Renowned professor and historian, David Olusoga will be heading to Frome’s Cheese & Grain on 12 January 2024 to speak on ‘the state of the British Union and why black history matters’….
History is now front-page news, and is contested as never before. Statues have fallen and the reputations of great men have been called into question. In the upcoming talk David Olusoga will examine why history matters, delve into the causes of the ‘history wars’ and question where they might lead us.
David Olusoga is an historian, writer and broadcaster. He is the author of ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’, which was long-listed for the Orwell Prize, shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize and won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize. As Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester, he is an expert at examining what history reveals about contemporary society and has regularly contributed to the Observer, The Voice, and BBC History Magazine. A BAFTA-winning filmmaker, he is also a contributor to the Oxford Companion to Black British History. In 2019 was awarded an OBE for services to history and community integration.
He is known for presenting the BBC show ‘A House Through Time’ and has recently launched a new BBC series ‘Union’ which explores national identity, social class and inequality. Shining a light on our fractured modern society through the lens of the past, the series exposes the fault lines that still divide the UK.
Fans can catch David speaking at Frome’s Cheese and Grain this January, and he will also be signing books at the event. Full details below and tickets available now HERE.
A quick one from me today, offering our congratulations to our new writer, Helen Edwards from Devizes, who read out her poem “Motherhood,” on BBC Wiltshire this week on James Thomas’s Upload show. “It was fun,” she told us, “except my phone started ringing!”
Listen here from the BBC website, or Soundcloud link, here. I love writing, but poems, hum, something about bacon, not to mention I’m an absolute bag of nerves on radio! The article on the Bournemouth Writing Festival Helen mentioned is here too, and this one worked both ways, also inspiring Helen to write. Well done you, and we look forward to hearing some more soon!
Images: Jess Worrow Ah, for the connotations of US drive-in movie theaters, now in decline over the pond, but embedded as characteristic romantic americana; the rock n roll era, waking up little Suzie, and Danny Zuko making his move on Sandy while a monster movie plays on a giant screen in the background. It was…
I can be sent an album, review it because I love it, and put the artists atop of my cognitive must-see list. Although the list will grow as time progresses, I’m the elephant with a knotted trunk, awaiting some legendary local venue to announce, yeah, we’ve got these guys coming…… In this case the legendary…
by Ian Diddams images by Simon Hoy This tragi-comic play, set in 1660s London, focuses on the first English actresses allowed on stage after the Restoration. It explores the lives, struggles and camaraderie of five women navigating a male-dominated world, dealing with sexual exploitation, ageing, and the fight for artistic freedom. Bawdily funny yet profound,…
Would you dare to join Wiltshire & Bath Air Ambulance at their airbase on Friday 30 October 2026 for an unforgettable Firewalk Challenge? Feel the buzz, face your fears, and experience the ultimate adrenaline rush as you walk barefoot across hot embers beneath the autumn night sky – all while supporting Wiltshire & Bath Air…
If it’s not unusual for Wiltshire singer-songwriter Ruby Darbyshire to break out the bagpipes at a gig, it’s often for a solo stint of piping. Yet Ruby continues to experiment with ways she can merge piping into her music, and this, recorded last weekend at Ilfracombe Maritime Festival, shows Ruby at her best, backed with…
by Ian Diddams images by Mike Stevens This week marks 25 years since 9/11 (11 September 2001), when the world awoke to the news that Al Qaeda hijackers had flown two commercial airliners into the Twin Towers, causing their collapse and a devastating loss of life. In 2006, British troops were deployed to Helmand Province;…
If spring saw Swindon’s premier rock trio I See Orange breaking new ground on a US tour, autumn brings with it their first full length album, Pining For Apollo; prepare… I See Orange come at you loud and proud. It’s driving rock versus edgy grunge, but unafraid to test the boundaries of either subgenre as…
Congratulations to Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts, who announced yesterday that they’ve been awarded a substantial National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England…. This is amazing news for everyone in Devizes, on the day of their carnival, which in recent years required Devizes Town Council to subside it after years of Arts Council cuts prevented…
Looking at the evidence presented by the media on the Shayne Hambakachere case in Chippenham, unless there is something we’re not being told I’m of the opinion there has been a serious miscarriage of justice. I spoke to Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson about this terrible outcome….. Shayne Hambakachere was a 16-year-old aspiring bricklayer and a…
With an AI-powered poster so excruciating I cannot bring myself to show it here, this year’s Wiltshire Music Awards announce the lineup for their ceremony. Should we judge a book by its cover?! The event looks great, but the AI epidemic has infected this, and is so cringeworthy it doesn’t invite attention, which is a…
Writer, poet, TV & Film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival, Henry Normal brings his new tour, Collected Poems and Other Landfill, to The Assembly Rooms in Devizes on Friday 3rd November.….
In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television, credits roll like the ultimate résumé. He co-wrote and script edited the multi-award-winning Mrs Merton show and the spin off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family. With Steve Coogan he co-wrote the BAFTA winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan’s Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible and all three of Steve’s live tours and the film The Parole Officer.
Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1990, Henry executive produced all and script edited many of the shows of its 17-and-a-half-year output during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar nominated film Philomena, I believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geof, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.
Since retiring in April 2016, Henry has written and performed eight BBC Radio 4 shows combining comedy, poetry, and stories about family. His tenth show A Normal Home will be recorded on the 18th November 2022 for transmission on the 20th December.
In April 2018, Two Roads publishers released his book of memoirs ‘A Normal Family’ which was written with his wife Angela Pell, drawing on his family experience. It immediately became a best seller on Amazon and has already been reprinted.
Henry performs poetry at Literature Festivals around the UK and has eleven poetry books available from Flapjack Press including the latest entitled Collected Poems Vol.2.
He was recently given an honorary doctorate of letters by Nottingham Trent University, another by Nottingham University and has a beer and a bus named after him in Nottingham!
Support for Henry Normal’s show comes from very special guest British actor, comedian, musician, novelist, and playwright Nigel Planer, perhaps best known for his role as Neil in the BBC comedy The Young Ones and Ralph Filthy in Filthy Rich & Catflap. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including original casts of Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Doors at 7.30pm, on Friday 3rd November. Tickets (£17.50 + booking fee) are available now HERE.
The Wharf Theatre production presents an electrifying confrontation between artistic truth and political authority, with a content warning! Howard Barker’s Scenes from an Execution is…
While The Hebrew Bible depicts women in composite roles, from submissive domestic positions in a patriarchal society to powerful figures of leadership excelling moral courage,…
Nearly September, time to sew those name tags onto school uniforms. Still, loads to entertain you throughout the month. I’ve exhausted our ever-updating event calendar,…
Formed just two years ago at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury, award-winning four-piece youth band, 5 Nights at Adyans, look set to release their highly-anticipated…
September is a week away; parents will be brushing off school uniforms, but Devizes blues fans won’t be dusting their brooms, because Long Steet Blues…
Whoa! What happened last night at the trusty Three Crowns?! What happened last night at the Three Crowns has clearly happened before, and happens most…
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