If you think about bands that have been together for a long long time you think of Status Quo with their timeless riffing (which they use in every song) or Spinal Tap with their 57 exploding drummers. This September the Czech Republic’s oldest surviving rock band THE VILLAINS will be in Somerset, on tour and bringing their wealth of time travel musical experience to a theatre near you starting on Friday 6th September where they will be headlining an International Music evening at the Bridgwater Arts Centre at an event promoted by ‘Bridgwater Together’ and featuring music from Poland, Portugal and East Timor. The event starts at 8pm and costs £10.
Saturday 17th August you’ll have the chance to win sensational cash prizes (for the Bridgwater Arts Centre) by turning up in teams of up to 4 to the Castle Street venue from 8pm and handing over £2. A ‘General Knowledge’ quiz organised by quiz master Red Smed will be held in the bar and gallery of the country’s first art centre with all funds raised going to the venue in question.
Red Smed said “Not many people today remember who was Soviet Foreign secretary in 1933 or the total yield of tractor production in the 1948 ‘Great 5 year Plan’ and almost nobody can name the entire Soviet politburo from 1973. Who remembers now what was Yuri ‘Sputnik’ Gagarins middle name and that the first ‘People’s’ car was in fact the Ford Mondeo. People need to know these things.”
When asked if the quiz would all be like this Red Smed answered “No”.
Bridgwater Town Council took a big step forward in their work on the climate crisis and voted to hold an Eco festival in the towns historic Castle street to be called ‘Seed The Day’ . The ‘Green’ Festival came as an initiative from the last Climate Change Forum and will take place on Saturday 7th September from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free and everyone is welcome. The event is being organised by Climate Change Portfolio Holder Cllr Li Gibson (Westover).
Seed the Day
Cllr Li Gibson
Cllr Li Gibson added “Not only will the event bring a vibrant and dynamic street fair and indoor market to the town it will also explore issues around climate change and investigating greener living, sustainability and diversity. There will be bustling indoor and outdoor markets with stalls, offering delicious plant-based hot street foods from around the world, deli foods, cakes, chocolates, fermented drinks, wine and ethical eco-products. Find out more about local and national charities working to improve the environment and protect our wildlife. A program of talks and demonstrations will be running throughout the day. The historic Bridgwater Arts Centre will host a bar and hot drinks cafe on the day raising much needed funds for this fantastic space. Local musicians will be performing throughout the day on the outdoor stage . Come along, share ideas and join in the fun. Any positive action on climate crisis needs to come from the grass roots. Everyone needs to be involved as we’re all part of this.”
Bridgwater Mayor Cllr Tony Heywood chairs the meeting
Bridgwater Town Council at it’s meeting tonight pushed forward with it’s progressive agenda to tackle Climate Change, take up Transport issues, promote Culture and Diversity , engage with the Economy and to further reach out into the wider population with grants to youth, community, the environment and heritage. The council passed draft motions on Single Use Plastics, opposed Fire Service Cuts and set up a Multi-Agency Liaison Group with the Police to tackle issues raised across the town. Town Council Leader, Cllr Brian Smedley and Deputy Cllr Kathy Pearce (both Westover) agreed after the meeting that council was ‘keeping its promises, sticking to its manifesto, engaging with the public and moving forward’.
In October a scratch Bridgwater International squad took on a team of locally based Syrian refugees on the town’s new Northgate astroturf and won in a close 4.3 finish with world class team captain and man of the match, Cllr Smedley, scoring the winning goal. And writing this article. It was time for a re-match. So when better than during the weekend of Quayside Festival and Bridgwater Twinning Week. This time the game would be in Taunton but the competitiveness was in overdrive-despite the rather more ‘basic’ facilities on offer at the St Georges Catholic Primary School.
