Hi, yeah s’me, keeping up the Song of the Day feature like dedication was as word I know the definition of!
No excuses not to, I mean I am of the generation when Roy Castle clasped his trumpet weekly, ready for the signing off of “Record Breakers.” No, it’s not a euthanasim, Google it whippersnappers.
Might also explain my fondness for brass. Brass is class, and a vital element of ska. Yep, four tunes in and I couldn’t resist sharing some ska with you.
It’s a commonly misguided notion that ska is a retrospective cult here in England. It tends to convey a bygone era of Two-Tone records, boots and braces.
Yet today, while said stereotype has a grounding, ska is an international phenomenon, particularly in South America. I did write a piece about this region’s love for ska, and how it’s roots out of Jamaica bare a different tale from our own.
To show you how fresh it can be elsewhere in the world, and it’s not a reminiscence for a
load of overweight balding pensioners as perceived in the UK, here’s all-female bar one Mexican band, Girls Go Ska, who I’m secretly in love with, (so secret they don’t even know themselves….until they use Google translate!) doing an instrumental jam.
Girls and ska; what’s not to like? Have a lovely rest of your day. Very good. Carry on….
- Harmony Asia Can Do This
It’s a question I’ve asked Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia on each rare occasion I catch her for a chat; if she’s planning to capture a slice of her wonderful performances on record. I guess I will have to find a new request now, but judging by her debut single released today, I Could Do This, it will probably be, when is the next one coming out?!
Yeah, it’s as moreish as Maltesers, deliciously soulful and simply sublime. Whilst I had high expectations it would be no less, the anticipation didn’t falter my delight upon hearing it. The presumption was Harmony Asia can do this, do this with distinction, and she did. I Could Do This is jazzy piano and feathering drum neo soul, and with Harmony’s soothing vocals causally tingling the coolest feelgood romance theme, it’s commercially viable contemporary pop; top marks from me!
There’s technical mastery which seems to come naturally to Harmony; the defined range of emotional depth, and raw passion akin to soul legends, yet retaining the coolness of artists like Sade or Sharon Woolf and Macy Gray. And while this single is on that level too, it’s written with equal skill. Listen to it, you’ll hear what I mean and your ears will love you forevermore….
- A Year into a Lib Dem Wiltshire Council; Chatting with Ben Reed
It’s a Friday, just polishing off a big boy breakfast at New Society. Got the window seat; I ponder how beautiful Devizes Market Place looks from up here, and how we often take it for granted. There’s Ben Reed, Wiltshire Councillor for Devizes North, waving at me from below; he’s coming up for carrot cake, and to chew the fat over the first year with the Liberal Democrats at the helm of Wiltshire Council…. priorities; not till I’ve finished my sausages!
There was minimal bumps driving here, in comparison to how it has been. The Council are slowly playing catch up with our dilapidated roads, but potholes remains firm on my agenda, because while the main roads are getting TLC, it feels like Devizes is being left out. Despite a lesser public issue visibly, isn’t the spiralling costs of social care more important than potholes, or are the two holistically connected, if these potholes drive us to insanity?! Ben? He starts talking pubs; I’ve made a friend!
Far from being something Ben has researched, “but,” he started, “I think thirteen pubs might be the most of any council division in Wiltshire. It’s nice to have places to stop when you’re out and about delivering and canvassing.” For the record, it was relevant. I was praising the café.
It also served as an introduction to Ben’s enthusiastic bearing on the area he manages, explaining its diversity he continued, “there’s quite a lot of social housing, retirement complexes, and all the businesses. So, quite a lot going on.”
It is through this enthusiasm I’ll acknowledge while the public are keen to pick easy targets, like potholes, there’s so many other duties to being a Councillor we rarely contemplate. Ben told me he was due to meet an elderly lady straight after this who lives in Long Street and finds it difficult getting around town. “I’m going to try and work out what her routes are,” he said, “and maybe look at whether there are things I can report on the My Wilts app.” Pausing to consider pedestrians navigating our wobbly pavements might better take their chances on the dodgy roads, I’m determined to turn him to the subject of potholes! Is Devizes being left out?!
“It does feel a bit like that,” Ben agreed. “frankly, it’s going to be a problem for a while because the backlog is huge.” I will, later in our chat, praise Ben for his Councillor Facebook page, where, unlike others, there’s no negativity bashing the opposition, just feelgood posts, but sometimes fact is fact, the previous Conservative Wiltshire Council seriously neglected road repairs, leaving us in this state and passing the buck.
“I’ll try to steer away from being too tribal,” Ben affirmed, “because I don’t think it’s very helpful, but as I understand it, there was quite a bow wave of funding in the last couple of years as the election approached. I don’t know whether there was a realisation that this was a problem, but if you go back further than that, and this isn’t this isn’t particularly a Wiltshire problem, going back to 2010, when the Conservative government first came in, local authority funding across the board was really slashed. And highways were one of the things that councils chose to take the money away from. So there was a period where we fell behind with those preventative jobs. And now we’re chasing our tails. It’s a never-ending problem, and when you get a winter like we’ve just had with so much rain and then that freezes….”
As it being a national issue, I’ve seen better roads in other counties. Yet, we may believe Wiltshire hits the hotlist for the worst roads, probably because we use them regularly. But research suggests Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, and others, long before Wiltshire gets a mention.
I could scrutinise the previous Conservative-led Wiltshire Council until suppertime, and I’m pleased someone else now has a stab at it. But, councillors on the opposition and ex-councillors who lost their seats, are quick to raise issues visible to the public, like the pothole debacle, whereas they would’ve avoided the subject when The Conservatives were in charge.
In considering the often unmentioned tasks, such as social care costs, exampling the Trowbridge car park fiasco, which I talked to Taylor Wright about, I worry there’s too much time taken up with political point scoring, and the council is far more disputative and argumentative now that the Tories are on the back foot and Reform makes their impact, against all common sense. To summarise, I’m gonna ask Ben how a council is supposed to find solutions to important and pressing countywide problems, when they spend months bickering about a carpark!
“Yeah,” Ben nods, I’m onto something! “I found probably the least enjoyable element so far has been those council meetings. It’s difficult to see some of the tactics as anything other than obstructive, unfortunately. The way funding is and the way policies get brought forward is the council officers look at our manifesto and make suggestions and then the administration says yes, or, can we tweak this, and quite often the things we end up doing are probably the things, to be completely honest, that the Conservatives would have done if they’d if they’d still been in power, and yet they end up opposing what often are, as far as I can see, the most the most sensible measures, and the carpark is a good example, I think.”
“It’s a strange situation,” Ben justifies the carpark fiasco thus, “having to provide free parking, and this covenant. But you’ll see this week, NCP, the big carpark developer, have gone into administration. So, if they’re not making money on carparks that they can actually charge people to park in, then you can see what a liability a carpark that we’re not allowed to charge for is. And it’s got to be rebuilt. And it’s going to cost us far more now than it would have been to incentivise the developer to knock it down and, you know, build something nice for Trowbridge.”
I can play “real” journalist, try to gauge Ben for marketable controversy by name-dropping troublesome local political busybodies, but he’s not taking the bait! I’m unconcerned, for that’s never my objective. New to politics, Ben was keen to express he’d never been the opposition, so doesn’t know what it feels like. Though, he comes across as genuine, an earnest and honest guy, tucking into his carrot cake.
There’s a phrase, ‘a week is a long time in politics,’ maybe it’s the opposite for local politics; it’s early days for this new Wiltshire Council and perhaps, optimistically, we need to be patient to see any fruition at base level.
The carpark was only an example, I was more after dirt on the bickering. Issues regarding waste, reducing the bin collections, and Reform’s pathetic failed bid to end net zero were all hitting points for the opposition, that we discussed later in our chat. I suggested we need some education on how to reduce waste, not just waste being collected, to which he agreed.
Disappointed by the reaction from the opposition and that “the petition that’s running doesn’t really go into detail,” Ben was keen to talk bins, and to defend the motion. “Your black bin collections are being reduced from two weekly to three weekly,” Ben said, but expressed, “alongside that, a weekly food waste collection is being introduced. So if you look at a six week period, people will actually be getting more for their money. There will be more collections over the year, just different collections, and hopefully there should be a lot less in the residual waste when the food waste comes out.” Besides, he pointed out, it’s a government requirement, “we have to we have to do it.”
For the opposition it’s a soundbite, easy to highlight your waste collection won’t be as regular under the Lib Dems, but Ben explained, “it’s just not true. One type of bin collection has been reduced, but you’ve got a new one which is a lot more frequent. Sadly, there is a bit of game playing.”
On the general bickering, “I do find that very energy-sapping,” Ben replied. “I try and stay away from it as much as I can. I think for the Conservative group, it’s a real change for them. It’s a period of adjustment. They’ve been in charge of Wiltshire Council pretty much from the outset. And I think, well, I hope they’ll find a bit of a friendlier way of conducting themselves. Because opposition is about fair criticism, it’s about scrutiny. They’re perfectly entitled to raise complaints. The roads, you know, it’s difficult to see how we can be criticised too much on those at the moment. Up until last month, we were working on the old Conservative budget. We’ve allocated some additional capital spend for the next few years. Hopefully we can get away from kind of reactive maintenance.”
“January, there were 2,700 pothole repairs, which is a record month ever. It’s an unwanted record, but, I think up to mid-March, they did about 5,000. And there’s normally, I think about 15,000 done a year. That’s quite a lot ahead of schedule. They’ll be concentrating on repairs until June and then hopefully they’ll get to a place where they can look at preventative maintenance. Station Road is a case in point. It’s been due for a proper resurfacing, but you can’t do that while Northgate Street is still closed. So as soon as that’s open, I’ll be pushing for Station Road to have its resurfacing, and they’ll come to Northgate Street later.”
It makes me wonder, that they created a road repair taskforce, if the workers are allowed to think for themselves and bypass the red tape, because that’s what appears to delay the process. You download the app, report one pothole at a time in a road of thousands, which goes through evaluation processes, paperwork, venturing out to spray-paint a square around it, or pop a cone in there. Whereas a taskforce could deal with it immediately. Because I see a repaired stretch of road, and often there’s potholes centimetres after it! Are they restricted to deal with what it says on a piece of paperwork, and not permitted to think, ‘hey, we’ve got a bit of spare tarmac, we could just carry on a wee bit, and cover that trench too?!’
“I’m told that there is a bit of leeway for that,” Ben stressed. “Potholes get prioritised, a defect or a pothole gets categorised. So, if it’s in a particularly dangerous area, or of a particular size or depth, then it gets a P1, and it’s supposed to be repaired within 24 hours. If there’s a crew going around doing those, they probably will ignore some smaller ones and just get the ones on their list ticked off. So that’s probably why that arises. But I think in practice, if there’s a massive priority one pothole and then some quite big ones obviously visible nearby, they probably would repair those before they move on, I’d like to think. But it depends how busy they are and what they’ve got on their list for that day.”
I can’t really argue with that, state of our roads, they must be busy bees! Ben also suggested technical issues with the MyWilts app needs reviewing, that issues raised by the public can be marked as closed even if the issue hasn’t been resolved. “I don’t think they should be closed until they’re repaired,” he said, “we’ll see what the review of the app comes up with, in terms of improvements.”
It’s not the roads though taking up the budget, annoying as it is to hit a pothole, the bigger picture is knowing vulnerable people are safely cared for. “People often don’t realise that the bulk of our funding, whether that’s from government or from council tax payments, is pretty much spent before we even decide what to do with it. And social care takes up a really big chunk of that. So, children’s and adults, vulnerable people’s services is, I forget the exact percentage, but it’s certainly over 60% of all Wiltshire Council’s expenditure.”
“That’s an ever-increasing chunk,” Ben justified, “which makes it really difficult to find money for other statutory services, like library services are statutory, highways too, obviously. Once you get beyond that, you’re really having to find pennies to do things. Leisure, for instance, is not a statutory service, but Wiltshire’s managed to keep a reasonable number of leisure centres. I think, compared to some local authorities, we’ve done quite well there, building a new leisure centre in Trowbridge, which is coming on very well.”
“But yeah, social care is the headline thing, I think, for councils. And it’s very important to look after people who need help. I’m recently been added to the Children’s Select Committee, which is the main scrutiny committee for all the children’s services. They look at how schools are performing, school attendance, and the leisure and youth services we offer. I’m really enjoying that actually. I don’t have children, so I thought, well, maybe this isn’t the right committee for me. But no, of all the committees I’m on, I think I get most out of that. So yeah, it’s been good.”
We talked for some time on MPs, praising Brian Matthew, and we agreed switching parties, as Danny Kruger recently did in Marlborough should meet with a by-election. But the focus needed shifting back to council level, so I asked Ben what he thought the biggest changes at Wiltshire Council has been, and how transparent they are.
“We certainly want it to feel people are closer to their council,” Ben responded. “They can ask questions and get answers, and then we will be, transparent with people. Yeah, there’s criticism been levelled about, some meetings go into part two, which is confidential business. And, like the carpark, we were accused of doing things behind closed doors. But this is completely standard stuff that happened under the last administration. If there’s commercial sensitive information, then it doesn’t, or personal; if individuals are being spoken about, that isn’t going to be in the public domain. And that’s the same everywhere.”
The opposition play on this, and it reflects badly?
“Well, it does,” Ben agreed. “There’s no reason why people shouldn’t take what they’re reading from them at face value. But to be honest, I wish more people would tune in to the council meetings on YouTube. Because to me, If you watch a bit of that, then it’s pretty clear, to me at least, who’s trying to get things done, and who’s trying to stop things moving forward.”
With public engagement, prior to the meeting, Ben stressed surgeries aren’t popular. I said he shouldn’t take it personally, as they often happen during the working day, and supposed many of us, myself guilty too, prefer to have a whinge on Facebook rather than address the councillors in person!
“Probably, yeah,” he figured.” I want to make sure if someone does want to get in touch with me, they can. So the more channels and opportunities there are for that, the better. And that’s partly on me to go out to events and knock on people’s doors and sort my focused newsletters out three or four times a year. But, it does need someone to make the effort to drop me a line. It can be a phone call, an e-mail, a Facebook message. They can come and see me at a surgery. I am trying to do the surgeries evenings or weekends, so hopefully a bit friendlier times for people.”
“I’ll answer comments on Facebook if I think I sensibly can. Sometimes people make comments, and you can understand why, people let off steam, but maybe they don’t know the full facts of what the issue is. And sometimes it’s complex to explain that. So it’s difficult on a Facebook message.”
And people can take it the wrong way. It’s just words. Herein I raised the Kebab Shop fire as an example, an issue Ben confirmed had been his most pressing, and being such a complex one, has learned not to “over promise.” He originally said the site will be demolished in February, we’re moving into April. Devizes is a lovely place, but it’s easy to think the town’s in a state, and everything that’s promised is just pie in the sky.
“What would be a worry for a town is if there wasn’t these developments happening,” Ben replied, “if it wasn’t a place where developers wanted to invest and create new facilities and new homes.”
“Devizes, seems to be moving in the right direction, and I know it’s frustrating with the delays, but I think there’s so much light at the end of the tunnel. Northgate Street, the kebab house, there’s been a perfect storm, but it’s really unfortunate in terms of the location, the type of building and the damage that was done, ended up being propped up like it was.”
“Quite apart from the human aspect of it and the loss of business and livelihoods, and the neighbouring properties are both quite badly damaged as well. Hopefully they can get on and get it repaired. And it has dragged. If I’d been able to hire a wrecking ball and pitch up there myself, I would have done it!”
“It was not the easiest thing to inherit. It was six months after the fire that I won the election, and at that stage, I don’t think the owner had worked through all the insurance issues. But eventually the demolition application went in. They were supposed to do it in February, as you say. They hadn’t finalised the partition wall agreement, because they need to make sure when they knock it down that they don’t do more damage to number one and number three. And then the contractor wasn’t available until April. So we are where we are.”
Our chat continued onto Station Road’s resurface and its traffic flow. Ben agreed lessons needed learning between the Highway’s team and Building control team, and he raised other issues, such as the condemned old Royal Oak building.
“They’re converting it into apartments,” he said. “It was a terrible state, but it’s a listed building, so it’s really good to see it getting back into use. Unfortunately, they’re going to need to close half of New Park Street to sort out the water and electricity connections. So, I’ve been talking with the traffic team at Wiltshire Council, about when is a good time; there’s no good time! I think the offer they’ve made to the developer is do it overnight, so there won’t be any closures in the day. So, we’re waiting for that to be scheduled.”
“It’s only a short closure, but what we don’t want is any overlap with Northgate Street still being closed. So, the highways team are always balancing these things against each other.”
It was great to meet and chat with Ben, for there’s many issues which need clarification. Short newspaper articles on a relative single subject cannot provide as much information, and being surgeries aren’t popular and the public tend to need matchsticks to keep their eyes open watching a video of council meetings, it is all too easy to be misinformed about Wiltshire Council! I believe social media posts from the opposition parties should be taken with a pinch of salt, and while criticism is fair game, things are looking positive a year into the newly elected Lib Dem council.
- Battle of Bishop’s Cannings Ends in Devizes Defeat
David slew Goliath with a sling and a stone. Bishop’s Cannings Parish Council used evidence, against a group of Devizes Town councillors’ more circumstantial land grab pitch, at Wiltshire Council’s Community Governance Review, and just like David, triumphantly…..
More war of words than any military action, though the latter would’ve made a better scoop for me, the underdogs came up trumps in a surprising result!
Rather than admit it’s for financial reasons, the Devizes Town councillors fluttered around premises such as they were rattled by messages from residents’ misunderstandings as to what council they came under, plus staking a claim to the Lidl store, in their pitch to the council to transfer areas of the town currently run by Bishops Cannings Parish Council to Devizes Town Council instead.
But the parish council had strong evidence in their arsenal, that they’re successful in community commitments, and used villagers’ statements to present a more heartfelt plea. They even mentioned football, for what the commendable Bishop’s Cannings FC has done for all ages and abilities with their local grassroots football team supersedes any other local club, and serves the whole community of Devizes and its many other villages.
The Committee voted by 5 votes to 3 to recommend that the semi-urban area and the rural area south of Nurtsteed School should both be retained within the Parish of Bishops Cannings.
Though the battle was won, it’s dubious if the war is over, for while this will not be subject to further consultation, it will go to a free vote amongst Wiltshire Councillors, likely in July.
Chair of Bishops Cannings Parish Council, Cllr Darren Bone sent a message to the residents. He said, “Cllr Iain Wallis of Devizes Town Council and Simon Williams, the Town Clerk, made a joint presentation in which they tried to persuade the Committee that the only correct result would be the wholesale transfer of the semi-urban area of Bishops Cannings Parish to Devizes. They also sought the transfer of rural land south of Nursteed School. Some of the arguments were new. All were subjective and offered without evidence. They tried to convince the Committee that 1200 homes and the families of over 2000 electors would all be better off under the control of Devizes.”
“In response, I introduced Mr Chris Nicholls, whose letter in support of the Parish Council and the retention of the semi-urban area was included in our detailed submission to the Committee. I am indebted to Chris for his honest, passionate statement. It was well-received and carried weight.”
“I then addressed the Committee in turn, countering the vague notions which had been put forward by representatives of Devizes Town Council. The wealth of verified, tangible evidence presented previously by Bishops Cannings Parish Council in its submission and in person was reiterated. We sought a clear and unambiguous recommendation that the Parish’s boundaries should remain as they currently were. Further agreement was sought for a change of name for the Parish.”
But the good news for Bishops Cannings Parish Council wasn’t over yet. Unexpectedly, once the committee debated the issue, they voted to consult with both Devizes and Bishops Cannings Councils, and the public on whether two potential transfers should occur, albeit this time from Devizes Town Council to Bishops Cannings Parish. Whoa there, it’s all gone a bit Treaty of Versailles here, if Devizes has to surrender significant territory, guaranteed someone’s knickers are going to get in a twist!
Despite it being a more common occurrence, where land is urbanly adjoined to a town, community governance reviews tend to side with the town, in this case it seems it was not only a loss for the Devizes Town councillors, but a complete backfire!
Cllr Darren Bone continued his message to the people of Bishops Cannings, “Today was a good day for the Parish of Bishops Cannings, for the Council and for its 2,628 electors and their families. The Council’s transformation, achievements and intent were universally praised by the Committee. Special thanks go to Mr Nicholls and to Cllr Philip Whitehead, our Unitary Councillor, who both spoke powerfully and eloquently.”
Congratulations to Bishops Cannings Parish Council; treat yourself to a cupcake, while the Devizes Town councillors can have some humble pie!
- How it Feels for a Bluebeard!
The first time I heard the name Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours, I presumed their sound might be folk or blues inspired. Judging a book by its cover, because while this Wiltshire collective’s debut single How it Feels might pertain such elements, I was pleasantly surprised to find it also jumping with feelgood soul….
Taken from an upcoming album of the same name, How it Feels is brass-blowing, high energy, sunny side of the street music, and I’d wager we all need a bit of that these days.
Piano-driven rock, gripping onto early Springsteen, or Elton John even, uptempo yet melodic, with an instant and irresistible hook. Yet when I listened, I was filled with imaginations of later new wave mod, when it became the staple pop of the eighties; this wouldn’t look out of place on a Style Council album. I’ll tell you how How it Feels feels; it feels alive and kicking!
Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours are quite the expert collective. Dave Turner is the bluebearded frontman pianist, Helen Robertson plays cello and adds those soulful backing vocals with Phil Cooper, who is also on bass.
All backed by guitarist Rich Godfrey and drummer Coby Franklin-Turner. The brass section knocking the energy into this song is provided by trumpeter and flugel horn player John Hare.
Shame I missed them at 7 Hills last weekend now I’ve heard this cracking single, but made up they’ll be at our newly opened The Fold this Friday, 27th March, at The Lamb in Devizes, with JP Oldfield in support. It’s free, hope to see you there?!
- “Underdog: The Other Other Brontë” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, March 25th-28th 2026
by Ian Diddams
images by Richard Fletcher
How many Brontë sisters can you name? Which books did the sisters write between them? Can you name them?
Did you get that there were three sisters? That wrote seven books? You may have thought of “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”, but what about “Agnes Grey”? Or “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”. You may have recalled Charlotte and Emily Brontë…
But what about Anne Brontë? Author of those two last named novels? Does she, or they, feature on your literary radar?
Congratulations if they do – you are an English Literature graduate at least, or one of those weird people that know loads of usually useless knowledge that people want to have on their pub quiz team that then drop you like a stone once the winnings are divvied up, and you wander home alone, smelling vaguely of stale BO and loneliness.
So, step forward the other other Brontë, Anne. The one everybody forgets if they ever knew of her to start with. And is embraced by Sarah Gordon’s play performed this week at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath by the “in house” theatre company, RTC.
Anne, as per the above, is the centre of this play, but in many ways its really about the fractious, loving, abusive, and caring, relationship between her and Charlotte as we see Anne systematically abused firstly in her efforts to be a governess, and when finally escaping the oppression of service, receiving little better from her eldest sister… while Anne eventually becomes the world’s first feminist writer.
The story covers a simple timeline of the Brontë sisters adulthood, with appearances of drunken brother Branwell, though there is a little poetic licence over some chronology to help the flow of the narrative. I have to throw that in for the three of you reading this that are actually internationally renowned experts on the Brontës and may otherwise think I missed it. So there. I didn’t. For everybody else – its not important and the story works well as a result. I blame Branwell’s booze befuddled brain…
Any’ow – as they may say in West Yorkshire – their basic history is on Wikipedia so I won’t reproduce it here. Suffice to say all three Brontës in their own way produced magnificent works that have stood the test of time, and Kate Bush’s singing, before Anne and Emily succumbed to tuberculosis following Branwell’s previous demise. The water in Haworth has a lot to answer for.
Charlotte died of complications in pregnancy – maybe she didn’t drink the water. None of them made the age of forty, and the younger two barely thirty at best. Tragedy had also struck the other two totally unknown sisters – Elizabeth who had died aged ten, and Maria aged eleven.
“Underdog” is a quite superb piece of writing; Sarah Gordon has lifted a passingly interesting family history and created a vibrant soap opera (in the best possible way!) about three siblings all destined for greatness, with hugely differing personalities. Of their love and support for each other; their internecine rivalries; their differences. Anne, at first demure then latterly strong and quietly confident, Emily, abrupt yet watchful, and Charlotte – a domineering bully that gaslit her sisters, particularly Anne and most definitely herself. Charlotte opens the show with a 4th wall monologue about pious men looking down on women, but is portrayed as being no better herself.
The three leads are mesmeric. Their characterisation is sublime, magnificent. Josie Mae-Ross plays Charlotte, Naomi Miller, Emily, and Alana Wright, Anne. The three bond so well on stage, with amazing chemistry, they really feel like three sisters. It’s a line heavy play for the three of them, as well as the portrayal of their characters on top and they are on stage for pretty much the entire two hours that the play runs for. Chapeau all round.
Branwell is played by Natalie Prescott, swapping her natural North Cheshire vowels for West Yorkshire ones and crossing the Pennines to do so. There’s a suitably gruesome reminder of the results of TB and Natalie captures Branwell’s self-destructive insouciance to a tee. Natalie also partakes in various ensemble roles along with the other members of the cast Antonia White, Jade Wright, Sarah Horrex and Sophie Kerr. Their slickness between several cameo style roles each is commendable, and peaks with a brilliant scene of literary critics discussing the sisters’ works in deprecating terms. No spoilers here but the show is worth seeing just for this one particular ninety second scene.
You’ll have noticed I am sure eight female names for eight cast members – yes dear reader, it’s an all-female cast – as befits a play about the world’s first feminist writer. This is all pulled together by director Helen Taylor with great vision and pace. The set is wonderfully simple doing just enough to set the scene and allow the actors to deliver in an uncluttered space.
Tech as ever at the Rondo is delivered as excellently as ever by Alex Latham, and the costumes are simply perfect – take a bow, as is often the way, Chrissy Fryers. The original music for the show is provided by the maestro that is Moray Macdonald and all of these creatives are more than ably supported by producer Yvonne Paulley, Stage Management Lylou Sharp and Olivia Lynch with publicity and poster design by Meg Robertson and Cate Nunn respectively.
You don’t have to be a Brontë fanboy or fangirl to enjoy this show. It has a quality that live theatre brings that watching a screen just doesn’t have… the immediacy of the action, the intimacy of the space, the direct connection with the cast, and it has this in spades. It is simply one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen, and I am fortunate enough to watch a lot of quite excellent theatre that is well worthy of the highest praise.
You could do far worse than blow a whole fifteen quid, cheaper than a pizza and a pint, on a ticket to this wonderful show this week. I even urge you not to miss it.
Tickets from https://rondotheatre.co.uk/underdog-the-other-other-bronte and the show runs Wednesday 25th March to Saturday 28th March.
And you may recall I said something about the water in Haworth…? It’s actually true….
- 7 Hills to Trowbridge’s Old Town Hall
To clear up any confusion, Trowbridge’s old town hall is no longer the town hall, but The Old Town Hall. I have no idea, nor care to know if there’s a new town hall; that’s irrelevant. Whilst still owned by the council, it was refurbished and reopened as a charity funded arts centre and cultural hub last October…..
I met a great bloke there called Tom, he used to run Bath’s venue Moles, now he’s steering events at this glorious grade II listed building, originally opened in 1889 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. It is an utterly stunning space of Victorian splendour with acoustics from the heavens; nice to note it’s in good hands.
In equal splendour was the reason I’m here, for the 10 Hills Spring Music Festival. Congrats if you spotted the deliberate mistake, there were only ever seven hills; I’m rounding it up as if it’s a score out of ten, perhaps I should add an extra hill or five onto that for good measure!
If forced to find a nick-picking fault with this event, I could suggest a lack of chairs inside the hall, considering the higher end of the age demographic in attendance. But the concentration was on the music, an elaborate concert-festival, and the quality and quantity of this was absolutely mindblowing, if not particularly diverse.
7 Hills regularly organise music events at The Night Jar in Bath, including an annual festival. Chris Hoar of Courting Ghosts explained he, “reached out to them initially to say I was planning a festival in the newly renovated Old Town Hall, just to check it didn’t clash with them, and Matt said let’s do it together in Trowbridge as a spring festival.” And here we are finally in spring, I’ve been looking forward to this.
Americana, folk-rock was the order of the day, everything uniformed to the influences of Courting Ghosts. So if you wanted to go looking for a dance tent, this wasn’t for you. But the standard of music was sublime throughout the day and into the evening, and that’s what made 7 Hills so spectacular.
Best festival of the year I could jest, because it’s my first, still, I believe I’m going to be hard pressed to find a lineup as good as this, and the craziest element was, while I knew most of the local acts booked for the afternoon, I was in the dark about the later ones, but far from disappointed.
Jess Chivers Perhaps the only one I saw to deviate from Americana was Jess Chivers, who delivered a great set on an acoustic stage adjacent to the main one, as this had subtle elements of punk. This second stage assured consistent entertainment whilst bands prepped on the main stage. I believe because I needed sustenance I missed Phil Cooper’s set, drafted in due to a cancellation, and a few others before my arrival, but Leander Morales polished off the acoustic stage with an energetic and poignant set.
Thieves Sadly I missed Fly Yeti Fly, meeting Darren on the stairs as I came in. Love this duo too, they remind me of Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields in the Blue Lagoon! My arrival, I hoped, would be timed for Concrete Prairie, as it was, lovable bluegrass collective Thieves were doing their wonderful thing on the second stage, while the prairie tuned on the main, under the stained glassed lancet; confirming I’m going to love this event.
Concrete Prairie Make no mistake, Concrete Prairie was on fire, I expected no less. Undeniably the liveliest set at the festival, they gave us the classics from their 2022 self titled debut album, finishing on their magnum-opus, the incredible crescendo-hugging Devil Dealt The Deck, but between them blessed our ears with some new songs from their forthcoming album. While Joe set no date for its release, the songs came across livelier than the sombre mood of the debut album. They’re perfectionists, providing me with faith there will be no sophomore slump.
The band were incomplete too, Phil Cooper taking bass, and original fiddler in the band, Georgia, filling in for her replacement. Still they rocked it, and I’d have been content if I had to go home straight after them!
Courting Ghosts Obviously with Chris Hoar at the helm, Courting Ghosts would play, and I could imagine no other following the Prairie, even if their overall mood is more sombre; this is music for the soul. Counting Ghosts surely set the mood for the remaining acts, this smooth Americania with influences from both country folk and jazzy soul. They gifted us a new song, to be the title track of their next EP, Baby, I Bleed for you, and sparks flew.
Orla Everything chronologically from now on would be new to me, but all of it flying miles above my expectations. A great example came from the acoustic stage immediately after the Ghosts. Orla is a young singer-songwriter from Bath, and clearly one to watch. With crystal vocals she gave us some divine originals, including a particularly poignant one called Mouthwash, and made Crowded House’s principal her own.
Matt Owens & The Delusional Vanity Project Former Noah and the Whale, Matt Owens & The Delusional Vanity Project followed with a dynamite set. As evening set in a professional precedence, I figured this was going to get continuously better. Multiple AMA UK Award winner Hannah White, the best yet, intertwined devout stage presence with a heartfelt singalong, she captivated, projecting her pure lyricism like dripping honey. I especially liked the tune with the reggae offbeat, but overall, I left wondering if, or how it could possibly get any better.
Hannah White If I’m now a Hannah White fan, and all presented before us was of a quality so high it would be impossible to fault, it should be no negative reflection in comparison to suggest something here wasn’t entirely my cuppa. No doubt, any Ohio artist signed by Peter Gabriel is going to be of an excellent standard, and soloist and loop pedal god, Joseph Arthur certainly is, it was just the bar was set so high by Hannah it levelled off here somewhat.
Joseph Arthur So, despite the highest of qualities, I wondered now if, for my personal tastes, anything could possibly top Hannah, and casted a preconceiving critical eye over Our Man in The Field as they set up. They certainly had an impressive ensemble, seven piece with an upright bassist, organist and everything. The lead guitarist had something of a Bill Wyman debonair, while the frontman presented himself as a funky truckstop dweller. Grasping tight to my newfound adoration of Hannah, this would be interesting, if nothing more.
That’s when the vibe hits you best, when it’s a surprise! Our Man in The Field has the perfect Americana balance, components of country, but with such soulful jazzy swagger, they had me off-guard and now totally hooked, the first to entrance me wholly. Our Man in The Field is sublimely captivating.
Our Man in The Field Shit, I realise now I should’ve put more trust in Chris’s knowledge! He has presented a lineup which, despite me thinking at numerous intervals, he’s not going to top this, he somehow did! I made up my mind then, I had to witness the final act even if an asteroid hit The Shires shopping centre.
The Delines, self-labelled as “retro country soul” from Portland, Oregon headlined. With everything previous so hyped in the hamster wheel of my mind, it mattered not if this suited me, I could leave now, more than content. I couldn’t leave. I imagined myself off the lines, driving one of those poetic American roads, planning to stop off to drink my soul away at a roadside bar, but when you walk in a band playing in a back room is so inspiring you figure life is too short as they blissfully cure your blues.
The Delines This was gorgeous. Utterly brilliantly steady, smooth with no need to fire up, just drifting with narratives akin to Guthrie, jazzy and soulful as Springsteen’s early recordings and the Asbury Park scene, on a Gil Scott-Heron level, and topped with the honest banter of a band in their prime; there was no need for them to apologise for Trump, there’s two bridges between us, they can break the political one, but cannot ever do the same to the creative arts one. I wished my friend Chrissy could see this, this is what her band Burn the Midnight Oil should attain to, this was blended bliss, American music without borders.
Impossible for me to compare what Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was like at Trowbridge Town Hall with the events now being run at it, but 7 Hills felt like it could’ve matched it, even without cherries cooked in flaming brandy, and the range of community events at the venue breathes positive new light into Trowbridge town centre.
- Wiltshire Hunt Sabs Stolen Drone Footage Reveals a Beaufont Hunt Kill
Retrieved footage from a stolen drone of the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs reveals the Beaufont Hunt making a fox kill earlier this month, and it’s undeniable evidence of their despicable crimes against our wildlife….
The Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs have exposed The Beaufort Hunt numerous times, recording a kill on the Fosse Way in November 2025, on the Duke’s Badminton Estate in December, and another at Cranmore Farm, Shipton Moyne, in January this year.
This distressing footage was recorded earlier this month at Commonwood Farm, Luckington. It clearly shows a fox hiding the hedgerow, the hounds doubling to the exact spot where a field rider was waiting, and dragging the terrified fox from the edge of the hedge, tearing it apart. The fox is then killed in front of hunters, who do nothing to stop the attack.
If this sickens you, the next part of the process is utterly terrible; the cover-up. Whilst they bag the remains of the fox, their terrier‑men and hunt supporters surround the drone, waiting for it to land, in an attempt to steal it, while the sabs rush to protect it. This is now common practice added into their “traditional country sport.”
The Police were called, and an officer from the Roads Policing Unit took the drone. “He just took it,” The Sabs explained, “he didn’t say what powers and didn’t give a receipt, hence we call it a theft.” Meanwhile, many of the terrier-men, with “registration plates deliberately muddied out,” realising they too were being recorded, fled. Police engaged with the leader, but not with the sabs. A rural crime officer viewed the footage on the drone controller, and another officer from Chippenham Response also attended.
The Rural Police Unit seized the drone containing vital evidence, but did nothing to stop the hunt, or locate the remains of the fox, disposed of in a bin bag, according to the sabs. The drone was returned to Wiltshire Hunt Sabs, following a week‑long campaign exposing the circumstances of its seizure. The evidence has now been posted to their social media platforms.
This leaves me with little faith the new laws will do anything to stop this, if police do not act on them. Because, there was me thinking the objective of the police is to prevent crime, not just punish after a crime is committed? I asked the Wiltshire Hunt Sabs how they feel about these new rules regarding trial hunts, and if they think it will really make a difference?
“It’s hard to say without knowing what the government will implement,” a spokesperson told me. “Any improvement is welcomed but this is our only opportunity to get rid of the loopholes – and the government must make sure it doesn’t introduce new ones.”
“The Hunt Saboteurs Association has produced a brilliant booklet detailing the key changes needed to ensure an effective ban on hunting wildlife with proper sentencing deterrents. Currently the Hunting Act allows only for a fine, which isn’t a deterrent or punishment for fox hunters with deep pockets. Landowners and hunt management also need to be held accountable more often too; they are supportive of their law-breaking hunt staff. Trail hunting needs to be banned; it isn’t an activity in itself, it simply exists only as a legal defence. Reckless clauses will certainly hurt them as every defence comes down to “ooops, it was an accident!” It’s nigh on impossible to prove intent – as you can’t hop into anyone’s mind, even though everyone knows when fox hunters hunt or kill foxes, it’s 100% intentional.”
The continuous scroll of comments on The Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs’ social media posts show the overwhelming support for the organisation’s attempts to prevent this criminal activity, their anger this continues, and criticisms of the seemingly inactions of the Police. Myself? I call the Beaufont Hunt something which rhymes with hunt.
You can follow Wiltshire Hunt Sabs HERE and support their work HERE.
- Extended Lineup for CrownFest
It was back in October when we revealed CrownFest at The Crown in Bishop’s Cannings was returning this summer, and January when we last mentioned it, because the organisers Stone Circle announced that its proceeds will be donated to Wiltshire Hope & Harmony’s Dementia Choir. I like to tease you during those cold winter months, and get us looking forward to warmer days coming…..
Now the time is nearly upon us; frosty starts but some glorious sunshine brings a sigh of relief, as spring has sprung. Time to remind ourselves of some of the local festivals on our horizon, but this isn’t about simply regurgitating what we’ve already said about CrownFest, because there’s been a few updates since, worthy of your attention…..
What is new, is that the music will be presented over two stages rather than the single stage. Acoustic acts will be in the marquee, while bigger bands will be soundchecking and warming up on the main stage. This is great news, for continuous entertainment, and you’d have to wonder otherwise, just how they’d squeeze so many acts into just one day.
And, before I waffle too far, that one day is the 4th July 2026; closer than you might think!
Tickets available HERE. A standard adult is only £32, children are £10, and there’s a £75 family bundle option too.
So, what I’ve already told you: Kinisha’s renowned Simply the Best Tina Turner Tribute and Adam & The Ants tribute Ant Trouble headline, closely followed by Wiltshire’s premier indie-pop favourites and winners of six Wiltshire Music Awards, Talk in Code. Purveyors of Irish & Celtic folk The Publicans will also be playing, along with Salisbury’s rock cover band Innovator, rock covers band Tipsy Gypsies, the one and only George Wilding, Mother Ukes, and the blooming marvelous Lucas Hardy.
And if all that isn’t already enough, what you might not have noticed, is some fantastic additional acts recently added. Firstly, the sublime Ruby Darbyshire is now on the lineup, who is worth the ticket price alone! Young Calne singer-songwriter, Braydon Lee, is a name on everyone’s lips right now, we fondly reviewed his latest single, and he’s coming too. Eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist Dylan Bratley also made the team; a new name to us but I’ve just checked out his rather cool Noah Kahan cover on TikTok, looking forward to hearing him live.
Lastly, is an upcoming Salisbury sixth form band, organiser Eddie Prestidge likened to Nothing Rhymes With Orange, called Five Nights at Adyans. The Salisbury Journal recently mentioned them playing Wiltshire Creative’s “Glow with the Flow” event for young musicians at Salisbury Art Centre. They revealed “the band is composed of four boys, Jasper Hill, Owen Morgan, Thomas Clark, and Toby Allen, who are all currently in Lower Sixth at Bishop Wordsworth’s school, and have been friends since they were in Year Seven. The influence behind their name is a play on the famous video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, combined with the influence from their classmate called Adyan, whom they often bring up on stage.”
This kind of leaves me wondering what Adyan does, if he’s like a young Bez from the Happy Mondays, and if he will show up at CrownFest! Adyan or no Adyan, CrownFest is getting better and better, the latest poster unusually puts the lesser-known acts above the headliners, showing a real dedication to upcoming performers, and that’s a great look! All roads lead to Bishops Cannings this coming 4th July…. get on one of them!
- Vox Populi: New Album From Deadlight Dance
The difference between punk and goth is that as a punk you reject society, as a goth society rejects you. Being society lives mostly online today, that’s probably why my spam filter assumes proposals from exiled middle eastern princes to deposit bitcoin into my bank, and machines to extend one’s manhood are of interest to a regional entertainment blog, but a local goth duo’s new album should be hidden in a spam folder.
Algorithms now pressure me into having to rush this out, despite noting on social media, Deadlight Dance are releasing their third album, Vox Populi tomorrow (Friday 20th March), which they launched at The White Bear in Devizes last Sunday. Have Nick and Tim got in the humph with me?!
They are Eurythmics-covering retro goths after all, who seem to be dealing with the apocalypse with new songs and a spot of gardening. I’ve always been nice about what they do and thought the feeling was mutual! Not at all; seems after a quick Facebook message, the glitch is real, and the email was discovered; and just like the issues Nick and Tim describe, “the populist rhetoric, the age of the oligarch where the rapid development of A.I. and deepfakery is upending reality, and ‘straight-talking’ chancers who claim to represent the majority are stoking the smouldering embers of fascism,” these are the depressing first world problems which need addressing, and with them in mind, isn’t it overdue to rekindle the era of the goth spirit?
Recorded as usual at Mooncalf Studio with legendary purple-bearded producer Nick Beere, it feels at times as if Deadlight Dance are canvassing for compassion as humanity gears up to vote for the collapse of civilised society. “It’s dark,” agrees Nick Fletcher, “but there is hope there. You don’t talk about these things unless you want to do something about it.”
“Light and shade,” says his partner in sound, Tim Emery. “Hopefully there’s something for everyone. For some people, everything will be for them.”
With all edgy synths blazing, Gloss opens Vox Populi, dramatically and attacking the beauty industry, its harmful lies and unrealistic standards in an era most pop stars are encouraging them. We reviewed this as a single last October, where I vowed to shave my eyebrows off and draw them back on with a Sharpie. The exploitative nature of the cosmetics industry, the first deep and eerie original song of eight, which speak of algorithmic existences; gaslighting by the elite, the paradox of ‘humane’ food production, identities and the preconceptions that can shape them, the corporatisation of the military… and gardening.
“There are some important horticultural and botanical references,” says Nick, reassuringly. The poisonous evergreen shrub Daphne odora, being an example, as the second tune, a poignant plodding shoegazer and followed by a surprisingly jocund ballad which gracefully reminds of the playful moments of The Cure.
Red Flags warns of danger, but takes no prisoners, Lachrymal is as dismayed as Fields of the Nephilim, Glass Walls is uptempo, furious and robust by design, an enclosed space frameless and seamless, but perhaps not maximising natural light, for that’s simply not goth!
The Theatre of Absurd thuds us back into the dark, with anticipatory anxiety and New Order beats. Followed by the first of two cover songs, Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams. Deadlight Dance comforts you here with familiarity and reminiscence, but stamp their own authoritative pounce on this, and the second, Prince’s When You Were Mine, both of which feature guest vocalist Sian and drummer Mike Dymond, the latter of whom first played with Nick and Tim when they were sixth formers.
There’s an underlying retro sensation with all that Deadlight Dance produces, that not all electronica was lost to Stock Aitken Waterman, and neither will it be with smug grinned Simon Cowell. And something wholly satisfying that post punk artists of yore inspired Nick and Tim to form a band, and, acne replaced by wrinkles, thirty years later, amidst a global pandemic and a growing whirlwind of social and political chaos, they felt that the time was right to continue the journey. But what is more, is that younger punk bands, like those gravitating towards DIY labels like Sketchbook, are continuing the theme, and, I reckon, would take Deadlight Dance with similar respect to the aforementioned post-punk artists who inspired Nick and Tim. At least they should if or when they hear this album.
While there is always a coherent thought process behind them all, their previous releases, 2024’s acoustic covers album The Wiltshire Gothic, and the literature-themed EP Chapter & Verse of the same year, held a running theme more rigidly. The dystopian or unnerving observations of the modern era subjects behind Vox Populi is subtler, and this feels like the fashion of their debut Beyond Reverence, only with the natural progression, experience and diligence of those three years. And it shows, this is a most excellent album, once again.
Vox Populi is released worldwide to stream, and own as a CD, vinyl LP and download, through Ray Records on Friday 20th March. Check out details on their website HERE.
- Kate X: Swindon’s Best Kept Secret
You’re young, stars in your eyes, and you live in Swindon; you are not alone, but you are, unfortunately, up against Kate X! Kate is independently producing contemporary pop RnB of international quality, and she’s riding it. Kate X should, and I hope and strongly predict she will be, a global success story…..
James Threlfall spins her tunes on BBC Introducing, comparing her with Sabrina Carpenter and Zara Larson, and I respect his professional judgement. Her singles No Tears and Touch have amassed over nine thousand streams on Spotify and her latest, fifth single, For One Night had over a thousand plays in the four days after its recent release.
It’s easy to understand why once you’ve listened. Every element to a viable contemporary pop song is evident in Kate X’s tunes. They’re sassy without being coarse, her mezzo-soprano vocals perfectly fit pop, and Kate has a natural flair for bringing acute hooks to the bridge. For One Night, in particular, has that driving RnB bassline, but as a collection, all of Kate X’s singles to date make for an impressive portfolio.
I’ve been hooked on Touch since Peggy-Sue Ford introduced it to me on her Don’t Stop the Music show on Swindon 105.5 last year, and it hasn’t left my head yet! For One Night clearly shows a natural progression, with a familiar and timeless clandestine lover theme, akin to Dusty Springfield’s popular cover choice Breakfast in Bed, but a contemporary soul feel more Beyonce than Kylie.
She has 670 monthly listeners on Spotify, which for a local indie artist is impressive. She might suggest she can be the object of her desire’s “best kept secret,” but in my opinion, she should no longer be secret to mainstream media and a worldwide fanbase.
Okay, so there are occasions, and more often than not, when an aspiring wannabe’s judgement obscures the probable reality that they’re the needle in the haystack and unlikely to progress to stardom in the competitive music business. And someone has the unfortunate task of tying their feet back to the floor. It’s sad, but a common stipulation, and often manipulated by television talent shows for ratings. But when I listen to Kate X’s tunes, compare them to what the mainstream is putting out, and consider she’s independently creating and marketing, this is clearly not the case here. Kate has something really rather special, which is on par with the mainstream commercial output.
All it takes is for word to spread, and maybe some crossed fingers and toes, but Kate X seems determined, and unquestionably has the potential to be the next big pop star.
Kate, your songs are simply brilliant, remain steadfast to your goal, mentally prepare for setbacks, obviously, but I reckon, judging on this latest single, you’ve got it in the pocket girl! And we wish you all best of luck with this positively facing journey. Follow her journey on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook.
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