Arts & Entertainment

From Spitfire Sisters to Beatlemania the Arts Centre ends the year in style

THE Arts Centre in Salisbury has announced a series of spectacular concerts that look set to offer music lovers a rocking end to 2022.

Limehouse Lizzy

Friday, 18th November, 8pm

Limehouse Lizzy continue to keep the spirit of Celtic rock icon Philip Lynott and his band Thin Lizzy alive, well and dominating stages worldwide. The band have also added a tribute into their show to ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist (and world-renowned solo artist) Gary Moore.

From their Official PRS award, performing for Virgin Atlantic in Barbados, TV appearances (Arena on BBC2 among others), and to actually being recruited to record and tour by members of the original Thin Lizzy, Limehouse Lizzy have just completed their 28th year with their most explosive show and critically acclaimed line-up yet.

Despite international tours (UAE, Germany and previously USA, Scandinavia, Caribbean etc.), corporate clients (Mitsubishi, NatWest) and even book appearances (The Rocker, Send In The Clones), they finished 2021 with a full UK tour with original Glam-rock legends The Sweet, and started 2022 with a string of their own European tour dates.

Tickets start at £21.50, from https:// www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on/ salisbury-arts-centre/limehouse-lizzy/

The Spitfire Sisters

Saturday, 26th November, 8pm

Vocal harmony trio The Spitfire Sisters wish they could sing festive tunes all year long, but they save it up to share with you at the most wonderful time of the year. Join them as they perform their favourite holiday songs to get you ready for the Christmas season.

Bells will be jingled and merriment will be made, as they awaken the Christmas spirit with a sack full of Christmas classics.

Tickets start at £19.50, from https:// www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on/ salisbury-arts-centre/the-spitfire-sisterssp185403/

Beatlemania

Friday, 2nd December, 8pm

Roll up, roll up, for a rip-roaring magical musical tour through the back catalogue of the world’s greatest ever band. Every song is a winner in this note-perfect musical love letter to the Fab Four.

John, Paul, George and Ringo take to the stage one more time as the supremelytalented cast revive all 17 of their No1 hits, including: She Loves You; Can’t Buy Me Love; A Hard Day’s Night, Help!; Day Tripper; All You Need is Love; Hey Jude; Get Back, and more.

From their mop-top beginnings to the psychedelic highs of Sgt Pepper and beyond, all the biggest hits feature. The most authentic production on tour brings The Beatles to life, live on stage.

Stunning attention to detail – from the original musical instruments and stitch perfect costumes even down to Lennon and McCartney’s on-stage banter – combines with superb vocals and sublime musicianship.

Money can’t buy you love, but it can get you seats for an evening to remember featuring the biggest and best songs ever recorded, performed live in concert.

Tickets start at £21.50, from https:// www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on/ salisbury-arts-centre/beatlemania/

New Year’s Eve with The Deloreons

Saturday, 31st December, 8:30pm

Come and celebrate New Year’s Eve this year at the Arts Centre with The Deloreons, plus local support. Your ticket includes a glass of fizz on arrival – please dress to impress.

The Deloreons originally formed in 2005 as a small and lively three-piece pub band. Since then they have gone on to work at thousands of weddings, events and corporate functions throughout Europe.

The band has also held residencies on board P&O and DFDS Ferries and in 2012 and 2013 they headed to the French Alps, playing huge party nights around various venues including the world famous Rond Point in Meribel.

In 2012, The Deloreons headlined the Queens Jubilee Celebrations in Salisbury with 10,000 people partying, singing and dancing along.

The Deloreons then went on to sell out Salisbury City Hall three years running with their 80s Party Nights and in 2017 headlined ‘Live at the Farm’ with more than 4,000 guests in attendance in aid of Salisbury Live.

The Deloreons know exactly how to get the party going with well executed covers of some of the best known party hits from across the decades. Their musicality, vocal arrangements and high energy performances make them more than just a typical cover band.

Age Guidance: Suitable for ages 18+ (16+ accompanied by an adult).

Tickets start at £25 from https://www. wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on/salisburyarts-centre/new-years-eve-with-thedeloreons/

Arts & Entertainment Driftwood sculptures are proving a lifeline for Salisbury artist

Words and photo by Tristan Ovington

CREATIVITY is a lifeline for many and Taff Hughes, a 77-year-old retired artist living in Salisbury, is no exception. He lives by himself and occupies his time by creating beautiful, sinewy pieces of sculpture made from ivy and hazel wood.

“I find them on Harnham slope or the racecourse,” said Taffy. “I strip them down by removing the bark, which can take up to 20 hours for larger pieces, and varnish them. Many pieces are made from driftwood from the river Avon. I don’t want to sell some because they are just too beautiful to give away, and I am so proud of them.”

When asked if all his pieces are made from ivy, Taff replied: “Some are made from hazel wood, which I boil and twist into different shapes by curling it around my finger. The hazel is more artistic and delicate, but the result is stunning as you can create striking shapes.”

Taff’s interest in sculpture began over 20 years ago, following his involvement in a car accident: “Twenty years ago, I was driving home from work on Dorchester bypass. A young driver hit me from behind, and I crossed the crash barrier. Sitting in the driver’s seat, I couldn’t feel my legs.

“The van had flipped over, so an ambulance and fire engine came, and they turned it over so it was upright. They put me on a stretcher, but one of the paramedics dropped me a few feet to the ground. Immediately after I fell, I felt pins and needles in my legs as the feeling returned.

“The doctor said I was lucky they dropped me, as it jerked my back in a way that meant it returned feeling to my legs. I went to a rehabilitation clinic with my back hunched and difficulty walking.

“After six months I was as good as new, and after 18 months, aged 60, I returned to work. One day, I was out with my grandchildren and saw a piece of ivy wrapped around a branch. I took it home, cleaned it upand that’s where it all began. I have no training in carpentry or art.

“I retired at 63 because I had lymphoma. I am in the early stages of dementia. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have my hobby. It keeps me going and I’d be lost without it. I am always available at home if people want to come in for a chat and to look at my art.” Taff can be reached on 07856954310

Taff creates his sculptures from ivy and hazel

Arts & Entertainment

The stories of Salisbury’s women through the ages finally being told

HER Salisbury Story is an exhibition at The Salisbury Museum, inspired by the Her Salisbury Story project and website, aims to bring the city’s heritage alive through the exploration of women’s narratives, celebrating the lives of women past and present.

The aim is to ‘write in’ women’s experiences of Salisbury, ensuring women’s contributions are seen and valued as intrinsic to the city and its development. The project was started in 2020 by the Soroptimist International of Salisbury – an organisation that aims to transform the lives of women through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities.

The criteria for inclusion in the project is that each of the women will have been born or lived in Salisbury and its environs and/or have made a significant contribution to Salisbury or the wider community. These contributions include social, political, cultural, and economic.

The exhibition explores a selection of the women’s stories, some of which can be found on the Her Salisbury Story website. These include the fascinating story of journalist Dorothy Lawrence, who was the only woman to go to the western front in the First World War.

A journalist by trade, hungry for a good story and determined to do her bit, Dorothy set out for the Western Front in 1915, with little more than a passport, a pencil and a bicycle. Disguised as a man, she managed to attach herself to the Royal Engineers 51st Division, 179th Tunnelling Co.

Other stories include that of Anne Bodenham, tried and executed for being a witch in 1653; Elihonor Sadler, a ‘trulie virtuous and religious’ philanthropist whose devout and charitable life is marked by a memorial in Salisbury Cathedral; Lady Jo Benson, voted as the woman who has contributed most to life in the city; society hostess and Mayor of Wilton, Edith Olivier; fashion designer Georgina von Etzdorf; stonemason Robyn GoldenHann; Tracy Daszkiewicz, whose courage and professionalism prevented the tragic Novichok incidents of 2018 from becoming a much greater disaster; as well as an inn-keeper, cutler, painters, nurses, business women and more.

With objects largely drawn from the museum’s collection, this exhibition will be a must-see for anyone interested in women’s histories, local history, and the development of the city of Salisbury.

Her Salisbury Story has published the stories of 80 women on its website, organised a successful writing competition in partnership with author Cornelia Funke, developed Her Salisbury Footprint, a heritage trail and tourist map. It is also working with the Civic Society to increase the number of blue plaques celebrating women. Team members are currently offering guided walks and talks to local organisations.

Exhibition runs from November 12 to April 16, 2023, normal charges apply. www.hersalisburystory.com

Credit: The Salisbury Museum. Edith Olivier sitting outside Daye House

Singer Toyah wows with her narration of Peter and the Wolf

ON Saturday, November 5, 450 people turned out to hear singer and actress Toyah Willcox narrate Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, with Salisbury Cathedral’s assistant director of Music John Challenger taking on the ‘orchestral’ role with the famous Father Willis organ.

The evening was a relaxed affair. Children were free to move about and many sat on huge carpets laid out in the Spire Crossing.

The event was expertly compéred by Steve Abbott, a counter tenor in the Cathedral choir and the director of Salisbury Cathedral’s Youth Choir.

Using the big screen, Steve and organist John Challenger gave the audience a short tour around the organ, then after two pieces by Camille Saint-Saëns including The Swan from the Carnival of the Animals, Toyah took to the stage. From the Cathedral’s magnificent pulpit in the Spire Crossing, she delivered a dramatic and entertaining narration of Peter and the Wolf – and the hapless duck who was swallowed whole – perfectly mirroring John Challenger’s witty take on the famous symphonic fairytale for children.

After the concert Toyah and John were surrounded by fans, old and young, wanting autographs and to share their memories both of Toyah and the music.

Arts & Entertainment Secrets revealed as Irish cat stars in local Grandma’s first published novel

TOWARDS the end of the first year of the pandemic, Writing Magazine inserted a list of publishers actively looking for specific material.

Buried in the middle was a small ad from Gill Books in Dublin seeking children’s books with an Irish interest.

“Not unlike most folk on the vulnerable list in this country, I was under house arrest at the time so I started to do a bit of research,” said Pam Henry, who lives just outside Salisbury.

“Shortly after our first non-Christmas, I had completed the first of what was originally a series of five chapter books told in the first person by a centuries-old Irish cat and aimed at the mid-grade age range. The stipulated submission was duly sent off to Gill Books sometime early in 2021.

“They very kindly wrote back that they liked it but it wasn’t for them. Being stubborn, as I am, and having done all that work, I decided to give one more Irish publisher a try.

“On Easter Monday I emailed the first chapter of the first book to Currach Books. The managing editor obviously had a quiet moment over the holiday because the very next day I received a response from him saying that he liked what he’d read and could he please read the whole thing.

“Following some to-ing and fro-ing on email and a Zoom meeting, he preferred the five to be condensed into four and asked how long it would take me to re-jig the first book and write the other three.”

Pam signed a contract with Currach Books in July 2021 and finished the remaining three books by early 2022.

The first in the series, A Saucer Full of Secrets, was published on August 1 and is now finding its way out into the world, in bookshops and on all online outlets.

“I've just returned from my first book tour in and around Dublin, where I had a whale of a time visiting bookshops and doing signings.

“They want me to go back again next spring, with a view to visitings schools and libraries to meet some book readers as well as book buyers.

“I'm also getting a mention in Writing Magazine shortly, as their Magazine is what kickstarted my success story.”

A Saucer Full of Secrets is published by Currach Books.

Hunchback of Notre Dame finds his way to St Paul’s Church

MUSICAL Theatre Salisbury will present its version of Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame in the beautiful surrounds of St Paul’s Church in the heart of Salisbury from November 22-26.

The theatre group is an amateur dramatics society that has been performing around Salisbury for over a century. The group has been slowly rebuilding its numbers following the pandemic and has performed at a number of local events over the past year – from Carol singing outside care homes to performing in the local market square and a one-off concert at St Mark’s Church.

In July, the group made its return to the main stage at Salisbury Playhouse performing The Full Monty, eliciting positive feedback and support from the local community.

The amateur cast is drawn from a wide range of age, experience and knowledge but all have been working hard to bring this Victor Hugo Novel to life. The youngest member performing in the cast is 10-yearsold while the oldest is over 80.

Production director, Peter McAuley said: “It has been an amazing experience to bring people from all walks of life together twice a week to work on something they love while also allowing us to socialise and spend time back face to face.

“We are also super excited to be bring this musical to life, not in a theatre, but taking it to a beautiful medical church, and although the St Paul’s Church has been modernised it still holds all its original character and charm with stone pillars and beautiful stainless windows which will all add to the atmosphere of the beautiful musical.

Previously known as Salisbury Amateur Operatic Society, the society’s major activity is to produce fully-staged and costumed musical shows but we also perform in concerts and offer workshops and social activities for members.

Its repertoire varies, from Broadway shows to contemporary musicals, as well as the much-loved Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.