Winchester Today - May 2018

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Xxxxxxx 2018

winchestertoday.co.uk 1

MAY 2018 ISSUE 039

www.winchestertoday.co.uk

NOT GOOD ENOUGH The letter to MP that puts Winchester’s train operator under review just eight months into franchise

By KEVIN GOVER News Editor THE Government’s decision to award the Winchester railway franchise to South Western Railway has taken a new twist – with the news that the operator is now under formal review.

Transport Minister Chris Grayling says he’s “very disappointed” with the performance of SWR over recent months and was aware local MPs has been frustrated by the issues passengers have experienced: “Whilst it is important to recognise that a significant proportion of the delays on SWR routes are attributed to Network Rail and that we have seen some good progress in performance in

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G overnment expresses huge disappointment

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O verall performance “not good enough”

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O perator brings in expert help

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“ Finally” say passengers

recent weeks, overall performance has simply not been good enough and I am determined that we see a long term, sustained performance improvement across this route.

“That is why I have commissioned an independent review of SWR and NR, to ensure all possible steps are being taken to improve performance and the passenger experience. The review will be independently chaired by Sir Michael Holden, who has over 40 years’ experience in railway operations and will be completed in summer 2018.”

Winchester’s MP Steve Brine is welcoming the news: “This shows how

Our Norman history on TV page 3

contined on page 2 ➜

OVER TO YOU!

Staff at Southampton Airport warmly welcomed Baton Relay runners as part of the Royal Air Force’s Centenary celebrations. RAF members passed on a specially designed ‘RAF100’ baton to members of the airport’s staff, which they carried to its next destination.

Neil Garwood is Head of Operations for Southampton Airport and one of the volunteers carrying the RAF100 baton: “The airport has got a great history with the Royal Air Force, and we are happy to support them in their centenary celebrations.

Southampton Airport is where the first flight of Spitfire took place back in 1936. We are proud to recognise the commitment of RAF and the work we do together for the greater good.”

The baton has been designed by RAF apprentices to represent the century of service to the Nation, and the relay will continue until 10 July.

Time travel drama in Cheriton page 13

Local schools in Albert Hall

page 16

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May 2018

EDITORIAL COMMENT I can remember exactly where I was when I heard that South West Trains had lost its franchise. I was on a train! I have to say that I was totally shocked. As a regular train user over ten years through Winchester, I have to admit that by and large I was quite happy with my lot.

Okay, the carpets on the trains were a bit threadbare and the internet a bit basic, but when you compared SWT to other operators, surely you have to agree that it wasn’t actually that bad?

When I heard the news, I was travelling

from Winchester to London, and hadn’t even reached Basingstoke when my phone started ‘pinging’ with reaction. We were being promised earlier and faster trains, a better deal on season tickets, etc etc. Ah, isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing… read the small print. Wasn’t ever going to happen, and all we got was another rise in fares, lots of nonsense about delay / repay and ghastly looking ‘cold’ new livery on some trains which looks like it’s from sixty years in the future.

But what also mystifies us is the comment

that expert help is now being brought in from outside to help rectify the situation.

Surely, most of this expertise already existed? If you go to Winchester station, you see the same staff. Likewise on the trains.

Someone needs to take control, ditch the new timetable proposals, freeze any price rises and sort it out, or come December we’ll be right back where we started. Above all, someone needs to remember: it wasn’t broke, and it didn’t need fixing.

Kevin Gover, Editor

ABOUT US winchestertoday est 2012

n EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Kevin Gover kevin@winchestertoday.co.uk n CONTRIBUTORS • David Cradduck • Drew White • Gavin Harris • David Cradduck • Rachel Gover • John Ellery • Chrissie Pollard • Lex Harris • Julia Kimber • Cate Hardy • Eleanor Marsden • Helena Gomm n LAYOUT DESIGN • Jon Heal

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➜ contined from page 1

Five months on: The poor performance was flagged up in January, as reported in Winchester Today (below)

seriously the Government takes what has been a poor start to the franchise. I have made no secret of the fact I am very disappointed by the opening months of the SWR franchise, and I know my constituents very much share that view.

“The operator has had some bad luck to start its tenure including a politically motivated strike which is beyond its control but it’s right we hold them to account at this stage.

“This SWR Franchise Agreement actually has provisions that incentivise SWR to improve their own performance, and to work jointly with Network Rail.

Where performance falls below expected levels, SWR are required to invest additional sums into initiatives to address the causes of the poor performance.

“As a result, SWR have committed to investing around £5 million in performance improvement initiatives in 2018/19 and I know that Mr Grayling and MPs will be closely monitoring progress.”

The Twitter account of Winchester Today went into meltdown when we broke the story originally on our website

a few days back. Most comments to us from frustrated passengers were along the lines of “finally” or “at last”. A spokesman for South Western Railway gave Winchester Today his reaction to the news: “Performance has not been at the level we want, or expect, to deliver and we are determined to put that right.

“Our task now is to ensure this additional £5 million investment can bring the biggest benefit and help deliver our passengers a railway they can rely on.

“We are determined to do everything we can to improve performance and that includes bringing in external expertise to support us.”

Back in January both SWR and Network Rail were called before the watchdog ‘Transport Focus’ after months of disruption and poor performance across the network. At the time, the chief executive, of Transport Focus, Anthony Smith, made this comment: “Passengers want a more reliable service and better information when things go wrong. While welcome investment is being made in South Western Railway, passengers need to be able to rely on the

It’s right we hold them to account at this stage

trains today.

“Passengers will be pleased to hear South Western and Network Rail are tackling this poor performance. It’s vital that they continue to work together to produce a more robust timetable.”

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May 2018

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SHEDDING LIGHT ON NORMAN REMAINS TV history programme showcases Winchester’s history and archaeology work

ARCHAEOLOGIST Dr Simon Roffey and historian Dr Katherine Weikert were both interviewed recently by presenter Dr Alice Roberts, who told the story on Channel 4 of Norman England through key moments in the history of Winchester, Britain’s most Norman city. Alice attempted to storm a castle in chain mail, investigates the origins of modern surgery and tucks in to an appetising eel pie.

She also visited the University archaeology lab to see the remarkable set of human remains excavated from the hospital cemetery of St Mary Magdalen in Winchester, the country’s earliest excavated leprosy hospital and one of the most extensively excavated medieval hospitals in western Europe. University archaeologists have been working on the site since 2007.

The programme showed Dr Simon Roffey, Reader in Medieval Archaeology, and University researcher David Ashby examining one of the excavated skeletons and taking samples for radio carbon dating with Alice Roberts.

Simon says it was great to be involved: “The fact that our excavation and postexcavation work at the medieval hospital of St Mary Magdalen has featured again on television really shows both the

History: Dr Simon Roffey, Dr Alice Roberts and University researcher David Ashby with one of the skeletons

winchestertoday.co.uk 3 importance of this site and our work there, as well as its continued ability to catch the public imagination.”

Research at Winchester has argued that the hospital of St Mary Magdalen may represent the beginnings of institutional health care and that such early hospitals, founded in the first few decades of the Norman Conquest, indicate a high level of social responsibility towards the care of leprosy sufferers. This goes against traditionallyheld misconceptions that the disease was especially stigmatised in medieval society.

In another segment of the programme, Dr Katherine Weikert, Senior Lecturer in Early Medieval European History, visited the Bishop’s Palace with Alice Roberts to talk about the twelfth-century Anarchy - a civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda - and Winchester’s key role for both sides. The Rout of Winchester in 1141 was a crucial pivoting point of the Anarchy, which eventually saw Matilda’s son, Henry II, inheriting the crown and ushering in the Plantagenet dynasty from the Norman rulers.

Katherine says that Medieval Winchester wasn’t just important on a local or regional scale: “It was one of the great cities of the Conquest era, a power base to the Anglo-Saxon and Norman rulers, as well as the church with the powerful medieval bishops of Winchester. I’m delighted that the production chose Winchester as its Norman city and that I could show some of Winchester’s great history to its audience.”

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I SPY A GREAT DAY OUT IN BEAULIEU BEAULIEU has something a bit secret organised for May half-term, May 26th – June 3rd, where you and your children can be transported back to the time of the Special Operations Executive in World War II and enter the world of spies and soldiers.

They can become a secret agent and follow the trail to discover hidden car parts and match them to the secret blueprint concealed in Palace House, then make a cipher wheel to crack the coded message.

Beaulieu was the wartime finishing school for SOE, where secret agents learned vital espionage skills before embarking on dangerous missions.

During May half-term, they can test their skills and search the Beaulieu grounds on their own training mission.

Parts of a prototype Citroen 2CV have been hidden to avoid enemy capture.

Find the components, then head to the mission briefing room in Palace House to match them to the plan. They can also quiz costumed SOE instructors in this training exercise for agents being sent to enemy occupied France.

On Saturday June 2nd join forensic investigators from the Specialist Operations Regiment, Royal Military Police as they show you how to dust for fingerprints, collect evidence and photograph the scene of a crime.

On Sunday May 27th join author

Search: Budding secret agents can uncover a trail of evidence

Cameron McAllister to listen to book readings from The Tin Snail in the National Motor Museum and find out about the real-life story of plans for Citroen’s 2CV that were hidden from invading forces.

To take a tour on board HMS Medusa from 26th – 29th May, upgrade your ticket to include a visit to Buckler’s Hard. HMS Medusa helped to clear the way to Omaha Beach for D-Day and more recently took a starring role in the Dunkirk movie.

May 2018

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May 2018

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BEST PAW FORWARD? Take your best friend for a stroll and raise vital funds for Air Ambulance WINCHESTER Today’s nominated charity - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance - will be hosting their first event for four-legged friends!

‘Paws in the Park’ is your pet dog’s chance to take the lead and help raise vital funds for the Charity.

The 5-mile walk will take place at Lepe Country Park on Saturday 14th July and each participating pooch will receive a medal and congratulatory treat. Pets are urged to bring their owners, so the whole family can enjoy the day together.

Entry is £10 per walking woofer and owners are urged to raise £30 sponsorship, which will go directly towards helping to keep the Air Ambulance flying and saving lives.

So far this year, HIOWAA’s Critical Care Teams of doctors, paramedics and pilots have attended over 423 missions.

The teams respond to emergencies across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, day and night, 365 days a year, bringing their medical expertise to anywhere from a roadside to a country field, as Mary Spencer discovered on the morning of New Years Eve 2017.

Mary and her husband were out walking their dogs with friends when they needed the expert care and speed of the Air Ambulance.

Mary, from Tadley, suffered from Sarcoma; a rare form of soft tissue cancer. After many operations and sessions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she was warned that one of the side effects was a higher risk of fractures. “I was standing with my husband and our dogs waiting for our friends to come back when, out of nowhere, there was a loud odd noise and I fell to the floor with the worst pain I have ever felt in my leg; it felt like my leg had snapped in two. I now know that I had fractured my femur.”

An ambulance was called, but they quickly decided that it would be too difficult and extremely painful to try and move Mary across the uneven ground. The Air Ambulance was needed.

HIOWAA doctors and paramedics arrived in minutes and administered pain relief before flying Mary to hospital.

Mary is still recovering but is urging all her dog walking friends to take part in Paws in the Park: “It will be wonderful event and such a great way to support Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Like me, you never know when you will need them.”

Online registration is now open at www.hiowaa.org

It will be a great way to support Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance

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Meet The Barn Store Crew! (and dog…)

HAMPSHIRE NHS PIONEERS

HAMPSHIRE Hospitals has become the first NHS Trust in the UK to adopt new state of the art technology which helps to identify a life threatening condition earlier.

New diagnostic equipment means that staff can rapidly identify the cause of sepsis, which affects 260,000 people in the UK every year.

The clinical lead for microbiology and infection at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is Nick Cortes: “This is an incredibly exciting time as we are always looking to explore innovative ways to improve patient care through diagnostics.

“This technology brings important benefits to patients as we will be able to get their exact diagnosis earlier, investigate the root cause of sepsis more

accurately and get them onto a treatment that we know works, sooner.”

So far, the testing kit has been used in 170 cases and early examples have shown that it is having a positive impact on patient care.

May 2018

Benefit: The state of the art technologywill rapidly identify sepsis

This technology brings important benefits to patients

CHARLIE Corbett has been running the Barn Store for around 10 years now, helping people declutter while still knowing their possessions are safe, dry and secure: “The housing market’s pretty quiet at the moment, so why not take Sarah Beeny’s advice… make your house look bigger and more spacious.

Your storage problems will go away, and you’ll make negotiating easier later if you need to sell your house.”

Charlie’s farm is still a working one, with sheep and arable dealings. But like many others he’s had to diversify. He’s part of a franchise, with 12 of them

Personal touch: Charlie Corbett pictured with wife Susie and Flute the dog

across the UK doing exactly the same thing: “We like to make people feel confident that their treasured possessions will be safe. We use units that are all raised off the ground by four inches. Soft furnishings come out exactly as they went in.”

Charlie also finds that many people like the personal touch: “We’re in the South Downs National Park, and when people come to see us they usually park up and go for a walk!”

Look for the Barn Store ad elsewhere in the paper - and maybe go for that walk too!

THE VALUE OF SIMPLY HAVING FUN!

STORAGE made easy

Chesil Theatre report a huge turnout for the readthrough of ‘Wind in the Willows’ (pictured) which will be the Theatre’s forthcoming summer production in the gardens of Wolvesey Palace (17-21 July). There were also good turnouts at all three of the auditions held, with the Theatre saying there were some novel animal characterisations and mannerisms on display from the auditionees.

CHERITON OPEN GARDENS Sunday 3rd June 2018 1.30 to 5.30pm

Entry £6 pp (children under 14 free) Several lovely gardens in Cheriton, large and small, will be open on the day.

Teas will be available in the Village Hall Plant Sale, Raffle and plentiful free parking.

Tickets on sale on the day.

All proceeds will go to The Cheriton Village Hall Fundraising Campaign.

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May 2018

winchestertoday.co.uk 7

Fortified and Inspired Winchester’s MP Steve Brine responds on behalf of the Government to a special debate in Parliament on brain tumours THE debate was inspired by Baroness Tessa Jowell, who recently addressed Parliament about her own battle. The session was opened by Sarah Jones, the MP for Croydon Central, after the Speaker extended his welcome to Tessa Jowell, who was watching the debate with her family in the Under-Gallery. He said that he hoped she would feel “fortified and inspired by the warm embrace of Parliamentary love.”

The debate, which lasted over two hours, heard from a wide range of contributors, including Jonathan Ashworth, James Brokenshire, who himself has returned to the House after serious medical treatment, Heidi Alexander and Jim Shannon.

Responding to the debate, Steve Brine told the House how listening to the speeches had been an absolute privilege, and it would be an experience he would remember for a long time. He then confirmed how the Government would do everything it could to meet the challenge. He said: “Those who know me as the cancer Minister know that I am impatient and determined, as is the Secretary of State, to do well, to do better, and then to do better again in fighting cancer.

I am impatient and determined to do well, to do better and then to do better again

“I say that not out of arrogance or ministerial bluster but because I believe that this challenge is one that we can overcome. I was truly inspired when meeting the Baroness for the first time at the inaugural meeting of the UK brain tumour steering group.”

He went on to set out priorities on research, data sharing and patient engagement, saying: “We must ensure that patients are at the centre and heart of our work on brain tumours, so we will build on the existing work to develop a clear timeline and plan for reducing the time to diagnosis for brain tumours, which is as important in this cancer as in all others.”

Wrapping up the debate, which he later said was Parliament at its best with the Conservative and Labour parties united as one, he added: “Baroness Jowell has been the catalyst for this rapid activity on brain tumours, and it is incumbent on us all to continue to work closely together over the coming months and years to build on this legacy.

“She is here today, and I know that she will be watching us closely. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, now is the time for “painful effort…grim energy and resolute courage” to beat this terrible disease.”

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Inspired: Steve Brine MP with Baroness Tessa Jowell following the debate in Parliament

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May 2018

Squirt and Squidge

YOU CAN READ PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF FREYA’S BLOG AT SQUIRTANDSQUIDGE.COM

Becoming ‘Indisposable’

Freya Storey continues to share her life as a mum-of-two SO my eldest recently turned four, and luckily for us he wanted a pretty low-key, low maintenance do - a group of his buddies on scooters and bikes bombing it around on ramps - FAB! I get pretty twitchy about children’s parties, I’m not sure how I really feel about them, sure I think it’s important to celebrate birthdays but I also get that some kids don’t particularly like a fuss or that some parents prefer to do more low key small scale things to mark the occasion.

While I was trying to get organised for this particular birthday, one thing that struck me was the amount of disposable stuff that is aimed at parents looking to throw a party. The endless choice of themed ‘cups’, ‘plates’, ‘tablecloths’, ‘napkins’ - most of it plastic and most of it has a life expectancy of a few hours!

So why do so many of us fall prey to this - and like I did this time round rush to the tills with a trolley full of expensive ‘rubbish.’ I guess one reason is that it’s always been this way - you go with what your kids are into, you see a row full of themed tat and job done - feeding utensils sorted!

The one thing that played with my conscience the most this time round, was the famous ‘party bag.’ Firstly I wondered what it was all about ... so I decided to do

A bag full of tat that ends up broken or on the floor of the car a bit of research into ‘why we have party bags?’ and where the tradition started.

I found out the following: • Kids birthday parties first begun to be celebrated in the 12th century AD so they have been going on a LONG time without a party bag.

• The party bag is a relatively recent import from America which made its way over to these shores over the last 15 years and now appears as deep rooted as Halloween.

There are a number of reasons why the whole ‘party bag’ thing doesn’t sit quite right for me - the main one is the fact that really all it is, is a bag full of tat that ends up broken, on the car floor or uneaten (the slice of cake.) This again

is an enormous amount of waste if you consider the amount of kids parties and the amount of products that are generally made from cheap plastic.

Another factor is the cost - the average party bag is said to be around the £7 mark, for a normal sized kids party that’s

a lot of money year on year once the expectation is set.

Surely there must be alternatives out there, I don’t think I can cope with another 5+ years of trying to choose between uninspiring plastic butterflies to ‘build your own/but avoid tantrums at

not being able to’ model vehicles.

With the next birthday falling for us in November, this time round I will be making a conscious effort to reduce disposable items, I will also be looking into alternatives to the ‘traditional party bag.’

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A THOUGHTFUL TAKE ON A TRAGIC TALE TITANIC THE MUSICAL Mayflower Theatre, Southampoton

By BECCY CONWAY RMS Titanic returned to Southampton more than one hundred years after she set sail from the city’s docks, bound for New York on her doomed maiden voyage.

With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Peter Stone, the show first opened on Broadway in 1997, going on to win five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Following a critically acclaimed run at London’s Charing Cross Theatre in 2016, Titanic now embarks on its first UK and Ireland tour, aptly premiering in Southampton. Here, where the SeaCity Museum commemorates more than five hundred families who lost relatives on Titanic.

There’s a universal fascination with this particular maritime disaster, perpetuated by such cultural phenomena as James Cameron’s multi-awardwinning 1997 film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio, which was released six months after the opening of Yeston and Stone’s show.

Fast-paced musical numbers introduce us to people from the three classes of Titanic’s ticket holders, as well as the staff and crew members. The true events which played out are woven with

The small, human moments have the greatest impact

accounts by the various characters as they sing of their dreams for better lives in America, and of the wonders of this magnificent ship, the largest moving object in the world at that time.

It is clear early on that much of the show’s emphasis is on owner J. Bruce Ismay’s desperation to raise the White Star Line company to the top of the ranks of transatlantic travel. Act I sees the tension mount as Ismay (Simon Green) pressures Captain Edward Smith (Philip Rham) to increase the ship’s speed, and we find ourselves hoping for a better

outcome than the one we know must come.

There are a few scenes which feel somewhat gratuitous; one too many duets about unsatisfactory middle-class lives, and dreams of rubbing elbows with the millionaires in First Class.

However, the sentiment behind these songs, I appreciate. Yeston and Stones’ desire to connect the audience to every single individual, and therefore to their real-life counterparts – products of the turbulent industrial revolution, many of whom didn’t survive the voyage – is

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For me, it is the small, human moments throughout the piece that have the greatest impact; from the heart-breaking farewells by the men and women separated by the few allocated spaces in the lifeboats, to elderly couple, Ida and Isidor Straus (Judith Street and Dudley Rogers), waltzing as the ship takes on water, refusing to be parted.

Standout performances include Greg Castiglioni’s moving portrayal of ship builder Thomas Andrews, who scrawls futilely across the ship’s blueprints in an attempt to fix the ship’s design, even whilst it sinks. And, it feels as though the entire auditorium breathe a collective sigh of relief for the young man who agonises over his poor time-keeping as he watches the Titanic leave Southampton without him – for we know that he is one of the lucky ones.

A simple, dynamic set and Edwardian costumes transport us immediately to the era, and the cast themselves switch between roles with ease, cleverly helping us to imagine the numbers on board the vessel. Many of the cast-members have reprised their roles in Titanic for this tour, and each actor’s emotional investment in the people they bring to life is to be applauded.

You might feel that the tragic fates of the Titanic and the 1503 people who died on board are not something to sing and dance about, and you’d be right. This is not your usual toe-tapping singalong musical, but an emotive, character-driven production about real-life people from different walks of life, who were all linked by their belief in the dream that was Titanic, the ‘Unsinkable Ship’.

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May 2018

What’s On across Hampshire and beyond May 2018 Until 24th June Poppies: Wave

Sunday 6th Petersfield Farmers’ Market

at Fort Nelson, Portsdown Hill Road, Fareham. Free Admission

The Square, Petersfield.

10am – 2pm

Saturdays Until 21st July Mayflower Young Writers workshops

Sunday 6th Romsey Farmers’ Market

The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. Ages 11-18, Free Admission: www.mayflower.org.uk

Alma Road, Romsey. 10am – 2pm

Sunday 6th Wedding Fayre

Saturday 12th Gilbert White & The Oates Collections Museum Re-launch: Official Opening Day, High Street, Selborne. 10.30am – 5pm.

Saturday 12th The Little Mermaid Ballet Theatre UK, The Lights, Andover.

2.30pm. Tickets £13.50 - £17.50 available here: www.thelights.org.uk/ WhatsOn/3342/1059/the-little-mermaid

Sunday 20th Solent MGs in the Park

Saturday 26th Totton Arts Festival

Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest. 10am – 4.30pm.

Ticket prices vary. Available here: www. beaulieu.co.uk/events/spring-autojumble/

Stansted Park, Rowlands Park. 12pm – 4pm

Hanger Farm Arts Centre, Totton, Southampton. 11.00am – 5pm Free Entry

Saturday 19th – Sunday 20th Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

Sunday 20th Newton Valance Open Gardens Newton Valence, Near Selborn, Alton. 1pm – 5pm. All proceeds go to St Mary’s Church, Newton Valence

Sunday 20th David Baddiel - My Family

Saturday 12th City of Southampton Orchestra

Sunday 20th The Hampshire Hilly Hundred

Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester.

7.30pm. Tickets £27.50 available here: www. theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/david-baddiel/

Romsey Abbey, Romsey. 7.30pm - 9.30pm.

Tickets available here: https://www. ticketsource.co.uk/musicinromsey

Sparsholt, Winchester. 7am – 3.30pm

Saturday 12th An Evening of Eric and Ern

Palmerston Road, Southsea. 10am – 2pm

The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.

Tickets available here: www.mayflower.org. uk/whats-on/bill-bailey-may-2018/

Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester.

2.30pm/7.30pm. Tickets £18 - £26 available here: www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/ an-evening-with-eric-ern/

Sunday 20th Land Rover Rummage

Sunday 6th – Bank Holiday Monday 7th Hampshire Country Fair

Sunday 13th Basingstoke Transport Festival

Thursday 3rd – Sunday 13th Circus Vegas

Netley Marsh Showground, Southampton.

10am – 6pm. Adults £11.50, Children £4

The War Memorial Park, Basingstoke.

Mayflower Park, Town Quay, Southampton.

Tickets available here: circusvegasuk.com/ book-tickets/

Bank Holiday Monday 7th St Mary’s May Fayre

Cowplain Activity Centre, Padnell Road, Waterlooville. 10am – 3pm. Free admission

Mottisfont National Trust, Nr Romsey.

11am – 5pm daily

Sunday 6th Simply Ford

Tuesday 1st – Thursday 31st Alton Walking Festival

at Beaulieu, National Motor Museum, New Forest. 10am – 5pm.

Adults £12, Children £6

Market Place, Alton.

More information: www.alton.gov.uk/

Tuesday 1st – Saturday 5th A Midsummer Night’s Dream Nuffield Southampton Theatres Campus, Southampton. 2.30pm/7.30pm. Tickets available here: www.nstheatres.co.uk/whatson/a-midsummer-nights-dream/book

Sunday 6th Bill Bailey

Sunday 13th South Downs Green Fair Droxford Road, East Meon. 10am – 5pm

RACHEL GOVER

Saturday 19th – Sunday 20th Spring Autojumble

Thruxton Circuit, Andover.

Tickets from £12.

Until 24th June The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize Exhibition

COMPILED BY

Sunday 20th Hampshire Farmers’ Market

Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest. 10am – 3.30pm.

Ticket prices vary. Available here: www. beaulieu.co.uk/events/land-rover-rummage

Saturday 26th – Sunday 27th Mutiny Festival 2018 King George V Playing Fields, Northern Road, Cosham. Tickets available here: www.mutinyfestivals.co.uk/

Saturday 26th – Sunday 3rd June May Half Term Trail Gilbert White & The Oates Collections, High Street, Selborne. Daily 10.30am – 5pm.

Free with admission

Tuesday 22nd/Thursday 24th High School Musical on stage Auditions

Monday 28th Bank Holiday Live Music

The Lights Theatre, Andover. 5pm - 6.30pm 8 – 12 yrs. 6.30pm - 8pm 13 – 21 yrs

The Boardwalk, Port Solent, Portsmouth. 1pm - 6pm

Thursday 24th Dad’s Army Radio Hour

Monday 28th – Friday 1st June Love Your Zoo week

Forest Arts Centre, New Milton.

7.30pm. More information here: www. hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/forest-artscentre

Birdworld, Holt Pound, Farnham.

Daily 10am – 6pm.

Prices vary from £13.95 -£15.95. amily ticket £49.95

Listings here are free. You can send printed leaflets or brochures to Winchester Today, Suite 123, 80 High Street, Winchester, SO23 9AT, or send details by email to news@winchestertoday.co.uk - all event details listed above are correct at time of going to press.

Thursday 31st Holiday Adventure Day New Forest Activities, Hartford Woods, Beaulieu. 9am – 5pm.

Children aged 8 – 14 yrs. £35 per child

Fratton Road, Portsmouth. 10am – 4pm

Thursday 3rd/Thursday 17th Nature-inspired learning!

Den building, wild art, green woodwork skills, outdoor cookery and more.

Foxbury Forest School, Blackhill Road, East Wellow. 10am -1 2pm. £8 per child

Friday 4th Comedy Club Emirates Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth.

7pm – 11pm. £15. Ages 18+

Friday 4th – Saturday 5th Hurst Castle Stand Up Paddle Board Event Hurst Castle, Keyhaven. 11.00am – 4pm.

Adults £15, Under 16’s £10

Friday 4th – Monday 7th Winchester Chamber Music Festival

Wednesday 9th Daliso Chaponda

Sunday 13th Broughton Village Summer Fete

Comedy, Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester. 7.30pm. Tickets £18 Available here: www.theatreroyalwinchester. co.uk/daliso-chaponda/

Broughton Football Ground, Buckholt Road, Broughton. 12.00pm – 3pm

Thursday 10th Scrummy Mummies

Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester.

7.30pm. Tickets from £20 - £23 Available here: www.theatreroyalwinchester. co.uk/mugenkyo-taiko-drummers/

Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester. 8pm.

Friday 11th Guided Walk: In Jane Austen’s Footsteps Jane Austen’s House Museum, Chawton.

10.30am – 12pm. Tickets £12

Friday 11th South African Wine Dinner

Sunday 13th Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers

Sunday 13th/Sunday 27th Winchester Farmers’ Market Thursday 17th Dan Walsh Trio Folk Music, The Hyde Tavern, 57 Hyde Street, Winchester. 8pm - 10pm

Hotel du Vin, Southgate Street, Winchester.

7pm – 10pm. £59 pp

Friday 11th May Comedy Club

St Peter’s Square, Emsworth. 10am – 2pm

Saturday 5th/Saturday 12th/ Saturday 19th/Saturday 26th Eastleigh Car Boot Sale

Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium, Winchester. 7.30pm - 10pm.

Advance tickets £12, On the door £15.

Ages 18+

Saturday 19th Hampshire Craft and Gift Fair

Friday 11th – Saturday 12th Portsmouth Beer Festival

Saturday 19th Royal Wedding Lunch

Guildhall Square, Portsmouth.

Friday - 6pm - 11pm.

Saturday - 12.00pm – 5pm and 6pm - 11pm.

Celebrate the Marriage of HRH Prince Harry & Meghan Markle, Chewton Glen Hotel, New Milton. 10.30am – 3.30pm.

Adults £95, Children 6-12 yrs £55

Saturday 5th Beltain Festival at Butsers Ancient Farm, Chalton, Waterlooville. Daytime. Adults £25, Children £20

Saturday 5th Jane Austen Tour and Tea Winchester Cathedral, Winchester.

10am – 12pm. Tickets £12.50

Saturday 5th Southampton Farmers’ Market

Friday 11th – Saturday 12th Dara O’Briain Comedy, The Kings Theatre, Southsea. 8pm.

Tickets available here: kingsportsmouth. co.uk/whats-on/comedy/dara-o-briain/

Saturday 12th Countryside Day

Saturday 19th Emsworth Farmers’ Market

Locksheath Shopping Village, Southampton.

10.30am – 2.30pm

Saturday 19th A Royal Celebration

Saturday 19th Winchester and Country Music Festival

Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th Love Southsea Market

Saturday 12th Seasonal Cooking with Steven Edwards

Romsey Abbey, Romsey. 7.30pm.

Tickets available here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/musicinromsey

Palmerston Road, Portsmouth.

9am – 5pm Saturday. 10am – 4pm Sunday.

Lainston House Hotel, Sparsholt, Winchester.

9.30am – 4.30pm. £195pp

Saturday 5th – Monday 7th The Lord Mayor’s Rural and Seaside Show 2018

Saturday 12th Alton Farmers’ Market

Clarence Espalade, Southsea. 10am – 5pm

Alton. 10am – 3pm.

GATES RAILINGS FIXTURES FURNISHING SECURITY

Celebrate the Marriage of HRH Prince Harry & Meghan Markle, Winchester Cathedral, Winchester. 12pm – 5pm. Free tickets available at Cathedral Box Office

Sparsholt College, Winchester.

9.30am – 4.30pm.

Oxford Street, Southampton. 10am – 3pm

for home, garden and business

Middle Brook Street, Winchester. 9am – 2pm

Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester.

Tickets and Times available here: www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/ winchester-chamber-music-festival-2018/

Leigh Road car park and Market Place, Eastleigh. 9.00am – 1pm. £5 hire cost of table

QUALITY CUSTOM METALWORK

Saturday 19th Lee Nelson Comedy, Theatre Royal, Jewry Street, Winchester. 7.30pm. Tickets £23 available here: www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/ lee-nelson/

Call HARRIS METAL TRADING on 07713928813 or email lexmus@hotmail.co.uk

news

May 2018

winchestertoday.co.uk 11

winchestertoday

Radio Listening Guide Winchester Today Radio News from Winchester and amazing songs - ‘The Music From Your Life’ brought to you by radio professionals right here in Winchester.

Find us online via the TuneIn app, or through the ‘Listen Now’ button on our website at winchestertoday.co.uk

MONDAY - FRIDAY 06:00 Breakfast In Winchester.

Upbeat songs to get you in the right mood for the day.

Local news bulletins on the hour.

09:00 Kevin Gover continues with ‘The Music From Your Life.’

14:00 John Ellery 22:00 The ‘No Sleeping’ Zone.

Other stations want to send you to sleep at this time.

Not us!

SATURDAY 06:00 Breakfast in Winchester 10:00 Kevin Gover 13:00 T he Great Destinations Radio Show. Keri Jones brings you the atmosphere of countries and places around the world. He’s not just talking about it either.

He’s actually there!

SUNDAY 10:00 Chrissie Pollard She loves the music.

We love her!

13:00 Kevin Gover with the best of the 60s and 70s 15:00 John Ellery with the best of the 80s

Kevin Gover

15:00 John Ellery John Ellery

news

12 winchestertoday.co.uk

May 2018

FROM SUNDANCE TO WINCHESTER? Nine thousand submissions, 69 chosen… on a chance encounter in LA, Rachel Gover meets and chats with Pete Lee, film director and photographer from San Francisco about his ‘Sundance’ experience IN the city, the beauty of getting a carpool ‘Uber’ ride is that you just don’t know who you’re going to meet that day.

Driving through Downtown LA, the driver slows down to collect our next passenger. I could see him waiting in the sun, looking down at something; a map or perhaps his phone, with a confused manner. I naturally wave in his direction. As he climbs into the back of the car he exclaims with a huge smile: “Who waves anymore?! Hey, I’m Pete.”

Little did I know, I was in a carpool with Pete Lee, an established film director and photographer from San Francisco.

Originally from Taiwan, Lee moved to the suburbs of Boston in 1994, as a young teenager. As a creative individual, living in Taiwan in this era, academia would be your outlet. Lee’s father had aspired to be a painter, and his mother a classical pianist.

Lee speaks tenderly about their choice to move to Boston: “Their desires weren’t making any money, so my father trained to become an architect and my mother’s family encouraged her to enrol for a Masters degree as a teacher. We moved to Boston, where they decided to become missionaries. Theology was important to them and it was a time to be practical. As a role in the creative world, this stays with me. There’s an air of financial concern.”

For many years, Lee trained as a social worker. When the programme was de-funded, Lee rekindled his love to be behind the camera: “I pick up the camera when the words aren’t enough.

I was endlessly curious to work behind the camera, everything clicked into place from the start.” Like Lee, as a writer, I have also worked continuously behind the camera. It’s like a drug, with a tingle in your fingertips; the feeling that you’re onto something genius in a creative blur.

As a film director, Lee immerses himself in the energy on set. Working intimately with his inspiring team, his recent short film: Don’t Be a Hero, was recognised at the prestigious film festival, Sundance, in Utah. Founded in 1978, Sundance Film festival is the largest in America to celebrate independent films. To work as collaboration on set is fundamental and critical as a director.

It is essential to stay current and to bounce ideas off each other, to see what is compelling and doable. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick film movement, Lee’s control and attention to detail becomes exquisite: “To give your team space allows me to be close enough to the action without overbearing, our boundaries are pretty clear. I know when I need to step back, and I know when to step in to be more articulate. As my script supervisor marks every single detail for continuity purposes, I often find myself grabbing a handheld monitor on set to become completely absorbed in the creative energy happening. I may abandon the monitor altogether to work closely with my camera man. Often, there is no need for words; we communicate through our body language and feel a vibe.”

Many ideas start off small, and are scribbled down into a Lee’s notebook. It is when he is on set, that these creative visions come alive: “You need those around you to fill in all the colours for you. My art director’s role is solely to imagine the world in my head as vividly in terms of props required; everything down to the colour of the drapes to the type of mug used to drink from. I have strong visuals to bring these ideas to life, and when the words aren’t enough, that’s when your team gets into your head. We are always looking for subtexts. I allow myself to feel open to ideas to deliver the right

Vision: Pete Lee immerses himself in the on-set energy. Images: Garrett Gunther representation of that time period.”

Lee’s short film feature, Don’t Be a Hero explores an underlying theme of self expression and tragedy. Filmed in the small, dusty oil town Bakersfield, California, Don’t Be A Hero illustrates protagonist Lizzie Jo, played by actress Missy Pyle, as a 45 year old female, stuck in a dormant environment. Lee describes his script to be based on a true story: “This picture explores loneliness, somebody who is trying to come of age, but missing their window. When society weighs heavy in a world that is telling her she is not allowed to feel confused or explore her body and mind at this age, there is an invisible pressure gendered to women.” She becomes a belated rebel, using a cowboy disguise to conduct robberies; feeling emptiness when society is suppressive to return to real life. There is a tinge of poignancy within Lee’s voice.

“You need a personal connection to your protagonist. My audience doesn’t need to know my struggles when finding the perfect recipe for noodles. But the idea of conforming to the real world, when you don’t have anything as sexy as the military knocking on your door with a gun forcing you to be something, is all too real. There is a general sense of shame if I don’t act accordingly. This short film is an extension and mirrors closely to how I feel on a day to day basis as an artist struggling to survive.” However, this is where Lee’s imagination strives. Lizzy Jo allows Lee to dig a little deeper to find answers.

Don’t Be a Hero was a year long process in the making. Missy Pyle was an important choice as an actress to Lee. With his team of collaborators, they wanted to work with an actress that they didn’t just have access too, but whom they admire. Lee’s attention to detail continues to flourish with his choice of music also.

I pick up the camera when words aren’t enough

Running throughout, Flavien Berger’s La Fete Noir, is an exquisite choice. Lee entices his audience through his music choice, with Pyle peeling back her moustache; the infectious beat creeping in allows us to feel naughty as we watch the bank robbery unveil: “When the lyrics are translated, it was by complete accident, and why it’s even more perfect.

‘I dive upside down; attracted to ecstasy… the most beautiful trip is the carnival.

The black party, the black party… yes, the endorphin is gone.’ The texture here is very important and must match the picture quality. I was adamant to find a French analogue pop song, with a new wave feel. I was conscious that this genre of music had been explored before, especially within Quentin Tarantino cinematography. But with the translation of the lyrics, it allows the film to go deeper, and to look beyond what it is we are asking for. We never talk about rebel; and what happens after that – she still has to go to work and still has to live life. Films will often end there, but what happens after? After the endorphin has gone? That’s what I wanted to explore.”

I am curious to know, what the word “art” means to Lee, as an individual and a film director: “I think, in anything you do, you’re not doing it for other people’s

In anything creative, you’re doing it because it needs to be done approval. In anything creative, you’re doing it because it needs to be done.

There’s something that’s driving you.

Rejection can deter anyone, but it’s all part of the process.”

Within a creative industry, there is a certain stigma felt as an artist. Lee is passionate towards this subject and further shares a concern: “It might be a generational thing, but I feel an illogical embarrassment when I’m not doing well financially. You have to pull your own weight to not feel like a burden to your friends and family; I don’t want them to doubt the validity of the industry and the viability of my profession. You really want people to know that you’re doing okay. Last year, I was hiding in LA. I was embarrassed that I may not have saved enough money. It was when my film was selected for Sundance, the congratulations really started to role in, and I got to tell my story. We like to root for underdogs, but you’re not an underdog if you haven’t triumphed. People root for you very conditionally; they want to feel safe that it’s okay to root for you. It’s a very cruel industry.”

Lee describes short film as less intimidating pathway and stepping stone to direct a full 90-minute feature film. A short film allows the director to have a free canvas, like a dress rehearsal, giving creative freedom to tell a good little story.

As an expensive medium, feature length films require reaching a certain scope; there is intention to deliver an emotional satisfaction. “As a director, you get to set the expectations here,” Lee continues, “Short films allow freedom to find your voice. Don’t Be a Hero feels like the EP as it would to a band; a crystallisation of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.”

Don’t Be a Hero has pushed Lee’s

creative pathway in many ways. With over 9000 submissions to the Sundance Film Festival, Lee’s short film was one in 69 to be accepted. An opportunity, which can take many film makers years to be accepted, Lee describes the process as a nerve-wracking experience: “It is beyond competitive, it is everyone’s goal, with some awesome pieces that didn’t get in. There are 70,000 of us crammed into a tiny town in Utah, for ten days, surrounded by the movement of business and an excitement to discover new talent; a film festival in its pure form. There are many producers and film agents who are looking closely to build their projects and ideas, and it’s a process of them finding who they may want to work with. Often, there are themes to their ideas, many submissions chosen based on this.”

Sundance Film Festival allows those in the industry to voice those who need to be celebrated and highlighted in independent cinema in a vicious market world; immersed in glamour. When the glamour ends and the lights are turned off, where does it all go from here? Lee’s recent Instagram post notes: “The trick is, to stay inspired when it’s just me and my laptop with the rent to pay. The director life can be brutal and lonely. Feel like I’m come hella far to get to the start. Damn, it was a hell of a start.” Sundance Film Festival is just the beginning for Lee as a film director: “There are a lot of people waking up and paying attention to who you are, from here. There is a pressure to step up and deliver; it was a privilege to experience such an opportunity. It’s the first time where I feel that I’ve arrived.

I’m here now and validated as a narrative film maker. I envisage Don’t Be a Hero to become a feature length film.”

As a film director and photographer, Lee is determined to find ways to keep going. To be a director, is to be a conductor; ultimately responsible to vision the best of your ability and in the talent around. Every frame belongs to the director’s responsibility; their existence allowing everyone to believe in the story presented.

Lee has now lived in San Francisco for 12 years, and considers the city his home. Moving here in his 20s, allowed him to start from humble beginnings: “I had a lot of expectations and illusions of myself. I couldn’t walk around feeling special, but because my goals were different, I felt entitled – even though I hadn’t made anything! San Fran allowed me to figure these things out and to shed these illusions. There were dozens of men and women waiting and wanting to be in the same industry. It was brutal, but real. I needed that. There are many who make films to make money, but I admire those who are making money to make films.” Lee has currently collaborated on a new film called Ghost Box Cowboy, and is attending a film festival in New York. Don’t be a Hero is to be played at an independent film festival in Boston.

Throughout this year, his desires are to continue turning scripts into good little movies.

When Lee and I parted he told me to: “Always stay curious.” I had to ask what this meant to him: “As a director, you become an ambassador for your art. Film is an extroverted art to a certain degree; it is the energy combined from those you are collaborating with and those in the audience. You can’t stay self absorbed, you have to look for inspiration and reflect in the real world; to say something about the real world. For me, this starts with curiosity.”

These words, I will always remember and continue to use in my own work and photography. As I write this article, I will also always remember Lee’s shirt pocket monkey mascot he brought to lunch. But then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Don’t Be a Hero is now doing the Film Festival rounds. As sponsor of the Winchester Short Film Festival, let’s hope it makes its way over here!

reviews

May 2018

winchestertoday.co.uk 13

A TIME-TRAVELLING TRIUMPH IN CHERITON COMMUNICATING DOORS Cheriton Village Hall

By KEVIN GOVER FANS of the original Star Trek series will be familiar with an episode called ‘Tomorrow is Yesterday’. This is when the Enterprise goes back to the 1960s because of a black hole and an F-104 pilot is scrambled to check out what has just appeared in the sky. He has to be beamed aboard and immediately becomes a problem because of what he sees. The ‘future’ is not allowed to be disrupted as his yet-to-be-born son eventually becomes a big part of the US Space Programme. The pilot is then returned to a moment in time just before he saw Kirk and crew and life carries on as if nothing had happened.

Knowing what we know, how I’m sure that many of us would like to alter things if we could travel back in time… May 1939 perhaps… September the 10th… stopping JFK getting into that limo…

What then if you could go through a ‘portal’ backwards and forwards in time – and change the future, especially if you found out that you were going to be murdered?

Such then is the premise for this play which moves backwards and forwards between 1997, 2017 and 2037 – sometimes slowly, sometimes at a frenetic pace in the second half – for a display of attempted murder, greed, intrigue, revenge – and laughter with the wives, business men and call girl.

The ‘Communicating Door’ which transports the cast members has to be used quite a lot in the first half and

perhaps it slows down the pace a bit too much – but on the other hand you are gradually introduced to all three year time periods and what the cast and surroundings look like – and how certain people change – so perhaps that’s a good thing. On that note, congratulations to the backstage crew for another superb stage setting, which has six areas of focal

Images: Craig Robertson

The balcony scene is a joy - totally convincing

Edgy adaptation keeps you guessing Helena Gomm enjoys the creepiness of an engaging psychological drama GALLOWGLASS Salisbury Playhouse

WHEN Ruth Rendell started writing under the name Barbara Vine, it was partly to allow herself to move away from the cosiness of the Inspector Wexford crime novels into something rather more edgy and less formulaic.

Thus it is that Gallowglass, playing at Salisbury Playhouse in a version adapted for the stage by Margaret May Hobbs, is more of a psychological drama than a thriller in the whodunnit mould – more of a whydunnit.

And a good thing too. The British obsession with crime drama, particularly on TV, means that we have mostly become rather too knowledgeable about the genre to find much of it surprising.

After all, you can almost always tell who the murderer is going to be in longrunning series like Midsomer Murders and Lewis just by looking at the cast list: it’s always the best-known name amongst the guest actors.

Well, the producers are hardly going to persuade big-name actors to appear in one poxy episode of Midsomer unless they get the thrill of playing the baddie, are they? (One exception was an episode of Lewis where they killed off David Soul five minutes in – but he was so monumentally bad that this was probably a good thing!) Rather too many hours spent watching crime dramas has also made me suspicious of apparently under-used minor characters…

So, in Gallowglass we have dispensed with the who, at least at the beginning,

and we are left with the what and the why.

The first question that most people will ask is What is a ‘gallowglass’? The answer appears to be some sort of elite mercenary warrior in thrall to an Irish chieftain – and in this story, the gallowglass is Joe (Dean Smith), a naïve young man with a history of depression and learning difficulties, who is rescued from throwing himself (or perhaps just falling) under a train at Paddington Station by manipulative and psychotic Sandor (Joe Eyre).

Sandor quickly points out that by saving Joe’s life, he now owns him. Joe, desperate for any kind of attention and human contact, whether abusive or not, quickly acquiesces and becomes Sandor’s creature. Interestingly, both men, broken in their different ways, are the product of bad parenting. In Sandor’s case, by Diana (Karen Drury) an overindulgent lush, who happily allows her son to steal her car and her credit card, and in Joe’s, by cold unloving foster parents, who kicked him and his foster-sister Tilley out of the house as soon as they were of age, and then rented out their rooms. I liked the wellobserved detail that despite the fact that her son has reinvented himself as ‘Sandor’ to the rest of the world, to Diana he is still her little ‘Alex’.

The relationship between Sandor and Joe is obviously key to the story and much of the slightly slower first half is devoted to establishing this. Neither character develops much during the course of the play, but their interactions, in which Sandor gradually drip-feeds Joe the story of a kidnap that took place five years ago in Italy, involving a ‘princess’, two Italians and an Englishman, sets the scene for

Creepy: Dean Smith and Joe Eyre (above); Karen Drury and Eyre (inset) what is going to happen.

Unsurprisingly, it turns out that Sandor was himself the English kidnapper. His victim, Nina, now on her third marriage and living in constant fear in a mansion in Suffolk, is once more in his sights, as he plans to repeat the crime with Joe’s help.

As you might expect, there are twists aplenty

At one point, Sandor reminisces about the ‘golden age of kidnapping’ in Italy, when a succession of targets simply handed over vast sums of money to get their loved ones back, the police were never called and there was no need for violence. We can, however, tell that a plot involving the creepy and deeply-disturbed Sandor, needy Joe and sly, brash Tilley is never going to go that smoothly.

So much for the what. The why is rather more complex, but not too difficult to guess, as you do start to wonder how come Sandor chooses to live in rather squalid bedsits and needs to sponge off his mother all the time. If he was the perpetrator of a successful kidnap plot, shouldn’t he be rolling in money? Also, he shows little interest in the potential financial gain when Tilley and Joe press him to say how much they are going to demand from Nina’s husband. There’s

interest in an already incredibly small space.

It’s director Craig Robb’s first go at directing. I’ve said before just how much passion goes into his acting, and it’s the same here with his directing.

On stage there are many familiar faces – and some relatively new ones as well. Fiona Mackay is back after her triumphant appearance in The Game’s Afoot as Poopay. Her angst at what’s happening around her – and handwringing – is a joy to watch. All the while dressed in dominatrix gear! Good job it was a warm night…

I watched how David Cradduck’s ‘Older Reece’ goes from being very, very, very ill – with some very clever and convincing make-up – back to the man we all recognise. Tim Conway is suitably evil is the villainous Julian. Playing dead is a speciality! Helena Gomm is back on stage too as ‘wife number 2 Ruella’ – and has some fantastic lines and put-downs. the balcony scene is a joy, totally convincing and very clever. Special mention should go to Isobel Wolf (Young Jessica) – who’s doing A-levels at St Swithun’s in Winchester and who apparently is doing exam revision backstage. Sam Griffiths (Harold) has returned from living in East Asia for 10 years and does a fine job of wrestling with women and his moustache (!)

In a play that’s dialogue-heavy, I can completely understand the odd wayward line and none of the Players should beat themselves up about it; they ‘worked it out’ to get back on track. One of the biggest laughs came from a brilliant ad-lib to Harold’s wayward moustache; again, no-one in the audience minded!

Yet another triumph. clearly rather more to it than money…

Sandor’s victim, the lovely Nina, played admirably by Florence Cady, is the one character who does develop during the play, transforming – with the support of her driver, and ultimately her lover, Paul Garnett – from a frightened agoraphobic rabbit, scared of her own shadow, into a confident woman with the strength to confront her tormentor and put an end to her unbearable predicament.

The story moves between multiple locations, and designer and director Michael Lunney has addressed this by dividing the stage in half. One half is the converted barn in which Paul Garnett lives with his 11-year-old daughter Jessica (convincingly portrayed by Eva Sayer, despite being twice Jessica’s age).

The other half shows, at different times, Sandor’s bedsit, the flat he rents in Suffolk to be near Nina and Tilley’s campervan.

Switching between the two halves means that one side of the stage is almost always in darkness, with no simultaneous action in the two locations, and the constant changes give the play a rather episodic quality, reflecting I suppose the chapters of the original book, but not really moving away from it to suggest a more skilfullyconstructed stage drama. Exterior scenes are cleverly done by projections onto a gauze curtain, though a draught from backstage causing the gauze to billow, and the fact that the projections are rarely straight detracts from the realism here.

All in all, this production provides an engaging and thought-provoking evening’s entertainment. I won’t reveal what happens at the end, but, as you might expect from Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, there are twists aplenty.

However, some of these don’t quite add up, and I was left wondering about a number of puzzling aspects of the somewhat rushed final denouement. But it certainly gave my guest and me a lot to talk about in the car on the way home.

review

14 winchestertoday.co.uk

May 2018

NOT A DRY EYE FOR THIS AMAZING SHOWCASE SHOWCASE INCLUDING ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’ Perins School Theatre

By KEVIN GOVER IT’S ironic that this showcase was originally postponed because of heavy snow, yet finally went ahead on what turned out to be the hottest April day for 70 years. Plenty of water on hand then for a return trip to the same but unrecognisable room which housed Phantom back in 2016. The astonishing show which led to our website meltdown when we posted our review.

Such is the size of the next production, Beauty and the Beast, that a special theatre is being built in the grounds of the school. This showcase was an opportunity for pupils to sing and dance items not only from the show, but to show off their individual talents as well.

I must admit that I was in tears when Head Teacher Steve Jones took to the stage with some of the pupils to sing Ave Maria. What an inspiration this man is to the school. Go on, admit it if you watched it… you had something in your eye as well, yes?!

Afterwards, I met with some of the staff and cast. Matt Ashford is acting Head of Music: “They’re incredible.

They’re getting better and better, and that will build still further as we get into costumes, make up and the theatre. You can’t help but have certain people in your mind for the leads, but everyone was treated fairly in auditions.”

The two leads this time round are Amy Mills (Belle) and Will Swan (Beast). Amy told me that she was having an amazing time and that the show always had been one of her favourites. She was “delighted” to be given the opportunity, as was Will: “Rehearsals are exciting… tense sometimes. But it’s a great opportunity to get into the character.”

The leader of Creative Arts, Marilitsa Alexiou, told me that her pupils never cease to amaze: “We were warned off doing Phantom, especially for the part of Christine - that no pupil of Sophie’s age would ever be able to hit that high note (an E6). Well she did, and Sophie proved again tonight that she could do it.”

Sophie and Toby (Christine and Phantom in 2016) were both delighted to return: “It’s amazing to be back - it brought back so many memories of playing Christine, all of them good, of an amazing show. Singing with Toby was so natural…”

Amazing: Head Steve Jones performs an emotional Ave Maria (above) Images: Leela Bennett

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Toby agrees: “Phantom was the best show I’ve ever been in. The feeling that I had up on stage is unparalleled. It’s certainly helped in everything I’ve done since, especially as guest vocalist with Hampshire Police for their male voice choir.”

It was a joy to be there for the showcase and to witness the audience reaction. Marilitsa says they need to nurture the talent: “People move on…

Sophie and Toby have moved on. We just encourage them to enjoy every minute, because they’ll never forget it. Perins

pupils surprise our audience. Sometimes we look at each other and say that they’re only 12, 15… the talent keeps trickling through and we KNOW they will rise to the challenge.”

At the end we were shown an inspiring promotional video which had been shot around Alresford. Prolonged and rousing applause followed!

Everyone needs to be absolutely clear though… you do know there won’t be a dry eye in that theatre come July, don’t you?

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the final word

16 winchestertoday.co.uk

May 2018

HELLO

MUM!

We’re in this pic somewhere… Winchester schools take over The Royal Albert Hall on St George’s Day

Images: Richard Washbrooke MORE than 1,700 young musicians from schools in Winchester and across Hampshire gave the concert of a lifetime at The Royal Albert Hall on St George’s Day. Hampshire County Council’s Music Service took over the world-famous venue for the whole evening on 23 April 2018, for an unprecedented performance opportunity – the largest event ever organised by the Music Service.

Nearly 200 Hampshire schools were represented at the event, by pupils aged from 7 to 19. They took part in a programme of performances that included wind, string and brass ensembles, orchestras, massed choirs, dancers and groups that specialise in samba, jazz and Japanese Taiko drumming. Special guests joining in Hampshire’s spectacular showcase were the Band of the Scots Guards, together with actors Sarah Parish as narrator, and Christian Brassington as compere.

The programme included the premiere of a newly commissioned work, My World; a thought-provoking piece highlighting humanity’s impact on our planet, by local lyricist Zella Compton and composer, Tom Guyer.

The programme covered a broad range of styles, from jazz to marching bands, and from classical pieces to Samba. In

honour of the centenary of the end of the First World War, it also included performances of We Will Remember Them and Passchendaele, composed by Major Simon Haw MBE. This piece is a tribute to the brave men who gave their lives in 1917 at Passchendaele, in one of the most notorious battles of the First World War. It was recently performed for the Sapphire Jubilee of

Her Majesty the Queen.

One of the teachers, Caroline Welch, says it was an amazing day: “How many children, or in fact adults, can say that they have performed at the Royal Albert Hall? Our children were enthralled. I loved watching their faces as they entered the auditorium for the first time - true awe and wonder. It was a wonderful celebration of the strength and depth of

How many children, or adults, can say they have performed at the Royal Albert Hall?

music in Hampshire.”

Year 5 pupil, Tom Welsh-Smythe, sang with his classmates as part of the massed choir. “It was really exciting to sing at the Royal Albert Hall. I’ve never been there before and it was a lifetime opportunity!

We sang several songs. I was especially excited to sing My World because it was the world premiere performance. The whole thing was really exciting. I really enjoy singing, especially jazzy, happy songs, and I am going to carry on singing in the choir.”

Hampshire Music Service co-ordinates bands, ensembles, orchestras and choirs for children and young people, all over Hampshire. The service organises some 400 performances every year, which can range from small gatherings of musicians and their families, to large events in public venues such as Winchester Cathedral, The Anvil and even The Royal Albert Hall. The service also supports schools to provide quality music tuition and affordable instrument hire to pupils. Groups of young musicians from Hampshire’s ensembles and choirs have previously performed individual pieces at The Royal Albert Hall, as part of the Music for Youth proms, but this is the first time Hampshire Music Service’s young performers have given an entire concert at the prestigious venue.

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