ecology – devizine.com

Girls, girls, girls, we love them here at Devizine, especially our esteemed all-female local supergroup The Female of the Species. 2024 will be their ninth annual fundraiser, they announced details of it this week; yay! The grand total raised over the years must be incalculable, has won them Civic Awards and thanks from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. But what is more, every event is a classic rock n pop n reggae n soul cover showstopper of such breathtaking proportions, I call it unmissable!

The Female of the Species are local girl power on fire; five ravishing frontwomen of five local bands, all of whom I fail every year to get any of their phone numbers! All working together in perfect union, with hints of naughty bantering and quality support acts. Jules Moreton of Trowbridge’s Train to Skaville, Nicky Davis from People Like Us and The Reason, Julia Greenland from Soulville Express, Claire Perry from Big Mamma’s Banned, Charmaigne Andrews from Siren, and the unforgettable Train to Skaville saxophonist, Karen Porter. All being amazing performers in their own right, together they’re an unsurpassable force which appears more harmonic with each year that passes.

Despite having obligations to their individual bands, they put their all into this trailblazing fundraiser, and they come together bang in the middle of Trowbridge, Melksham and Devizes, at Seend Community Hall, on the Saturday 21st September. Tickets are on sale, HERE, for a snip at £15.

This year we gather to raise funds for Trowbridge preschool Rainbow Early Years. They have only months to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds or face potential closure. Wiltshire Council have said the building it leases is “beyond economical repair.”

Rainbow Early Years has been a registered charity since 1993 and currently has 41 children enrolled, aged between two and four years old. Wiltshire Council are offering 25% of the cost of the building, the remaining needs to be found in order to keep the preschool open.

Parent and school volunteer, Cayla Harle told the BBC, “I came here as a child. My twins came here last year, and my little boy Arthur, now comes here too. (I feel) absolutely heartbroken. This place means so much, the staff here are incredible, they don’t deserve it.”

Manager Hayley Galliers told BBC Radio Wiltshire that she is unsure what exactly the problem with the building is. “Wiltshire Council said to us there’s an issue with the roofing, the electrics and the flooring. We’ve recently passed our health and safety inspection, the guy who did it said the flooring is absolutely fine. We’ve recently had our electrics done and also had our roofing repaired, so I just don’t see what the problem is.” Despite several requests Miss Galliers said the council has been unwilling or unable to provide her with the latest survey report, which was completed in 2022.

Councillor Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, said “We have shared the contents of the survey with Rainbow Early Years but not the actual survey. There is a great amount of detail in the condition survey which would need to be explained, but we are happy to share this and talk through the details with Rainbows.”

Jules Moreton of Female of the Species told us, “when Julia and I met up with the charity, the staff were all really concerned about their jobs.”

We wish Rainbow Early Years all the very best with their fundraising efforts, but one thing is for sure, The Female of the Species will give it a great boost, and have a whole lot of fun doing it! So be there, get your tickets HERE.