Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire

That old time country music

POWERSTOCK BILLED as the UK’s favourite old time country string band, Buffalo Gals are coming to Dorset in December, for three gigs, including Powerstock Hut on Saturday 3rd.

The visual and musical delights of a Buffalo Gals’ night out, combined with the humorous and joyful rapport they build with audiences wherever they go, have made this six-piece country and bluegrass band one of the most soughtafter acts on this country’s Americana roots music circuit.

Led by champion US fiddler Kate Lissauer, Buffalo Gals specialise in reviving the string band tradition of ballads, rags, work songs and spiritual numbers of Appalachia, bluegrass and early country music—all delivered with high energy, flair and great humour.

They create an authentic sound driven by fiddle, banjo, double-bass, ukulele, guitar, and soaring harmonies, punctuated by their trademark syncopated traditional Appalachian step-dancing, bringing stomping and ‘body-percussion’ to these toe-tapping tunes in an irresistible and uplifting show.

Artsreach also brings Buffalo Gals to the village halls at Stalbridge on Thursday 1st December and Corfe Castle on Friday 2nd, all at 7.30pm.

Arts Council joy and relief

ARTSREACH AND OCTAGON THE announcement of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisationn funding for 2023- to 2026 brought joy to South Somerset District Council’s arts and entertainment service, including the Octagon Theatre, and relief and delight to existing NPOs, including Dorset’s Artreach rural touring charity and Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre.

The South Somerset theatre has been awarded almost £760,000 and, for the first time, achieves National Portfolio Organisation status. It comes at a time when the Octagon is preparing for a major refurbishment and reinvention as an arts and creative hub for the district.

Venues manager Adam Burgan says: “Becoming an NPO for the Arts Council is a huge milestone in our ambitions to create a flagship cultural offer for Somerset that will stem from the development of the Octagon Theatre. The most exciting part of this development is the opportunities it will create for our residents to benefit from the creative arts.

“Our plan was particularly focussed on those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who haven’t enjoyed access to the creative arts and it is fantastic to be attracting more national funding into Somerset.”

News that Artsreach had retained its NPO funding was welcomed by the organisation’s director Kerry Bartlett: “This continued support from Arts Council England is invaluable in enabling us to continue to deliver our programme of cultural activity, enriching and positively impacting the lives of people living in rural Dorset by connecting and empowering communities. Our volunteer promoters work tirelessly to make Artsreach events happen in their communities, and this funding recognises both the work they do, and the quality of the artistic work presented on the Artsreach programme now, and over the last 32 years.”

There was also delight and relief at Poole’s Lighthouse. Chief executive Elspeth McBain said: “This news has come at a crucial moment as, in common with venues across the country, Lighthouse is still in recovery from the pandemic and that recovery remains a priority. Audiences are returning, but not yet at the same levels pre-pandemic, and venues are facing a perfect storm of increased operating costs, a cost-of-living squeeze on audiences, soaring energy prices and deepening economic hardship, so there are enormous challenges ahead.”

Other local venues that will continue to receive Arts Council support include Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset’s Activate and b-side festival, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Exeter’s Northcott Theatre and Phoenix Arts Centre, Wessex Museums (Dorchester, Salisbury and Devizes), Somerset’s Take Arts, and Plymouth’s Theatre Royal and Barbican Theatre.

The Young Lit Fix

Midwinter Burning by Tanya Landman

Published by Walker Books. RRP £7.99

Recommended by Antonia Squire for ages 9+

ALFIE doesn’t know who his dad is, which is really hard when you’re just a lad in 1939. Harder than it is nowadays anyway. September 1st, 1939. Germany has invaded Poland and Britain and France have declared war on Germany. Alfie Wright is standing on a London station platform with thousands of other children waiting to be evacuated to the countryside. He has his case and his packed lunch, and he’s quite looking forward to making a fresh start down in Devon. Just his luck though, his main bully from school is heading to the same village and how is he supposed to start over with Billy Figgs around?

Alfie’s new home is a haven for him. Auntie Bell brings him to her farm and set’s him about helping with the chores. Nothing too hard, just milking the cow, feeding the pigs and the chickens, leaving him plenty of time to explore the fields, the beaches and the standing stones on the hilltop. The Standing Stones where the village celebrates The Midwinter Burning every year. Legend has it the pagans used to offer a human sacrifice to the gods at the Midwinter Burning, but that’s just superstition according to Auntie Bell. These days it’s just a bit of a party, like Bonfire Night.

Time, though, is slippery around the Standing Stones and when Alfie makes a new friend, a strange boy named Snidge, he starts to questions whether the legend is more fact than fiction as the dangers around The Midwinter Burning come a little too close for comfort.

A moving tale of a young boy who needs to be displaced in time and place to find his true home. Rich in adventure and historical detail, I loved this middle grade novel.