Tag: wayne cherry

Ruby Plays Glasgow’s Barrowlands with The Charlatans

How did you celebrate your seventeenth birthday? Did you pop up to Glasgow to accompany The Charlatans, on bagpipes, at the historic Barrowlands ballroom, and then have your latest single spun by Chris Hawkins on BBC Radio 6?!

Being honest, the memory of my seventeenth birthday is vague at best, but I’m pretty certain it wasn’t even in the same ballpark! A huge happy birthday, then, to our upcoming superstar Ruby Darbyshire, and an even huger “wowzers;” although this is amazing news, it’s fully deserved in my humble opinion. In what she dubbed her “biggest gig yet,” on social media, last weekend was a huge success, playing with The Charlatans at Barrowlands.

Ruby now lives on a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bath with proud dad, Brian, who happened to call me with this astounding news last week. Exploding in exhilaration, he then told me I would have to wait to publish it. I think he just wanted to relay the story to someone, to best contain his understandable excitement!

Previously from Dumfries, Ruby used to busk in Buchanan Street, Glasgow, on many Saturdays, playing guitar and singing, where she raised thousands of pounds for Save the Children. Taken under the wing of the wonderful Pipe Major Jim McConnechie in Dumfries at the age of eight, while Ruby loves playing traditional music, for Remembrance Day, Burns suppers and other fitting occasions, she’s also known for using the pipes for rock music.

Homeschooled, Ruby now studies music at Bath College, and has become an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and Highland bagpiper. You may well have seen her busking in the Brittox of Devizes, and various other local locations. Particularly memorable in town, was her impromptu appearance with Wayne Cherry on his one-hundred hours of Remembrance fundraiser. You may have been lucky enough to see her play live locally, after listening to and reviewing her debut EP, Don’t Give Up Now, We’re Nearly There, I made it top priority to attend her next gig, supporting Amelia Coburn, with Meg, at Trowbridge’s Pump.

On the couple of occasions I’ve had the honour to meet Ruby she remains modest about the attention, but if she doesn’t like to blow her own, erm, bagpipes, journalist for the Times, Nick Fraser reviewed the Charlatans’ gig, stating her guest appearance as the “most startling moment” of the event. 

Her forthcoming single “Caller Unknown” was made possible by the support of Tim Burgess of The Charlatans who spotted Ruby at Kendal Calling Festival, and through his new charitable initiative, Help Us Help Bands, Ruby won a recording session at the Cheese & Grain’s Bert Jansch Studio in Frome. I, for one, can’t wait to hear the latest song, once I’ve gotten over how simply fantastic this is for our locally-based artist; I’ve gone all goosebumpily! Well done Ruby, we are rooting for you.

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Hero Wayne Cherry Back in Action!

You may recall hero, Wayne Cherry of Rowde, standing for a hundred hours in remembrance at the top of the Brittox in Devizes during November 2018, to honour those lost in the First World War.

For this year’s 75th VE day celebrations, self-isolating never stopped Wayne, he pledged to stand in his garden for 75 hours, raising £1,272 for the NHS fund.

Now Wayne is back, and he has decided to raise funds for SSAFA the Armed Forces charity, for VJ Day in August by completing a 75-mile trek around the Devizes area.

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Under the banner, “Not Forgotten,” Wayne explains his reasoning, “treatment of allied prisoners of war by the hands of the Japanese army in Asia during WW2 was without question, barbaric. Those who survived struggled to come to terms with their experience and many would never talk about it. 15 August 2020 is the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Asia and one that I shall be marking with respect.”

I asked Wayne how many days he planned to take over it. “I will have to start on Friday 7th,” he replied, “looking to average ten miles a day, which in reality is a push with a knee replacement and diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which is painful hips and shoulders.” The walk will end on Friday 14th August. “I just grit my teeth and get on with it,” he continued, “nothing compared to those who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy today.”

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Wayne will start his route each day leaving from Wadworths 10am. He will head towards the Market Place on Northgate St, through the Little Brittox, along the High St following Long St, to Southbroom Rd, and continuing onto Sidmouth St to Maryport St, through the Brittox, and back through the Little Brittox into the Market Place, up to Snuff St, along to New Park St and finally, heading back towards Wadworths. That’s approximately a 2-mile circuit, 5 times a day.

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“It would be very much appreciated,” Wayne expressed, “if anyone would like to accompany me for as little or as long as you wish, I will be carrying a collection bucket each day for anyone who may wish to make a donation.” Alternatively, if you join his Facebook group, here, you can follow and support him, and find bank details, if you would like to contribute this way.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Wayne the very best with his astounding effort, and congratulate him on the amazing fundraising he has done to date already. I know the people of Devizes and the surrounding area will rally to support him, as they have done in the past. Go Wayne Cherry, you are an inspiration to us all.

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