can't thank you enough, Quantum Theatre, for this totally delightful production. High-energy performances combining physical comedy with impassioned storytelling ensured clear narrative and movingly convincing relationships. Harry Boyd was compelling as Prospero and Pippa Lewis & Charlie Russell were enchanting lovers, with Lewis Newman a poignant Caliban - all also quick-changing into nobles, sailors, servants, and (one of my favourites) a quirky street-band trio of Ariels. Their website has tour dates ~ catch it if you can.

King Lear by contrast is a drama of storms and divisions with no such happy ending. True, the conspirators all die, but so too does nearly everyone else in a relentless trail of machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders. Bristol Old Vic in collaboration with their Theatre School is offering what director Tom Morris describes as a 'unique exploration' of this massive tragedy: students and professionals working alongside each other in every area from set-making to choreography as well as on stage.
The outcome is truly impressive.
Three big names support the large cast of student actors: Timothy West is the king, shifting convincingly from scary volatile to piteous as his outmanoeuvered rage turns to terrible regret. Stephanie Coles is the surprising but very successful choice as his cryptic fool, and David Hargreaves is a strong Gloucester. The rest of the cast ~ Lear's children and their lovers, his friends and enemies, soldiers, servants and followers ~ all deserve distinctions especially Poppy Pedder as Cordelia, Jessica Temple and Michelle Fox (Goneril and Regan), Joey Akubeze as sly servant Oswald and Tom Byrne as wretched Edgar feigning madness to deal with crazy times, with the overall award for stand-out performance going to Danann McAleer as loyal Kent returning from banishment to serve his master in disguise. There's a lot of disguise and duplicity in this disturbingly prescient story: bad people pretending to be good, sane pretending to be crazy, and wise pretending to be fools. And from the opening moments when a map of this kingdom is physically split, uncomfortable relevance palpably resonates, especially when gentle Cordelia is rejected for refusing to enhance her status by false hyperbole. Top marks too for sound and visuals, with set, effects and costumes all supportive rather than intrusive, as appropriate for this intense and timeless tale. On until 10 July, and has already collected its first 5 star review so do go if you can. (Booking link above)

If it's all getting too stormy for you right now, there's respite on offer at Theatre Royal Bath where Noel Coward's Present Laughter sets the clock back to an era when a chauffeur called Frobisher awaiting in one's car can be called at a moment's notice to ferry a young lady home, and a milieu where she has just spent the night with one's husband.

This frothy tale of egotism, lust and guile all revolves around Garry Essendine, an actor with a penchant for witty repartee and women, who find him irresistible. Yes, a pattern is emerging: Noel Coward did play the part himself in the 1942 tour. The action follows the complexities of Essendine's life and personality, as he engages with women who either adore him or scold him or both (the exception being his housekeeper, a Mrs-Overall figure who seemed to have come from a different comedy.) It's a thin plot but it does enable much shenanigans and some genuinely funny moments, especially in the second act. Part of the reason this production works is Stephen Unwin's confident direction, a bigger part is eye-candy effect ~ sumptuous set, luscious lighting & lovely ladies in gorgeous frocks ~ and major credit should go to Samuel West in the lead role. His Garry Essendine is totally convincing as a charmer of fluctuating egotism, concealing insecurity under banter, afraid of losing what he values most although he still doesn't know what that is... If you like froth that leaves you pondering on what fools these mortals be, you should go see.

Frome enjoyed a festival foretaste from local singer/songwriters Al O'Kane and Emma Shoesmith at Archangel on Sunday afternoon ~ you can hear them both in the Magical Folk Garden on Wednesday (if you haven't got a ticket for Billy Bragg, hashtag festivalclash!) And even before Frome Open Studios art trail has opened there's a vibrant exhibition at the Round Tower in the North Hill House end-of-year students exhibition. And now the town is garlanded with bunting as Frome Festival is underway - ten days of even-more-than-usual music, extra drama, open-access artists' studios, and a cornucopia of talks, readings, workshops, tours, trips, and teatime treats in open gardens.
On a personal note I'm excitedly anticipating a great night at the Poetry Cafe on Monday, and another two great nights on Thursday and  Friday as Time Slides has now reached the costume-and-music stage of rehearsal, doing what pub theatre does best ~ a make-you-laugh, leave-you-thinking, affordable show.
Don't worry if you didn't get hold of a programme ~ they have nearly as many inaccuracies as a Brexit leaflet (though without the ruthless planning) ~ either look online or just come along, any day between 1st & 10th of July you should find something somewhere that you'll love...

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-28431770729468417192016-06-22T18:45:00.000+01:002016-06-23T06:49:38.633+01:00The week with an important date... summer solstice!
Yes, summer solstice brought us a full moon ~ first time since 1967 for this coincidence and there won't be another until 20162, apparently ~ so now the days will begin to get shorter and lets hope the rain starts to ease before Worthy Farm is completely under water. Glastonbury is not the only celebration on the horizon of course - here we're gearing up for a fabulous Frome Festival, whatever the weather. On Sunday afternoon the Grain Bar offered a taster from the box of delights that is this year's festival.
I was there to wave flyers for Nevertheless Fringe Theatre and the Poetry Cafe, and to enjoy samples of some of the performers ~ like composer/pianist Stephen Marquiss, spooky ghost-hunter Georgiana Hay and Martin Dimery with a tempting slice of his one-man show Shakespeare Rattle & Roll, showing how Buddy Holly would sing Sigh no more.. hey nonny nonny!
Also among the amazing range of productions there's an immersive theatrical journey entitled Legends of Frome, devised by the creative Edventure apprentices. I've had a peek of this in development and it looks fantastic, but everything ~ even the location ~ is under wraps so you'll have to just book & trust me.
And even though there's so much bubbling under for festival week ~ Friday 1st July to Sunday 10th, if you're not from round these parts ~ the usual art-y life goes on: a superb Roots Grain Bar night on Wednsday from a trio who could hardly get more international: Hiroki Okano from Japan joined by Canadian Domenic DeCicco and and UK's Nigel Shaw, between them sharing more instruments than I could count or name. Stunning session.

Friday night saw the opening of Black Swan Arts 30th Anniversary event, 1000 POSTCARDS, possibly the gallery's most ambitious project ever, and certainly the one causing most curating problems: to display one thousand postcards selected from the deluge submitted for this fundraising event. Launch night on Friday was so crowded the queue to view snaked all around the downstairs cafe as it seemed every entrant & their families wanted to check out the Wall of Fame poster - and view the postcards, of course, all of which are delightful or striking or both, and most of which are brilliant. The exhibition is on till 28th June with all postcards then for sale, including the 'big name' donations.

The market yard had more than stalls on Saturday as a bevy of richly-robed worthies from around the shires arrived to ring their handbells and O-Yea the features of their home in the annual Town Crier contest. They all looked marvellous in their feathered caps and braided robes - I didn't get a snap of the full troop but here's the Frome hosts in their own regalia.

What would life look like if we abandoned our 'civilised' industrial economy? And what other options are there, anyway? We The Uncivilised, an amateur film about a quest for these answers, was screened at Frome's Hubnub Centre on Saturday afternoon. Created by a young couple disillusioned with modern life who set off with a film camera to explore alternatives, this very personal story has some pithy interviews and finds some fascinating locations while ultimately highlighting very recognisable dilemmas. I'd have liked more interviews within the communities but there's excellent support on the website to help these valuable views gain wider awareness.

All of which new old-fashioned ways segueways neatly into my visit to the Earthhouse at the Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne, a 200-seater theatre under an earth roof held up by oak tree trunks, lit only by firelight as the sky darkens. Here you can gather around that fire to hear stories from around the world presented with sensational skill by Crick Crack Club. Their theme on Saturday was Bawdy! and there was much of that but other human longings & fears too in tales from Papua New Guinea to South America at this unforgettable event. Nothing like the kind of story-telling that makes you long for a fast-forward button, these were superb performers: immensely endearing quirky styled Nell Phoenix, rhythmic strength TUUT, and Tim Ralphs whose folk-ballad deploring the redundancy of porn-movie fluffers in these Viagaran days was my highlight of the night.

And now as England steadies itself for whatever lies ahead after the big vote, I'll end with a snap of the ECOS amphitheatre, built to celebrate England's joining the European Union. I'm really really hoping I won't have to tag this image with an adapted Wilfred Owen quote:
Oh what made fatuous Fromies toil
To build ECOS at all....

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-85999897039456100222016-06-15T16:25:00.000+01:002016-07-01T10:44:08.865+01:00A funny thing happened on the way to the Fringe...

Bath streets in sunshine are magic, all bubbles & buskers and strollers & singers & silver statues - you could make a massively long alliterative poem about its abounding delights and I was thinking of doing that on Friday when I visited, but instead here's a haiku: sunshine i love you / my personal Tramadol / hashtag smiley face.

I was back for the final day of Fringe Arts Bath, to see another Onset production at Burdall's Yard: Fear of God, with a strong central performance from Tiff Burr whose talents will be seen in Frome in Time Slides (about which more below). On then to to see Tinned Pizza Company take on As You Like it in a cleverly adapted & abridged version upstairs at Molloys, a friendly Irish (where Pinot Grigiot is £2.20 a glass, some local emporiums might note...)

Frome, never outdone in revelry, enjoyed a republican God Save the Queens' Birthday celebration on Catherine Hill on Saturday, graced by her Maj with Young Pretender Chas in tow, Liz flinging aside her handbag and twerking vigorously to Dr Hook's disco sounds. Ciara Nolan & the traders on the hill throw a mean street party so other queens abounded ~ here's me being a queen cat...

Unless you follow the comedy scene closely you may not have heard of Gareth Richards, Naz Osmanoglu, Adam Hess, or Steve Bugeja, but they all want that to change as they head for the Fringe determined to win acclaim, fame, and TV fortune. Frome's Merlin theatre has been hosting three nights of Edinburgh Comedy Previews: the first two events, on Monday & Tuesday, shared the same style of blokeish self-observational humour, but the third night had Annie McGrath so was probably different. Monday was the best I saw, as the stage was set bistro style with club lighting rather than the school assembly look chosen by Tuesday's duo - and it didn't go on so long. All four comedians had their hilarious moments ~ Adam's critique of the Isis flag was one ~ but for me the highlight was Naz ending his set with an evocation of his boarding school as a child - too harrowing to be funny, but unforgettable. (Image: Gareth singing his stupid-white-guy blues)

And finally: with Frome Festival only just over two weeks away, our Nevertheless pub theatre production is coming together and looking great... Patrick Dunn, our wonderful musical director and live-on-stage musician, is recovering from his broken hand (kept that quiet, didn't we) and our talented & energetic cast Tiffany Burr, Gabrielle Finnegan & Matt Harrison, have now all graduated from Bath Spa University theatre course and are devoting their talents & energies into Time Slides, a 'contemporary comedy with an intriguing twist, blending fact, fiction and fantasy' for anyone who likes literature, love, laughter, or life. Booking through Cheese & Grain, events 712 (Thursday) and 813 (Friday), upstairs at the Cornerhouse 8pm - can you believe we're still only £5?
"Best hour you'll ever have still with a glass in your hand" - audiences to all our previous shows.
Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-41884771673550179022016-06-06T12:00:00.000+01:002016-06-06T22:51:50.303+01:00They say it's your birthday...

It's been a bumper week for birthdays. First off, Bristol Old Vic at 250 the oldest working theatre in the English-speaking world, celebrating last Monday with an all-day party in King Street where circus performers, dancers, and musicians entertained the crowds enjoying sunshine & festival-style feasting - viz, vans of international cuisine and fluffy icecream. Inside the actual theatre there were free shows on stage all day. I joined the queues to see Yesterday's Island Revisited, a script-in-hand explanation, with film sequences, about a community drama project in the 1980s. It was all terrific fun, let's do it again in 2266 for the 500th!

Also part of the BOV celebrations, and also revisiting a previous success: Kneehigh's revival of their 20-year old show about Marc Chagall with the enticing title The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. The romance between first-sight lovers Marc and Bella has fantastic dramatic potential ~ a young Jewish artist struggling to present his surrealist view of the beauty of life in an era of Nazi oppression and world wars. The uxorious couple (Marc Antolin and Audrey Brisson) are absolutely delightful but the downside of a show with only two actors is a huge reliance on scripted exposition, mostly in speeches direct to audience. In this long string of information, the moments of interaction, dance and song all shine like lustrous pearls. Lighting design (Malcolm Rippeth) beautifully supports these cameos, and I liked the set (though not everyone did) which for me evoked a half-ruined playground, its angled props like a broken star of David. Live music from Ian Ross and James Gow was great too but how much more magical this would all have been with more show and less tell.

Meanwhile in Bath, Holburne Museum celebrated its 100th anniversary in appropriately elegant style: a soiree on the terrace of the rather beautiful glass-walled new extension and the launch of a book of 'ekphrastic' poems inspired by art in the museum's collection. From Palette to Pen comprises twenty poems from an impressive list of local poets including Rosie Jackson, Dawn Gorman, Philip Grosse, Claire Williamson, Carrie Etter, and George Szirtes. Prime mover in this project was Frances-Anne King who was aided by Sue Boyle, Linda Saunders & Lesley Saunders in editing this prestigious publication. On a sunny Friday evening, it was delightful to catch up with poet friends there to read or support, including our own current Festival Poet Laureate Steven Payne - who will hand on this annual nomination at Frome's Poetry Cafe on July 4th, so bring your own poem and come along..

Elsewhere in Bath there's a Fringe Arts Festival continuing till 12 June with plenty of art to inspire in the galleries especially in Walcot Street which features exhibitions of work illustrating the utopia/dystopia continuum: Walcot Chapel is brimming with colour & dangling flowers & beautiful pieces like this glass mask, while down the road you're warned to 'be aware the drawings beyond this sign would disturb some people' in a setting like a student flat after a trainspotting-style party. There's much else on too, including daily performances at Burdall's Yard from Onset Productions. It's a fantastic space for theatre - I watched Inward Ripples which features Matt Harrison who will be showing his talents again in Frome in our Nevertheless pub theatre production Time Slides - another pre-festival hint here, as tickets are now bookable...

And in a week positively pulsing with celebrations for anniversaries and birthdays, Frome had a couple too: The Artisan marked their first year in business with fantastic rock cover-band Hammervilles, and writer Alison Clink chose Absolutely Bowie at the Cheese & Grain for her own celebrations. Much dancing occurred at both events. Saturday saw a Carnival party in Victoria Park, and Sunday - blimey is it that time again? - yes, we had another Independent Market day...

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-26698922311983695742016-05-30T00:07:00.003+01:002016-05-30T00:36:08.591+01:00Setting out to Ithika and other marvellous journeys

Nobody's Home, developed in California by Theatre Témoin & Grafted Cede Theatre, workshopped with war veterans, greeted on Broadway with 5-star reviews as the sort of masterpiece which deserves not to go undiscovered, is now touring UK and came to Salisbury Playhouse this week. You might think anyone choosing a play billed as 'a moving exploration of post-traumatic stress disorder in a modern retelling of Homer's Odyssey' would expect some fairly gritty imagery and action, but six people walked out (we were in the Salberg Studio so their exit was not discreet) as the ex-soldier wrestled with epic perils and living nightmares.
Set in and around a bath, with brilliant lighting & sound and two terrific performers, this sixty-minute drama is a fantastic piece of theatre. Will Pinchin as Grant graphically shows the nightmare of his war and the terrible place it has left him, and Dorrie Kinnear is superbly chameleon as his helpless wife, the monsters & foes he faces, and even - in an exquisite final tableau - as the billowing sails of his final journey home. There was an after-show talk too but we were too wrung-out & overawed to stay. I may feel squeamish about my next bath though, and won't be eating watermelon for a while.

Last Tree Dreaminghas been on a long journey too, since Frome artist Barry Cooper found this 250 year old fallen oak in Stourhead, realised it could once have been part of Selwood forest, and conceived the idea of a heritage project creating art from & around the tree. This community project has involved talks, story-telling, carving, drawing, and other activities, and the outcome is currently on display at Frome Museum. I saw the first work in situ last year, then at the Community Day last November, with Helen Moore & Azeema Caffoor, Julian Hight and others. The current exhibition has even more contributions - carvings by Anthony Rogers, video from Howard Vause, and a great display of all these elements with a social history of the times by Anthony Lacny and Helen Langford. Massive credit to everyone else involved too - there were many. "I wanted the project to have enough room for everyone to have their own personal experience" Barry told me - actually while the picture above was taken (thanks Helen Moore.)

Wednesday was a busy night, with not only the exhibition preview but the Roots Session at the Grain Bar where three-woman band Velvet & Stone - two great guitar/vocalists and an exquisite violinist - were simply superb, and also the inauguration of a new mayor: for those who follow the progress of the Peoples' Republic of Frome, this year we welcome Back Wood Redeemer Toby Eliot (guitar, mouthorgan, vocals), seen here with lovely Lady Mayoress Rosie of Nevertheless fame.

Bruton Poetry Platform, a new initiative for Bruton Festival of Arts organised by Bryony Brook, had its inaugural session on Saturday with slam queen Liv Tork as compere & performer. I was privileged to be a judge as in the elegant setting of At the Chapel, 18 readers shared poems on the theme of 'Life'. First prize winner was Megan O'Neill, here receiving Liv's congratulations on an impressive debut performance.

Back again in Frome, rehearsals for the Nevertheless Fringe Theatre festival production Time Slides are now firmly underway, with updated cast (Tiffany Burr now joining Gabrielle Finnegan and Matt Harrison) and integrated live music designed by Patrick Dunn.
And finally this week, Frome Writers Collective website now includes a short video of me in conversation with Gill Harry Tdiscussing the writing scene and our town's renaissance over the last twenty years, with help from the festival and an inspirational community spirit. Literally scores of people are named and acclaimed throughout the story: it was fun to pull out all the old flyers and amazing to recall how we did so much on a shoestring, and somehow made a truth of the myth that Frome boasts more creative artists than any other small town in the country...

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-51835376809435010172016-05-22T17:49:00.001+01:002016-05-22T17:58:20.022+01:00Life out of the box

Mayfest - ten days when Bristol claims 'the city is our stage' with drama in 20 venues for this celebration of 'work that pushes hard at what theatre can be - from artists who are being brave and brilliant and doing that with skill, style, power and wit.' It's a terrific-looking programme and I'd like to have seen everything but, as always, there's so much happening ~ in Frome this week we had two artist's talks, a council consultation meeting with local performers, and a wicked Grain Bar Session from fantastic Captain Cactus and the Screaming Harlots.
So it wasn't until Friday (sadly clashing with Party in the City, Bath's biggest night of free music) I arrived at Bristol Old Vic having chosen Opening Skinner's Box from Improbable, 'a whistle-stop tour of the scientific quest to make sense of what we are and who we are.' As my recent TV viewing was mostly BBC4's The Brain and E4's Big Bang Theory, this looked like one for me. Directors Phelim McDermott & Lee Simpson took their 'compendium of cautionary tales' from the same-name book by popular psychologist Lauren Slater and some reviewers felt they didn't take it far enough. True, it's not so much a show as a lecture: the five actors though charming are interchangeable voices, and if you don't mind missing mimes of monkeys you don't need to look at the stage at all. But I found it gripping drama, and totally fascinating. Much of the psychological research is familiar territory ~ those terrible tests to prove babies can't thrive without touch, and to show that compliance to authority will turn people into torturers ~ but there's something profound and poignant about our obsession with that bit of pinky-grey flesh called the hypocampus where emotion and memory lurk. How do we select our memories anyway, or do we live our hypothetical lives imagining everything? Like I said, fascinating...

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-12254374991083277382016-05-15T22:52:00.000+01:002016-05-19T22:42:45.901+01:00May Medley (2): historical dramas, art, life, and fish.
If you want an antidote to all those ponderous & inscrutable period plays, filmed or staged, look no further than Bath Spa University Theatre where the third year students have brought the 18th century comedy The Servant of Two Masters vividly up-to-any-date-you-think-of, and the audience couldn't stop laughing. On a candy-striped set as sublimely silly as the plot and dressed in costumes either ludicrous or gaudy or both, a company of talented young actors showed huge professionalism in this high-energy romp in which three determined women successfully outwit three foolish & greedy men. Bravo to Beatrice, superbly played by Gabrielle Finnegan, and her lucky Florindo ~ and how lucky also that two of the shiniest stars of the show are coming to Frome for Nevertheless Fringe Theatre festival production: Time Slides.

From matches to hatches and dispatches, without the blissed-out bit in the middle: Vamos Theatre brought their new show The Best Thing to Frome's Merlin theatre. This production, writer-director Rachael Savage explains in the programme, is a tribute and apology to the women of the late 1960s who gave up their children for adoption under pressure to do 'the best thing'. Her two-year research is synthesised into the tale of one such girl recalled after her death when her father and daughter finally meet, bringing reconciliation to both. I found these programme notes essential, as a two-generation difference is difficult for young actors to convey without speech or change of facial expression, and the projected black-&-white visuals seemed mismatched to era ~ I say this with some assurance as my first baby was born in 1968. Vamos is famous and highly-regarded for its wordless masked performances and the four actors are immensely skilful at body-language but it still takes a lot of mindwork to join the dots.

It's a serious topic but the show isn't all sombre: there are laugh-aloud comedic scenes like the shadow-silhouette coitus to that 1966 World Cup commentary "They think it's all over ~  it is now!", the typing lesson, and even the labour ward. But as a coulrophobic I find it difficult to relate to masked characters however clever their gestures, and the soundtrack ~ after an initial burst of Lulu's 1964 hit Shout ~ relentlessly avoids evoking any era. Sound is important in a wordless story and I did wonder if with different music the school party at the back might have stopped texting & chatting as the drama onstage slowly unfolded. But it was great to see the theatre so full, and the four actors behind 17 different masks were loudly applauded.

Animating Images is the exciting new exhibition at Black Swan Arts, curated by David Daniels.  David's own work is on display alongside several other renowned animation artists and there are films, examples of storyboards & character sheets, and explanations of terms & processes, with a talk on May 19th.

Away-day corner: I'm less involved with courses now, my writing interests having taken me other ways, but this week have actually led two sessions: one for the Edventure 'Earning a Living in the Creative Arts' course at 42 Acres ~ great to work with a group of young people choosing to design their own futures rather than fit into the square holes of routine 'job-specifications'. At the end of the session I asked for a 60-second summary in different style from everyone ~ here's my 'recipe': Ingredients: several acres of sunlit ground ~  an old house cunningly converted ~ a dozen shiny people, curious, humorous and articulate. Method: Place the house on the grass. Sprinkle in the shiny people. Listen to them. They are all wonderful.

And on Saturday I went to Cheltenham for a reunion session with a group that first met several years ago in the Isle of Wight on a Skyros Holistic Holiday weekend, and has, impressively, continued to meet regularly ever since in various venues. They're great company and excellent writers, and such is their enthusiasm that we wrote, read, and discussed, for over four hours at the Abbey Hotel. Cheltenham railway station is about a mile from the centre via a footpath route strewn with wildflowers and May blossom ~ a delightful end to an immensely enjoyable session.

Back in Frome, Archangel's Sunday musician was Tom Corneill, playing in the courtyard as the sun shone and various small people danced. This week's footnote post is a sad one though.
A leakage of slurry upstream has poisoned this stretch of the Frome, killing over 500 fish and countless invertebrates: an anxious prognosis for the health of the river stock this season and for the kingfishers and otters too. Good news is that the Environment Agency stepped in swiftly and the water quality is being restored so hopefully the river will recover.

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-31196001713866672222016-05-13T11:51:00.000+01:002016-05-16T18:56:00.329+01:00Great Scott! Time for a May medley
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Conspiracy theories ~ those wild stories their wild-eyed tellers insist are fact ~ must have been around even before the first feudal baron insisted if he kept all the gold for himself it would trickle down into the populace. As arguments rage over the more outrageous modern cultural myths, Gonzo Moose Theatre Company has uncovered another bubble to pop: Great Scott, their new touring comedy, tells 'the true story of Scott of the Antarctic.' Did his final voyage really end in failure, or is this a coverup by the authorities for the terrible truth... (no spoilers!) With the help of some OHP transparencies, various hats and pipes, variable accents and a lot of messing about, the brave team of Conspiratorians create the 'real' last journey of the explorer as reconstructed from his diaries, with much slapstick and song. There's no pretence of sophistication in costumes or props or set but there's a lot to enjoy and there was great audience rapport at the Bath Rondo on Wednesday night.

Roots Session at the Grain Bar has given Frome two excellent evenings since I last posted: the glorious Dempseys and entertaining duo Mambo Jambo who between them play (I think) 13 instruments.

And while various writerly gestations continue, an exciting hatching for Nevertheless Fringe Theatre: after auditions, our Frome Festival production Time Slides now has a terrific cast of young graduates from Bath Spa Drama course: Matt Harrison, Chloe Tailby, and Gabrielle Finnegan - welcome to pub theatre in Frome!

This post was going to finish with a comment about sizzling sunshine but the weather has wobbled a bit here and I don't know what followers in Russia & Ukraine are experiencing (or even why I have followers there ~ not complaining, just puzzled to see Blogger stats...) So instead I'll end with this short & satisfying video: it's been exactly a year since Frome town council became fully independent, and The Guardian has featured a reminder of how the awesome Independent State of Frome now shows the way to other towns around the UK.
Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-45678235240976660662016-05-01T07:54:00.000+01:002016-05-17T00:03:20.266+01:00Beltane: comedy, theatre, bands & dancing - what else d'you want?

It's been a busy week for artsy happenings in Frome but I'll be as quick as I can. On Tuesday Damian Kingsley's Knock Knock Tour came to the Three Swans en route from Land's End to Edinburgh raising money for Shelter - a great night of comedy which also raised over £300 in audience donations. And Edventure 'community enterprise' training course has come up with the excellent idea of a Free Food Fridge in the market square for donations of surplus fresh food. This initiative has been pioneered in Europe but Frome is the first town in the UK, and the fridge was launched in style by the massed marching musicality of Frome Street Bandits.

Another exceptional Roots Session, if that's not a tautology, at the Grain Bar on Wednesday as Phil King entertained with guitar and shruti box ~ a new experience for me. You can sample his style on Youtube: You know where to find me is one of the tracks of his new album.

Art watch: I tried to go to Jim Cauty's talk about his RIOT TOUR in Bruton Art Factory but sadly it was sold out so I missed the significance of the jam jars in the exhibition. But Bruton is a gorgeous place to visit, anyway just for the views and Bean Shot Coffee.

Closer to home (about 500 yards actually) Rook Lane Chapel has an exhibition of workplace drawings by Lucinda Rogers. mostly from around Frome and ranging from landmarks like the old Lamb Brewery to artisan workshops for crafts like glass-blowing, woodcarving, pottery and baking. There's no hierarchy of value, and the artist's statement praises Frome for being a working town and 'not just a pretty face', adding 'I find the wealth of activity in Frome is very inspiring and worth celebrating'. The exhibition was a backdrop for a concert at the chapel on Saturday ~ pictured singer is Bee from Dexters Extra Breakfast ~ and will stay on for the rest of the month so do take a look if you can.

And now for a little nostalgia. Remember a time when milk came round in pails and the bobby on the beat kept a helpful eye on you? No, me neither, because I also didn't live in Camberwick Green, but Frome Drama Club brought just such a place to the Merlin stage with their production of Thornton Wilder's 1938 Pulitzer-prize-winning play Our Town. Grover's Corners, population 2,462, is in a corner of New Hampshire, and a hundred years ago the talk was not of Trump but trivia: the minutiae of daily life, the choir-masters' drinking, and how to string beans, all woven together by the playwright to show not only the transience of life but also that "there's something way down deep that's eternal about every human being."

Deceptively innocent at first, this poignantly thought-provoking play makes big demands on the actors, not only in terms of mastering the flat drawl and slow delivery of the North-Eastern provinces but also because Wilder wanted the action to be created through mime so the audience has to imagine everything from moonlit gardens to coffee-cups, milk pails and bouncing balls. It's a difficult task to make the ordinary seem extraordinary, particularly when it's mostly not there, so all the cast should be massively commended, especially Django Lewis-Clark with Georgina Littlewood in the key roles of youngsters facing life, marriage, and death together. Laurie Parnell as 'Stage Manager' gives us a superb reprise of his narrative role in Under Milk Wood but with an American accent. His role here is to constantly break the theatrical 'fourth wall', interrupting the action, summoning other contributors, asking for questions, and generally reminding us we are in a theatre and out of real time. And what is that thing we call real time anyway? You know how it is, you're 21 or 22 and whoosh, you're 70. How true.

Maybe it was something to do with Beltane or the bluebells (they're out in the woodlands all around) but it's been a great week for dancing. The Fair Frome Fiesta at Silk Mill on Friday featured three excellent local bands ~ the Wochynskis, the Valley, and fabulous Captain Cactus with his gorgeous Screaming Harlots, whose 'hula-swamp western frontier madness' had us all boogieing.

At the Cornerhouse there was dancing in the purple rain till late on Saturday night with Purple Fish, self-styled 'ultimate rock tribute band' and no argument from me.
Finally: Sunday, being May 1st, was Market Day, pleasantly crowded in the sunshine with the usual amazing array of stalls loaded with sensual delights and quirky artefacts. Archangel had music in the courtyard, and after the market there was a Soul Carnival at the Silk Mill but your correspondent was by now getting a little tired and retired home to see if there's anything on the telly.... ooh good, Big Bang Theory 200th birthday on E4...
Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-54647897724752150452016-04-29T13:39:00.002+01:002016-05-18T17:31:29.831+01:00Giving Madame Bovary a voice

The tale of an adulterous, profligate, ultimately suicidal, French housewife doesn't sound ripe for comedy, though Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary briefly became a best-seller in 1857 after an obscenity trial. But the Peepolykus creative team ~ Javier Marzan & John Nicholson with director Gemma Bodinetz ~ wanted to 'give a voice' to its inscrutible heroine, so there is some gravitas at the heart of the wild proceedings in their extraordinary, hilarious, clever, magical, production of The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary, currently at Bristol Old Vic. For a summary without spoilers I can't surpass the company's facebook page:
Laugh and cry as Emma Bovary chooses the wrong husband... Lose yourself in mesmeric love scenes featuring devastatingly handsome men... Question the impotence of women in a patriarchal society, if you want... Marvel at how many parts a Spanish man with limited English can play... And of course, some lovely accordion playing.
The 'bijoux' cast comprises Javier Marzan, John Nicholson & Jonathan Holmes playing 20 characters and Emma Fielding playing the wayward heroine. The story opens with couple of rat-catchers on a cart who explain they are a framing device for the story: "Flaubert would be rolling in his grave - with envy, the production values alone would blow his moustache away."
And there you have it - ludicrous liberties with both literature and theatrical convention of this 'lovingly derailed' version of a classic tragedy. But she's complex, this heroine who demands Is it unrealistic to want to be happy? and when events get too funny she stops the play to remind us of this, and the men shuffle contritely like boys at a bun-fight when the teacher gets serious, but then - luckily - they get back to all the crazy stuff again and even the ending is up for grabs as the cast have a quick rethink… Everything is sharp as a jump-cut, scene-changes mostly indicated by chalk scribbles on the near-blank set and costume changes faster than the speed of light. Among other highlights there's a fantastic seduction scene so magical they did it twice and a posh party where Emma is all lit up like a chandelier (literally) as lights whirl and the handsome Marquis scoots around (literally) while dull Doctor Bovary dances with a lobster. You really should see it for yourself- you have till 7th May.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-76949591422345438452016-04-24T23:03:00.000+01:002016-04-26T18:48:33.399+01:00Poetry and motion, & That anniversary.
Monday's Frome Poetry Cafe was also the launch of Rosie Jackson's superb collection The Light Box at The Garden Cafe. Nearly fifty people, amazingly, found seats or standing room to listen to Rosie reading her acclaimed poems examining love, art and life with precision and passion. The title poem refers to a container for exotic moths, appropriate for these luminous, delicate, personal glimpses. We had an exceptionally good open mic session too, twenty readers including popular regulars, debut performers, and published poets from Bath, Bristol & even London, as surprise visitor Tamar Yoseloff delighted us with her contribution ~ and her comment: "I wish we had an event like this in London."
Then on Tuesday, another feast of words, as Six Acclaimed Writers read at St James Wine Vaults in Bath. Frome's Claire Crowther is one of this group who meet for 'writers' retreats', as is Tamar (who I first met six years ago co-tutoring on Crete) Sue Rose, Siriol Troup, Anne Berkeley. Joined by Bath's Carrie Etter, their varied voices created a brilliant event, made even more fun by late supper at Rustico Bistro.

Back in Frome there was an interesting mini-residency at the Archangel where Dan Guido, 'abstract expressionist raw self-taught artist' from New York, has taken over the upstairs room and is filling it with raw expressionist abstracts. Dan is immensely friendly & forthcoming: he quotes Kahil Gibran on his bio, paints with tiles, wants to create massive pieces for stage backdrops, and identifies with Jean-Michel Basquiat. If you miss his constantly expanding exhibition this time, look out for his next trip ~ he's already hooked on Frome.

The Archangel Sunday afternoon music session this week featured Amelia Orgill & Steve Driffield, while the Griffin on Saturday night gave us a double bonanza: Backwood Redeemers plus Captain Cactus and the Screaming Harlots. What a time, you could well say, to be alive... except that both these brilliant band dress the part with dramatic panache so a touch of stage lighting would be appreciated... then I could include some photographs!

And now to Velvet Bottom: I tried to uncover some literary connection as pretext for including my long walk in this magical place of overgrown lead-mines and bluebell woods near Cheddar Gorge, but all google provided was a letter written by Coleridge including the comment 'We visited Cheddar'. Tolkien was allegedly inspired by the gorge when describing Helm's Deep though, and nearby Long Wood Nature Reserve is spookily reminiscent of fantasy landscapes, so that will do.

Finally, it was the big Shakespeare anniversary this week ~ his death this time, 400 years ago, which has been settled on as the same day as his birth rather in the way any religion decides its dates: for convenience in the absence of actual records. The only recorded fact is that it followed a heavy night of drinking. Personally I think we should instead have honoured the 390th anniversary of the extraordinary writer of the plays credited to 'Shakespeare' on April 9th, when Frances Bacon died. If you think this is the stuff of conspiracy theory, read The Shakespeare Myth and the Stratford Hoax, a convincing and succinct summary by Walter Ellis printed 1937. Like others since (including Mark Twain, Henry James, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, John Gielgud, and recently Mark Rylance), Mr Ellis feels that rightful credit is suppressed by the Stratford industry ~ the catchpenny show-shop, he calls it, though it's a multi-million business now. Thanks to my brother Pete for sending me this pamphlet and reminding me of childhood conversations with my father, an erudite supporter in the Bacon camp.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-54482634145540401192016-04-17T23:48:00.000+01:002016-04-18T08:36:41.861+01:00When living costs the earth... (creativity is still free)

Who owns the land we live on? It's a question that begs another: how land can be 'owned' anyway? ~ aboriginal cultures believed the land owns its people ~ and Salisbury is a good place to raise it. The developments on Solsbury Hill are still a raw memory (in 2000 I workshopped a community drama about the hill's history and the road protest was vividly recalled), objections to plans for nearby Stonehenge rumble on, and now of course there's fracking...
This Land is a powerful and thought-provoking drama from Pentabus with Salisbury Playhouse which has arrived near the end of its two-month tour at the theatre of its coproducers, and will play in their Salberg Studio till the end of the month.
To avoid preaching, playwright Siân Owen has created a central story around a rural couple whose relationship is struggling for ordinary reasons so the arrival of the drilling rigs becomes a metaphor of their fracturing relationship, but though this mundane strand becomes slightly laboured, the time-shifts which span over a thousand years are strongly imagined and often very funny. Rosie Armstrong and Harry Long, taking on every role from 800BC to 2216AD, are particularly good in these cameos, superbly switching personalities with minimal costume change. Set, sound, & lighting also support the concept brilliantly - literally, as drilling begins. The show's tour continues until 6 May ~ check it out, it's well worth seeing even if you don't need reminding that the earth does not belong to us, we borrow it from our children. Image Richard Stanton.

Back in Frome, the Art Society Spring Exhibition has opened in Black Swan Arts gallery, presenting a wide variety of subjects & styles & with postcards for sale. Artist & trustee Paul Newman awarded the Vera Skinner prize to this small wetland landscape called Two in a boat because he found it so intriguing... congratulations Carol Symon.
And as well as the Archangel Sunday afternoon session ~ a terrific set from Nicky, Vikki, & Griff ~ we had live music on Saturday too, al fresco, courtesy of our two Vinyl & CD record stores: Rivers of England (two of the nonet anyway) pitched in Cheap Street for Raves from the Grave, and outside Covers on Catherine Hill, the White City Shakers Old Time String Band entertained passers-by, including a strikingly good harmonica player who whipped out his instrument, grabbed the mic, and joined in. So here they are ~ which one's which is, I hope, self-evident...

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-3495633466267040552016-04-10T21:57:00.003+01:002016-05-18T19:37:22.898+01:00Times a'changing...

Down in the tunnels below Bristol Temple Meads station something dramatic is happening. Tobacco Factory Theatres Beyond is staging the In Your Face Theatre production of Trainspotting. "I was shocked, and I wrote the fucking thing" Irvine Welsh is quoted as saying when he saw it in Edinburgh last year. But he wrote it in the '90s, about the '80s, so maybe times have changed. If you remember the novel and/or the equally controversial movie with the sensational soundtrack, you won't be surprised that the plot is basically the same as the 'advisory notes' on the flyer: "nudity, drug use, sexual violence and very strong language throughout". Key scenes are all there, shockingly gross & funny & frightening & tragic, and seven ferociously talented young actors evoke the principal characters: psycho Begbie, sweet Sick boy, sexy Gail, and Mark Renton as narrative voice for a disaffected subculture which impinges, like the flying poo, on everyone else too. ("I was going to wear these jeans tomorrow," I heard one bespattered man mutter on the way out.)
This is high-definition 'in-your-face' theatre, with audience members inches from the action and likely to be sat on, spat at, sprayed, poked or slurped at random. But however vulgar or violent, the graphic cameos are not gratuitous. From Renton's opening Choose Life speech to the final scene, it's a shout of rage for young lives at the bottom of a hierarchical society, dismissed as debris from childhood. It's theatre to shake windows and rattle walls, and Gavin Ross as Mark Renton gives such an incredible performance that when he stepped forward to speak to the audience at the end it was several minutes before he could get a word through the cheers. Staging and soundtrack are superb too, do go and see. You may have to kill for a ticket. Images Andreas Grieger

And straight on from Sandstorm, and Tubthumping in time-slip Glasgow, over the river to Bristol's 'vanguard venue' Mr Wolf for a great gig featuring some of Frome's finest singer-songwiters: Al O'Kane with support from Tom Corneill and Emma Shoesmith.

And now for something completely different. Impressionism: Capturing Life is the charming but costly temporary exhibition currently at the Holburne Museum in Bath. My pilgrimage there was rewarded by this small gem by Seurat: Une baignade, one of a series of studies for the Bathers at Asnières, on a canvas small enough to fit in the lid of the artist's paintbox as he painted 'en plein air'. Other than this, and a stormy landscape by Boudin (who apparently inspired Monet to paint outdoors) there's not much striking or even unifying in this small collection. Curator's notes on the movement explain the artists' themes while naturalistic were also glamorous to appeal to wealthy art collectors, subjects 'reclining on the banks of the Seine' to evoke frivolity & luxury. Asnières is actually an industrial suburb, the riverside buildings are clearly factories, and the group are young workmen. It's my favourite painting partly for that reason. (The final painting, in the National Gallery, is also arguably post-impressionist, in fact early pointillist. Just saying...)

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-18559302386393761582016-04-06T11:18:00.000+01:002016-04-06T19:18:09.591+01:00All's Well in a busy week
Does the end justify the means? The notion has been debated for centuries by different example but probably none so bizarre as Shakespeare chose for All's Well That Ends Well, currently performed by Bristol's incomparable Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory.

This is considered one of Shakespeare's 'problem' plays – not for anti-semeticism as in Venice or domestic abuse like in Padua, but because the heroine uses tricks to get her man, first winning him like a fairground teddy by curing the king and then, when he runs away to war after the wedding, pulling the 'bed-trick' by switching places with his new amour - initiatives which though successful were not regarded as genteel. A further problem is that the object of her affections is the most unappealing hero the bard ever created -snobbish, chauvinist, and petulant. Caliban had more redeeming features. None of which stops the current SATTF production at the Tobacco Factory from being massively enjoyable.

Theatre-in-the-round is an ideal format for a tale unfolded in cameo moments across different locations, and Andrew Hilton's incisive direction brings clarity to complexity. His team of actors are all superb: Eleanor Yates is totally endearing as feisty Helena and Julia Hills marvellous as the Countess who loves her as a daughter. The other plot strand, the comic buffoon brought low, is wonderfully funny despite (as with the Malvolio story) the bullying involved, as Alan Coveney convinces a blindfolded Paul Currier he has been captured by enemy forces. Chris Bianchi as the king and Marc Geoffrey as the little dancing teacher are brilliant. Production shots show the effective 19th Century costumes but can't convey the energy and humour of this terrific production, on till April 30th, highly recommended. (images Mark Duet)

Meanwhile elsewhere the lowest boughs of the elm tree are in tiny leaf, which would have stirred Robert Browning to homesick excitement, and Frome had a delightful Willow Festival in Rodden Meadow with all ages contentedly practising withy skills beside the river.
The Independent market returned in sunshine from an extended winter break after December's gridlocked event. Happily this Sunday there was more space, especially welcome for the artisan food stalls in Stony Street and the craft on Catherine Hill. Once again great acts on the Busking Stage - here's September Son. And as another reason to spend all weekend in town, the Frome Art Fair across three venues ~ Rook Lane, Silk Mill & the Round House ~ displayed the amazing diversity and talent of so many local artists, like Kate Cochrane who's also had a painting selected for the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Exhibition.

Frome Writers' Collective's monthly meeting in the rather gothic upper room at the Three Swans this week featured a talk from Alison Clink on pitfalls and perils of self-publishing. Based on her own experience with The Man Who Didn't Go To Newcastle, this was informative, entertaining, and also encouraging. Around half of the 70-strong membership were attracted by this theme and many had experience to share afterwards. FWC, like the artists' groups, is a great example of the value of networking, in my view the main reason Frome is so vibrant and creative a community. I'll end with another example: our local radio station, Frome FM, which is about to launch a season of script readings from productions by Nevertheless - if you scroll down to the player you can listen online here.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-77573487978453633482016-03-31T22:59:00.000+01:002016-05-18T17:25:30.385+01:00What life has done to us... dramatically speaking

Bristol Old Vic is 250 years old this year, the first British theatre to reach this distinction. This has not been achieved without struggles (it was nearly a banana-ripening warehouse during the last war) and director Tom Morris attributes its survival to the people of Bristol ~ "a 250 year-old love affair between the theatre and the city" ~ and the official birthday in May will involve a weekend of events both plebeian and gala amid a season of celebration featuring 'five world-class productions - one from each century of the theatre's life.

Representing the 20th century is American playwright's Eugene ONeill's painfully autographical Long Day's Journey into Night, the story of a family in anguish. Three of the four members are hopelessly addicted and one is dying: the father is addicted to money, his elder son to drink and his wife to morphine ~ a 'dope fiend' as her consumptive son puts it. Action takes place over one interminably long day of confessions ignored and reproaches denied, every exchange a cats-cradle of evasion and recrimination. It is, the programme notes admit, 'the saddest play ever written' and, as you will imagine, needs rather splendid embellishment to become a centrepiece in a major celebration.

This production can boast an award-winning director (Richard Eyre, with unstinting eye for visual detail) and star players ~ Jeremy Irons with Lesley Manville as the scapegoat wife, Hadley Fraser and Billy Howle as the sons and Jessica Regan as the maid. They have a splendid set too (designer Rob Howell) ~ more splendid in fact than suggested by script references, though metaphorical confines are cleverly evoked by lighting shifts; opaqueness, pallid costumes and muted fog-horns all emphasise the bleakness of these ruined lives. (Peter Mumford lighting, John Leonard sound). At over three hours running time this is a marathon for everyone concerned but there was hearty applause on press night and reviews are starry. "Applause at the curtain call reflected the audience's appreciation of Miss Manville's skill," suggested the Bristol post, tactfully.

Another day, another drama of dreadful marriage: Bath's Ustinov Theatre continues a season of French-Canadian plays with Forever Yours, Mary-Lou by Michel Tremblay, translated by Michael West. In this tale also addictions are a tragic factor: for Liam it's beer and belligerence, his wife's are piety and taunting. An admirably simple set comprises four hard-backed chairs and little else. Liam, Mary-Louise, and their two daughters face the audience throughout, apparently without seeing us: their dialogues overlap and it becomes soon apparent the girls are in a different time zone from their contentious parents. They, like us, are listening in to the Titanic struggle between their father and mother which they remember and which has defined the adults they have both become.
A laconic script, impressive uncluttered direction and superb acting (the father outstanding) all combine to create an unforgettable 75 minutes of quality theatre. Paul Loughran and Caitriona Ni Mhurchu are the parents, Caoilfhionn Dunne and Amy McAllister their daughters. Polly Sullivan designed the set, Isobel Waller-Bridge was composer and sound designer. Terrific work, all. You have till the end of April to see for yourself. (photos Simon Annand)

Theatrically this has been a week to echo Philip Larkin's verdict. But blame not the parents for they were fucked up in their turn... Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself.

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-6903670501834071712016-03-28T21:26:00.000+01:002016-03-28T23:17:15.192+01:00The week clocks changed and so did the weather.

John Mullan is a Jane Austen expert: he lectures & publishes articles about the significance of Emma to modern literature, and is a highly entertaining speaker, as Rosie and I can confirm from a visit to the rather sumptuous Chapel at Bruton for an answer to the question What Matters in Emma? which turns out, wittily, to be Everything. Emma is a valuable study for any writer of fiction: she pre-empted modern novelists in her use of hidden agenda in viewpoint and her dialogue is superbly differentiated. Mr Mullan revels in deconstructing the small pivot points of plot, and points out ~ which I hadn't noticed before ~ that Mr Perry the apothecary (who makes a killing in vale of bored hypochondriacs) is widely quoted by every character but never actually heard to speak. Of course if you don't like Jane Austen this revelation won't get you spinning with giddy excitement, but I enjoyed the further evidence of Jane's skill, and indeed the whole talk, and appreciated the welcome with rosé and posh nibbles, too.

A great week for music in Frome. Grain Bar Roots Session featured DLM, a class act from a seriously talented trio, and for
Sunday's afternoon spot at the Archangel, Ben Cipolla shared his own songs and some excellent covers from his busking days, including an unforgettable version of Is this Love.
Good Friday's special treat, for some, was the Wurzels at the Cheese & Grain, ably supported by The Back Wood Redeemers ~ possibly the only band to have yelled at a massive crowd 'You want Jesus or Johnny Cash?'
Spring bank holiday Monday is always Daffodil Day in Mells and traditionally most of Frome makes its way along the three-mile river path to join the crowds enjoying this good old-fashioned country fair.

The Acoustic tent sadly had fallen victim to the storms so the line-up had to lose its larger bands, but Shootin' the Crow rocked with their mix bluegrass and rock&roll. We left before the Wurzels came on the main stage, but even two miles away we were still pursued sounds of zider drinking songs... Great day out, and a rainbow too.

I tend to ignore cultural festivals in my ardent chronicles of Frome but this time I'll make an exception & conclude with this delightful image of Sarah at the Co-op counter channeling the true spirit of Easter. Not a hot cross bun, a cool smiley one.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-69502076404276829572016-03-20T17:01:00.000+00:002016-03-25T10:32:24.236+00:00Some of those March days...
Dickens might have had Dublin in mind when he wrote of one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

I was visiting a friend from college days at Trinity, which ~ I realised as I travelled through the city without recognising an inch of it ~ is now nearly half a century ago. Jenny and I were among the group living in a scruffy den subdivided for students in Sandymount Green, now a trendy suburb where house prices top €1million: It was in that backyard that Mo, my boyfriend since the first year, and I had our wedding party as soon as the finals were over.
We were considered a 'mixed marriage' which was quite rebellious in those days, as was our other decision to then set off to wander the world by public transport. This was 'the summer of love' and though life brings changes I don't think either of us regrets those days of freedom. Here's Trinity as it looked then, and as we looked then. Jenny went on to teach foreign students about Irish culture and now lives in Howth Head, overlooking Dublin Bay and with great walks along the beach.

Back in Frome, Merlin Theatre was featuring The Producers by Mel Brooks, a satire about the jew-centred nature of Broadway which has been around a long time and is chiefly famous for the outrageous and very funny number Springtime for Hitler.
There's sacks of energy, enthusiasm and talent in the song & dance sequences and some excellent acting: Leo & Ulla, the confederates of sleazy producer Max, and director Roger & Carmen his 'common-law assistant' all have great charm and stage presence. The costumes are splendid and as a fund-raiser this appears to have been a big success. As well as providing a showcase for local talent, the production provides an uncanny streak of contemporary relevance too as the crazed dictator cavorts before his minions crowing Give a great big smile - Sieg Heil, everyone to me! soon we'll be going - you bet we'll be going - you know we'll be going to war!

 On Friday the Good Gallery hosted a Mad March Teaparty, with teabags instead of a dormouse stuffed inside the extraordinary teapot made by Steven Jenkins ~ guess how many for a hamper ~ and real hot cross buns and tea. Interesting affordable art and good conversations: sadly this pop-up gallery only has two more weeks of lease.

A very affable group too at Frome Society for Local Study on Saturday when I arrived to talk about 'the writing scene in Frome' to a disconcertingly large audience, though as the society has over 500 members and has published ninety books on local history, I shouldn't really have been surprised. Over the time I've lived in this town I've seen massive escalation of interest in every genre of writing, with support groups & stand-out names in poetry, drama, fiction for both adults & children, memoir, and nonfiction... we have courses & workshops, talks & readings, socials & trips, and performance opportunities too. It all makes for an egalitarian, non-cliquey, supportive environment in which writers can thrive, and so many people have contributed to this that my appreciations nearly rivalled Kate Winslet at the Oscars but, as Kate would've said too, they all deserved it: Make the world you want to live in, I say, and I'm incredibly lucky to live among creative people who believe that too. (Thanks Gill Harry for the sketch of me in full flow...)

Frome-free footnote: Congratulations to 'A Clearer Head', the team of eggheads who beat the Eggheads on Thursday, scooping £29000 prize money ~ accrued after 28 unbeaten sessions ~ for Alopecia UK. Well quizzed, ladies, and great to see you giggling at the question about the bald eagle.
Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-74716003098296936102016-03-13T21:34:00.001+00:002016-04-09T10:52:25.432+01:00A Stardust night and days of Spring sunshine

I've been wanting to see Bristol's award-winning Wardrobe Ensemble since this young company moved to their classy new venue in the Old Market and, as I remember 1972 as extremely enjoyable, their current production seemed ideal. 1972: The Future of Sex focuses on three couples and one loner on the night Ziggy Stardust first invaded the nation's living rooms. It's a time of redefining boundaries but exciting new freedoms bring kickbacks too, and hints of darker times ahead: homophobia, prevalence of porn, rifts in the sisterhood, continuing troubles for transgendered... the show is determined not to be naïve and there are several interesting interjections along the permissive way, like a brief history of porn from paleolithic times, and equality struggles since Mary Wollstoncraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792. Every romp is counterposed by reminders that new freedoms were scary and demanded new responses from both sexes - and men too have a right to say no to cunilingus or yes to cross-dressing.

But this is theatre not a thesis, and what works brilliantly is the high-energy cleverly-choreographed physical comedy (especially the orgasms), fabulous live soundtrack (Tom Crosley-Thorne), a great cast (James Newton outstanding both as transgendered Anton and as 'not cool' Michael bombarded by space hoppers). As social commentary it's astute on many points - definitely with the scenario of 'History Man'-style Sociology lecturer and ardent student - but looking back, though conceding confusion and general randiness, I 'd say the media manipulation came later on, like Thatcher, and we were more self-aware than the kids in the Wardrobe give us credit for... But I would say that, wouldn't I?
Devised by directors Tom Brennan and Jesse Jones together with the cast, 1972: The Future of Sex goes on national tour after its sell-out run in Bristol as part of Tobacco Factory Theatres Beyond. I was lucky to squeeze a ticket (or rather a hand-stamp, this is pub theatre after all) on Thursday which turned out a popular night for theatre directors: in my row also were BOV's Tom Morris and Tobacco Factory's Ali Roberts, who's about to make an our-loss/their-gain move to become Artistic Director at Kneehigh Theatre.

Roots Session at the Grain Bar this week featured We Used To Make Things, a classy London band who always get a great welcome in Frome, superbly supported by Kirsty Clinch.

The Black Swan Arts Young Open competition was judged on Saturday in three ages-groups between 8 and 19, and showed an exciting range and creativity of subject, interpretation, and medium. Imaginative strong images jostled with charmingly colourful 3-D pieces in a dazzling display ~ congratulations to everyone involved, including the gallery curators.

Also on the subject of art appreciation, our Frome ekphrastic poetry group Words at the Black Swan has, like the Wardrobe ensemble & hopefully similarly successfully, moved to new premises in Cordero Lounge in the precinct. Frome Word Gallery, as we are now, will run monthly art-inspired workshops but no longer tied in with the Sunday market and responding to different exhibitions in the town. Rebecca Brewin led the first session around the in-house art, with some fascinating responses.

And to end this post, here's Max Moody soundtracking the Barefoot Boogie at the Bennett Centre on Saturday night.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-12786418668523869822016-03-06T22:00:00.000+00:002016-03-06T22:12:15.505+00:00And so to London.. and Shanklin... by ferry, bus, and train.

Shanklin in February has a quaint 1950s charm but the wind along the front last weekend was razor-sharp ~ that stuff on the beach is froth whipped up by swirling waves. But The Grange has a wood fire & constant supplies of coffee and biscuits, and my amazing writing group were wonderfully focussed and delightfully inventive in every challenge.
London on Tuesday after the Isle of Wight seemed like time-travel, the city so changed from the place I grew up in.
By bus to Trafalgar Square to revisit the Fourth Plinth where I recited poetry for an hour during the 2009 One and Other project, to revisit my favourite painting in the National Gallery ~ Seurat's Bathers at Asnières ~ then meander via cheesy Covent Garden & vibrant Gerrard Street to Soho Theatre for Luke Wright's one-man show What I Learned from Johnny Bevan. It's a compelling piece powerfully performed, a harshly truthful survey of a lifetime landscape both political and personal, and Luke deservedly won awards for both his 'poetic, pulsating' writing and his 'hurricane of a performance'. And it's now nominated for an Off West End award too.
 I was sleep-overing with Hazel Carey, whose extraordinary memoir I've been privileged to be involved with. Hazel has been inspirational through her work in communities & holistic centres like Skyros, and was a major spokesperson for the South African artistic heritage: her story, compiled through many voices, is fascinating. The Monti Wa Marumo event in Brixton thirty years ago was her initiative, and this passion for integration and creativity she identifies as Ubuntu - a way of living through other people. She quotes Taggore: "The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers."

 Before it was time to head home, Hazel
 showed me round her stamping ground of Hampstead including a visit to Keats House where you can see the poet's personal copy of Paradise Lost as well as portraits of Fanny and his friends, watch a film of his life, and try on costumes of his era... here's me doing a bit of swashbuckling and Hazel as a maid. Suitable roles for both of us, Hazel said, I hope ironically.
 Back home to a slight dusting of snow that had Frome folk excitedly posting murky orange night shots of gardens and car roofs on facebook but by the weekend all was calm and the Catherine Hill Street Party on Sunday enjoyed blue skies and sunshine.
This was a pop-up event to replace the usual Independent Market (organisers are currently victims of their own success as the last event was gridlocked) and the idea worked really well - artists, writers, and performers up and down the hill, with space in between to move, meet friends, and talk. Here's three of my favourite acts: Al O'Kane, Bonne Nouvelle, and marvellous Captain Cactus with his band and a couple of his Screaming Harlots, and a small boy on trombone.

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-84891355390889354762016-02-25T23:59:00.000+00:002016-02-26T00:45:10.467+00:00Right here, 'Right Now' - February fusion of art, music, and drama.

It was the Frome Tattoo Convention last weekend and Cheese & Grain was filled with ink artists and their human canvasses, all demonstrating the dedication and skill as well as the creativity of their craft. Here's Ghis Melou at work, and Dean Oatley showing the developing work of tattoo artist Jerry Burchill from True Gent Tattoos. Fascinating to watch, and a great group of friendly people.

Hunting Raven Books opened its doors on Monday night for the Frome launch of Debby Holt's 'wickedly funny' new novel The Soulmate.  Debby is always a class act at these events ~ theatrical experience as well as seven novels now ~ and we were entertained by quotes from JB Priestley and Shakespeare as well as wit, anecdotes, and a short reading. I look forward to a longer one now.

Right Now is the first of a French-Canadian season at the Ustinov Studio theatre in Bath, a surreal dark comedy from Catherine-Anne Toupin translated by Chris Campbell. By turns hilarious, erotic, macabre, scary, and sad, it's the tale of a couple who find they've got neighbours like some flats get mice. After an opening glimpse of their struggling relationship, this bizarre trio bursts into their lives led by Juliette - Maureen Beattie awesome in a role that makes TV's predatory Dorien seem a girl guide. Together with her seductively genial partner Gilles (Guy Williams) and their enigmatic son Francoise (Dyfan Dwfor, shape-shifting from gauche to dominating) they upend the lives of Ben and Alice - Sean Biggerstaff and Lindsey Campbell hugely empathetic as the hapless couple hooked into psychological games. An outrageous play directed with dazzling precision by Michael Boyd, with great set & lighting from designers Madelaine Girling and Oliver Fenwick enhancing the capriciously changeable moods. Highly recommended, on till 19th March. (Oh, and you'll never, ever, guess what happens right at the end....)

Every week is live music week in Frome: on Sunday we had bluesy duo Nobody's Business at the Archangel in the afternoon, and the vibrantly funky Flash Harry at the Cornerhouse in the evening.

Roots Grain Bar on Wednesday had two great acts - Irish rock-bluesy solos for Ian O'Regan and 'darkly sensuous' duo Bonne Nouvelle. And River House Cafe offered something a little different from their usual cocktails on Thursday - an entire supper based on vodka. How did that turn out then? Under the care of 'Tender Loving Kitchen's Jo Harrington, the Vodka Infusions pop-up supper club was a great success: superb food and great ambience, and vodka shots between every course.

I'm off to the Isle of Wight now for a weekend talking about writing at Skyros Holistic Holidays close-to-home retreat The Grange. The programme notes for that excellent play Right Now identified the perfect situation for a writer as resentment and resilience, defensiveness and defiance but sometimes a break is good too. Weather forecast promises sun..

Cryssehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-43542980123617292042016-02-18T14:05:00.000+00:002016-02-18T14:18:36.874+00:00What a piece of work....

It's been quite a week for the written word. Monday's Love Night at the Frome Poetry Cafe smouldered & sizzled as Stephen Payne was supported by 17 open mic poets and by an attentive audience who squatted on steps and stood in the doorway when we ran out of chairs. Stephen was sharing from his new collection Pattern Beyond Chance, small poems full of tender visual glimpses. Other readings ranged in mood from the sensual delicacy of Rosie Jackson to the wicked wit of John Christopher Wood, with a sublime evocation to universal connection from Lynne Christine Ridden. Josephine Corcoran was awarded the anthology donated by Hunting Raven for her wry honeymoon recollections, and Stina Falle chronicled the poets in deft sketches. (Pencil sketches, but with word jottings too...)

Over in Bristol, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory has begun their new season with the big one, and a better production of Hamlet I have not yet seen. In a starkly simple setting ~ SATTF productions are designed to be performed 'in the round' ~ with the absolute minimum of props, the familiar story comes to life in an extraordinarily dynamic way: no portentous showcasing or defamiliarising tricks with well-known speeches, this drama of family conflict becomes a totally comprehensible story. Great direction from Andrew Hilton and a strong performance by Alan Mahon in the title role are both crucial for this. The prince here is no self-dramatising emo but a young man recently bereaved and now confronted by a supernatural visitation he finds not only traumatic but also untrustworthy ~ perhaps a devil in disguise, a common interpretation of ghosts at that time. No wonder he delays and, as friends turn into spies, no wonder he becomes desperate as to who to trust. The outcome is a totally gripping production with huge energy, especially from the younger characters ~ Fortinbras (Laurence Varda) Rosencranz & Guildenstern (Joel Macey & Craig Fuller) and Ophelia (Isabella Marshall). Costumes are sumptuous and the climatic fight scene, directed by John Sandeman from the stylistic conventions of the era, is absolutely fantastic. On till 30th April.

The other major Bristol production is PINK MIST at Bristol Old Vic, first staged last year and revived for the BOV 250th anniversary celebrations. Owen Sheers wrote this tale of three soldiers coming home to Bristol from Afghanistan after interviewing returned servicemen and if you know anyone still trusting the value of war, this is one to take them to. Owen Sheers is a poet and this is not really a play, more a long poem with movement, or maybe a dance with words, set in the city of Banksy and dockland clubs but also that timeless world of young men ardent for some desperate glory. There are no plot surprises, the only 'reveal' is how, and the lyrical narration & lithe movements create poignant contrast to the graphic details. And it wasn't 'the old lie' of patriotism that inspired this trio: what's most striking is the soldiers' total disconnection with any sense of purpose in their conflict. As ringleader Arthur says at the start, they were 'hungry for change' and this was not about where they were going but what they were leaving; as Taff says, he loved the basic training ~ 'everything we were meant to hate - the PT, drill sergeant shouting in your face, being woken at three to go on guard, the route march, the beastings - I loved it, I did. The writer's programme notes pose the question: How might we satisfy these hungers at home, within our societies, rather than away from them engaged in violence? Perhaps we can't, but that's no reason not to try, telling their stories not via the anonymising narratives of politics and the media but through the nuance and human detail of theatre. On till March 5, also recommended.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-33880814.post-72577796816448524382016-02-14T22:20:00.001+00:002016-02-15T16:27:43.419+00:00'To Lyme they were to go..'

Like Captain Wentworth's party of pals in Persuasion, Rosie and I were 'wild to see Lyme' on our writing trip last weekend, and Lyme was wild to see us, too. We arrived as storm Imogen was dancing like a tiger along the Cobb, rattling the pebbles and slapping the sand into a new beach. We watched entranced from our sea-front window, then I set off to get provisions from the shop at the top of the hill, agreeing with Jane Austen that 'A very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better.' That was when the sky join the sea in a combined assault. Rain instantly made the road a waterfall, indeed rain was making the air a waterfall, soaking me literally to the skin in moments, my boots transformed into rain-barrells. It was wildly exciting though red wine & chocolate were required for full recovery.
Next morning all was calm in blue-skied sunshine. The Cobb looked distinctly hungover but must have yielded great beach-combing for the fossilists - as Lyme's superb museum calls its collectors. Fossils are to Lyme Regis as books are to Hay-on-Wye, I discovered, and as much a feature as its Jane Austen and French Lieutenant's Woman connections. The museum has everything you could want to know about all these aspects of the town's story, plus other artistic connections like Beatrix Potter and the painter Whistler, and a fascinating chronicle of the town's rebellious history. One of the few anti-royalist southern towns in the Civil War, they resisted Prince Maurice's contemptuous boast that taking Lyme would be 'a breakfast time job' and survived their long siege successfully ~ with women playing a significant role in all the action.
And as we were there to research Lyme Regis now, as well as then, a visit to the gorgeous Alexandra Hotel gardens for coffee in the conservatory was essential. So now we've found the settings and the inspiration all we have to do is create the play! Simples...

Back in Frome, it's been another great week for music. Grain Bar Roots Session featured the The Spoonful, 'from toe-tappin' rootsy blues to mellow' - I loved their creamy name-song - and on Saturday the marvellous Captain Cactus and the Screaming Harlots played a superb session in the Artisan. No pig-head this time but still charmingly random and highly energetic, with audience participation of yogic chants and dancing...

And on sunny, chilly, Sunday it was great to walk to Nunney for the monthly Acoustic Cafe ~ this one featuring the awesome talent of Darren Hodge. Darren was just 15 when he gigged with the legendary Tommy Emmanuel, and four years on he still looks 15, but his self-taught skill on the guitar is phenomenal: take a listen to Cannonball Rag which he played in his set today.

Black Swan Arts had two new exhibitions this week so I should be reminding writers about Words at the Black Swan on the first Sunday of the month, but sadly the Independent Market on March 6th is cancelled which means the gallery won't be open either for the poetry workshop. Hopefully we'll be running again in April, and in the meantime there's the Poetry Cafe Love Night at the Garden Cafe and Maggie Sawkins at the Merlin with Zones of Avoidance which won the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry. Yup, Frome still rocks.

Cryssehttp://email@example.com


text:
Fremont County, Idaho
|Fremont County, Idaho
Location in the U.S. state of Idaho
Idaho's location in the U.S.
|March 4, 1893
|Named for
|John C. Frémont
|St. Anthony
|Largest city
|St. Anthony
|• Total
|1,896 sq mi (4,911 km2)
|• Land
|1,864 sq mi (4,828 km2)
|• Water
|32 sq mi (83 km2), 1.7%
|• (2010)
|• Density
|7.1/sq mi (3/km²)
|Congressional district
|Time zone
|Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the county had a population of 13,242.[1] The county seat and largest city is St. Anthony.[2] The county was established in 1893, and was named for the explorer John C. Frémont.[3]
Fremont County is part of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Idaho Falls-Rexburg-Blackfoot, ID Combined Statistical Area.
Fremont County was established in 1893.[3] It is named for John C. Frémont.[4]
The Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony is on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,896 square miles (4,910 km2), of which 1,864 square miles (4,830 km2) is land and 32 square miles (83 km2) (1.7%) is water.[6] The southern part of the county cover the northeast tip of the Snake River Basin, with the mountains of the continental divide forming its northern boundary. Montana lies to the north, and Wyoming to the east. A portion of Yellowstone National Park reaches into the county.
Adjacent Counties[edit]
- Clark County - west
- Jefferson County - southwest
- Madison County - south
- Teton County - south
- Teton County, Wyoming - east
- Gallatin County, Montana - north
- Madison County, Montana - north
- Beaverhead County, Montana - northwest
Fremont County is one of the few US counties to border two counties of the same name in different states. Fremont County borders two such pairs of counties-- Madison County, Idaho and Madison County, Montana and Teton County, Idaho and Teton County, Wyoming.
Major highways[edit]
National protected areas[edit]
- Caribou-Targhee National Forest (part)
- Yellowstone National Park (part)
|Historical population
|Est. 2015
|U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2013[1]
2000 census[edit]
As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 11,819 people, 3,885 households, and 3,030 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 6,890 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.41% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.94% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. 10.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.1% were of English, 15.1% German and 14.8% American ancestry according to Census 2000. Those citing "American" ancestry in Fremont County are of overwhelmingly English extraction, however most English Americans identify simply as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in some cases since the 1600s.[13][14][15][16][17]
There were 3,885 households out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.90% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.00% were non-families. 19.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.43.
In the county the population was spread out with 33.10% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 105.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,424, and the median income for a family was $36,715. Males had a median income of $26,490 versus $19,670 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,965. About 10.30% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 13.60% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census[edit]
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 13,242 people, 4,436 households, and 3,436 families residing in the county.[18] The population density was 7.1 inhabitants per square mile (2.7/km2). There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 4.6 per square mile (1.8/km2).[19] The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 7.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 12.8% of the population.[18] In terms of ancestry, 29.9% were English, 22.7% were German, 7.6% were Irish, 6.1% were American, 5.7% were Scottish, and 5.1% were Danish.[20]
Of the 4,436 households, 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.5% were non-families, and 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age was 33.5 years.[18]
The median income for a household in the county was $42,523 and the median income for a family was $52,510. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $24,450 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,616. About 6.8% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.[21]
Government and infrastructure[edit]
The Idaho Department of Correction operates the St. Anthony Work Camp in St. Anthony. [22][23]
Unincorporated communities[edit]
Notable people[edit]
- Brad Harris, television and movie actor
- Sherman P. Lloyd, Utah State Senator and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Utah
See also[edit]
- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b Idaho.gov - Fremont County - accessed 2009-05-31
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 132.
- ^ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "County Totals Dataset: Population, Population Change and Estimated Components of Population Change: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Ancestry of the Population by State: 1980 - Table 3" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ^ Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America By Dominic J. Pulera.
- ^ Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.
- ^ Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.
- ^ Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.
- ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
- ^ "Locations." Idaho Department of Correction. Retrieved on June 4, 2011. "St. Anthony Work Camp (SAWC) 125 N. 8th West St. Anthony ID 83445 "
- ^ "St. Anthony city, Idaho." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on June 3, 2011.
External links[edit]
|Beaverhead County, Montana
|Gallatin County, Montana and Madison County, Montana
|Clark County
|Teton County, Wyoming
|Jefferson County
|Madison County and Teton County

subset: commoncrawl