Month: Aug 2024

Traffic Lights to be Installed at the Black Dog Crossroads For Political Point Scoring

Reports of another road traffic accident at the notorious Black Dog Crossroads near Lavington today coincides with Wiltshire Councillor for the Lavington constituency, Dominic Muns taking to Facebook to announce a new investment for Highways in the county will include traffic lights at the crossroads to be installed by spring next year….

Hey, look, don’t get me wrong, it is good news, of course it is. For a campaign which has been running for decades to finally become a reality, hopefully we can now look forward to a time when the crossroads is safer. But safety is far from the top priority in Mr Muns’ rather inane and quite frankly aberrant pontification. What is clear from this is that it has been pushed forward predominately for political point scoring.

Knowing this will attract media attention, the angle of Mr Muns’ announcement is based solely on what he perceives as a golden opportunity to slag off any and every opposition party. It is a shameless excuse to praise his own political party when the angle of the accomplishment isn’t a political matter at all, and could’ve been better projected as a safety measure ticked off, for the good of a community.

As a Conservative councillor for a majority Conservative county council, Dominic Muns states in comments criticising the political angle he’s used in this video, that he’s “had enough” of apparent “constant local Conservative bashing!” Whoa, there, because pointing out the manipulation of the media to push a right-wing agenda is “bashing?!” Have people no right to be critical of a government who held parties and profiteered from a pandemic, a government who exploited their entitlements, bankrupted the country, condoned inequality, and supported genocide? Asking for a friend!

Face facts, Mr Muns, for if you are to make this political, as you have for whatever inane objective, these are the bigger reasons why the nation decided change was needed, putting up traffic lights at a road junction isn’t going to right that wrong, unfortunately, and the idea you think it will is the justification I needed to express my opinion that this was yet another cheap shot by Conservatives still in a temper tantrum over the recent democratic election results. Whatever reasons the Lib Dems, as he claimed, voted against this larger highways budget I’m certain will be earnest and likely involve a financial concentration on areas also in need to be upped, after years of Conservative tomfoolery and their gross misuse of public spending.

I cleared the issue up with our MP Brian Mathew, who said he welcomes the news about the traffic lights at the Black Dog Crossroads. “I was there this morning as the Police were clearing up a crash. It’s a danger spot and it’s over time that it was sorted,” he told me.

“In terms of the rest,” he continued to explain, “the Lib Dems voted against the overall budget back in February budget, because the Tories wouldn’t support free parking for blue badge holders, support extra funding for area boards to support our communities, or fund Visit Wiltshire. The £10 million he is referring to wasn’t in the budget and therefore we couldn’t have voted for it even if we wanted to! This is typical Tory electioneering at the taxpayer’s expense. Perhaps there should have been a debate on what else we could have spent £10 million on.”

So, there it is, no joyful notion of the improvement of safety matters, no remorse for accidents already happened while the council dilly-dallied around this obvious issue for decades, no accreditation for the work of local campaigners over said time, just a video suggesting, “look at us lionhearted Conservatives, we did this, and all the other’s are big poo-poo heads who hate you,” while he braggarts against a background showy of his own affluence; his fireplace is bigger than my house, dammit! Unbelievably tactless and shameful to use matters of safety for political points on any level, especially on a local level.

Perhaps we should question why it has taken decades to put this into motion, during which most of that time the Conservatives have been in power and certainly been dominant in WC. And we could possibly add the utter disgrace the road network has dilapidated into, countywide, while they threw thousands at an imaginary feasibility study to play choo-choo trains, or promote a pointless king’s ransom to hide Stonehenge. Maybe go as far to suggest smaller solutions could’ve been actioned to ease dangers of this crossroads and every other major road junction in the area, like ensuring the trees and bushes are trimmed appropriately; visibility, imagine! The closure of the truck road close by did nothing but add traffic to the junction itself.

Perhaps we should be thankful for the loss of a Conservative majority nationally as it appears to have shoved a rocket up the backsides of Tory councillors who made minimal changes when they were in power?! Oh dear me, what a shameful excuse; while supportive and grateful for Mr Mann’s continued efforts in achieving this issue, it is good news, it’s entirely the wrong angle I’m afraid!

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Rooks; New Single From M3G

Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward “E”) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes…

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Barry Ashworth of Dub Pistols to Play DJ Set at The Muck & Dunder, Devizes

Barry Ashworth, one half of the mighty big beat pioneers The Dub Pistols is heading to Devizes in November for a DJ set at our fantastic Caribbean holiday at home rum bar, The Muck & Dunder….

Dance music in the UK came of age in the mid-nineties. Subgenres blossomed from the rave scene, but left maturing ravers adrift. Appeasing an upcoming generation, ‘hardcore’ rave separated into “happy” and jungle, while house music began to get tiresome. It was, as it ever is, up to the UK to progress dance music, and they’d use the indigenous breakbeat house, a fusion of hip hop and reggae.

What Coldcut, the Prodigy, Norman Cook, and acts like the Chemical Brothers laid down next was a phenomenon, naturally, the next stage, and filled a gap. Big Beat would accommodate our love of hip hop and dub reggae, fuse them into a universal party style. This is where The Dub Pistols fit into the story.

Formed as a DJ duo around 1996 in London, Barry, and Jason O’Bryan, created a fluctuating collective and began recording tracks by 1998. No strangers to Wall of Sound, The Social and Brighton’s grounding, The Dub Pistols are prolific, amassing seven studio albums to date, and working on numerous film and video game soundtracks.

Aside my Uncle Albert moment, what we can expect from The Dub Pistols isn’t akin to my retrospective waffling, though Jason left the collective fourteen years ago, Barry and the band has continued to progress the sound to suit contemporary dance music, collaborating with UK rappers like Rodney P, and remixing tracks from Ian Brown, Limp Bizkit and The Crystal Method.

I think we’re in good hands for a large night, and again, The Muck & Dunder bucks the Devizes stalwarts of particular musical genres to provide us with quality dance music acts. The Dub Pistols’ Barry Ashworth comes to The Muck on Friday 8th November. Tickets are not available yet. Follow them on social media for updates, I’ll share the news on ours or pop into Muck for a Piña Colada or three; you’re worth it!

This Weekend is Devizes Carnival; What Else? I Want More! Whaaaa!!!

For that certain some-Karen who drove through town last weekend, jumped on social media to waffle off the cliché rant “nothing happens in Devizes,” but I’m not personally willing to do anything about it other than moan on social media, and to everyone else who most likely didn’t, who either was, or wasn’t, hiding away from her in the British Lion for Black Rat Monday, Carnival is THIS WEEK, my darlings!!

So what else is going on, you know, like fringe events, after parties, warm ups, and such like? Well, here’s what we know, for what it’s worth because you know when you want to find what’s happening you come here, you sensible people; shame there’s not more like you!!

You know there’s been DOCA workshops all week at Pamela House, right? Tomorrow (Wednesday) they’ve carnival workshops open to all from 11am to 2:30, bring your own picnic. Then from 3pm there’s a giant puppet workshop. Thursday from 10am-4pm pretty much the same, bird puppets making, open carnival workshops and bring your own picnic.

The Camerados of Devizes Public Living Room have also been getting their hands dirty, designing carnival banners. They meet every Friday at the Cheese Hall, from 1-4pm, it’s a wonderful free social group, and you can help them put the finishing touches to their banners.

Early bird warm ups , the Southgate’s regular acoustic jam on Wednesday evening, the best way to spend a Wednesday evening. And of course, the Carnival Quiz at Devizes Town Hall, at 7pm.

On Friday 30th our phenomenal youth band, Nothing Rhymes With Orange plays a farewell gig at the Exchange nightclub. After huge success locally and blossoming further afield the guys are heading off to Bristol to study music together. I’m hoping to meet up with them beforehand, run a quick interview type chat thing, and I have some Cliff Richard CDs they can take to inspire them on their way! On at 9pm at the Exchange, The Vivas support them, and the party continues with an indie disco with guest DJs Thorfinn (I think we know him!) and fantastic regular DJ Stevie MC. Tickets HERE>>

Failing them, there’s an eighties disco down the Dolphin.

Or, if you’re staying in, don’t forget Andy and Som can deliver homemade Thai Curry to your door, yes Thaiday Friday, and Som is preparing the super tasty Thai green chicken curry with onions and green beans, accompanied with soft Thai Jasmin rice.

Saturday 31st August is Carnival Day, you could work some motivation at Quakers Walk Parkrun’s Pacers Week, a regular free parkrun with the option to pick your speed between 20 & 40 minutes. You can challenge yourself or just pick a speed you want to be constant at. There is no obligation to run with the pacers, you are still able to run/walk at your own pace. This is an open event anyone who wants to run, walk or jog the 5K course is welcome. I’m exhausted just typing it!

Or you could take yourself along to Wiltshire Museum for the final day of The Wiltshire Thatcher exhibition.

Now, carnival, at 5:45pm, departing from The Green. The parade takes around 2 hours, expect the Parade to reach the halfway point around 7pm-ish. Roads close on the Parade circuit from 5pm – 9pm, with Sidmouth Street closing at 4pm. Don’t forget! If you park in one of the car parks on route, you won’t be able to exit until after the parade is finished and the road closures have been lifted. Find any other info direct from DOCA HERE.

Look out for Devizes Salsa Group’s Surprise Flash Dance, at midday at the Brittox!

Afterwards, there’s blues, pop, rock and funk covers & originals at the Southgate with Freepeace. Trash Panda are at The Three Crowns and are always lots of fun! And if you feel like giving it a go yourself, it’s carnival karaoke time at the Pelican!

But if you want to go beyond Thunderdome, you need to get yourself to the Corn Exchange, where Simply the Best Kinisha Morgan-Williams becomes Tina Turner, and you’ll be impressed by this even if you’ve only a passing interest in Tina, I kid you not. Here’s our preview on that. Here’s your ticket.

Then, all you have to do after that is descend a flight of stairs, as DJ Karl Maggs is in the mix at the Exchange until 2am.

Sunday 1st September, Vince Bell graces the famous alcove at the Southgate from 5pm. If nothing ever does go on in Devizes, as he says, “you ain’t ever leaving!”

That’s this coming weekend in Devizes, people. Yeah, but you know, I agree with Karen, it’s a disgrace, nothing ever happens in Devizes!!

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The Lost Trades September Tour Comes to Pound Arts

Trowbridge-Devizes finest musical export for a decade or two, acoustic folk vocal harmony trio, The Lost Trades, step out for a nationwide tour this September. The closest they come to home is Pound Arts in Corsham….

The groupimg of Phil Cooper, Tamsin Quin, and Jamie R Hawkins, fantastic artists within their own rights, was always going to be a winner. If you don’t know them, you’ve not been reading enough of Devizine!

Yes, you’ll inevitably going to catch them performing solo on the circuit, Tamsin next Thursday at The Tuppenny, Swindon, with most apt support, Ruby Darbyshire. She also has a music & storytelling show with her partner Oliver Lavery at Burdalls Yard in Bath, on Thursday 19th September!

As for the boys, they can be a bit more sporadic, as us guys generally are, and you can find their gigs pop up on their respective Facebook pages, often accompanying each other’s as it was at Trowbridge Festival.

But the real chicken dinner is to catch them together as the trio, The Lost Trades. We wished there were a few more gigs locally, but hey, best eastwards is Camberley. Best westwards is Corsham, pick up tickets HERE.

Schools Lego Building Challenge From The Great Western Brick Show

Calling all future Lego engineers! Be the Brunel of tomorrow and build a bridge to help achieve net zero…..

To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Great Western Brick Show at STEAM at the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon, the organisers are inviting local schools to take part in their Brick-building challenge to help fight climate change.

The Great Western Brick Show runs Saturday 5th October and Sunday 6th October. You can get a ticket here.

Or, schools or Lego groups can enter this fun competition for a chance to display your team’s model at this year’s show and be in with a chance to win LEGO prizes for your school. What’s awesome about that? I’ll tell you shall I? Everything!!

The challenge is to design and build the railway bridge of tomorrow to help achieve net zero.

In the same way that Brunel approached the challenges he faced with new solutions, which nobody thought possible, they would like to invite pupils to become creative about today’s challenge.

How can we solve one of the biggest challenges the planet is facing right now? Achieve Net Zero, those brickers ask.

They would like pupils to design a sustainable railway bridge of the future using their imagination to design a model that will deal with this issue.

There are no right answers to building the Lego railway bridge of the future, so pupils can solve the challenge in any way they choose. The more creative and imaginative you are, the better!

The build must consist entirely of LEGO Bricks and can include Duplo and Technic.

As the winning entries will be displayed during the Great Western Brick Show on the 5th and 6th of October, the builds must be stable enough to be transported easily and should require minimal setup.

Entries can be made by individual pupils or teams of up to 3 pupils. Other details are down to the imagination of the builder(s), but they should show creative ways of dealing with the challenge set.

For competition details and a full technical brief, see HERE, and get building!!

Fulltone Confirmed For 2025 in Devizes

The Fulltone Orchestra has confirmed today that their annual festival will take place on The Green in Devizes from 25th – 27th July 2025….

“It’s hard to believe that exactly one month ago, we were on The Green setting up for what we thought might be the last Fulltone Festival,” they said today.

“Fulltone is run by a small group of volunteers and is funded solely by ticket sales plus a few generous local sponsors. Ticket sales hadn’t been great leading up to this year’s festival, and we really thought that it might have run its course.”

Image Gail Foster

A last minute rush on ticket sales for the festival this July, the smooth running of the event, and overwhelmingly positive feedback have been the benefactors which caused the organisers to make a u-turn on not holding a Fulltone Festival next year.

I reasoned based on rumours about camping possibilities it may be relocated outside the central town, but organiser Jemma Brown confirmed it will remain on the Green due to popular demand, and the Rowdy Cow site could become a camping area with a shuttle bus operating to and fro.

Jemma also explained they’ve dropped the word “festival” from the title of the event, and from next summer it will be known more simply as Fulltone ‘25. I like this, it’s a unique event and on the reputation it has amassed over the years it needs no more explanation than this.

Image: Gail Foster

Acts are already being considered and booked, and Jemma also mentioned the possibility of fringe events happening in town venues. All exciting developments, and we wish them all the best with these early planning stages for what has become a jewel in the Devizes event calendar.

Fulltone ’25 will take place on The Green from 25th – 27th July 2025. Early bird tickets will go on sale at 9 am Saturday 24th August 2024.

The Light at the End of The Bottle of Dog

The Light at the End of The World is a fourteen tracks strong album which scores a goal directly from the kick-off with the aptly titled opener Let’s Go. Released at the beginning of the month (August 2024) the timeless goodness of hard rock is firing off on all cylinders, and it doesn’t wait for the opponent to tie their shoelaces. What did you expect? This is a band called Bottle of Dog, who use a logo design adapted from the Newcastle Brown Ale label….

Lady Red follows, then Push Up Push On, and this Chippenham three-piece indie self-defined raw powerhouse shows no sign of letting up. There’s something ZZ Top about all this love at first sight monster. The band was accidental; formed from a one-off gig, now on their two-hundredth, a splendid accident.

Their Facebook blurb pigeonholes it as indie, combining “seventies classic rock sounds with modern day indie,” yet I find it takes four tunes to meander from the outright frenzy of early eighties hard rock. The riff of Chancing hints at mod rock of the same era, something that reminds me of the Undertones, or and especially, Secret Affair. Better Than Me, which follows immediately after tingles with a goth rock edge. Clearly there’s more going on here than the initial blast, but through influence nods it never loses its frenetic, loud and proud edge.

Okay, The Light at the End of The World doesn’t dare to experiment, opting for the tried and tested rock template, and only moving from subgenre to subgenre, but it does so thunderously and with the “if it broke” notion; hard not to like unless you’re George Gershwin! And anyway, before you know it, Loveable Idiot at the halfway point has taken us back to hard rock, and you won’t be complaining. It’s authentic noise, lyrically felicitous and admissible for the bill.

Three quarters through the album you consider yourself safe from getting a slushy or moody angled track, Bottle of Dog give it their all throughout. Break the Page perhaps the pre-eminent, a rolling riff to make to hurry your fag and get back inside the pub to headbang! The penultimate Captain’s on Board, has an anti-establishment yell, providing adequate narrative over the rolling drums and a “Hey!” chorus, which leaves you confident the audience of a live gig will be singing back to them no matter how unaware of these confident originals they are, or pissed they happen to be!

And we finish with Zombie Town, which quotes London as the inspiration, alien to the communal Chippenham, yeah, keep your nose out, pal! Unsure if any inner meaning to this, or if this is quite a light at the end of any road, or album, as the title may suggest, but it sure is fiery fun, quality blaring and doesn’t come up for air. If a metaller went to a boozer expecting covers of Ace of Spades and Hallowed Be Thy Name, or punk wanting White Riot and Teenage Kicks, neither would go home disappointed if Bottle of Dog simply runs off this album. 

They play the Fleece in Bristol 8th September, The Royal Oak, Corsham 2nd November, Colerne Liberal Club on 7th December.

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Get ‘Lifted’ by Chandra

Chandra, Hindu God of the Moon, with his own NASA X-ray observatory named after him, and also frontman of a self-named friendly Bristol-based four-piece pop-punk band I’ve recently been introduced to; busy guy, I have to tell you about them…..

This band has been together since April and knocked out five singles already. The latest, Lifted is as the same suggests. It’s feel-good factors and amusing hooks immediately warm to you, but at the same time it’s an intelligently crafted grower, simply infectious! Chandra has put six tracks into an EP, titled Lifted too.

Chandra explained, “I spent a while trying to figure out my sound and what I wanted to write about. So the first few songs are very much me finding my way. Lighters To The Sky was a eureka moment and the song where things suddenly clicked.” You can hear this as this track is on the EP, alongside Pretty, Smile and I’ll Be There, perhaps rawer by nature, prototypes, but this upbeat sound with hints to carefree merriment has been perfected sublimely. Lifted is so commercially viable I’m going tingly, an elevating and uplifting anthem.

“I spent 2023 releasing singles in order to put a band together because literally nobody was interested in being in an originals band when I first started looking for people,” Chandra told us, so band members are from Bristol, Patchway, Trowbridge and Chandra himself is from Berkeley. “We’re a bit all over the place but Bristol is our common ground and where we play the most.”

Only geographically all over the place, I might add, Chandra sounds polished. We chatted about the desire of local circuit venues wanting cover bands, a frustrating reality for bands trying to produce original material. “Bristol is basically a hive of musicians who mostly play for two or three different covers bands,” he expressed, “and that’s fine of course, but playing covers just doesn’t give me that buzz. Originals is a tough slog but I get so much satisfaction  from the reactions. It means a thousand times more to me.”

This led me to name-drop Trowbridge’s Pump as a venue dedicated to original music and also promoting upcoming artists too. As I suspected they’re on this, and play there on Friday 4th October with Ben Waller & The Tell Tale Signs. Closer by date, they support Laissez Faire at the Thunderbolt this Thursday. 

The elevation to the latest single Lifted is bursting with potential, Smile (No Fox Gibbon) marks a milestone, there’s contemporary pop-punk goodness of Blink 182 or Green Day, yet melded subtly with English charm, whereas Lifted is defined, idiosyncratically melodious and my new favourite thing. I’m unsure where the final song Overload fits chronologically, but it is a moralistic acoustic chicken nugget, a gorgeous committed sound, displaying a more mellifluous side to Chandra.

The scope here is encouraging, but the compelling steadfast template they’ve created is simply irresistible already. If Chandra isn’t headlining by autumn I call for a national inquiry into why not!

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Assassination in Pewsey…D’Ska Assassination!

There was an assassination in Pewsey last night … a ska assassination; pick it up, pick it up, Pewsey!

Like buses, ska bands are around these backwaters, which put me in a dilemma. Safe in the knowledge those Killertones will skank up the Southgate in Devizes, I sought to head east to the vale of Pewsey where Eddie Prestidge’s Wiltshire Music Events hosted a new one on me, at the Bouverie Hall, south west’s own D’Ska Assassins.

Salisbury based Wiltshire Music Events have fast become renowned for putting on events of the highest quality, here they gave us CrownFest, a Devizes Corn Exchange sellout with The Marley Experience and countless pub gigs. In the spire city their Tunnel Rat studio is bringing the best out of upcoming artists, but they also love gigging out in the sticks!

The sum of these parts equates to a gig with my name all over it. You know, or should do by now, how much I love my ska. You’ve got to have eclectic tastes to do a thang like Devizine, but influenced by the pop of my childhood and discovering my dad’s old Bluebeat and Trojan records, my penchant for the offbeat remains paramount.

House-duo Illingworth kicked off the proceedings of this Motor Neurone Disease Association fundraiser, which though may sound unlikely, being mature skinheads mingled with Pewsey’s curious or retrospective aficionados, their unique brand of pop-rock classics mounted to a massive appreciation from the audience. End of the day, most skinheads are aware musical links between reggae and rock are close-knit, and hey, they just love music, period.

Therefore the warm up was complete and refined, John and Joylon did their thing exquisitely as ever, to encourage skinheads to dance to Dolly Parton is one thing, but they pulled great Bowie and Boomtown Rats covers out of their bag of tricks, and everyone loves a finale of Hey Jude no matter how much hair is on their heads.

It was a quick changeover for a seven-piece ska band, which backfired somewhat, as the engineering hadn’t the opportunity to soundcheck. I sighed as adjustments were quickly made, the enthusiasm of the band seemed to wane too, and on the grounds amateurish ska cover bands we get aplenty here, often murdering the sound I love, I feared this could go Pete Tong. They slammed straight into fifth gear with archetypal upbeat Bad Manners and Madness covers and the crowds were aptly enthused. But picky me felt it wasn’t the greatest of its kind I’ve bore witness to, fortunately I was proved wrong rather abruptly.

Seems the name D’Ska Assassins doesn’t include the assassination of the sound at all, and it felt like the band were merely warming up. All my fears were quashed, three or four songs in, like someone stuck a rocket up their butts. D’Ska Assassins suddenly came alive. Rock steadying the pace a smidgen, here’s my surprise; for a ska cover band to come booming out to such an upbeat intro is unusual, normally they build up and Madness and Bad Manners classics are savoured for a finale. Now concerned they’d played their trump cards too soon, despite a renovated faith D’Ska Assassins had something special; they proved me wrong a second time!

There’s always plenty of upbeat classics in a repertoire of Two-Tone, and D’Ska Assassins, after slowing the pace in the middle of the set, laid down those Specials and The Beat covers thick, fast and accomplished; the latter D’Ska Assassins frontman expressed their joy at supporting at the Cheese and Grain. It was a fairytale ending, with moonstomping in boots and braces, as the crowd didn’t really stop dancing throughout the proceedings. Equating to a brilliant and memorable night. D’Ska Assassins came, saw, and shone like proper job Bobby Dazzlers. 

All the typical elements of a decent ska cover band they pulled out of the hat, astutely handling stage banter, especially when the keyboardist nipped out for cigarette halfway through the set, else covered Ranking Roger’s vocal contribution to Stop! But the true magic was their ability to sustain the pace and enjoyment, slipping in a few original pieces, which is rare, and rarer still, sound at best with the slower reggae tunes. Other unusual elements to the D’Ska Assassins show compared to the archetypal Two-Tone cover bands was the strength of the brass with only one, rather sublime female trumpeter, and lead guitar solos akin to Junior Marvin accompanying Bob Marley and the Wailers.

They perfectly balanced all the elements they broke the moulds of, together with those you’d expect from a ska gig, covering those versed classics, encouraging audience participation and wearing Fred Perry shirts, and they produced a frenzied and highly entertaining trouble-free show at the rather welcoming community venue Bouverie Hall.

As for Wiltshire Music Events, you only need to stay tuned here as we’ll blow their trumpets for them, they’re going from strength to strength. Finalise carnival night in Devizes with a trip to the Corn Exchange where they’ll show off their link to Kinisha Morgan-Williams from Manchester, the finest Tina Turner tribute you’re ever likely to see.

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Steatopygous go Septic

If you believe AI, TikTok and the rest of it all suppress Gen Z’s outlets to convey anger and rage, resulting in a generation…

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Local Book Review: Dad’s New Dress

Spent most of Pride month, and the following month too (what? I’m a slow reader and a busy chap!) reading an apt book, given to me be by a local amateur author, Molly Anderson……

Okay, it’s blatantly obvious from the off Molly is a pseudonym and while written third person narrative the motivation to write this comes from personal experience. Dad’s New Dress is the eye-catching title, immediately evoking the archaic comical connotations of a Carry-On film. Yet while there’s subtle elements of humour, humour and drinking concerns away are just two of the initial coping strategies of the main character, Suzie, when she receives an email from her father informing her, he’s coming out of the closet at seventy-years old and wants to identify as female. Shock and concern are the others. Now you see the reasoning for anonymity.

I like to think I’m acquiescent and submissive towards homosexuality and transgender, as is the virtue of modern thinking. Despite not being a construct I personally gravitate to, I take the opinion as someone’s gender preference affects me in no way whatsoever, why should it matter or bother me? Then I sympathise with the unpleasantness and misery anyone in such a position must face by the prejudices of others, and, taking this with the historical pretexts which has progressed us to this common acceptance, I feel, as the month of June suggests, pride. Pride that we now live in a society where the majority accept and are supportive of homosexuality and transgender rights.

Though we’ve reached this triumphant stage in equality there’s a concern rearward thinking traditionalists promoting homophobia is growing. As an open-minded person, I assume I wouldn’t succumb to such, but while I’ve had a few friends come out as gay, I’ve never had something so monumentally significant as a close family member tell me they want to change gender, like my dad.  Dad’s New Dress raises this alarm, challenges one’s resolution towards the notion, should the reader put themselves in Suzie’s shoes, and perhaps they should, perhaps we all should, for it brings to the boil several areas of common concern.

Though they live in separate countries, the twenty-something daughter Suzie was clearly once Daddy’s girl, and the revelation has shocked her, the progression of the narrative is her coming to terms with it.

It’s loosely written, chatty, the dialogue often obscures the darkest thoughts of Suzie or otherwise, perhaps too much, for me; I wanted to get deeper inside her head, and feel a first person narrative may’ve worked better for this. This is a feminine orientated coffee break read, and, without stereotyping too much, women tend to favour this style; chick-flick! You’ll get expansive off-topic conversation, subtly humorous and thoughtfully laid out, and know precisely what every character is wearing! Rather than a more masculine approach; Suzie doesn’t murder her father and escape hanging out of a helicopter while a rainbow uniformed SWAT team try to pick her off!

If you’re looking for comic book sensationalism, this isn’t for you. It’s steady, reality-driven substance which knowledgably raises several interesting questions. Could you maintain your acceptance of the equality of gender preference, knowing next time you see your old man he’s going to wearing a dress?! It must be said, Suzie’s concerns teeter on the homophobic to begin with, or at least confusion as to how she will now interact and address her father. If that is, to be concerned for her own wellbeing and future interactions with her father isn’t rather selfish, the emotions her father must be dealing with are not really covered from the one-sided angle the author has taken.

We’re treated to many of Suzie’s reminiscences, recollections of interactions with her father as a young girl, and while there’s vague hints of his gender orientation, it goes obviously unnoticed by the innocence of her childhood. It is these parts which are the best written and emotive. They will come to the forefront when Suzie reunions with her father and rebuilds their relationship. The family bond shapes her blossoming acceptance for her father’s desires, despite the growing intensity of the issue, from the initial etiquette in public and the paranoia of other’s reactions, to the later concerns for his gender realignment operation and partners, and throughout, her complete failure to use the correct pronouns!   

Yeah, so it’s diary-like, with an erm, an open-ended but happier ending, and it is certainly thought-provoking. The creativeness of writing and ability to drive a plot here isn’t as polished as it could be, yet it is inspired, and written with honour, dedication and emotion. Its charm is this individualised touch.

We live in a better world, not only for those with gender matters, but also for the scope of literature. Mainstream publishing limits material to the select few experts, whereas self-publishing opens the opportunity and freedom of expression to everyone. Everyone has a story to tell, this is Molly’s (or their real name,) and it’s told for anyone to read.

You can buy Dad’s New Dress, (not buy your dad a new dress!!) at Devizes Books, or online here.

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DOCA’s Young Urban Digitals

In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twenty…

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Jol Rose’s Ragged Stories

There’s albums I’ll go in blind and either be pleasantly surprised, or not. Then there’s ones which I know I’m going to love before the…

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Some Days with Paul Lappin

Paul’s self-made cover to his latest single, Some Days depicts a fellow sitting under a tree pondering life, while an autumn zephyr blows leaves around him, and perfectly sums up the mood of the single….

It’s breezy, everyday contemplation, and as smooth as Fonzie in a health spa, as is Paul’s distinctive, euphoric style! A style which he cites Britpop as an influence, a genre I’m not so knowledgeable about, ergo can’t think of a suitable comparison within it, hence the reason I dub Paul’s prolific outpourings as unique, and also suggest it’s artists like Paul who’ve redirected my attention to its worth.

Maybe you could think of a Britpop group similarly so leniently exquisite, but I always hear an edgy wailing guitar in even the most saccharine. I feel the pink moon rising, this is akin to my most favourite of Paul’s flavoursome releases, the intimate Live at Pink Moon Studios EP recorded during lockdown.

Paul Lappin

There’s a sunny side of the street narrative, in the face of challenges to wreck your optimism, apt for the mood of the sound. In a way, like Elbow’s One Day Like This. Paul levels it up a notch, though, throws his curtains wide but puts his boots on and actually goes out for a sunny ramble! I get the impression that’s when his inspiration strikes, as it feels so honest and homey! And this is the result, try it for size, and check his backlog discography too, for everyone is like this, a winner.

Paul was from Swindon, his Bandcamp bio still suggests this, but he now lives in the South of France. His output reflects the finer quality of life there, such that updating his Bandcamp bio is easy forgotten against wine, good food and music! But to note we’re supposed to review local artists, there’s a tenacious Swindon link to justify mentioning him, and when you hear his beautiful songs you’ll understand why I’m reminding you!

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CrownFest is Back!

Yay! You read it right. After a two year break, CrownFest is back at the Crown in Bishop’s Cannings. So put a big tick…

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Mojo Workin’ fo’ Autumn: Long Street Blues Club’s Next Season….

It’s when you hear those American addresses, like house number 21,456 Park Avenue, you realise Long Street in Devizes is a long street only comparable with neighbouring streets! Even then it’s only averagely longer, and seems quite short to walk along when you know three-quarters of the way down there’s world class blues acts giving it what’s for.

All hail Long Street Blues Club, home of a blues appreciation society as large as the town itself; let’s have a gander at their upcoming season, shall we?

I’m not going to jinx the clement weather by saying it, hopefully, but it will be classed as the autumn-winter season for the established juke joint within a Conservative Club, so let’s pretend the nights are not closing in and view this a preview of what’s to come when it does, okay, good for you? The fun doesn’t end in summer here, y’know?!

Thursday 10th October kicks it off, with some southern fried and heavily drunk Mississippi delta blues, when Heavy Drunk, Watermelon Slim and Leonardo Guiliani team up for an electrifying Trans-Atlantic tour and see here as why we’re so fortunate to have Long Street!  

Multi-award-winning Watermelon Slim was perhaps best summed up by the late Jerry Wexler (co-owner Atlantic Records, producer for Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin) who described him as “a one-of-a-kind, pickin’ n singing Okie dynamo.” Sons of the South soul outfit HeavyDrunk has made waves with their signature raspy vocals and Americana infused sound.

Their Mississippi delta blues, powerful gospel, and hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll energy charged their 2023 album You Don’t Know Me, which was released to raise awareness and funds for the crumbling grave of music legend Robert Johnson.

UK based independent musician, guitar player, and singer-songwriter Leonardo Guiliani joins The Mississippi Delta Blues Experience 2024 fresh off the release of his 2023 album Rogue. Produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer Tom Hambridge, Rogue showcases Guiliani’s talents inspired by the acoustic singer-songwriters and electric jam bands of the late ‘60s and the ‘70s.

It doesn’t end with this Mississippi Delta Blues Experience, for little over a week later, on Friday 18th October, the legendary Wishbone Ash will play the Corn Exchange for a Mayor’s Appeal fundraiser; that’s what you get when the mayor is the key organiser of a blues club!

Wishbone Ash embarked on the nascent progressive rock scene in 1969, far too long ago for me to be around, but if I was I like to think I’d be waving my bell-bottoms and freaking out to it with a flower in my hair. They’ve a distinctive brand of melodic rock, inspired equally by British folk traditions and American jazz and R&B, and still do it fifty years on. 

If that’s not enough to twist your temptation, support comes from our one and only Johnny B. Goode, Ruzz’s Guitar Trio, and if you’ve not heard of him you’ve not been reading Devizine enough!!

Last gig of October is on Friday 25th, grandson of the legendary RL Burnside and legend within his own right, Cedric Burnside brings his new album Hill Country Love’s UK tour to Devizes. He has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most original blues performers of his generation, and was recognized with the 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Art Award for Excellence in Music, which should be quite enough accolades for us. As with most of them, demand for this gig will be very high indeed so early booking is essential.

Things are no slow train running when we look at November either, on Saturday 2nd, following a sensational support slot with Giles Robson last year, Mississippi MacDonald makes a return by demand from the clubbers. 

English soul-blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, fronting a four piece band, Mississippi MacDonald is a six times British/UK Blues Awards and three times US Independent Blues Awards nominee signed to APM Records and appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Blues Show with Cerys Matthews. 

Yes, get in! Sunday 9th November sees Ian Siegal and band return to the club. No stranger around these parts, as part of the Birdsmen project with Jon Amor and the Docherty brothers, as a guest of Jon and within his own right, damn, I’ve mentioned it before, but Ian is the very definition of cool!

He’s the multiple British Blues Awards winner and hot tip of everyone from Mojo to Classic Rock. He’s the songwriter whose recent CD releases sound like career peaks, but are only the start. From one night to the next, he might be a solo acoustic performer or a blood-and-thunder bandleader. Siegal is known as a bluesman, but it’s just one shade in the palette of an artist who slips between continents, eras and expectations.

Saturday 16th November is the date John Otway brings his big band, and here’s one I know so many cry at me to see, but I’m yet to tick off my must-see list. Pop’s most amazing eccentric English singer-songwriter who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona, Otway is punk essence, remembered for accidentally misjudging a step in order to jump on an amplifier and sent it and him tumbling on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test!

Otway’s sixth single, the half-spoken love song Really Free reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. An appearance on the BBC’s flagship music programme Top of the Pops, where Otway & Barrett were introduced by Elton John, Otway was finally a star!

Support comes from the foot-tappin’ folk of Billy in the Lowground, a fine choice in my humble opinion.

And that’s it, save for the, (dare I say it while the sun is shining?!) Christmas Party on Saturday 21st December with The Thomas Atlas Band. Garage funk in style, his band takes in members of The Brand New Heavies and The Brothers Groove. He’s no stranger to Devizes, guesting with Jon Amor Trio’s regular Sunday session at the Southgate, returning to our answer to the O2 in his own right, and playing a gig at the club between them!

A Smile Two Bangs and a Legend support on this one, who I’ve heard about, love the name but not had the opportunity to witness for myself, but it will be Christmas party and a half, even if I don’t like to even mention the C word until December and apologise to like minded others!

Long Street Blues Club is one of those strange things if you don’t know it. Turn up, observe raffle ticket buying, check out the ham or cheese rolls on the bar, and think what have I done, is this a Saga excursion? Then correct yo’ bad self, when you witness top class blues acts from both near and as far away as possible, and realise this is the Devizes Blues Preservation Society HQ; and they sho’ got their mojos workin’.

What else is happening, dude?!

Oh Danny Boy!

Oh Danny Boy, oh, Danny Boy, they loved your boyish Eton looks so, but when ye was voted in, an all democracy wasn’t quite dying,…

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A Quick Shuffle to Swindon

Milkman hours with grandkids visiting it was inevitable a five hour day shift was all I was physically able to put into this year’s Swindon…

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Lawrence Art Society’s annual exhibition at Devizes Town Hall

Impressive, in a word, is the Lawrence Art Society’s annual exhibition at Devizes Town Hall this year, in both quality and quantity; you’ll be amazed at how many talented artists there are locally….

It runs up till Saturday, drop in even if you’ve only a passing interest in art. For there’s a good range of styles and movements depicted, from the best part of fifty local artists, one founder member of the society, Elizabeth Allen, posthumous exhibits in tribute and honour. There’s some abstract, in both paintings and copper wire and stone sculptures, yet perhaps as a whole leaning heavier towards fine art, the traditional landscapes and portraits; it’s all very Devizes!

Named after Devizes’ most famous artist, Sir Thomas Lawrence, a child prodigy whose early career began here when his parents owned the Bear Hotel, in association, the Lawrence Art Society has been running since his time, but was formally established in Devizes in 1953. Annual Membership is £20, £6 for students, they have monthly meetings and live art shows at the Conservative Club; but this is their annual showstopper, and it’s free to windowshop!

There’s a few names I’m aware of, such as Simon Bishop and Jenny Pape, but more new to me than I could possibly list, you’ll just have to pay it a visit! But I give mention not only to the lovely gentleman I chewed the ears off about Hogarth, Gillary, and Victorian Children’s illustrators, and was so wrapped up in our chat I didn’t get his name! But also David Lewis for breaking the running theme with some abstract futurism, Joy Tickell for wonderful acrylic collages, Marilyn Silvester for some colourful Chagall-eske depictions of Devizes during the market, Susan Thompson for her colourful Escher-type designs, and Helen Stanfield for that, wow, monochrome oil of a Yorkshire terrier, so cute, and I don’t care for terriers much!  

Browse the vast selection of near-on 260 pieces of artwork, with a chance to purchase, vote for your favourite, buy some greetings card prints, and gamble with a raffle ticket or two. I took a snap or two as a teaser, pay a visit to see for yourself. Devizes Town Hall is open from 9:30am-5:30pm on Friday, but the show will finish half hour earlier on Saturday, at 5pm. 

I asked the ladies on the front desk if many younger artists join the Society, to mixed responses. While even I know of a few, such as Bryony Cox of the White Chalk Gallery, with her fantastic Turner-fashioned seascapes and clouds, there’s always a risk of losing such a founded group in the future should younger artists preconceive the group as not age appropriate for them. All I can say on this is don’t overlook the experience of learned artists as they can and will help you. I myself feel rather inspired after browsing the Town Hall today, be warned!!

What else is happening?!

Talk in Code Down The Gate!

What, again?! Another article about Talk in Code?! Haven’t they had enough Devizine-styled publicity?! Are their heads swelling?!  Didn’t that crazy toothless editor catch them…

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Imberbus is running this Saturday !

Following on from last month’s email, this is a final reminder that year’s Imberbus service will be running this coming Saturday – 17th August 2024. This year there will be up to 40 vehicles in operation, providing departures every 10-15 minutes from Warminster Rail Station, starting at 9.30am. Many journeys will be operated by more […]

Imberbus is running this Saturday !

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 14th-20th August 2024

Here’s our bitesize look at what’s happening in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming week….

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Wednesday 14th

Quidditch is the sport for Kids Summer Sports at Hillworth park, Devizes this Wednesday.

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Devising Drama  for 7-11 Years, and LEGO Stop-frame Animation for 8-14 Years at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Mizizi at The Bell, Bath.

ArcTangent Festival in Bristol opens.

Thursday 15th

Opening day for the Lawrence Art Society’s Exhibition at Devizes Town Hall. Running until Saturday. 

The Ripples & Jol Rose at the Beehive, Swindon. The Little Mermaid at The Wyvern Theatre, runs until Saturday.

Friday 16th

Lost Pubs of Devizes guided tour. Devizes Camerados are at the Cheese Hall with Wiltshire Museum; help them to design a carnival banner.

Apache Cats at The Three Crowns, Devizes.

Meat Loud at the Neeld, Chippenham.

Exhibition on Screen – My National Gallery at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Band X at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Daybreakes at The Vic, Swindon. Lonely Road Band at the Beehive. Liddington Hill & King Attitude at the Castle. Men in Vests & Adriana’s Keys at Underground. 

Saturday 17th

Lego & Toy Fair at The Melksham Assembly Hall. Marty’s Fake Family at the Grapes, Melksham.

Killertones at the Southgate, Devizes.

Seend Summer Village Breakfast at Seend Community Centre. Sausage & Cider Day at the Brewery Inn, Seend Cleeve.

Famous Hangover Sessions at the Lamb, Marlborough: Rave Against the Regime, All Ears Avow, Trash Panda, Band U Like, Hooch.

Floaty Boaty Event at The Barge, HoneyStreet.

D’Ska Assassins at the Bouverie Hall, Pewsey. 

The Piggy Bank’s 3rd Birthday, Calne.

Unlock Reset Festival near Chippenham.

White Horse Military Show, Westbury

41 Fords at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Midlife Krisis Summer Family Fete in Swindon. Stop Stop at The Vic.

This Is The Kit at the Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sergeant Thunderhoof at The Tree House.

Sunday 18th

Heritage Walk of Devizes. Hen House Brides will host a pop-up shop in Devizes Town Hall giving brides-to-be a rare opportunity to browse the entire White Studio London and White Studio Curve collections and discover the dress of their dreams.

Will Edmunds at the Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.

Open Mic at the Red Lion, Lacock.

Fly Yeti Fly at The Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon from 1pm. Zambalando at GWR Park, Swindon from 3pm

Will Edmunds Band at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Blues Café Orchestra at The Bell, Bath

Monday 19th

DOCA’s youth filmmaking project Selfievaultion begins, see the poster for details on this. 

Sliders at The Bell, Bath.

Tuesday 20th

Ian Bateman Quartet for Jazz Knights, the Royal Oak, Swindon.

Kiefer Sutherland at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? It’s not that we don’t like you, it’s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure I’ve added it and let me know if not!

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A Busy Week For Lunch Box Buddy!

It was great to bump into Lunch Box Buddy in Devizes today. Last week was hectic for him; first BBC Wiltshire stopped by his…

Wither; Debut Single From Butane Skies

Whilst dispersing highly flammable hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere is not advisory,  Butane Skies is a name increasingly exploding on local circuits. The young…

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Elles Bailey – at Sound Knowedge, Marlborough

by Ben Niamor

A first outing on Saturday to Sound Knowledge for Devizes favourite Elles Bailey, whose latest album dropped Friday, and this mini tour of a handful of record stores gave us a rare intimate opportunity to enjoy an artist who’s enormous growth and success has her playing a frequently different kind of larger venue, than the small venues I first saw her in some years ago now…

Indeed she had played Cropredy the day before, and Glastonbury earlier this year..! I will be honest here, I am a fan.. have been for years. She has always surrounded herself with the most amazing musicians and today was no exception, Joe Wilkins and Demi Marriner, both close friends of hers and co writers and conspirators in the new album, and it showed, the happy ease with which they delivered the meaningful verses of a selection of fine songs from the new album, a real treat.

I already loved 1972, a stand out song partly I confess owing to my having watched the video many times.. that was shot in and around Devizes by some other incredible musicians and creatives, many of us are more than familiar with… the gorgeous humans over at Growvision.. aka Robin and Greta of Beaux Gris Gris fame. It’s a fantastic video even if you weren’t a D Town native like me.

The song is about a time without mobile phones, and all the trappings of life we think we can’t survive without though most of civilisations history has done…

Another favourite for me, as Elles does open retrospective and human warmth and truth better than most… Leave the light on – An open love letter to her husband . An open hearted reflection on how she can live her dreams, and if as the inspiration for this song dictates she arrives home late, her home will provide all the welcome and support imaginable, literally a light left on, like a home fire burning.

There’s a theme in Elles entire being, certainly all my interactions with her, a real appreciation and gratitude for all life’s opportunities, the love and support of everyone.. the record buyer and fan, of her amazing team and family.. the whole journey.

Perhaps that’s a marker, a lesson for many less wholesome people in todays music industry..? Be real and treat everyone with love and appreciation and karma will underpin your own growth..? Certainly seems to have worked here.

Anyhow, I digress… the album was gonna be called Silhouette Under a Sunset, originally… Silhouette in a Sunset – a great new song about souls who you feel have known each other before we have met in this lifetime… such is the immediate warmth or common ground.

Turn off the news – talks of being grateful for being able to lose ourselves in books, records, etc… a guilt of being able to escape the world at are worst.. summarised in being able to turn off the e-news, which of course sometimes many find they cannot.

Another truthful reflection on life.. Truth ain’t gonna save us – When you have to call the end of a relationship… the truth and conflicts of life’s harder moments.. written with Matt Owens beloved of SK of course in his own right..

Of course all this very real subject matter is wrapped in such gorgeous music, and lighter moments that it connects you with the truth and reflection that makes much of Elles music resonate so strongly with us the listener.

I talked to some new listeners exposed by this local opportunity and hardcore fans alike in the throng, and many with shirts declaring admiration for Elles and other contemporaries… We are fortunate locally we have the incredible Sound Knowledge, and many great venues… we are considered very well in this area for the love and support of it all.

To quote something Elles shared.. “ “There’s no destination.. only dreams to realise” Of course store appearance limited coloured vinyl and deluxe albums were flying out the door.. check out the album and catch Elles on tour, join the ride. Thankyou once again to Elles and Sound Knowledge for all they do.

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Marlborough, I’ve Seen Your Pants

“We can’t stop here. This is Tory country,” I chuckled while fiercely yanking the handbrake, as if Dr Gonzo was in the car. We can say that now, (wink!)

One can be infamous on Marlborough’s Facebook group by not applying sufficient handbrake on the High Street, as if K.I.T.T had a blonde moment. But I’m not here for that. I want to see their Pants….

Memories flood my neurons as I saunter to the Parade; shirking in Waitrose for a measly £2.20 per hour, hoping to get off with a goth girl outside the Dragon on New Years Eve, waiting for an older mate to return with a bottle, hiding down the alley where Victoria Wine once stood. The majority of shop facades have changed, the rest remains the same, even the most uninspiring nugget of hip hop graffiti the world over, on the wall of the alley. It’s offended the cliquey since the eighties, I checked…yep, fading but still there.

Same deal down the Parade, much the same, save The Crown is now “Dan’s,” and they’ve a posh looking cinema. Years I spent in Marlborough, no flicks, moved to Devizes where they had one, it shuts down and one opens in Marlborough. Maybe I jinxed it.

Many of those fond memories are located in the Lamb, once Vyv and Jackie’s flagship Waddies. One from the mid-nineties when we gathered to see “Moose’s new band,” which we had high hopes for, knowing the giant goth Moose Harris was in New Model Army and The Damned. Surprised but drunkenly amused upon them delivering a set of pop covers in a heavy metal fashion, whereby the theme to Bob the Builder was their showstopper!

Pants was supposed to be a one-off joke, a Marlborough Spinal Tap, but that knob jockey Jim Davidson is still touring, why not perpetually repeat their nonsensical gag? It never seems to wear thin, if it ever had any depth!

Undoubtedly the funniest interview we’ve done was with Pants, when they played the landlord’s retirement, but morso I ran it because I knew it’d be as funny as fuck, and it was..

Significant because Pants is a Lamb exclusive, a Marlborough thing. No one else would dare book them, and equally it’s likely they wouldn’t be arsed to play there! Would the new management be as inviting to this bizarre and self-deprecating ritual? Would they continue their legendary live music rep in Marlborough?

Glad to report they’ve improved on it. Less sporadic, live music is now weekly, the back of the yard has a summer ankle stage, and there’s a communal and hospitable atmosphere. Such is this community feel, the sound man for Pants, Lee Mathews has his own band supporting, The Vooz, and local legendary drummer Dan Tozer is drumming for both.

The Vooz kicks the proceedings into gear. It’s high-energy contemporary punker pop covers neatly delivered with enough gusto for four bands in one, and sprinkled with some originals, such as one about getting wasted outside Swindon’s Brunel Rooms, indicating there’s a historic penchant for the lively and swearing for swearing sake hairdressing frontman. Lee is a force of nature, providing only vocals he bounds around the stage, banters on a local level, posing for selfies with nipples on show, and generally raises a roof even if there isn’t one; a legend in his own shirt.

Yeah, archetypal are the singalong covers, Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, and a Lemonheads version of Mrs Robinson, but it’s entertainingly tongue-in-cheek and proficient; apt for what’s to come, especially the comical Kylie cover!

With anticipation brewing, Pants took their time to set up, reminding me somewhat of the Dolly Parton quote ‘it takes a lot of money to look this cheap,’ it takes Pants a lot of prep to sound this shit! I mean, they opened in the black warlock cloaks of a heavy gothic band, only to throw them off and cover Abba’s Mamma Mia with black wig, starry spandex bodysuit and black tape crosses over nipples. And I travelled…for this!

Yeah, I travelled because we share this desire for undervalued self-deprecating and ironically overstated disparagement and weirdly define it as humour. Pants are deliberately shit, that’s the joke, beneath it they’re proficient musicians but that’s the last thing they’ll confess to being. Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band did this, Spinal Tap, Barron Knights, but rarely do we see it today. Things are more lateral, pragmatic now, you’re either a great band, or a shit band pretending to be great, not the opposite.

As darkness fell over Marlborough, the town gathered to catch a glimpse of something as traditional as the Mop Fair. Pants covered every pop classic you wouldn’t want them too, Don’t You Want Me, Turning Japanese, and from Girls Aloud’s Love Machine to Sparks This Town Ain’t Big Enough of Both of Us. Tiger Feet at the finale I’ll give them, but they rolled out medleys of Kung Fu Fighting with You Sexy Thing, they used an out of time hooter for Tainted Love like it was a bloody seventies quiz show with Bob Monkhouse, they did Hey Mickey and the Theme from the Sweeny, for crying out loud, what is wrong with them?!

They tried so hard to make this gig as shit as they possibly could, but even failed to do that. The crowd lapped it up, it was highly entertaining, hilariously tongue-in-cheek, but like a kebab, you need a few pints inside you to fully appreciate the silliness of a Pants show, and being I was driving…Still, I managed more than my quota of laughs.

The Lamb rocks, the Vooz are fantastic and Pants are no Y-fronts, proper comfortable silk boxers. I’m glad I’ve seen them again after thirty plus years, and look forward to 2054 when they’ll hopefully progress from the seventies!

Meanwhile, next Saturday is another Famous Hangover Session at the pub, with a number of bands playing, worth the trip… or try a tea room with Danny K, whatever floats your boat!

Few Remaining Tickets for The Importance of Being Earnest at West Lavington Manor House and Garden

Tickets are limited and selling fast for a staged reading of Oscar Wilde’s most renowned comedy masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, performed in the glorious setting of West Lavington Manor House and garden, on Sunday 8th September 2024….

It’s undoubtedly Wilde’s magnum opus, a timeless hilarity of dissimulation getting out of control, which I cite as the influence of many classic comedy series, particularly Fawtly Towers and Rising Damp.  

It’s a promenade performance, moving from space to space, which means seating will be limited. The ‘stage’ consists of the Hall and garden of West Lavington Manor. The show promises to go on whatever the weather, so be prepared.

The Old Bag Theatre Company have assembled a superb, and unconventional cast to bring Wilde’s play to surprising life in a setting he would have adored.

All profits from the performance will be donated to The Nestling Trust,  a UK Charity established in 2013, with the support of people from a small community in Wiltshire, to give protection, and hope of a future, for destitute and abused children of Nepal, also to help provide basic healthcare and health education for people living in remote areas of the country without any medical facility. 

Performances take place on Sunday 8th September at 2pm and 6pm. The grounds will be open from Midday for browsing and picnics, camp chairs are allowed but not in the house. There will be a bar available. But remember, if you take muffins, eat them calmly!

Tickets are £20 (includes a glass of bubbly) available from HERE.

Enquiries to: oldbagtheatrecompany@gmail.com

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Hollychocs Chocolate Experiences for Autumn & Christmas Released

I can’t believe it’s been the best part of six months since my son and I’s half term chocolate making workshop at Hollychocs in Poulshot, it was so much fun and I was as excited as little Charlie Bucket! Holly has released their new program of events, their Hollychocs Experiences for the Autumn & Christmas period….

From their signature Hollychocs Experiences, to masterclasses, delicious tasting events and family friendly fun at Halloween, a Spooktacular Chocolate Experience for all ages, and two types of workshops for Christmas; there’s something for everyone.

Their first ever Christmas Tasting Evening sold out quickly last year so they’ve added two more dates to come and try before you buy, but you’ll still need to be quick, spaces are limited, this is not a Willy Wonka sized factory!

In addition to their program, which you can find here, Hollychocs has a taster session in conjunction with the Devizes Food & Drink Festival on Monday 23rd of September, which you can find here. 

These experiences are a fantastic way to learn all about the world of craft chocolate, try a new skill and they make the perfect gift for birthdays and Christmas. Find my account of the experience at a family chocolate making workshop, here. But really, if I type the word chocolate one more time…….!!

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Swindon Community Flocked to Protect our Town and it’s Residents

People from the Swindon community flocked to protect their town and it’s residents, in anticipation of the rumoured far right anti-immigration march through their town today….

With suggestions of a large violent gang threatening their asylum hotels, mosques and immigration services, they guarded all the possible targets in large numbers from 2pm until 8.30pm. 

It became clear that the rumoured attack wasn’t going to happen but the community spirit was high. New friendships were forged and the movement grows.

One of the people at the counter demonstration said, “There is no way we would allow those violent thugs to intimidate our community. Swindon is a multicultural, welcoming town. We wanted to show our solidarity and strength. It was heartening to hear of the anti racism movement across the country outnumber the far right. We had eyes all over our town, covering all areas, and a great mobilisation model. We can call numbers at short notice and will continue to do so while there is a threat.”

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Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 7th – 13th August 2024

Here’s what we’ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming week….

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Get Your Event Listed Here FREE – Please Donate If You Can

Wednesday 7th

Acoustic Jam @ The Southgate, Devizes

Chippenham Museum Creative Writing Group – Maud’s Way
Little Piccolos (3 Months-5 Years)
Pottery Painting (12-19 Years)

TRAGEDY: ALL METAL TRIBUTE TO THE BEE GEES + SURREAL PANTHER @ The Vic, Swindon

LGMX @ The Bell, Bath

Thursday 8th

Family Workshop: Victorian Portrait Photography brought to life! @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Sparkly Singers
*SOLD OUT* SASS Circus Skills Workshop (5-13 Years)
A Different Thread – Trio

Friday 9th

Summer Crafts 4 Kids – run by Wiltshire Museum’s Youth Panel, Devizes

Rock the Tots – Summer Party! (0-10 Years)

The Corinthian Causals @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

The Navigator (U) with live piano score by Meg Morley

CREATURE CREATURE @ The Vic, Swindon

Echo Den @ the Beehive, Swindon

Pete Allen’s Jazz Band – CANCELLED

Tangled up in Blues Festival @ Radford Farm, Somerset

Hillbilly Hootenanny
Ion Maiden – LIVE AT THE TREE HOUSE

Saturday 10th

Camera Amnesty @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Family Workshop: Victorian Portrait Photography brought to life! @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Rabbit Rabbit | A Tribute to Chas & Dave

Muddy Manninen & Patsy Gamble Band @ The Southgate, Devizes

James Mitchell @ the Three Crowns, Devizes

Seend Fete

The Vooz & Pants @ the Lamb, Marlborough

Mid-Life Krisis @ The Barge, HoneyStreet

https://thecivictrowbridge.co.uk/tc-events/fleetwood-shack/

The Radio Makers @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

WIZARDS OF OZ (THE OZZY OSBOURNE TRIBUTE) @ The Vic, Swindon

Progressive @ the Beehive, Swindon

Luke Philbrick & the Solid Gold Skiffle Invasion @ the Castle, Swindon

Kavus Torabi & The Witching Tale – Live At The Tree House

Sunday 11th

Innes Sibun Trio @ The Southgate, Devizes 5pm

Cooper Creek @ The Richard Jeffries Museum, Swindon 1pm

Swindon Palestine Solidarity March: Regent Circus, Swindon, 11:30

HORIZON LINE @ The Vic, Swindon

Innes Sibun Trio @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

Rag Mama Rag @ The Bell, Bath

Monday 12th

Chippenham Film Club August feature

Piotr Jordan @ The Bell, Bath

Tuesday 13th

Singing Day (7-16 Years)

CALLUM SMITH ORGAN TRIO @ Jazz Knights, the Royal Oak, Swindon

Lonely Tourist @ The Bell, Bath

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? It’s not that we don’t like you, it’s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure I’ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

Ruzz Up The Gate!

I was intending to start this along the lines of “you don’t need me to provide another reason why I love The Southgate,” but this is Devizes. Being I overheard a conversation between a person by the ticket machine in the carpark, and their friend at their car three yards away, which went: “gotta put yer registration in, int ya,” to the reply “you can get it off the number plate,” I reconsidered, maybe some do need a reminder!

Thing was, festival after festival, I was supposed to have a weekend off, grandkids visiting, but the temptation of Ruzz Guitar standing in for Jon Amor for his monthly residency was too great to resist, coupled with the fact I needed a break from drawing Paw Patrol characters, litter-picking Harbio off the sofa and being a human climbing wall.

In no time at all I was sighing relief at our dependable Gate, replacing Peppa for a pint of Rosie’s Pig; my guilty pleasure. Oh yes, you wanted yet another reason why I love the Southgate, at least a reminder; because even if you’ve stayed in for the weekend, it’s never too late to have a change of heart, Sunday afternoon sessions from 5pm are equally as satisfying as those of the Saturday night.

You knew this, I’m sure. Jon, with the fantastic drum and bass duo, Tom Gilkes and Jerry Soffe have turned this faithful and friendly tavern into a divine monthly juke-joint for many moons now, with guests the calibre you’d gladly fork out a ticket for. They’re also the kind of gig which appeals to the guests, nearly always returning within their own right to the Southgate.

So with Saturday a guaranteed hoedown with Marlborough’s blues giants, Barrelhouse, for a Sunday with Jon unable to attend, the cavalry was called in. There’s some great guitarists in the south-west, there’s the sublime few, and then there’s Ruzz, so good they named the guitar after him. In America they’re calling our regular Johnny B Goode the “Pistol from Bristol,” and the boot fits.

They got our mojo working for an encore, preceded by the perfect execution of Ruzz’s slide guitar interpretation of Armstrong’s Wonderful World, and my personal favourite original, Sweet as Honey. It was a superb finale to a spellbinding set, the likes you can always rely on with Ruzz, fronting his trio, Blues Revue or, evidently, Tom & Jerry too.

The guitar is what Ruzz is a virtuoso of, Gretsch knows this and endorsed him. If he was a chocolatier he’d be endorsed by Teuscher, if he was a stamp collector it would be a stamp collection worth seeing! What a fantastic afternoon at the Southgate, again!

Ruzz is back in Devizes Friday October 18th with his Trio, in support of legends Wishbone Ash at the Corn Exchange, it’s the first gig with profits going to the Mayoral Appeal; a welcome advantage to having a Mayor who runs a blues club!! Tickets here.

What else is occurring?!

IDLES’ at Block Party

With their only UK shows of the year quickly approaching, the 1st and 2nd August will see IDLES’ and music festival Block Party take over…

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Canute’s Plastic Army; Hollow Children of Men

New single out today from Swindon-based gothic-folk duo, Canute’s Plastic Army, and it’s three yeses from me…Can one person give three yeses? I’m way past caring….

If you’ve loved the previous single Wild, like me, or caught them gigging, usually in Swindon (but they did grace us with their presence at the Southgate in the spring,) Hollow Children of Men is a seven-minute chronicle from Anish Harrison & Neil Mercer, chock full of enchanting wisps and ethereal acoustic moods. It rises and falls, it’s epic, and if it’s not a magnum opus, I want to be there when they release such a song.

It’s the kind of song which takes you on a journey, through darkened woods, in mist, and leaves you spellbound, unable to leave the forest it drifted you into…. And if that all sounds like whimsical wordplay for the sake of flattery, take a listen for yourself why don’t you?!

Homestead; New Festival Coming to the South West from Husband and Wife team

A brand new festival will be coming to the South West countryside in 2025, from a husband and wife team with years of experience across some of the UK’s best-loved festivals…..

Homestead is the culmination of a decade of dreaming for Will and Jess Lardner, a Bristol based couple who have been running and working across many of the country’s most revered and groundbreaking festivals. Having honed their crafts creating incredible experiences for others, they are now launching their own creation and taking everything they have learned to create the perfect balance of hedonism, escapism and relaxation.

Combining music, food, comedy and luxury camping, Homestead will be an intimate weekend, exclusively for those over 25, allowing attendees a rare opportunity to get away from it all and take time for themselves down in the beautiful West Country. For those that want to let their hair down, there will be an impressive lineup of artists to dance the weekend away, whilst those wanting to reconnect with themselves can attend mind-broadening talks and wholesome workshops. Food will play a central role in Homestead, with a roster of respected chefs offering up delicious creations that will make you feel truly looked after with every bite. Comedy will be a late night, rowdy affair with some of the UK’s best comedians coming along for the ride. 

Speaking about Homestead, founder Will said, “We are creating something for those of us who are growing tired of the suffocating crowds and the homogenised festival landscape. Homestead will deliver a highly curated programme of music, food and comedy with the added bonus of something not usually associated with a festival… great service and an intimate crowd. We don’t want to say too much for now, but we can promise Homestead will be full of personal touches and amazing experiences!”

John Rostron the CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) had this to say, “It’s wonderful to see the green shoots of a new festival emerging, offering some hope for new energy and new audiences after one of the toughest periods for independent festivals that we’ve ever known. There’s an enormous appetite for festivals in the UK and what drives that demand is the refreshing of ideas, new innovations, and the constant joy in creativity that festivals like Homestead offer to everyone.” 

Pre-registration for Homestead is now open, with more information being revealed over the coming months. To be the first in the know, sign up www.homesteadfestival.co.uk

What Else is Occurring?

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Sing Another Love Song with Rosie Jay

Second impressive single from young Salisbury singer-songwriter Rosie Jay is released today. Sing Another Love Song; a sound of the summer…..

Her debut breakup track I Don’t Give a Damn, had an interesting hook, this has too, but is far more optimistic, and eternally beguiling. It is, technically, the better of the two, revealing a potential for eminence in its confident and outstanding delivery. 

If it hints of connotations the infatuation of the theme is one-sided on the part of the author, it’s open-ended for interpretation; maybe the love interest simply doesn’t share their passion for a good love song?! That’s their issue! 

For that’s what this is, breezy and cool, acoustic and pop-folky, with the perfect flowery scent of Kirsty MacColl in both theme, musically and vocally. Such is the magic of local producer Jolyon Dixon, to filter the inner superlative of an upcoming artist and nurture it to the forefront. And in such you’ll hear a similarity with Rosie to his duo Illingworth with John Smith, should you’ve caught them on our live music circuit. Then again, the whole gypsy-esque vibe, there’s hints of Irish, and I’m awarding the Corrs as another comparison; as with MacColl, these are high accolades indeed!

Here this now, it’ll brighten up your day. Yet, gorgeous as this song is, with the blossoming potential it displays, I believe it’ll be rudimentary in a short period of time, and the best of Rosie Jay is yet to come. You need to be here to hear it when it does. 

what else is occurring?!

Clock Radio Turf Out The Maniacs

The first full album by Wiltshire’s finest purveyors of psychedelic indie shenanigans, Clock Radio, was knocked out to an unsuspecting world last week. It’s called…

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Devizes Food & Drink Festival 2024 Program Announced

We love Devizes, we love food, and we love drink too! What’s not to like when the Devizes Food & Drink Festival launch, (or could we say lunch?!) their program of events for this year?!

HollyChocs

The Festival runs from 21st-29th September, in which during that time you could be tasting tucker from Italy to Ukraine, the latter from Soup-Chick, take your dog for a meal, or your teddy bear, lunch in a old mill, explore the realm of gastronomy with Professor Charles Spence, taste the delights our local chocolatier Holly, try hot dishes in the safety of the fire station (!!), sample what the folk who built Stonehenge had for dinner, and the usual unusual meals in various locations and lots more besides!

SoupChick

On the eve of the festival, Saturday 21st September, the free Street Food & Artisan Market, in the Market Place from 10am – 4pm, with music by Strungout Ukuleles. And the festival finishes (or should I say fishes?…no, I’ve clearly taken the joke too far now, and must punish myself with an ice cream) with the World Food event at the Corn Exchange on Sunday 29th from 12:30pm. This is the other freebie event where you can enjoy tasters of the flavours of the world for less than £1 per portion . The festival promises foods from Austria to Zimbabwe, exploring real home cooking from local residents who have far flung roots.

I’ve personally never attended this grand finale World Food gig, yet, and get told off by foodie Dora every year for it! I will try extra this time, Dora, honest!

Get the details of all the events and how to book them, Here.

Plus, of course, I will add them all to our event calendar next update, I just need a fish finger sandwich first, all food chat has given me an appetite.

What else is occurring?!

Thieves Debut EP

Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, aka Thieves, the wonderful local folk vocal harmony quartet of uplifting bluegrass into country-blues has a…

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Cotswold Water Park to be Renamed

Here’s a prime example as to why I could never be a councillor…..

Cotswold District Council will vote on changing the name of Cotswold Water Park to Cotswold Lakes because visitors turn up expecting water slides, being the term is usually used for water theme parks.

How two dimensional is that thinking? Imagine having to sit through meetings with people so utterly boring that’s the best solution they could come up with, when the potential here is staring them in the face. A million people visit the water park annually, many of them willing to pay for access to a water theme park they mistakenly thought that it was…hello? Earth to Cotswold District Council….

Instead, they’ll probably spend thousands on graphic design and signage changes, when all they’ve gotta do to keep the name is install some bloody water slides, and get rich very quickly!

Matthew Millet, development officer at the Trust, said the name was “never fit for purpose” and that it is “about time” a new name was found to reflect what the lakes really offer. Now, that’s thinking outside the box; someone wiped the cobwebs from the cogs of their minds!

“Fun” must have a different definition for those councillors to mine. You could section off a tiny area of the lakes, you could give the people what they want, what they thought they were turning up in their armbands and Speedos for, or you could just carry on as you were, hoping a carp will take the bait!