Two years ago we fondly reviewedI’m Ready Now, a debut EP from Bath’s Poppy Rose. I praised her unique take, her thoughtful prose and intelligent metaphors, but it was a collection of songs each with separate thoughts. Poppy’s new EP, Let’s Go Swimming is on another level, has a singular theme throughout, and a certain sound that relates, whilst also massively improving on uniqueness, prose and metaphor…..
The cover suggests Poppy likes swimming, especially when she was younger, therefore the writings are whimsical reflections on childhood, and the sound interprets the emotions and innocence of a visit to the swimming baths, perhaps with hidden metaphors, perhaps not! Nothing is forced upon you here, that option is left entirely up to the listener; all you need is some goggles.
The running order presents a timelined narrative. The opening tune is motivational, upbeat joyful pop, the excitement when the suggestion of a trip to the pool is accepted. The second is a playful rap duet featuring Moritz Finn Kleffmann (Finn, Prince of Whales,) and amusingly reflects on the joys of being in the pool. It’s lots of splishing, sploshing fun, returning you to a blissful childhood state of purity.
Now Poppy has reverted you to a childlike state, you’re a kid again, and enjoying the moment. But do you remember how it was, mates, showing off, diving in, and you’ve not conquered that fear of taking the first leap? The third tune of four calms the excitement with a moody ambient reflection of overcoming your fears; Dive represents doubt in your abilities, and peer pressure, sublimely. You loved it after you took that first plunge, didn’t you? And that is precisely what you must do with this EP, trust in Poppy!
Once the opening excitement has waned by the realisation you didn’t break any water speed records, as you imagined you would have, the acceptance of a good time regardless, and the fact you gave it your best, there’s a sleepy finale; young Poppy is tired, and wants to go home, and the music perfectly reflects the mood and sentiment, to the point a cascade of afterthoughts will waterslide through your mind, of those wonderful days of being taken swimming as a child, or taking your own children swimming.
It is, in a word, joyful, but brilliantly encompassing too. A wonderful take on a simple everyday activity, rolled into a running concept, a diary entry, and delivered with a simple sound of early electronica meets acoustic work, which exquisitely matches the theme. What I love about this is a child would relish with incorruptibility at its lucidity and playful imagination, while an adult would do likewise, just nostalgically. And in this, I cannot compare it to anything else other than the mighty whimsical rapper, Gecko.
Pass me my water-wings, I really fancy a quick dip myself after listening to that!
The Devizes Arts Festival is now in its 40th year and, as ever, seems to be in robust health. Marking the anniversary with 30 wide-ranging events across two weeks in several venues in and around the town, here’s yet another example of D-Town continuing to punch well above its weight in the area of the Arts…..
Whilst there are lots of big, headlining events (see link below to DAF’s website), there’s lots of other more intimate, and interactive, things going on too. Because it’s not just big bricks you need to build a wall, it’s the quality of the mortar to bond those bricks into something really solid. The theme, if there is one, of many of these smaller events is about getting involved or “have a go”. Well Devizine, as you lovely people well know, is always up for a bit of a challenge, so I thought I’d pitch in to three literary-type events this week. Being no stranger to the publishing world myself, I decided that, apart from listening to one of the UK’s most prolific fiction and screen writers, I’d cast an eye over two things I’ve previously had a go at myself – memoir-writing, and ghost-writing. What could possibly go wrong? You never know – I might actually learn something.
First up on Monday was Bath Spa’s Steve Tuffin, who led a very practical class on how to go about writing a personal memoir, or indeed how to approach any form of creative writing. Surrounded by some wonderful sepia-tinted historical photos on the walls of the Cheese Hall (plenty of subject-matter there), Steve led an engaging session. In what could have been a dry, dusty and boring subject (rather like my good self), Steve presented a very lively, interesting and, yes, absorbing couple of hours. Apart from some great tips, techniques and tools, there was plenty of good discussion and three different short practical writing exercises.
One of the interesting debates, especially in the light of modern politics and celebrity “voices”, concerned the cross-shading between factual/ absolute “truth” and the personal/ relative viewpoint of “my truth”. The stories weaved by Trump and his cohorts, Raynor Winn’s “The Salt Path” and the Harry/ Meghan psycho-drama, are all evidence enough that “memoir” and “memory” can often be poles apart, thus melding the different worlds of fact and fiction.
Steve cantered through a number of techniques (starting small, finding your voice, controlling the speed, being brave, reading out loud, finding a way in etc), but the key lesson that came out time and time again was the need to “postpone perfection”: get what you want to say down on the page as quickly as possible, then re-draft (many times), edit, and polish. Clearly a technique that we at Devizine have already (ahem) been practising for many years!
Later on Monday evening, the venue switched to much larger Corn Exchange, where a lively audience of about three hundred turned out on a rainy night to hear Becky Grey interview the prolific and versatile author and screen-writer Anthony Horowitz. Responsible for writing scripts for Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War, as well as the Alex Rider teen spy series, two modern Sherlock Holmes novels and three James Bond continuation novels, Horowitz is no stranger to hard work and all the tricks and tools of fiction writing.
Becky didn’t have to work too hard to get the man talking: Horowitz proved to be a loquacious and captivating raconteur. He had plenty of anecdotes and examples to give, peppering his replies with humour and witty asides. Having known he wanted to be an author since the age of ten, discovering that he had both the right skills and a vivid imagination, he was soon set upon the career which has now made him famous. Declaring himself a great fan of Agatha Christie and her skill at plotting, by planting the clues to the “solution” but without giving away the answer before the very last twist, and deliberately laying false trails, Horowitz showed himself to be entirely engaged in, and engrossed by, the techniques of the popular fiction-writer.
His line on the use of AI was that it was a useful, but a clearly limited tool, to be employed with care and discretion, and to understand its limits. He said that he used AI simply as a research assistant, a search engine to fill in the gaps, simply to save time on researching factual background information, but never to do any actual “writing” that could end up in any of his books or scripts.
And that knotty subject that had emerged during the earlier session in the afternoon, the frequent non-alignment between “my truth” and factual reality, came up again for some more analysis. The Trumpian world-view, together with a brief commentary of the recent Sturgeon/ Murrell embezzlement fandango were subjected to some light-hearted, but laser-sharp, critique.
Horowitz revealed that he had no set daily “routine” for his writing, that he was useless at reading his own work (for audiobooks), that “cosy crime” was a misnomer (because murder is too horrible to ever be cosy), that he can’t write poetry or romance (his wife had told him that he could never write about a subject that he had no experience of), and that over his career he had systematically killed off every single character who had ever been nasty to him (well, their fictional personas at least!).
After the 45-minute session, Becky opened the floor to audience Q&A for twenty minutes, after which there was plenty of action out front at the book-signing session. Overall, a very entertaining and engaging evening from an author at the top of his game.
Finally (on Tuesday afternoon), to complete the final layer of this sandwich of literary delights, I turned to BBC Sport’s Becky Grey herself. In an event sponsored by Wadworth, and held in the wonderfully historic surroundings of Devizes Museum, she spoke about how she had started her career in ghost-writing books and newspaper columns for celebrity sports stars. And the answer was – almost by accident. She zig-zagged her way towards it until, like Anthony Horowitz the previous evening, she suddenly discovered that she had a flair for writing, and that her subject-matter (sports and sports-people) was totally engaging. She seems to have never looked back.
Becky talked of the various sports personalities she’d worked with, and took us through the steps and techniques for tackling that kind of work. Interestingly she hit many of the same themes and techniques that Steve Tuffin had mentioned the previous day (including just getting the first draft down on paper, refining and editing, picking out the real story etc). In answer to questions, she also talked about handling the tricky “factual truth” versus “my truth” debate (by challenging, and with a lot of tact!), payment models, red lines, and copyright.
And finally – yes you’ve guessed it – there was a short exercise, another chance to “have a go”. And, of course, a book-signing. Another engaging and interesting session.
So there you have it – three events over two days, vastly different in some ways, but nicely inter-connected in others. And did I learn anything? Ah – that would be telling!
Anyways, onwards and upwards, with still plenty of great stuff to come over the next ten days, both ticketed and free. The Devizes Arts Festival continues until the night of Sunday 14th June at various venues around the town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk
Featured Image: Gail Foster. Features extracts from reviews by Andy Fawthrop, Ian Diddams and Madelaine Blake. Does it ever stop?! The weekend is upon us…
Get ready for an unforgettable family day out as Circus Cortex BizZzar brings its award-winning Big Top spectacular to Devizes from 9–12 July 2026….. Performing…
CrownFest at The Crown in Bishops Cannings is making a fantastic comeback this July with a stellar lineup, particularly supporting local acts, begging the question,…
A wife cooked her husband on Thursday evening in Devizes. I watched the whole thing unfold, but would have politely passed off any offering of a plate, in favour of my funky KitKat Chunky (three for a quid at Derek’s Deals!) What do you know? I’m way too much like Kenneth for my own liking, for after all, the way to a man’s stomach is……
You can get ice cream at Devizes’ wonderful Wharf Theatre, but not at a dress rehearsal, which is what this was; my apologies if the headline deliberately deceived you! You are here now, and might as well read about me sneaking in my own snack, to watch this wicked black comedy from the writer of The Nativity film series, Debbie Isitt. Opening night is Monday 18th May and the final night is Saturday, 23rd.
Directed by Alison Warren, The Wife Who Cooked Her Husband may have the conclusion given away in the title, but the lead up to it is an unnerving watch with poignantly satirical dialogue. Set in either the late seventies or early eighties, a time when the practices of patriarchy were being questioned via feminism for a younger generation, their elders upheld the traditions of married life. Ergo, for a middle-aged chauvinist to “part exchange” his older model wife, might find himself undone and exposed by his newer model’s more modern perceptions of marriage.
There’s only three characters in this play, sitting around a dinner table. Flashbacks builds a devilish narrative of a cheating husband, how it emotionally affects his ex-wife, and the new wife too. Jessica Bone plays the ex-wife, Hilary, vividly. The focal point of the play is her building concerns for her marriage, and realisation her suspicions were right. Defining her plight is the emotional rollercoaster which justifies her revenge.
Louisa Davidson is Laura, the scandalous, younger, hedonistic mistress, and she plays it with a realistic front. But as the play delves deeper into Laura’s psyche, and her expectations from her marriage, whilst more radically feministic, are of equal burden to Kenneth, the happy-go-lucky fellow, caught in this love triangle of his own making.
It becomes clear the antagonist was never Laura. Kenneth is the lovable charmer, a gluttoness Elvis fan. Hardly a master of deception, he fulfills his desires uncaringly; the basic caricature of an eighties lad with Peter Pan syndrome; me starting this review with what I ate during the show might well be proof! If Jessica’s abject and sentimental monologues are the backbone of the play, they’re contrasted by Kenneth’s playful ignorance, and therein lies the comedy, dark as it may be.
Andy Bennett plays Kenneth with comic splendour. One who gets his dinner at home but his love elsewhere, and at this successful beginning there’s a scene of visual comedy gold, as the moment of him ingeniously switching from Hilary to Laura delights him. Once reality takes hold, holes in his lies are exposed, and whilst his thoughts on the matter are exposed too, they’re not nearly as nuanced as either Hilray’s or Laura’s. One could argue a writer creates more realistic characters of their own gender, and in this Kenneth’s characteristics are flatter. Another argument is, of course, that’s the fundamental difference between the genders!
Here is a play which either gender can enjoy, and it is very enjoyable, but after-thoughts might some cause healthy debate! That’s what makes this a great show. The production may not be the best I’ve seen at The Wharf, though that’s a high pedestal, but three days later I’m still pondering its details and the questions it raises; it’s a grower.
While it might appeal more to women, the tensions and stress on relationships caused by an affair should alarm the man more, and they should see it if only to find sympathy for the mess they would create, following their desires without consideration. Young men preaching hyper-masculinity and this manosphere concept, should note this play proves these ideas were standard not so long ago, and didn’t work back then. Because, and here’s the real hitter, Hilary ponders at the conclusion, Kenneth has decidedly average levels of chauvinism, passive with it, and is atypical rather than extreme, but still he’s a manipulator and cheat who deserved his comeuppance.
The macabre ending suggested by the title is therefore expected, but the wait for Kenneth’s fate and Hillary’s justifications are more intensely meaningful than the concussion. While this play is of a simple setup, with a simple and common premise, the more its deeper meanings roll over in my mind, the more I accept that The Wife Who Cooked her Husband is a must-see.
Summer Solstice in Wiltshire; it’s a crowd-puller, but even forty years after the Battle of the Beanfield and decades of attempted commercialisation, it remains a…
No jumping bandwagon election articles from us this week; we’ve had no election here, move along if that’s what you came here looking for! But, what were our Wiltshire Councillors up to on election day, instead of temptingly campaigning with a bag of peanut M&Ms outside polling stations, or nervously twitching in their seats?! We thought we’d ask them…..
Note; we thought we’d ask them for fun, hoping for an amusing response…. These are councillors, though, the real McCoy, I didn’t hold out much hope. Not that they couldn’t be amusing, you understand?! No, silly, I just prayed some might be daring/crazy enough to actually answer!
I desperately despatched a dodgy message on the day, to a few we know and like. No point in asking Reform councillors; too busy painting roundabouts and shouting at hotels, I’d expect no more. National result for them though; who’d thought swapping empathy for anger, and accountability for a blame game would make such an appealing prospective?!
“Stop thar boats,” is all they’ve got; Swindon is landlocked, nincompoops! What, are they coming across Coate Water in a paddleboat now?! Deform took Penhill, Pinehurst and everything else in Swindon beginning with a P; like Primark. You do realise a local councillor isn’t Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, right?! Unfortunately for you, they approve shed extensions, there’s little they can do to stop a boat.
Anyway, such was the wording in the message those few who I sent it to probably thought my phone was pinched by Michael McIntyre. Perhaps they shampooed the dog, or went to Ikea and brought a nice, fluffy cushion for their safe seat, I wondered. It’s thoughts like this which get me through the tougher days!
Fingers crossed in anticipation, first to answer was our very own MP, Brian Matthew. Not as complimentary as it might sound, given our track record of preceding MPs, but Brian is deffo the friendliest! Always where the action is, he’d been in Swindon on the day, helping with the election process/rumble there. Not really amusing, but at least they have a TK Maxx.
Phil Chamberlain, Wiltshire Councillor for Box & Colerne was with Brian, also in Swindon helping with the process. Phil explained he “spent the morning at Wroughton’s polling station, along with one of Wiltshire’s Reform councillors and we chatted with each other and with voters. One voter got him to look after their dog while he cast his ballot.” Eh? The dog voted?! Might explain a few things!
Big but, what gives in Swindon? With just a 50% turnout they took a geochronologic unit to count the votes. The Returning Officer requested more counting assistants. Apparently they’ve run out of fingers and toes.
The most comfy person at County Hall responded next, Laura Mayes. No, right, cos if I read it right, not only has she the seat for Rowde and Bromham, but also has a chair too; something extra to put your feet up on! They don’t even give The Munster so much as a pouffe, which could be why he’s so crotchety! Black Dog crossroad is safer now; give the geezer a scatter cushion at the very least!!
Laura told me she was “as far away from elections as possible!” Training for a triathlon, Laura spent the day working on her fitness; running, and swimming in the sea. “Council work never stops,” she explained, “I have been answering emails and helping some residents with a flood protection plan.” Surely the only one to benefit from answering emails while swimming is The Apple Store?!
Whilst Laura risked water damage to her phone to answer emails, in top hat and tails, Devizes East Councillor Taylor Wright and his partner were poshing it at Buckingham Palace for the Royal Garden Party. Ooh, get you! Seriously, he sent me a smashing picture; a lovely couple. We need more youthful councillors like this proud family man.
Meanwhile, Ben Reed for Devizes North broke his Waiblingen Way leaflet delivery record. Maybe he should’ve also been at the palace, being awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery!
I didn’t ask Taylor if the King was serving up Iceland hotdogs in khaki shorts and a bucket hat, as such an image my warped imagination might conjure, but Taylor called it “an incredible opportunity” adding, “quite easy to say I’d prefer this over an election count!”
After her fitness regime, Laura also revealed it’ll be “cocktails and dancing tonight,” for her. “Who needs elections?” she jested, “not me!!” And that’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? Wiltshire Council aren’t doing such a bad job in my honest opinion. We were safe from the fiasco here. Whatever happened elsewhere is nought to do with us; we’re fine as we are, thank you all the same!
I thank Laura, Brian and Taylor for their time, and for playing my silly game. The rest were quite rightly like, mind your own business! And who could blame them?! If they see this and foolishly think “I could’ve contributed,” then, more the merrier, I can edit it. Fix a pothole or two first, and I’ll gladly consider it!
How many Brontë sisters can you name? Which books did the sisters write between them? Can you name them?
Did you get that there were three sisters? That wrote seven books? You may have thought of “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”, but what about “Agnes Grey”? Or “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”. You may have recalled Charlotte and Emily Brontë…
But what about Anne Brontë? Author of those two last named novels? Does she, or they, feature on your literary radar?
Congratulations if they do – you are an English Literature graduate at least, or one of those weird people that know loads of usually useless knowledge that people want to have on their pub quiz team that then drop you like a stone once the winnings are divvied up, and you wander home alone, smelling vaguely of stale BO and loneliness.
So, step forward the other other Brontë, Anne. The one everybody forgets if they ever knew of her to start with. And is embraced by Sarah Gordon’s play performed this week at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath by the “in house” theatre company, RTC.
Anne, as per the above, is the centre of this play, but in many ways its really about the fractious, loving, abusive, and caring, relationship between her and Charlotte as we see Anne systematically abused firstly in her efforts to be a governess, and when finally escaping the oppression of service, receiving little better from her eldest sister… while Anne eventually becomes the world’s first feminist writer.
The story covers a simple timeline of the Brontë sisters adulthood, with appearances of drunken brother Branwell, though there is a little poetic licence over some chronology to help the flow of the narrative. I have to throw that in for the three of you reading this that are actually internationally renowned experts on the Brontës and may otherwise think I missed it. So there. I didn’t. For everybody else – its not important and the story works well as a result. I blame Branwell’s booze befuddled brain…
Any’ow – as they may say in West Yorkshire – their basic history is on Wikipedia so I won’t reproduce it here. Suffice to say all three Brontës in their own way produced magnificent works that have stood the test of time, and Kate Bush’s singing, before Anne and Emily succumbed to tuberculosis following Branwell’s previous demise. The water in Haworth has a lot to answer for.
Charlotte died of complications in pregnancy – maybe she didn’t drink the water. None of them made the age of forty, and the younger two barely thirty at best. Tragedy had also struck the other two totally unknown sisters – Elizabeth who had died aged ten, and Maria aged eleven.
“Underdog” is a quite superb piece of writing; Sarah Gordon has lifted a passingly interesting family history and created a vibrant soap opera (in the best possible way!) about three siblings all destined for greatness, with hugely differing personalities. Of their love and support for each other; their internecine rivalries; their differences. Anne, at first demure then latterly strong and quietly confident, Emily, abrupt yet watchful, and Charlotte – a domineering bully that gaslit her sisters, particularly Anne and most definitely herself. Charlotte opens the show with a 4th wall monologue about pious men looking down on women, but is portrayed as being no better herself.
The three leads are mesmeric. Their characterisation is sublime, magnificent. Josie Mae-Ross plays Charlotte, Naomi Miller, Emily, and Alana Wright, Anne. The three bond so well on stage, with amazing chemistry, they really feel like three sisters. It’s a line heavy play for the three of them, as well as the portrayal of their characters on top and they are on stage for pretty much the entire two hours that the play runs for. Chapeau all round.
Branwell is played by Natalie Prescott, swapping her natural North Cheshire vowels for West Yorkshire ones and crossing the Pennines to do so. There’s a suitably gruesome reminder of the results of TB and Natalie captures Branwell’s self-destructive insouciance to a tee. Natalie also partakes in various ensemble roles along with the other members of the cast Antonia White, Jade Wright, Sarah Horrex and Sophie Kerr. Their slickness between several cameo style roles each is commendable, and peaks with a brilliant scene of literary critics discussing the sisters’ works in deprecating terms. No spoilers here but the show is worth seeing just for this one particular ninety second scene.
You’ll have noticed I am sure eight female names for eight cast members – yes dear reader, it’s an all-female cast – as befits a play about the world’s first feminist writer. This is all pulled together by director Helen Taylor with great vision and pace. The set is wonderfully simple doing just enough to set the scene and allow the actors to deliver in an uncluttered space.
Tech as ever at the Rondo is delivered as excellently as ever by Alex Latham, and the costumes are simply perfect – take a bow, as is often the way, Chrissy Fryers. The original music for the show is provided by the maestro that is Moray Macdonald and all of these creatives are more than ably supported by producer Yvonne Paulley, Stage Management Lylou Sharp and Olivia Lynch with publicity and poster design by Meg Robertson and Cate Nunn respectively.
You don’t have to be a Brontë fanboy or fangirl to enjoy this show. It has a quality that live theatre brings that watching a screen just doesn’t have… the immediacy of the action, the intimacy of the space, the direct connection with the cast, and it has this in spades. It is simply one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen, and I am fortunate enough to watch a lot of quite excellent theatre that is well worthy of the highest praise.
You could do far worse than blow a whole fifteen quid, cheaper than a pizza and a pint, on a ticket to this wonderful show this week. I even urge you not to miss it.
Devizine can reveal how a new book by a local author might possibly be the reason why Devizine isn’t as funny as it used to be….
Devizine, it used to be funny, but sadly it seems it’s not so much anymore. Who took the banana skin from under its flip-flop? Who failed to give it a raspberry on the bouncy belly? Editor and creator of Devizine, Darren Worrow might have discovered why.
He said, “It’s a disgrace. This so-called author Darren Worrow has channelled all his pathetic attempts at humour into his new book Murder at the Scribbling Horse, and hardly bothered sharing anything the slightest bit amusing here on Devizine, as he once did; typical liberties from a loony leftie! And now he expects me to blow my own trumpet and sing his praises; what a pretentious twat! Shamelessly plugging his own book on his own website is surely proof.”
“Set in the fictional Wiltshire market town of Slapam-on-the-Fye, which is nothing like any real Wiltshire market town you might know of, it claims to be a murder-mystery, but the only true thing it murders is English literature.”
“Neither is there any subtlety in it either, like there is with Devizine,” Worrow waffled on sorrowfully wallowing. “Worrow takes no prisoners, has gone all out and created an absolute work of filth; an offensive joke book with a sham narrative, just so he can say disgusting things about various celebrities, politicians and anyone else he doesn’t like, despite the good honest work they’re doing to keep Britain free from logic and empathy.”
“With the mouth of a sailor, it downright disregards any level of intelligence locals might possess, and paints them all as so utterly idiotic the narration of the story has to be conveyed through the point of view of the pub dog; I don’t think that’s funny at all. The dog is a depressing nihilist, who uses the opportunity to put the human world to rights, rather than getting on with telling the story, that’s why it stacks up over 500 pages. 500 plus pages of meandering woke filth, I might add.”
“Using a facade of a murder mystery, in which the frontman to a tribute act is murdered in the pub whilst they organise a fundraising music festival, as the plot thickens like moulded yogurt around his genitalia, it goes as far as disgracefully making a mockery out of petty local politics too. It’s the biggest crime against pop since David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s cover of Dancing in the Street. I’d rather lick that yogurt off than buy this book, but that’s probably what this sick perverted tyrant wants us to do.”
“You’re not going to enjoy reading it, as tea can scold you if dropped in your lap through laughing too much. Therefore I call upon Steer Karma and the government to ban this book for health and safety reasons.”
“This thing wouldn’t have been published under Farage, you know? And thousands of flagpoles will now have to be erected to counteract the unpatriotic damage done, at the taxpayer’s expense too.”
The author of the book, Darren Worrow, rebukes comments made by the Devizine editor, Darren Worrow. “That guy is as thick as a Boxing Day turd and pissing into the wind,” he said. “Other than the fact I have released a new book, the rest is slanderous lies and Devizine will be hearing from my lawyers. Murder at the Scribbling Horse is a fascinating psychological study and critique of the modern world, questioning our nonacceptance of aging and the social and political issues it raises; with added knob jokes.”
The author became irate, claiming, “for eight long years I’ve been tirelessly promoting everyone else for peanuts. I’ve not even had the opportunity of taking a bath since, and I look like a Yeti past its sell by date. It’s about time I thought about myself for a change, and everyone can bloody well return the favour by buying my book!”
Eighties post-punk sensations Johnny Bunion and the Verrucas’ most successful album, The Legend of Castle Grey Scholl, 1981.
Whatever happened to Johnny Bunion? His legend burnt out long before his candle ever did.
But the more pressing question must be, was it connected to the murder at the Scribbling Horse public house in the narrow-minded Wiltshire market town of Slapam-on-the-Fye, some forty plus years later? And if so, how?
To answer this you’ll need to research, and my book, Murder at the Scribbling Horse will be the only way to do that.
If there’s ever any proceeds from the book, they will go to a much needed new Lynx Africa deodorant set, and a Brazilian back, sack and crack wax for the obnoxious author; the twat needs it, he looks like Posie from the Flumps’ rustic vajazzle.
Seriously though, being funny is the only thing I’m serious about. If you laughed at any part of this internal press release you’re a bit weird, and the ideal target audience for my book! You’re going to laugh a kazillion times (that’s a zillion zillions) more with a copy Murder at the Scribbling Horse in your grubby mitts. And even if you’ve no sense of humour, you know a good Christmas present idea when you see one!
You can buy the paperback online here. And the e-book here. It’s out for global distribution but buying direct from Lulu cuts out the middle man and gives the best royalties to the authors.
Not for sale to children or the over sensitive, though; as if I needed to say!
Murder at the Scribbling Horse is available at Devizes Books for a reduced price of £20, and next Saturday 22nd November, I’ll be in the shop praying to the Norse god of biscuits someone might stop by and purchase a signed copy at the super reduced price of £20!
If you cannot make it, you can message me and I’ll personally deliver you a copy if you live locally. I still need to work out posting & packaging costs, so message me if it needs posting and I’ll let you know about that asap. Happy reading…well, I say that but do I really mean it, I mean, really?!
by Mick Brian images by Nic Proud and Wharf Theatre Giovanni Boccaccio in the 1330s wrote a poem, “Teseida”, principally about two knights, Arcite and Palamon, who were rivals in love for the hand of Emilia, during the rule of Theseus. Fast forward to Geoffrey Chaucer about fifty years later who basically stole the story…
Holidaymakers from across Swindon & Wiltshire are being invited to attend one of the region’s newest travel events this summer as Swindon Travel Hub hosts its inaugural Cruise & Holiday Show at the County Ground on Sunday 5th July 2026….. Taking place in the Legends Lounge at Swindon Town Football Club’s County Ground, the free-to-attend…
by Ian Diddamsimages by Sarah Bec and The Fold About a million years ago, before covid and lockdown, when the thought of Liz Truss as a P.M. was a laughable idea [Ed. – nothing has changed] and when a Post Office scandal was when the sub post mistress was found to be having an affair…
Valedictorian graduate of Bates College in Maine, and with a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, neuroscientist Lisa Genova self-published her debut novel, Still Alice in 2007. Acquired for publishing two years later, Still Alice made The New York Times Best Seller list, was adapted for the stage by Christine Mary Dunford of Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company, and spurred a 2014 movie by Memento Films, winning Julianne Moore an Academy Award. Under the direction of John Winterton, The Wharf Theatre brings this poignant play to Devizes……
It’s lovely to be back at Devizes’ cosy and communal theatre. Ian assigned himself our theatre critic and while his brilliant inside knowledge is gratefully appreciated, I figured I fancy this one, as I have a personal angle on the plot. Alzheimer’s Society suggests “every 3 minutes someone in the UK develops dementia,” therefore I imagine many others will find relevance in it too, and if not, might one day.
We found it amusing at the beginning, my Nan in Dad’s car still wearing her slippers for a party, and other trivial mishaps. But the last time I saw her I was saddened to note she didn’t remember me, as she spoke to me of her “husband,” rather than address him as “grandad.” My children were young and understandably apprehensive about going into the care home. But when they plucked up courage my boy stood before her and she was delighted to be face-to-face with who she assumed was me. Here was the relieving point; I realised she hadn’t forgotten me, she just didn’t recognise me because thirty-plus years was missing from her memory; thank you genetics!
The journey between these two points in time was arduous for her and our family. For her it went from confusion to frustration and onto an immune state of obviousness. Lisa Genova wrote Still Alice in first person narrative from the point of view of Alice, a university professor at the height of her career who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease; it mirrors what we went through, and sheds a fascinating light onto what my Nan must’ve gone through too.
The play honours the narrative perspective by an ingenious method of a personification of Alice’s psyche. With a dual-Alice on stage, the real Alice, played sublimely by Linda Swann, says what she believes she should say, while her conscious shadowing her, equally delivered with skill by a younger version of Alice, Sophie Kerr, offers the audience an insight into what she is thinking. Just as I suggested, with the lost time of my Nan’s mind, Alice perceives herself as being younger, so this age gap works as her sense of reason, until reason runs short in her mind and her consciousness is reduced to the childlike drawing of pictures.
There are many elements to the happenings in the play which anyone who has experienced a loved one going through Alzheimer’s or dementia will recognise, and tears might trickle. There’s periods of thought-provoking awkward silence, intense confrontation at others, when the confusion turns to frustration. There’s poignant reality and touching scenes as the family come to terms with Alice’s deteriorating mind. There’s thought processes from Alice exposed, causing you to identify with her greater than that of her family; a window into the mindset of anyone suffering with this terrible condition.
Overall, akin to a film like Schindler’s List, this is a play you might not want to face, oh, but you must, and you should.
Still Alice is evoking brilliance, you will leave impelled to discuss the subject further. It raises awareness of this horrifying condition and doesn’t meander from this for any purposes of entertainment. On the impaired particularly, the sentiment is pragmatic, but also in her relationship with her family and their emotions, all poignantly represented and acted with believable precision by John Myles, as the calm under pressure husband, Adam Sturges as the solicitude son, and Kezia Richards as the estranged daughter.
Still Alice raises awareness about Alzheimer’s or dementia in a similar way as Barry Levinson’s Rain Man raised awareness of autism, but only if we could have seen into the mind of Raymond would it be any more comparable. That’s the beauty of theatre, this is a play with the power to change you.
Still Alice runs at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes from September 1st until September 6th 2025, Tickets HERE or at Devizes Books.
World Alzheimer’s Day is Sunday 21st September. You can find more information about local dementia groups at Alzheimer’s Support, and sign up for their Walk to Remember at Wilton House, HERE.
by Ian Diddams images courtesy of Devizes Arts Festival, Ian Diddams and Graham Lloyd When one considers cricketing controversies, one maybe thinks of World Series…
My Show Of The Festival Andy Fawthrop Another headliner from the Devizes Arts Festival hit town last night…. Robert Vincent came to the Corn Exchange,…
On impulse I speculated, just short of a quarter way through this book and at the conjunction the format of the narrative is sussed, that if the author, Devizes’ Dave McKenna, has a favourite Quentin Tarantino film it might be my favourite too, the lesser acclaimed Jackie Brown. Not for its plagiarism of blaxploitation nor usage of derogatory slangs, rather for the multiple point-of-view conclusion, because The Killer & The Catalyst follows this formula throughout, and this is what makes it engaging….
This and breakneck volatility, conspiracy inducing, disloyal and sadistic action from nearly every character and the intense velocity it’s all delivered with. Coincidently, Dave cites Tarantino as an influence at the back matter, alongside Harlan Coben and Stephen King. Some of the book’s settings are drawn from actual features and places in Devizes. Most commonly the now closed and speculated as haunted Roundway psychiatric hospital, and an alley besides it in which Dave elucidates his inspiration for the story’s events set there were developed from a real incident at the location. It’s with these eerie settings, familiar if you’re local, I find understanding for citing King as an influence, especially to begin with; it feels like a horror, yet while the book has an unnerving ambience, a crime thriller might better pigeonhole it.
It’s causally written in a loose style with nothing academic about it, making it simple to digest, as if the narrator is on equal level to the characters, as if rambling the yarn to his mate in the pub. Breathes a sense of reality into it; the characters talk like you and I, therefore you identity, why not the narrator too? I like this relaxed and contemporary approach, particularly suits the plot and macho target audience; lads need to read more, and if that’s the case, this might be the book for them. Hyper popcorn-munching movie violence fashion this is.
Apostrophes are used instead of speech marks. This, and the abbreviation of okay to ‘OK’ out of speech makes the grammar police inside me cringe, to be honest. Such usages and the out of speech line, “That was a piece of piss,” implies this is hardly Dickens quality! But I’m willing to overlook and ignore these niggly criticisms for this book, because Dave McKenna can weave a story, dammit. He can evoke an appropriate mood within his readers, twist it, and he can suspend you on the edge of your seat. That makes him an author, not an ability to whisk long and misunderstood words (like wot I do to make me sound more intelligent than I is!)
Identifying the protagonist from the antagonist is questionable, when this periodic method of returning to the same opening scene with each point-of-view occurs, and that’s genius and a narrative difficult to construct. It conveys everything is not as it might seem from the angle of each individual and engages you into understanding the bigger picture. That is what makes The Killer & The Catalystan absorbing and worthwhile read.
With the current state of the literature industry being it’s who you are rather than how good you can write, I wouldn’t imagine finding this on a supermarket shelf alongside ghost-written celebrity autobiographies. This is an example proving the asset of self-publishing, that which a mainstream publisher wouldn’t touch, doesn’t mean a person hasn’t got an exceptional story to tell and the ability in which to write it, it simply means it’s not commercially viable.
People merely need to be brave and take a lucky dip on a rising author, rather than accept what Waterstones throw at them. The Killer & The Catalyst is the good example of this, should you wish to be held in suspense and driven to question which characters were right and which were wrong, not forgoing indulging in some nasty scenes of violence to boot!
You can get The Killer & The Catalyst as paperback or Kindle on Amazon, or pop into Devizes Books for this page-turner, and you’ll look forward to reading future yarns of Dave McKenna, of that I’m certain.
A talented local performer from Devizes is set to share the stage with international star Jason Donovan this summer as part of Fulltone Festival ’26. …. Grace…
Wiltshire Music Centre is launching the Make Music This Summer programme, a vibrant 19-day programme of musical activities for children, young people and families…..…
Tickets for the headline acts at Devizes Arts Festival are up for grabs now, and the rest will follow for general release on April 28th, unless you become a ‘friend’ of the festival, in which case it will be the 7th April…and why wouldn’t you?!
We all love Devizes Arts Festival here at Devizine, which opens on Friday 30st May and runs right up to Sunday 15th June. If you promise not to go breaking my heart, I’ll tell you what’s happening there…yeah, I know, you couldn’t if you tried!!
The festival opens with headliners, Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri at the Corn Exchange on the evening of Friday 30th, and an exhibition by local landscape artist David O’Connor, who draws inspiration from Paul Nash, and ceramicist Richard Phethean. The exhibit will run throughout the festival at White Chalk Gallery in the Old Swan Yard.
Saturday 31st May sees multi-award-winning teacher, composer and organist Chris Totney returning to Devizes to give this year’s Festival Organ Recital; one of the very first times you’ll get to experience the new pipe organ that has taken the best part of a year to install in St Johns Church. Followed by one of the UK’s finest Latin bands, K’Chevere, at the Corn Exchange.
Sunday 1st June, there’s a walk with Judy Hible of Wiltshire Geology Group, and furniture-maker Stewart Linford hosts a fascinating and informative talk on “Luxury in Wood” at the Peppermill (free fringe event.) But all eyes will be on the skies, when space scientist and BAFTA-nominated presenter of “The Sky at Night” Maggie Aderin-Pocock, pops in for an inspiring exploration of the universe.
Monday 2nd is time to get interactive, in a writing session with members of Devizes Writers’ Group, exploring writing fiction or nonfiction, one of the first workshops at the festival this year. Tuesday sees an enthralling and earth-moving evening of gardening talk with TV’s top gardener Frances Tophill. Wednesday is the turn of bestselling crime and thriller writer Felix Francis, for a fascinating talk on mysteries in the world of thoroughbred horse-racing. And Conan Doyle expert David Stuart Davies’ ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act,’ directed by award-winning director Gareth Armstrong, plays at the Wharf Theatre, with a second performance on Thursday. Also find guitarist and singer-songwriterAnna Ling at St Andrews on Thursday.
Friday 6th, join Rowde’s only botanical artist and author, Ann Swan, for a workshop in her studio, while ceramicist Keith Brymer Jones will talk about his life as a creative potter and his experiences as a judge of The Great Pottery Throwdown at The Corn Exchange.
Saturday 7th June, and you’ll find the Sunday Times bestselling author of “Miss Austen”, Gill Hornby talking with Mark Jones from Fantasy Radio, a demonstration by the Devizes Regency Dancers (free fringe event,) and an electrifying country show with all-female Country Chicks.
Another walk on Sunday, gosh, they do like their Sunday walks, this time with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Nick Self, conservation lead for North Wiltshire. Then it’s over to The British Lion for some Welsh frontier roots music with Whiskey River, (free fringe event.)
Monday 9th June you can join print-maker Hannah Cantellow at her Printmaking Studio in Rowde, or learn some crossword secrets from Times Puzzle Master Tim Moorey, who has been solving Times crosswords for over 50 years, on Tuesday. Tuesday also sees virtuoso clarinettist Sarah Williamson and soloist and chamber musician Simon Callaghan.
Wednesday 11th sees singer-songwriter Miranda Pender presenting a darkly humorous talk which includes five original songs based around some of the more bizarre stories unearthed from her family history. And Two Queens, One Nation at the Wharf Theatre, Miriam Cooper’s one-woman show exploring the unavoidable collision of dynamic sovereigns and cousins, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.
Photographer and naturalist Stephen Davis is at the Cheese Hall on Thursday 12th, and jazz saxophonist Julian Costello brings his quartet to the Town Hall.
Friday is comedy night as Mark ‘Taskmaster’ Watson, celebrates twenty years in standup. Multi-award-winner, YouTube cult figure, Radio 4 favourite and recently ‘Baby Reindeer’ actor, Mark comes to Devizes after seasons at the Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Edinburgh comedy festivals.
Author of English Civil War historical fiction series ‘Divided Kingdom’, Charles Cordell is with us on Saturday 14th June. His writing has received high praise in editorial and readers’ reviews alike, his latest novel, ‘The Keys of Hell and Death’, is set between Wiltshire and Somerset in July 1643. Followed by the Bath Male Choir in St Johns, and Torbay’s five-piece 80s party band Riviera Dogs at the Corn Exchange.
For the final day of Devizes Arts Festival, Sunday 15th June, author Charles Cordell finishes his talk with a guided walk and discussion of the Siege of Devizes in July 1643. Journalist, writer, and experienced skydiver Sally Smith is at Devizes Books talking about her book ‘Magnificent Women and Flying Machines.’ And Bath-based instrumental jazz-infused blend of Levantine mystery, Balkan passion and Latin rhythms quintet Radio Banska bring the Arts Festival to a dynamic close at the Cellar Bar. Both of these last two events are free fringe events.
Images by Jess Worrow A busy late spring weekend across the county, with major events from Bradford-on-Avon to Swindon, but I’m bringing quality acts I…
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After months of speculation, controversy, and local media bias, The Shindig Festival at Malmesbury’s Charton Park has been given the green light….. Despite Newsquest flogging…
What was once counterculture hedonism is now as mainstream as a package holiday. In the UK music festivals are fashionable, approved and plentiful. Ten years…
I arrived in a Wiltshire village aged fourteen from suburban Essex, anxious this was my new home. While my parents awaited keys from the estate agent, they sent my elder brother and I to the shop for milk. Wandering the lane an elderly gent wished us the customary “mornin’.” It left me bewildered; why was he talking to us, he couldn’t possibly know us?! This amusing archived memory of an introduction to the way of life in rural Wiltshire popped into my tiny mind recently, jogged by a book I’ve been reading……
You may’ve seen it on social media ahead of its release on 6th Feb. If you’re active on our music scene you may know the author, Sorrel Pitts, often found at open mics, accompanied by Vince Bell. I caught her at one in Great Cheverell’s Bell and was astounded by her songwriting ability; now I realise I was only skimming the surface.
Sorrel is undoubtedly well travelled but raised in Wiltshire, though if it’s not the picture-painting words describing our landscapes, culture and mannerisms giving this game away, it’s the characters reflecting on foreign lives they’ve built for themselves in comparison to the sensations of a homecoming which illustrates Wiltshire life so vividly, hence my jogged recollection.
The village in Broken Shadows is fictional, but believably set in the Marlborough Downs, west of the town; if you know the area you could hazard a guess to the inspiration. Sorrel was born here, and from the tracks to the primary school and pub, to sacred neolithic stones, and down to the wildlife and weeds defining a scene around a dilapidated barn, her remarkable proficiency of illustrative writing is abounded.
As Steinbeck paints an image of rural Oklahoma to the point you can smell the cotton on the drylands, Sorrel equals in building a visual environment we’re familiar with. Perhaps Hardy would therefore be a better geographical comparison, and like him, Sorrel exemplifies subtle differences between rural working class and the affluence of classic Brontë characters. Though this is modern, mentioning a lack of internet connection, covid tests, or housing developments in the village, as two characters return to the village they grew up in, to recollect their rural upbringings.
With the scene set superbly, you’re in a picture frame, prepped for fictional first-person narrative, building in intriguing layers, diary-like over a two character’s POVs, those of Tom and Anna. The pair begin unattached though schoolfriends, are reunited through a similar circumstance of returning there, Anna to recover from an operation, Tom to care for his dying father. In this connection there’s an archetypal narrative of forbidden love sidelining, the thrill of lust against commitment, amidst an unfolding mystery, Tom’s brother’s unsolved brutal murder in the village when they were children. Anything further might be considered spoilers, needless to suggest, Sorrel rocks the boat of the stereotypical tranquillity of rural Wiltshire, with this mysterious loss and the unveiling its developing backstory.
It takes time to unravel the truth of what really happened, the pace of reading steady, as characters are introduced through various other family or village happenings, and varying amounts of suspicion you will cast upon them. I certainly had my chosen suspects, but when the revelation arrived, the penny will not have dropped, and Sorrel accelerates to breakneck speeds as the climax unfolds, leaving you breathless and unable to put this book down. I swear, right, my wife had to take my Kindle off me so I could get on the school run!
Not sure I like the term “page-turner,” to describe a novel, and until halfway I wouldn’t use it anyway, but if the suspense building in layers will tempt you back to it, I recommend you go for it. Feeling you’re close to summit of the tale when all will be revealed will tie you to the characters and their circumstance personally, and that, my friend, is the sign of a fantastic novel.
It could be set anywhere and would be a great read, the fact it’s local makes it seem that bit more real. You’ll pick up on cultural references and geographic locations, identify with the surroundings, architecture and particularly, the mannerisms of the villagers; it’ll leave it convinced you know Tom and Anna. The stunning wordsmithery of Sorrel is elementary, being the account is written akin to diary entries, there’s nothing to confound you, but the juxtaposition shows that pure competence to weave a convincing, heartstring plucking, and edge-of-your seat story. Sorrel can write, and I was hooked, Sir Michael Parkinson too, apparently! Ah, at least I’ve one thing in common with Parky!
Sorrel has a book signing at Devizes Books on Saturday 17th Feb, find the book available there, or at White Horse Books in Marlborough. Find digital copies on Amazon here.
Three short years ago, we first spoke with Vanessa Tanner, campaigning in the Devizes Town Council by-election for Devizes East. In those few minutes,…
Wiltshire Council will discuss granting itself permission to fly the Pride Progress flag outside County Hall and other Wiltshire Council offices during Pride Month.…
Sixteen year-old entrepreneur, Katie West from Devizes, set up her own gardening business, FreshEdge Teen Landscaping a few months ago, but received a ban…
The Rondo Theatre in Bath will be bursting with high-energy chaos this June as The Rondo Theatre Company presents Bullshot Crummond, a gloriously silly…
![PREVIEW: Bullshot Crummond [*], Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath June 17th – 20th 2026](https://devizine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/fb_img_1780405752063.jpg?w=400&h=300&crop=1)
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