LARKHALL News
The
Issue 22 May 2013
Pull-out and keep programme inside THIS issue!
Larkhall Festival 2013 St Mark’s School and Swainswick Primary reports Larkhall Goes Global
Larkhall provides the inspiration to a new radio music show making waves across the globe by Bryan Chalker Produced by the students and staff of St Mark’s Church of England School
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WELCOME TO SPRING! It seems like we have suffered a very long, cold winter and I am glad to see that, here in Larkhall, there are signs that summer is well and truly on its way. One of the most significant spring dates in the calendar for Larkhall is its eagerly anticipated Festival. I always enjoy putting this issue together, as it is a real delight to be a part of this community and report all of the lovely things coming up in the next few months.
stroll outside of the main Square to visit us at St Mark’s and take a look at all of the wonderful work that the children of The Valley Schools have been involved with in the run-up to the Festival.
St Mark’s and The Valley Schools
Thank you to all of the local residents, businesses, schools and community groups that have come together to make this event happen.
Larkhall Festival 2013
As always, please contact me if you have any exciting news or stories to share with us for the next edition. Happy Festivalling!
This year is set to be a fun-packed occasion for all ages with events taking place across local venues during May Bank Holiday weekend, including here at St Mark’s School. I hope that you are able to take some time to wander through Larkhall and explore the many delights this year’s Festival promises. I also hope that you will
In This Edition:
Paula Paula Hawkins - Editor T: 01225 312661 E: hawkinsp@st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk
St Mark’s and Swainswick Primary Schools report
Swainswick Cafe
Three young mums from Swainswick Primary celebrates the weekly cafe’s 2nd anniversary
You found it here first! The full programme to pull out and keep, plus news on events happening at local venues.
Larkhall Goes Global
The village of Larkhall provides the inspiration for a new radio show. Bryan Chalker reports.
Alice Park Community Garden
Big Lottery Fund helps to pave the way for a new oak shelter.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. The publisher does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or errors in content. Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage. For advertising enquiries contact us on 01225 312661 Published by St Mark’s School Editor: Paula Hawkins, St Mark’s School, Bay Tree Road, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6ND Tel: 01225 312661 Email: hawkinsp@st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk The Larkhall News is available online at: www.st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk
Enquiries welcome
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StMark’s S c h o o l The Summer Term is shaping up to be one of the busiest and fun-filled ever! With the wind howling outside and flecks of snow driven against my window, it must be Easter in Larkhall. Is it any wonder we British talk so much about the weather when we are deluged with such diversity? In just a few weeks, we will no doubt be discussing an impending drought and hosepipe ban! As another term comes screeching to a halt, we look forward to a number of forthcoming community events to enlighten the next. St Marks’ Day on April 25, will see the official opening of the eagerly anticipated Goldies’ Garden; a community garden, based at St Mark’s School, for our local more senior citizens. We will be welcoming the founder of Golden Oldies and Goldies’ Gardens, Grenville Jones, along with local dignitaries and community representatives to show off a magnificent display of flowering blooms (snow permitting). On the same day, St Mark’s students and staff will be hosting more than 100 Year 5 pupils from our local primary schools: St Saviour’s, Swainswick and St Stephen’s. The pupils will be greeted by our Year 7 students at a joint assembly and will then have the chance to sample life at St Mark’s through a series of fun, lesson-based workshops. The Year 5 pupils will be presented with their own St Mark’s Passport at the end of their day with us; something that we hope they will bring back to St Mark’s when they join us in Year 7. Hot on the heels of these two momentous occasions in our school calendar comes this year’s Larkhall Festival and St Mark’s School is delighted once again to be involved in this great community event. There will be a range of creative art and craft workshops organised by the staff and students of St Mark’s for children aged 7-12 and we also warmly welcome back local artists, Simon Hodges and Dawn Lippiatt, as we collectively embark on one of the most ambitious art projects this community will have seen. I will divulge no more. You must come and see for yourself! The festival feature for this edition will pro-
vide much more information and I hope to meet you there over a warming cup of Fairtrade coffee.
Later this term, we will be launching a community survey for our local parents and families, to ascertain what they want from their local school. This survey forms part of our on-going work to create an outstanding, vibrant school community in Larkhall, one that is representative of the talents and creativity around us. We hope that everyone will use this opportunity to engage with their local secondary school and provide us with your honest feedback and ideas. The survey will be available online shortly and you will be provided with full details of how to access it through your child’s school. For those who would like to share their views, but perhaps do not have school-aged children, there will also be a link available through the St Mark’s School website. Our students are our greatest assets. They have kept pace with our overall success with some fantastic achievements both in and out of school. Our aim is always to work with each child’s individuality and to recognise and celebrate a wide range of achievements. We hope that you will work with us to create a truly outstanding school, in every sense! Chris Ryan Head of School, St Mark’s School
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wainswick
S
Primary
Easter Walk to Woolley It has become a Swainswick School tradition to walk across the fields from our school on the last day of the Spring Term to celebrate Easter together in the lovely church at Woolley. Once the registers have been taken, the children gather in the playground; the children in Year 6 find their Reception buddies and the older children pair up with younger children. We’re joined by friends and families, and sometimes dogs, and we set off along the lane towards the fields, with the sound of happy chatter. As soon as we get into the fields, the children are free to run down to the bottom of the field, and back again, or make their way more slowly down, before crossing the stream, and walking towards the footpath to Woolley Church. Once in the church, we hold a simple service of readings and songs, re-telling the Easter story. We always enjoy singing, and our voices sound beautiful in the acoustic of the church. The children enjoy a further opportunity to run and play, or walk and talk, on the return journey.They’re able to experience seasonal changes and the company of others in a very natural way, children and adults enjoying the same experience together. We’re very grateful to be able to learn in such lovely surroundings, and it’s particularly fitting that Woolley is a Thankful Parish. Louise Cripps Headteacher at Swainswick Primary
Swainswick’s Budding Young Artists Exhibit Their Work Since January, the Year 2 children at Swainswick Church of England Primary School have been working with parents and local artists, Joanna Wright and Lisa Davies, on a weekly art project around the theme ‘travelling creatures’. The children began by using a ‘drymaking’ technique to form the basic shape of their creature and then covered it with papiermâché.The unique vintage look comes from a second layer of paper torn from old books. We then moved onto printing our own fabric and sewing clothes and accessories for the creatures. As the class were already working on an ‘Around the World’ topic, we made mini passports and luggage labels for the creatures, as well as vehicles. We were invited to display the work in our local church, St Mary’s, and the response has been fantastic. It is clear from the comments book, that the many visitors have appreciated the quality of the work on display, and recognised the extent of the children’s creativity. Reverend Joyce has invited the children to leave the exhibition up over Easter for more visitors to enjoy.
Mrs Kelsall, Year 2 teacher says: “The children have really enjoyed this ongoing art project and learnt many new skills. It has been lovely to welcome parents into the class and also to learn from all their experience and creative ideas.”
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Café Swainswick celebrates its two-year anniversary This month sees the legendary Café Swainswick celebrate its two-year anniversary. Created in April 2011, the café was the brainchild of three young mums from Swainswick Primary School. As the smallest primary school in Bath, Swainswick Church of England Primary School, has plenty going for it; fabulous gardens, great teachers, beautiful location and is both supportive and welcoming. Yet when new mums Lisa, Sian and Hannah arrived they felt that something was definitely missing; somewhere they could meet other Swainswick parents and get their future Swainswickitos together. So they created Café Swainswick, a weekly café held in the church, aimed at bringing together this small but important community through the great power of tea and cake! The café opened with a support network made up of locals from both Upper and Lower Swainswick, Larkhall, ramblers, potential new families and long-time parents and friends of Swainswick School. The café has been a great success raising to date, more than £2,000 all of which goes directly to the
Swainswick Summer Fayre, June 22nd 2013
school. Every penny has been donated to support and strengthen the experience the children will receive at school. This year the café single-handedly paid for every single child in the school to go on a theatre trip. Every week during the school term, Café Swainswick offers Fairtrade tea, fresh Fairtrade coffee, an assortment of freshly homebaked victoria sponges, drizzle cakes, tiffin, shortbread, brownies, fairy-cakes and many, many more, all of which are donated by the mums at Swainswick School. Hot buttered toast with home-made jams, herbal teas and fruit cordials are also offered in the grandeur and beauty of St Mary’s the Virgin Church in Upper Swainswick The Café has toys for children to play with and has become something of a community centrepiece, creating a vital and central hub for all manner of folk, old and young, to come together and connect.
In September last year the local fruit and vegetable grocers, the Eades family, sent their second generation to Swainswick Primary School. Fortunately, for Café Swainswick, Mike Eades decided to help out the café and now delivers a fantastic selection of their wonderful fresh and local produce every week. This has given an enormous boost to the café and people now come especially to buy fruit and vegetables. Mike kindly donates all of his profits from Café Swainswick straight back to the café and therefore to the school. To celebrate its two-year anniversary, the café is hosting a party in the grounds of St Mary’s Church on 24th April with free goodies for all to enjoy – the children will sing – and Sian, Lisa and Hannah will shout a big ‘Thank You!’ to everyone who has supported this fabulous small but strong backbone of the Swainswick community. Café Swainswick is open every Wednesday during term-time from 9am-11am.
On a warm summer’s afternoon, high above Bath and nestling in the Woolley Valley, families and friends from all over Larkhall, Charlcombe, Swainswick and further afield will be enjoying a most splendid of secret garden events. From 12pm the drummers will drum and a delightful old-fashioned summer fayre will burst into life. There will be live music, ice-cold Pimms stuffed with strawberries and mint, locally grown plants, hand-made flower posies, the choicest of home-made cakes, biscuits, scones and other home-made delicacies. Visitors can take part in the tug-o-war, chance their luck to win fabulous raffle prizes, enjoy some scrumptious ice-cream or local ale - not to mention a spit and roast barbeque serving Larkhall Butcher’s burgers and snags! There will be crafts, llamas, chickens, a King, a Queen and a VIP Empress, books, clothes, and much, much more. Many locals, parents and children dress up in anticipation of this wonderful and unique afternoon, no commercial products are available, instead it is stuffed full of purely handmade, traditional and creative crafts and goodies. Come and join in this remarkable taste of all that is sweet in summer on June 22nd from 12pm-3pm in Upper Swainswick to celebrate the annual Swainswick Summer Fayre. Please note – NO dogs, other than guide dogs are allowed. All donations and enquiries can be made to Helen Roberts 01225 858199 or Hannah Newton Hannah@snook-design.com. Find us on Facebook @ Swainswick Summer Fete
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New Electronic Recycling Centre Resident’s Permit Introduced A new scheme should ensure Bath & North East Somerset Council residents save time and money when recycling their waste in the future. From 2 April 2013 residents will need a free electronic Recycling Centre Resident’s Permit. Without this permit you will not be able to enter any of the three centres at Bath, Keynsham and Old Welton. As well as helping save costs, it is hoped that the new permits will also reduce queuing times at recycling centres. Neighbouring authorities have already introduced similar schemes. Registration is free and for residents of Bath and North East Somerset only. Once authorised, your vehicle licence plate will be recognised electronically when you drive into a centre and prove automatically that you are a resident.The new Resident’s Permit will last for three years. The permit is not something physical that you have to carry with you – it is an electronic authorisation based on your vehicle licence plate.You do not need to apply for a permit if: • •
You already have an electronic Van Permit and are using this vehicle to visit the centre. You have a resident’s Discovery Card and show this on site www.bathnes.gov.uk/discoverycard
Registering is easy and will only take a couple of minutes.You only need to provide your name, address and vehicle registration(s) – you do not need your Council Tax account number or any other details. Only one person in your household must register - you must supply registration numbers of all the vehicles you wish to register on your household's permit. The easiest and most convenient way to register is online at www.bathnes.gov.uk/residentpermit. If you do not have access to the internet, Council Connect can help you with your application. • • • • • •
By phone: please call Council Connect on 01225 39 40 41 In person: please visit your nearest or most convenient Council Connect One Stop Shop Bath One Stop Shop, Manvers Street The Hollies, Midsomer Norton Riverside Keynsham At your local library.
Recycling Centres are located at: • Pixash Recycling Centre, Keynsham, BS31 1TP • Midland Road Recycling Centre, Bath, BA1 3AT • Old Welton Recycling Centre, Radstock, BA3 2AA Find out more at www.bathnes.gov.uk/residentpermit
Saturday 7 September 2013 10am - Midday at New Oriel Hall If you have any issues or concerns, please come along and meet with a member of your Beat Team and local Councillors
Mark in the Park
PC1665 Mar tin Holliwell
Saturday 27 April 2013 10am - Midday at Alice Park Bring your bicycles along to get them security marked
Contact us on 999 in an EMERGENCY or 101 for NON-EMERGENCY
PCSO8124 Paul King
Beat Team Reports by PCSO Paul King
PCSO7315 David Holmes
It’s great that after being unable to submit an article for the last edition, I can write this with some really good news! Although it has been generally a peaceful few months in Lambridge, we did receive a number of reports of vehicles being damaged, both in Larkhall and further a field. After a lot of hard work, persistence, and some essential information passed to us by a local resident, someone was identified and has subsequently admitted and been charged with several offences.This shows just how effective working with the local community can be in reducing levels of crime. Since my last article, we have not only had the addition of a new Police & Crime Commissioner but also more recently a New Chief Constable.Time will tell about how these changes will affect the force in the future, but I’m sure one of the areas that will be looked at will be PACT meetings. As your Beat Team, we have been looking at how we can streamline the process to make it more effective. We have amalgamated the PACT meetings into two Beat Surgeries at New Oriel Hall. We hope that this process will benefit everyone involved, and make our working relationship with the community even more efficient. One of the areas that we often get asked about is The Neighbourhood Watch scheme.There are many established schemes throughout Bath and we use it as an invaluable tool to information-share with local residents. We are, however, keen to chat to anyone who wants to start a scheme in their own area. If you are interested, and wish to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to contact us. It’s going to be a busy and exciting period as we head towards the everevolving Larkhall Festival. Keen cyclists are reminded that we will be holding our ‘Mark in the Park’ event at Alice Park on Saturday 27th April, from 10am to midday. Bring your bicycles along and we will security mark them. If you witness any suspicious persons, vehicles or behaviour, please report it straight away to a member of your Beat Team.The sooner we are notified, the more chance we have of locating these individuals and ensuring that any potential crime could be deterred or suspects caught. The number to report any non emergency incident is 101. Paul King, Lambridge Beat Team PCSO 8124, Walcot, Lambridge, Lansdown. www.avonandsomerset.police.uk
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Your guide to this year’s Larkhall Festival begins right here...
Get Creative and Crafty at St Mark’s School Saturday 4th May 11.00am - 3.00pm
Bex Griffiths with some of the teddies made at the Knit and Natter group
High Excitement at Larkhall’s Landmark Church Children aged 7 and upwards are invited to Get Creative and Crafty at St Mark's School Main Hall on Saturday 4th May from 11am - 3pm as we let our hands do the talking and the making as part of this year’s Larkhall Festival. There will be a range of art and creative projects for children to get messy with, including some pre-preparation maskmaking for the Parade in the Park at Alice Park that afternoon. All activities have been organised by staff and students of St Mark’s School. The St Mark’s Cafe will be serving teas, coffees, snacks and light lunches, along with some tasty, home-baked treats. Parents can come and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee whilst the children create the latest in Dalek headwear and Venetian masks.There will even be some rather dazzling, movie-spectacular dressing up! Booking is not required, just come along and join in. There will be a small charge for creative workshops to cover the cost of materials, payable on the door. Funky Art House will also be running a Funky Felt Magnet Workshop from 11am – 12pm.With a range of art and craft activities to take part in, there will be something for all tastes and skill levels so come along and get mucky! All this AND the public exhibition of this year's Valley Schools Art Project. It's LOCAL, it's LARKHALL and it's BIG. VERY BIG! Come along and see how the children of the Valley Schools have created a vision of Larkhall, as you have never seen it before - all created with a helping hand from local artists Simon Hodges and Dawn Lippiatt.
St Saviour’s Church is thrilled to join in with the May Larkhall Festival again, with a broad range of activities for people of all ages and nationalities. On Friday 3rd May, from10.00am to 12.00pm, the Fairtrade Café will be open as usual, incorporating the popular Knit and Natter group. Saturday 4th May, from 9.30am to 12.30pm, Cool Café will offer a variety of drinks and snacks. At the same time there will be entertainment for the kids with Children’s Art and Craft Activities on a Carnival Theme. Ribbon sticks, masks, flags, banners and lots more are FREE to make for children aged 3-10 with their parents/carers. Just turn up! A Singing Workshop early afternoon, and in the evening, The Beckford Singers will entertain. Due to popular demand, Tower Tours will continue during the day. Explore the insides of the bell tower and the breath taking views of Larkhall. Try and spot your house! (Small charge applies, last tour 2.30pm) On Sunday 5th, after the 10.30am Family Praise Service, come and hear amazing historical events told in modern English in The Big Read from 2pm-4pm. At 5pm, Sing Along to traditional hymns, played expertly by a talented local musician on the ancient Church Organ at The Nation's Top Ten Hymns, followed by tea and cakes. Our Knitting and Crochet Display & Workshop will be held on Monday 6th May from 10.00am - 12.00pm. Peruse a display of vibrant creations and get ideas for yourself, or learn to knit or improve! Relax around a friendly table of people sharing their expertise. We also focus on the diversity of the world in the One World Café on Monday from 10am to 12noon by inviting people of different nationalities to come and share their countries’ cultures and customs and bring samples of food for people to enjoy. If you would like to know more about any of the activities above, please contact Pam on 311637, especially if you are from abroad, and wish to contribute, or have knitted or crocheted items to display.
Pull out your programme and keep it safe!
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Pull out your programme and keep it safe! Fun and frolics are guaranteed at Alice Park! Once again, the team at Alice Park Café are hard at work putting the finishing touches to a fun-filled weekend, with guaranteed festivities and frolics, all in the beautiful surroundings of Alice Park.
The Final Countdown to Larkhall Open Studio Trail
The weekend’s programme begins on Saturday, May The Fourth; with the clue for this year’s theme deceptively hidden in the date. Yes, you’ve guessed it! There is a distinctive galactic theme to Saturday’s activities, with a slight nod and tip of the hat to the film magesticness (is that a word?!) that is Star Wars.
Diary of an artist. Day 126. Saturday 6 April. Just back from another busman’s holiday, this time camping near Salisbury. Lovely spring days followed by arctic nights and, after chipping ice off the tent, I decided that enough was enough and came home a day early to a warm and inviting Larkhall, only to have to digest a deluge of Festival and Open Studio’ emails that had arrived whilst I was away! Now is a critical time for The Festival and Open Studios as we all commit ourselves ‘in print’ to what main events will happen in just four weeks time. Details will change. Whether goats will appear on Larkhall Square ‘Village Green’ (and whether the village green will be green at all) are all fine details being discussed as you read this. I for my small part have today discovered that I am now open on Monday as well as Saturday and Sunday - a surprise to me as I was planning to boogie on down in Alice Park on Monday. Never mind; having a plan doesn’t mean you need to stick to it! I have started building the framework for my large painting for New Oriel Hall, although the first attempt went horribly wrong when I realised I couldn’t get it out of the space I was working in. As I said, plans adapt.
Alice Park Café will once again be supplying the chalk, pavements and pathways for decoration.Visitors young and old are invited to come along and adorn the park with their imaginations! Alice Park Café will be offering edible prizes for the most creative, artistic, weird or just plain funny!
Despite these trivialities, I am again really excited about this year’s offerings, especially in continuing times of austerity. In the New Oriel Hall alone, we have demonstrations on bookbinding, costume making (who’s a sewing bee?), printmaking, life drawing and perspective, jewellery making, decoupage and pottery painting whilst on studio and exhibition visits, you can see woodturning and a wide array of the arts.
At 4.00pm, there will be a special May The Fourth Fancy Dress Parade and children (adults too!) are invited to come along in their space suits, Darth Vader costumes, Princess Leah hair-do, Dr Who Tardis or Dalek body armour. The skies are quite literally the limit. Judging will be carried out by the team at Alice Park Café and delicious prizes awarded accordingly.
At St Mark’s School, the children, with some guidance from open studio artists are, amongst other things, producing a large image made up of individual self portraits as they see themselves. Not easy to explain in a short piece but think of a ‘pixelated’ image made up of other images and just go and see the results. I for one am looking forward to getting a sneak preview when we assemble it in the coming weeks.
On Sunday May 5th, there will be the legendary Picnic in the Park. Come along and soak up the atmosphere of spring. Enjoy a delicious coffee, or glass of chilled beer at the café whilst listening to a plethora of live DJs with a soul, jazz and reggae vibe.The instructions are quite simply to relax and unwind whilst quaffing a sausage roll or two!
Events and activities at St Saviour’s Church, The Larkhall Inn, The Garden Trail, Alice Park and many other great events will now be listed all over the place including the Festival website (www.larkhall-festival.org.uk) and Open Studio website (www.larkhallopenstudio.com).
Bank Holiday Monday sees the fantastically musical BIG DAY AT ALICE PARK. There will be live bands performing throughout the day and musicians, accomplished or beginner, are invited to come along with their instrument and jam during the breaks from performance.
I hope those that can, get out and enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend in Larkhall, whatever the weather. For those of us stuck in doors… well, I look forward to having a great time too and hopefully a few people to talk to!
There will be drinks and refreshments served throughout the day, so why not indulge your weekend with some amazing musicians and enjoy the soulfulness and serendipity of spring in Larkhall?
Simon Hodges (Larkhall Open Studios) simon@hillviewstudio.co.uk www.hillviewstudio.co.uk
...and ends right here.
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Larkhall Goes Global
T
HE VILLAGE OF LARKHALL CAN PROUDLY LAY CLAIM TO INSPIRING A NEW RADIO SHOW AND, AS A DIRECT RESULT, ITS NAME HAS BEAMED OUT TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH THANKS TO THE INTERNET. CLLR. BRYAN CHALKER REPORTS The sheer scale of musical talent living in and around Larkhall, including Leon Hunt, the Carrivick Sisters, Out Of The Brew, John Breese and, until fairly recently, Kevin Brown, made me realise last year that there was a comfortable niche for these musicians within a radio format, if a station willing to embrace such a radical idea could be found. There was an initial problem in that today’s radio programmers, with their tediously repetitive and bland playlists, obsession with teenage audiences and almost manic zeal for computerised output, made my idea for a ground-breaking show seem like a vague pipe-dream. I know, because I’ve worked for people like these in the past and trying to persuade them to feature ‘unknowns’ in their programme rosters and venture into uncharted musical territories was totally beyond their comprehension. And then along came Somer Valley 97.5 FM’s Dom Chambers, a radio station Managing Director with an extremely rare quality – vision! At various times during my visits to the station as Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council and Mayor of Bath, I had discussed with Dom the dire need for a radio programme aimed at providing local artists with an outlet for their music. My Chairmanship and Mayoral roles were both extremely demanding and time-consuming but when I stepped down from the latter position in June 2012, after a total of 708 engagements during my year as Mayor,
“
Dom and I spoke again about resuming my role as a radio presenter and it was finally agreed that I should devise an hour-long weekly show encompassing as broad a spectrum as possible of acoustic-based music – and featuring local talent where possible.
There is a dire need for a radio programme aimed at providing local artists with an outlet for their music.”
Prior to standing for election as a local councillor for Lambridge in 2003, I had worked as a front-line presenter for a number of radio stations, including Bristol’s Radio West, the FM Service of the Sultanate Of Oman, London’s Country 1035, CMR (Country Music Radio for Europe) and, latterly Radio Caroline. One of the many shows I presented on CMR and Radio Caroline was called ‘Same Roots, Different Fruits’ and was loosely structured to incorporate the most diverse mixture of music imaginable and included everything from folk, blues, country, traditional jazz, reggae, Hawaiian, ceilidh and, at times, the Classics. Dom and I decided that it was probably time to revive such a programme idea and on Sunday, September 9, 2012, ‘Same Roots, Different Fruits’ took to the airwaves again for the first time in more than a decade. To say that I have never been truly comfortable with computers is putting it mildly because, to me, they have been allowed to become more than tools and have been the roots cause behind the destruction of creative broadcasting as I knew it. When pre-selected music (often chosen by a tone-deaf nincompoop) with accompanying touch-screen computer technology ultimately took over from the good old-fashioned DJ or, in my case, presenter, the need for a firm knowledge of musical genres went out of the window. In my case crunch-time came in 2002, so I -decided it was time to retire gracefully after a broadcasting career of more than thirty years. These days I still have no truck with touch-screen tech-
PICTuRED: Br yan Chalker, left. Charlotte and Laura Carrivick, right.
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“
Local Larkhall talent was a catalyst when the Americana Festivals were first planned, more than six years ago.”
PICTuRED: Out Of The Brew, right.
nology where radio is concerned and simply arrive at the Midsomer Norton studios each week armed with a wide selection of CDs and present my show the old tried-andtrusted way – riding the faders to counter sound-balance imperfections on vintage recordings and using my knowledge of music to ‘present’ a genuine ‘show’. On the more advanced technical side, I am grateful for the assistance of two youthful volunteer helpers at Somer Valley FM, Pete Helmore and Luke Barnes. EXTRA TIME Within a matter of weeks ‘Same Roots, Different Fruits’ moved to a regular Monday slot (7-8pm) but by March 4, 2013, had moved to extra time between 7 – 9pm, with a Sunday evening repeat between 7 -9pm to allow for a growing global audience. Furthermore, another on-line station, UK Country Radio.com, based in Leeds, asked to take the show on a fortnightly basis and it was agreed to share the first hour of ‘Same Roots...’ with the other station on alternate Thursdays. This, of course, was extremely good news for the aforementioned Larkhall-based artists, as it brought their music to the attention of listeners as far afield as Malaysia, Canada, America, Australia, mainland Europe and, of course, the United Kingdom. We have the internet to thank for this. It’s worth noting that Leon Hunt, the Carrivick Sisters, Out Of The Brew and Kevin Brown have all been featured on my show and each has appeared at the Bath
Americana Festivals in 2011 and 2012 and, if all goes well some, if not all, will return for this year’s event. Local Larkhall talent was a catalyst when the Americana Festivals were first planned more than six years ago. This year will see the multi-faceted Out Of The Brew participating in the increasingly popular Larkhall Festival. Out Of The Brew, which emerged from the earlier McEwan’s Brew, comprises Nick Jones (guitar and vocals), Chic Abrahams (mandolin, guitar, banjo and vocals), Simon Fossey (banjo and vocals), Andy Kimber (harmonica and bodhran) and Chris Dance (bass and vocals) and is essentially a ceilidh ensemble (with two fiddle players available to add to the line-up if required). The band, however, also includes country and bluegrass in its extensive repertoire, whilst Nick Jones and Chris Dance are also involved in the Café Band and ‘covers’ group, respectively. John Breese, who works closely with the Carrivick Sisters, is a fine bluegrass banjo player and plays with another West-Country-based outfit, The Great Western Revellers. John is also Chairman of the British Bluegrass Music Association (BBMA). It is small wonder then that the world at large is beginning to sit up and take notice of West Country musicians and the village of Larkhall has now ‘gone global’ thanks to an internet radio show beaming out from a sleepy Somerset mining town but playing the kind of music that no other station would touch with a barge-pole. Bon ton roulet (let the good times roll), as they say in Louisiana’s Cajun belt!
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Building a flourishing community Alice Park Community Garden gives people the tools for self-reliance by sharing skills and knowledge and encouraging volunteers and visitors to grow their own fruit and vegetables. It is also a social hub where local community members can gather. For the Larkhall Festival we will have a cake and plant stall, face painting, seed planting for children and a bran tub in Alice Park as part of the Garden Trail on the Monday.
PICTuRED: Timber frame workshop, left and new volunteers for path laying, right.
Log to beam to shelter The garden itself is going through some changes.You may have noticed the safety fencing. Work has now begun on the green oak open shelter we are building with funding from a Community Spaces grant from the Big Lottery Fund.This will be an eye-catching feature that links the community garden with Alice Park. The main construction is being carried out by students taught by Clare Walter through the Norton Radstock College Green Skills Academy. Clare is a regular trainer for the Carpenters’ Fellowship and has over 20 years’ experience in traditional oak framing. The initial preparation has already begun, but you could still join in to help with the rest of the build and learn these timber skills. To sign up for the course days in April and May please contact Clare Walter on 07878 920183 or call 01225 445589. The raising of the frame is planned for 11 May – check on the community garden website and Facebook page for details. This should be an exciting spectacle and the whole community is invited to come and watch. Bring a picnic or make use of the café while we experience the huge frames being lifted into place. Join our volunteer sessions You can learn how to grow food or offer us your expertise to help create the garden. You can make new friends and take away garden produce. Volunteer sessions currently run from 10am to 12pm every Sunday. From 17 April sessions will also run Wednesday nights from 6-7pm. Turn up when you can, or better still commit to a few hours every week or month. We are able to offer opportunities for those taking part in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, for garden skills or community involvement. We are also laying a hard surface for wheelchair access and need more help with this project. Learn a new skill We run workshops and training courses in gardening and other green skills for adults and children.These vary in content, length and price (some are free of charge) and include growing vegetables and fruit, carpentry, cooking with garden produce and outdoor crafts. If you are interested in volunteering or finding out about courses and training contact Kath Holden on 01225 442344, email katherineuna.holden@gmail.com or email Kathy Cook at kathy@aliceparkcommunitygarden.org
www.aliceparkcommunitygarden.org www.facebook.com/aliceparkgarden www.twitter.com/aliceparkgarden
The Larkhall
Village Kitchen
The column that puts creativity back into cooking with the majority of ingredients sourced from Larkhall shops, gardens or allotments.
Panfried Trout with Bacon Believe it or not, this was a favourite way out west during the days of the great American cattle drives and remains a favourite in southern States to this day. Ingredients: 4 trout, about half-pound each, cleaned and scaled 4 rashers of bacon Quarter of a cup of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Method: Fry the bacon until crisp in a pan, drain on paper towels, reserving bacon grease. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture. Add fish to the hot bacon grease and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the fish is brown. Turn and cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the fish is tender. Remove the fish to a warm plate and serve with a salad or fresh wholemeal bread sourced locally. Scatter the crispy, fried bacon over the salad as a tasty treat! SERVES 4
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Football News at Plain Ham It's been a very busy season for Larkhall Athletic FC. The first team have had a lot of success in cup competitions, making it to the 5th round (last 16) of the national FA Vase for the second year running and getting to the quarter finals of the Somerset Premier Cup. They are still in the Western League Les Phillips Cup and look forward to a semi-final against Melksham Town or Willand Rovers. Despite the terrible weather conditions, which have meant more postponements than anyone can remember, not to mention a plethora of injuries, the Larks' league form has been pretty impressive in the last few months. At the time of writing they sit 3rd in the league table with games in hand, and they have only been beaten once in the league since December 2012. The first-team manager Wayne Thorne was made Manager of the Month for March in the Toolstation Western League. The Larks Ladies continue to be serious contenders in southwest women's football.They are currently second in the Premier Division of the South West Women's Football League, 3 points behind the leaders with a game in hand, and they look set to get promoted to the next level. The Club has ambitions to build on its successes on and off the pitch. Following substantial fundraising efforts, the clubhouse is currently being extended to improve the dressing room and hospitality facilities for all our adult and youth teams. Do pop along and see how the work is progressing before the season ends! You can follow the fortunes of the Larks via their website http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/larkhallathleticfc/ - and you can also follow them on Twitter - @LarkhallAFC. Up the Larks!
(Opposite St Saviour’s Church)
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To promote your business locally contact us on 01225 312661
news from
New Oriel Hall
‘Aren’t we lucky?’ Time and time again these words bounce off the walls at New Oriel Hall and we agree. How many villages have their own theatre, community centre, annual festival, excellent cafes, great shops selling local produce and now, to top it all, a community library? No wonder houses for sale in Larkhall are snapped up! For lucky Larkhallians it’s all happening on the doorstep.
Discover your inner gracefulness Adult ballet starts on April 11th at 7.30 p.m. Teacher Miss Gudrun Derrick said ‘I believe that ballet is a wonderful way to enhance your life, creating a sense of poise and grace. It strengthens your core, lengthens and tones muscles, improves your posture, increases flexibility and balance.To sign up for a block of ten classes for £50 call Gudrun on 07753 616726
Could you spare a couple of hours? At noon on May 4th, alongside the opening of Larkhall Festival, local author and intrepid mountaineer Stephen Venables, will cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of Larkhall Community Library.
Another new drop-in exercise class offering total body conditioning starts after Easter on Tuesday nights, 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. This class is being run by Amanda Lindsay, a popular local teacher whose classes are tremendous fun, with lots of laughter as well as balanced exercise, incorporating some yoga, pilates and cardio and suitable for all levels.
Housed in a ground floor meeting room at New Oriel Hall, this is a partnership project with B&NES council who are providing all the shelving, topping up books, many of which have been donated, and offering expertise when needed.The new library will be run entirely by volunteers and the bigger the support group the better the service on offer. If anyone can spare a couple of hours regularly once a week or even once a fortnight, we would love to hear from you. Please phone 01225 466606 or email info@neworielhall.org.uk. Books in new condition are also needed. To celebrate the new venture we are holding a poetry competition. It’s open to everyone in the area and we hope lots of people will take the plunge and have a go. There will be prizes for the best poems.The topic for adults is ‘Reading between the lines’. For children there’s a choice of two topics, either ‘Words I love and words I hate’ or ‘Tell the world about Larkhall’. Poems should be sent to New Oriel Hall by April 16th, with your name and a contact telephone number on the back. Children under 16 should add their age.
07940 022851
Popular ‘one-off ’ events to mark in your diary include May 18th, when Little Pickles Market will be selling new and used children’s clothes and goods at affordable prices. On June 9th Writing Events Bath are holding a summer special workshop for local writers where you can tap into dreams and memories to find stories. Anyone thinking of taking up Shiatsu as a career should consider a 6 Day training workshop for all bodywork therapists, being held at the hall over two weekends, June 14th, 15th and 16th and June 28th, 29th and 30th. For further information please call Liz Arundel on 01862 811413 www.shiatsu-shintai.co.uk Model Railway enthusiasts from all over the country will descend on the hall on July 20th for a Model Railway Exhibition organised by our own local specialist shop the Titfield Thunderbolt Bookshop. At the end of August on the 25th Bath Area Growers are holding a Produce Show. We hope the summer weather is better than last year, for the sake of both the vegetables on show and ourselves.
Therapeutic Yoga running on a Monday, is in its second year at New Oriel Hall, and offers a space where people with health problems can practice yoga at a gentle pace. Active stretches and poses are interspersed with relaxation and mindfulness, which can prevent strain and fatigue that may develop in more robust classes. The teacher Helen has MS, and so is able to tailor the yoga to those with a range of health conditions. ''Living with a long-term health condition can be very challenging both physically and emotionally. I hope the class offers people a chance to explore what they can do, when the body, breath and mind relax, and are able to connect and work together in harmony.'' The class also welcomes beginners, or those seeking a gentle, patient class atmosphere.
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Get into shape in less than Rob Suchet, head trainer at Larkhall's 15mins per day byexclusive personal training studio Hands full? Time short? Used to be slim but just can't seem to shift the baby weight? Well, here's the good news: you can get in shape in less than 15 minutes exercise a day. At RJS Fitness we have developed our own unique LEaN™ system of personal training that applies the latest scientific techniques to help people achieve optimal health. We take personal training to a medical level, looking at digestive function, hormone and mineral imbalances and use one of Europe's top laboratories for specialist testing. We train people of all ages and backgrounds but the one thing that unites them is a burning desire to improve themselves. While our approach at the studio in Larkhall is highly individualised, there is one principle that we'd like to share with you to help you make the best use of your time and get in shape for the summer: “The most effective way of training for burning fat is in short bursts of very high intensity exercise.”
Rather than focusing on trying to burn calories (as this theory has long been debunked by the scientific literature, despite still being used to promote commercial weight-loss products) high intensity exercise stimulates the release of certain hormones, which help the body burn fat long after you stop exercising. You can use any bodyweight exercise (e.g. squats, or even sprinting on the spot) and should aim for between 6-10 bursts of 20-30 seconds of maximum effort, giving yourself 1-2mins rest between sprints and varying the exercises daily. This workout won’t take longer than 15mins and the fatburning effects can last all day! The real key to lasting body shape change, however, is nutrition; all of our personal training packages include detailed assessments to determine the correct nutrition for each individual. For more information about how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals visit rjsfitness.co.uk or contact us to arrange a free consultation at the studio in Larkhall on 01225 571255 or email us at info@rjsfitness.co.uk
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To promote your business locally contact us on 01225 312661