The November/December 2014 issue of Lamp magazine highlights various cultural events in Somerset, including the Taunton Literary Festival featuring over 40 events and numerous book signings. It also discusses the importance of mindfulness in managing stress and announces various performances at the Brewhouse theatre, including 'A Doll's House' and 'The Nutcracker.' Local businesses and authors are showcased, along with event details and contact information for participation.

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LAMP Magazine
November/December 2014 Free
Shining a light on literature, art, music and performance in Somerset
The Taunton Literary Festival 2014
is here!

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BOOKS: New & Old
Ordnance Survey Map Stockists
Christmas Book Ideas included in this issue of LAMP
Bath Place, Taunton 01823 337742
brendonbooks@gmail.com
Yarn Market Hotel
Friday 28th – Sunday 30th November
Residential from £190 per person full
board. All music and tuition included.
Leader: Ian Chesworth, professional
Singing Coach and Choral Director, who
teaches in Manchester and has worked
with Gareth Malone on BBC The Choir
series. Ian now conducts three work-place
choirs, and has also worked with the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic on their Supers-ing
series. Repertoire: European Sacred
music for Advent and Christmas.
Venue: Dunster in Exmoor – resident
at the Yarn Market Hotel, singing in the
beautifully restored village Tithe Barn.
Bishops Lydeard Papershop
The Paper Shop is a friendly vil-lage
shop with local knowledge-able
staff. We are a Newsagent
and we stock a vast range of mag-azines.
We can order any special
interest titles and deliver them to
you or save them in the shop for
collection.
Address: 11 Church St, Bishop’s
Lydeard, Taunton TA4 3AT
Phone:01823 432456

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Contents
5 Brewhouse
7. Festival Programme
27 Calendar of Events
32 Workshops,Courses and Classes
35 Taunton’s Green Cathedral
36 Somerset County Orchestra Centenary Commemoration Concert
37 Willows and Wetlands: A Celebration of Cranes and Food Fair
38 Milverton Concert Society
39 Thespians Return to the Brewhouse
40 Taunton Choral Society Remembrance Concert
41 Taunton Sinfonietta ‘In Celebration’ Concert
42 Pete Long and His Goodmen Return
43 Phoenix Singers: Nine Lessons and Carols
44 Nicholas Parsons at the Tacchi-Morris
46 The Nutcracker with the Vienna Festival Ballet
48 Christmas Magic at Ilminster Arts Centre
50 Writers Anon: Plotting With the Three Act Structure
51 Short Story by Chip Tolson
52 Poetry Corner with Robin Brumby
53 My Favourite with Daisy Blacklock
54 Geoff Nicols Good Vibe Band
54 Norton the Dragon: 2nd Installment
I hope you enjoy the
Christmas edition of
LAMP which includes
the Taunton Literary
Festival details and a
variety of Christmas
entertainments
Editor: Lionel Ward
Copy Editor: Jo Ward
All enquiries:
lampmagazine1@gmail.com
01823 337742
www.lampmagazine.co.uk
c/o Brendon Books,
Bath Place, Taunton
TA1 4ER
The views expressed in Lamp are
not necessarily those of the editorial
team. Copyright, unless otherwise
stated, is that of the magazine or the
individual authors. We do not accept
liability for the content or accuracy
of the magazine including that of the
advertisers.

4. Ease stress through Mindfulness
Mindfulness is very much in the news these days as means of finding tranquility in our
increasingly stressful world. Mindfulness means merely to be present in the here and now,
paying full attention to whatever is happening around you and within you.
We are subjected to many pressures; work, relationships, money, health worries and infor-mation
4
overload to name a few. Merely thinking about what’s happening to us can cause
stress; regretting the past and worrying about the future inevitably makes us feel worse.
The result of these internal and external pressures is that the brain’s reaction to real danger,
the “fight and flight” mechanism, can be switched on all of the time. This isn’t good for us
and can lead to stress related illnesses, both physical and psychological. Once we become
stressed, ruminations can become even more negative and stress duplicates.
Mindfulness gives us a way of breaking this vicious cycle, by repeatedly turning gently
away from thinking and towards our sensory experience. Research shows that these simple
techniques dampen down the reaction to stress and enhance activity in areas associated
with wellbeing.
Evidence over more than three decades, supports Mindfulness. It has been shown to have a
positive effect on physical and psychological health and to enhance focus, memory, creativ-ity
Dr Miranda Bevis, BACP accredited counsellor
and Mindfulness teacher at The Terrace
and compassion, helping us to be the best we can be.
The Terrace on Staplegrove Road, hosts Miranda Bevis’ course, with dates in January. Please phone 01823 338968 or email
post@the-terrace.co.uk to book your place on the taster sessions to discover for yourself the benefits of Mindfulness.

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Winter
at the brewhouse
The hard work of all the Brewhouse Staff, run
since its re-opening earlier in the year until this
point entirely through volunteers, has come to
fruition. They are definitely back in business
with a varied winter programme they can be
proud of.
A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen. Following the highly
acclaimed national tour of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, the UK
Touring Theatre returns with a brand new production
of A Doll’s House running over two nights on the 10th
and 11th November, Henrik Ibsen’s ground breaking play
about marriage, money and the freedom of women in the
19th Century. Gentle Men. Roy Bailey and Robb Johnson
present their highly acclaimed song suite ‘Gentle Men’
just after armistice day on Friday 14th November. This is
followed on the 15th and 16th November by Mrs Noah
and the Flood, a new musical by Sasha Herriman and
Martin Emslie, a humorous re-telling of the traditional
flood stories set to music with a live band. The Taunton
Thespians return with their first full-scale production
at The Brewhouse for many a year with the classic Ag-atha
Christie play, Murder on the Nile which runs from
18th to 22nd November. Outrageous comedy act Craig
Campbell lightens the mood when he does a turn at the
Brewhouse on 29th November, while Christmas shows
begin in earnest with Let There Be Xmas with favourite
Christmas hits for all the family on 4th December. This is
followed by the The Rat Pack Christmas Swinging Show,
with special guest star Kenny Lynch, and a star studded
Big Band: Including all the great hits, My Way, New York,
New York and many season classics on the 9th December.
Tchaikovsky’s world famous classical Christmas ballet The
Nutcracker, presented by the highly acclaimed Vien-na
Festival Ballet Company, returns to the Brewhouse
between the 11th and 13th December. This is followed by
children’s theatre ‘Tony and Mike’ about a country owl
and city squirrel on 20th and 21st December
There is also much to look forward to in the New Year.
Highlights will include, Carrie’s War presented by the
Apollo Theatre Company, Pete Allen’s Jazz Band and Ar-tism
by the award winning digital Exzeb Dance Company.

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7. 7
Taunton Literary Festival
Programme
7 - 29 November 2014
40 Events Over 3 Weeks
Book Your Place Now!
Brendon Books, Old Brewery Buildings, Bath Place, Taunton, TA1 4ER
01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net

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Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books,
Bath Place, Taunton, TA1 4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Fri 7 November Festival ‘Curtain Raiser’, an interview with Rachel Joyce
7.00pm Rachel Joyce The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy Brendon Books £6.50
When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England
to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she
was dying. How can she wait? A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie
should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. ..... In confessing to
secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past.
Sat 8 November
10am - 3pm Book Fair Self Publishing Book Fair St James Church Free Entry
Promoting Literacy & the Visual Arts. A one day special event that launches this years
TAUNTON LITERARY FESTIVAL. Spotlighting writers, artists & small press comics and
much more! Tables are NOW bookable please email comicexpo@hotmail.co.uk for availa-bility.
Interactive programme, café and free comics! In association with BRENDON BOOKS
of Bath Place.
Check us out: www.tauntonbookfair.wordpress.com
6.30 pm Mark Kitto That’s China Brendon Books £6.50
To the Chinese Communist Party, media is state owned propaganda. No individ-uals,
let alone foreigners, will ever have a stake in it. For seven roller coaster years,
Mark Kitto outwitted powerful competitors and jealous partners to build the most
profitable and popular English language publishing business in China since 1949.
No foreigner in modern times
has come so close to the heart of the Chinese propaganda
macbine in its own terms.
Mon 10 November
12.30 pm David Mitchell Thinking About it Only Makes it Worse St James’s Ch £15.00
£15 Price Includes a complimentary copy of the book (available to collect on
the day of the event) and entry to the event.
David Mitchell delights us with a tour of the absurdities of modern life - Ryanair
to Downton Abbey, sports day to smoking, Poundland to phone etiquette, UKIP
to hotdogs made of cats. Funny, provocative and shot through with refreshing
amounts of common sense - drawn from Mitchell’s Observer columns and includ-ing
new material. For this event there will be a short introductory talk followed
by a question and answer session with David Mitchell of about an hour followed
by a booksigning in which there will be an opportunity to have a copy of the book personally signed by him.
6.00 pm Susie Barrett The Upper Culm Valley Brendon Books £5.00
This 180-page book presents the Great War in the context of its impact on life in Clayhidon, Hemy-ock
and Culmstock. Besides describing the military background, it records the service and family
life of those who served and returned, as well as those who lost their lives. Their memory is hon-oured
in this community work, which is fully illustrated with reproductions of photographs taken at
the time. A fully illustrated book researched, compiled and written bypresent day inhabitants of the
valley and relations of those who served.

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Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books,
Bath Place, Taunton, TA1 4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Mon 10 November (cont’d)
8.00 pm Tom Moran Dinosaurs & Prime Numbers Brendon Books £5.00
Tom Moran is a novelist, scriptwriter and comedian. His first novel,
Dinosaurs and Prime Numbers, is a genre-defying time-travel comedy
which tells the story of Walton Cumberfield, a socially-inept oddball,
who discovers a cow in Budleigh Salterton that is independent of the
space-time continuum. In June 2014, the novel became the first ever re-cipient
of The Guardian Legend Self-Published Book of the Month award
and has captured the imagination of readers around the world.
Tue 11 November
11.30 am David Mitchell The Bone Clocks The Castle Hotel £10.00
Metaphysical thriller, meditation on mortality and chronicle of our
self-devouring times, this is the kaleidoscopic new novel from the author
of Cloud Atlas, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014. There will
be an opportunity at this event to have lunch at The Castle Hotel in the
company of the author after the talk and signing. This includes the price
of the ticket for the talk. For this option contact the Castle Hotel: 01823
272671 or www.the-castle-hotel.com
7.00 pm Suzie Grogan Shell Shocked Britain Brendon Books £6.50
Shell Shocked Britain looks at the impact of the First World War on the
men, women and children who survived it. How did those four years of
conflict affect the way we view the mental health of those traumatised by
their experience of war, whether directly or indirectly? Suzie Grogan was
inspired to write this book when she discovered that her shell shocked
great-uncle Alfred Hardiman had killed his ex-girlfriend and himself in
1922.
Wed 12 November
11.30am Jonathan Miller 60 Years of Writing The Castle Hotel £10.00
Actor, doctor, TV presenter, film director, opera director, sculptor - Sir
Jonathan Miller’s careers cover a vast range. He is also a gifted and insight-ful
writer, but his writings have been scattered across a series of books and
articles over the last sixty years. There will be an opportunity at this event to
have lunch at The Castle Hotel in the company of the author after the talk
and signing. For this option please contact the Castle Hotel for tickets. 01823
272671 or www.the-castle-hotel.com
Sold Out!
6.00 pm Antony Sattin Young Lawrence Brendon Books £6.50
T. E. Lawrence was one of the most charismatic characters of the First
World War; a young archaeologist who fought with the Arabs and wrote an
epic and very personal account of their revolt against the Turks in Seven
Pillars of Wisdom. Anthony Sattin uncovers the story Lawrence wanted
to conceal: the truth of his birth, his tortuous relationship with a domi-nant
mother, his deep affection for an Arab boy, the intimate details of the
extraordinaryjourneys he took through the region with which his name is
forever connected
7.30 pm Ned Lebow A World Without WW1 Queen’s College £2.00 (Pay on door)

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VIENNA FESTIVAL BALLET
THE NUTCRACKER
The Brewhouse Theatre
Thurs 11th, Fri 12th and Sat 13th December at 7.30pm
Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
Box office : 01823 283244 www.tauntontheatre.org.uk

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Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taun-ton,
TA1 4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Thu 13 November
6.00 pm Alexander Waugh Shakespeare Beyond Doubt? Brendon Books £5.00
The Book the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Doesn’t Want You to Read: Shakespeare
Beyond Doubt? Never, it claims, has the case against the Stratford man been made so
clear and compelling. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon has
published a book insisting that the identity of the author William Shakespeare is “be-yond
doubt. What do you think? Hear the case against and pose your own questions.
8.00 pm Paula Byrne Belle: The True Story Brendon Books £6.50
Dido Belle was the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave
woman, adopted by the Earl of Mansfield. As Lord Chief Justice of England he would
preside over the notorious Zong case - the drowning of 142 slaves by an unscrupulous
shipping company. His ruling provided the legal underpinning to the abolition of slavery
in Britain.
7.30 pm Chris Jelley Art Talk Creative Inn. Centre Pay on door
Fri 14 November
8.00 pm David Marsh For Who the Bell Tolls Brendon Books £6.50
This is a book that explains the grammar that people really need to know, such as the
fact that an apostrophe is the difference between a company that knows its s*** and a
company that knows it’s s***. David Marsh’s lifelong mission has been to create order
out of chaos. For four decades, he has worked for newspapers, from the Sun to the
Financial Times, from local weeklies that sold a few thousand copies to the Guardian.
Sat 15 November
10.30 - 2.30 Shakespeare Aloud Twelfth Night The Library, Taunton Free
FREE event for visitors to join in with, or even just listen in to, as much of the play as they wish, from 5 minutes to 3
1/2 hours! - script provided for all participants)
2.00 pm Aidan Dodson Egypt: Golden Age, Heresy & Reform. Queen’s College £6.50
During the 14th century BC, Egypt had reached the height of its wealth and power,
controlling much of what is now Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and north-western Syr-ia.
The kings of Egypt were members of a select club of rulers who called each other
‘brother’. But in the midst of all this, a king of Egypt attempted to set to nought millen-nia
of religious tradition.
4.00 pm Author Panel Writing Motherhood Queen’s College £5.00
Does motherhood impact on a woman’s creativity? How do female writ-ers
with children manage to combine mothering and writing? Carolyn
Jess-Cooke (author of The Boy Who Could See Demons), Lily Dunn
(author of Shadowing the Sun and poet Kathryn Simmonds talk frankly
about some the tensions Part of Carolyn Jess-Cooke’s Writing Moth-erhood
project, funded by Arts Council England. Chaired by Sinead
Gillespie.

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14. Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taun-ton,
TA1 4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Sat 15Nov (Cont’d)
7.00 pm William Philpott Attrition: Fighting WW1 Brendon Books £6.50
14
A masterful, provocative, deeply-researched examination of the Great War from one of
our foremost war historians. Drawing on the experience of front line soldiers, munitions
workers, politicians and those managing the vast economy of industrialised warfare, At-trition
explains for the first time why and how this new type of conflict born out of indus-trial
society was fought as it was.
Mon 17 November
7.00 pm Graham Fawcett Seamus Heaney Brendon Books £10.00
Graham Fawcett returns to talk about Seamus Heaney reflecting on the exhilarating
range of Heaney’s achievement over nearly fifty years, from his momentous poetic
début in 1966 with Death of A Naturalist, poems about his early life in rural North-ern
Ireland in which he sings with passion, craft and clarity about the world within a
world around him.
Tue 18 November
6.00 pm Richard Smith The First Englishman to Fly Brendon Books £6.50
Comedian Richard O. Smith’s illustrated talk tells the story of James Sadler the first En-glishman
to fly. Richard includes hilarious anecdotes on how he overcame his aversion
to heights by attempting to replicate the historic first flight. Richard scripted 2014 movie
The Unbeatables starring Rupert Grint and Rob Brydon. He writes for Radio 4’s The
Now Show, The News Quiz, and BBC2’s Dara O Briain’s Science Club.
8.00 pm Sinclair McKay Dunkirk: Disaster to Deliverance Brendon Books £6.50
There is a wider story than the political one that involves a very large number of
civilians - from nurses to racing enthusiasts, trades union leaders to dance hall
managers, novelists to seaside cafe owners. Told here through fresh interviews with
veterans, plus unseen letters and archival material, the story of how an old-fashioned
island was brutally forced into the modernity of World War Two.
Wed 19 November
6.00 pm Paul Atterbury WW1 in 100 Family Treasures Brendon Books £6.50
To mark the centenary of the start of World War I, the Antiques Roadshow team
filmed a series of specials at the Somme, where the public brought in their family’s war
memorabilia and photographs. Antiques Roadshow: World War I in 100 Family Trea-sures
takes 100 of the most fascinating and moving stories and shows how they fit in to
the wider history that was occurring.
8.00 pm John Lanchester How to Speak Money Brendon Books £6.50
Money is our global language. Yet so few of us can speak it. The language of the eco-nomic
elites can be complex, jargon-filled and completely baffling. And we need to
understand it because if we can’t, then the elites will write their own rules. Now John
Lanchester, bestselling author of Capital and Whoops!: Why everyone owes everyone
and no one can pay, sets out to decode it for all of us, explaining everything from
high-frequency trading and the World Bank to the difference between bullshit and
nonsense.

15. stefan jennings
The Architect of the ‘Green Cathedral’*
Sheltered seats made to fit in to a suitable part of your
garden. Woven willow and/or Hazel, combined with
Oak or Douglas Fir make an ordinary corner into a
sculptural and comfortable space.
For Prices and Ideas please contact, Stefan Jennings on
01823665342 or email: stefan.a.jennings@gmail.com
15
J S Bach - Mass in B Minor
Saturday 29 November 7.30 pm
Conducted by Laurence Blyth
St John’s Church, Wellington
The choir will be joined by some of the area’s
finest instrumentalists and a consort of soloists
from London and the South West.
Tickets ( £12 for adults, free for under-18’s ) may
be obtained from Nurtured by Nature, South
Street, Wellington, from the Taunton Information
Centre at Taunton Library, from choir members,
on the door, or online at:
www.wellingtonchoralsociety.org.uk
* See article on the Green Cathedral in this magazine
DILLINGTON HOUSE
Pre-Christmas Carvery Lunch (3 Courses)
£26 (Under 16s £13)
Groups and Parties Pre-Christmas Dinner (3 Courses)
£35.50 (Under 16s £17.50)
Complimentary coffee & mints included with all menus
www.dillington.com 01460 258613

16. All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taunton, TA1
16
Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Thursday 20 November
6.00 pm C. Simon Sykes Hockney: The Biography Brendon Books £6.50
Christopher Sykes explores the life and work of Britain’s most popular living artist.
David Hockney’s career has spanned and epitomised the art movements of the past
five decades. Vol. 1 covered his early life: this volume finds him flitting between Not-tingHill
and California, where he took inspiration for the swimming pool series of
paintings; creating the acclaimed set designs for operas around the world; and embrac-ing
emerging technologies,the camera and fax machine in the 1970s/80s, and most
recently the iPad.
8.00 pm Jackie Moggridge Spitfire Girl Brendon Books £5.00
‘We had returned to a different world. We had taken off in peace at nine-thirty and
landed in war at noon.’ Jackie Moggridge was just nineteen when World War Two broke
out. Determined to do her bit, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. At last the world
was opening up to women... or at least it seemed to be. From her first flight at fifteen to
smuggling Spitfires into Burma, Jackie describes the trials and tribulations, successes
and frustrations of her life in the sky. Her daughter, Candida. will give a talk on her
remarkable mother.
Fri 21 November
6.00 Robert Kershaw 24 hours in Waterloo Brendon Books £6.50
In 24 Hours at Waterloo, using a plethora of previously unpublished eyewitness ac-counts,
letters and diaries, Robert Kershaw reveals the soldier’s view of this iconic
battle: how they felt, what they saw, what they smelt and what they heard enduring this
epic confrontation on Sunday 18 June 1815.Visceral and raw, this is Waterloo as you’ve
never experienced it before. Robert Kershaw is a former Para, having joined the Para-chute
Regiment in 1973, commanded 10 Para and left as a full Colonel in 2006.
7.30 Open Mic Evening St Michael’s Church, Taunton Free
“Expressions of Creativity” - “Open Mic’ @ St. Mikes” - a platform for creative writing and song, musical creations
and maybe short stories.
Sat 22 November
11.00 Katherine Reynolds Under the Rainbow Taunton Library Free Children’s Event
‘Red Tabby sat in the twilight, gazing across the familiar valley to the far hills. It was
here that she and Dylan had always taken their early morning gallop. It was here that
their special friendship had always felt the strongest. What might her life be like with-out
that friendship? From being a pair of homeless refugees on the run, they had since
travelled a road to dazzling super-stardom. But would the cost of that success be the
loss of what was most dear to them?”
11.30 am Lucy Hughes-Hallett D’Annunzio The Castle Hotel £10.00
Lucy Hughes-Hallett charts the controversial life of D’Annunzio, the debauched artist
who became a national hero. Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fic-tion
and the 2013 Costa Award Biography of the Year. There will be an opportunity
at this event to have lunch at The Castle Hotel in the company of the author after
the talk and signing. This includes the price of the ticket for the talk. For this option
please contact the Castle Hotel for tickets. 01823 272671
or www.the-castle-hotel.com

17. 17

18. All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taunton, TA1
18
Taunton Literary Festival Programme 2014
4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
6.00 pm Alwyn Turner The Last Post Brendon Books £6.50
At eleven o’clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British
Empire came to a halt to remember the dead of the Great War. The only human
sound to be heard was the desolate weeping of those overcome by grief. Then
the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post. A century
on, that lone bugle call remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in
public life.The presentation will be interspersed with bugle music pertinent to
The Last Post.
Monday 24 November
6.00 pm Matilda Temperley Under the Surface Brendon Books £6.50
Just before Christmas 2013 fields across the Somerset Levels began to flood.
This has happened countless times before but for the second year running
the waters did not recede. Two decades of neglect of a complex network of
drainage ditches and man-made rivers meant that the winters subsequent
record rainfall was unable to escape to the sea. Images by photographer
Matilda Temperley, captions by the community. Foreword by Michael Eavis
of Glastonbury Festival
8.00 pm Sinead Gillespie But I Love You Brendon Books £5.00
Endearment, affirmation and loyalty or imposition manipulation and threat.
Straight guys in night clubs; dodgy ex’s; smitten best mates; lesbian lovers. In a
world of I love you’s there is always a ‘but’ For Andreas and Jon, it’s a night in a
club that they’ll never forget as they realise that the hot women they are moving
on are lesbians… KATE escapes her Christian parents for the promises of uni-versity
life. Blind to her housemate Robin’s infatuation, Kate heads out onto ‘the
scene’, after the guidance of a counsellor, HELENA.
Tue 25 November
6.00 pm Brambley Books How to Grow a Publishing House Brendon Books £5.00
The company was founded in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England in late 2002 by two profes-sional
biologists, Drs Hugh and Nicola Loxdale, both with wide experience in scientific writing
and editing. They share a great love of the natural world and the countryside. Hugh and Nicola
have travelled extensively throughout the world, both in their professional capacity and during
vacations, visiting a diverse range of countries, temperate and tropical, and observing the
wildlife of these regions.
Wed 26 November
6.00 pm John Sutherland How to Be Well Read Brendon Books £6.50
As the annual flood of published novels grows ever greater, it’s a hard a job to
keep up, let alone sort the wheat from the chaff. Fortunately, literary sleuth and
academic John Sutherland is on hand to do precisely that. In the course of over
500 wittily informative pieces he gives us his own very personal take on the most
rewarding, most remarkable and, on occasion, most shamelessly enjoyable works
of fiction ever written - the perfect reading list.
8.00 pm Paul Upton Hans Schwarz Brendon Books £5.00
First biography of prolific artist best known primarily Portrait gallery. Fascinating life story of
a Viennese émigré who lived a long and productive life in Birmingham, London and Somerset.
Many illustrations never reproduced before. Published to coincide with an exhibition represent-ing
his life’s work at the Lynda Cotton Gallery in Watchet, Somerset in October 2014. There will
be a talk and slides by biographer Paul Upton.

19. 19
Somerset County Orchestra
WW1 Commemoration Concert
St James Church, Taunton
Saturday 22 November 2014 at 7.30 pm
Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
Ron Goodwin
633 Squadron
Ivor Gurney
Severn Meadows Song Cycle
Vaughan Williams
Pastoral Symphony
Debussy, Howells and Constant Lambert
Conductor - David Hedges
Leader - Alex Ennis
Soloist - Lorna Anderson
Tickets £10Family £20 Under 18 £1.00
The Phoenix Singers
music director: Andrew Maddocks
organ: John Young
Service of Nine Lessons and
Carols
Monday 22nd December 6.30pm
St John the Baptist Church
Wellington TA21 8SF
Entry to the service is by free ticket, available from 1st December
from the choir's box office: 01823 432704
Further details can be found on the choir’s website:
thephoenixsingers.co.uk

20. All ticket enquiries (except where otherwise stated): Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taunton, TA1
4ER Tel. 01823 337742 or www.tauntonliteraryfestival.net
Thu 27 November
7.00 pm Jeremy Browne/Jeremy Harvey Education Debate Brendon Books £5.00
20
An education debate between Jeremy Browne MP and Jeremy Harvey using as a
basis for discussion the ideas of economic liberalism explored in Jeremy Browne’s
recent book, Race Plan. Jeremy Browne, spent just over three years as a govern-ment
minister, first in the Foreign Office, and latterly in the Home Office. Jeremy
Harvey was headmaster of Bishop Foxes School for many years and in retirement is
Chairman of the SAGT and retains an interest in the education system.
Fri 28 November
6.30 pm Matthew Parker Goldeneye Richard Huish College £6.50
From 1946 until the end of his life, Ian Fleming lived for two months of every year at
Goldeneye - the house he built on a point of high land overlooking a small white sand
beach on Jamaica’s north coast. All the James Bond novels and stories were written
here. The spirit of the island - its exotic beauty, its unpredictability, its melancholy, its
love of exaggeration and gothic melodrama - infuses his writing.
Friday 28 November
8.00 pm Philip Ball Invisible Richard Huish College £6.50
This is a history of humanity’s turbulent relationship with the invisible. It takes on the
myths and morals of Plato, the occult obsessions of the Middle Ages, the trickeries
and illusions of stage magic, the auras and ethers of Victorian physics, military strate-gies
to camouflage armies and ships and the discovery of invisibly small worlds.
Saturday 29 November
11.00 Angie Sage Pathfinder Taunton Library Free Children’s Event
Tod has grown up a PathFinder, one of an ancient seafaring tribe. Her mother, who
died when Tod was young, had a very different history. She was from a mysterious
magykal desert-dwelling family. When Tod’s father disappears she is not only alone,
but soon finds herself swept into the path of an evil sorcerer. Now Tod must choose
which of her pasts will help her to survive: PathFinder or Magician.
6.00 pm Chris Ewan Dark Tides Brendon Books £6.50
When Claire Cooper was eight years old her mother mysteriously vanished during Hop-tu-
naa, the Manx Halloween. At fourteen, Claire is still struggling to come to terms with
her disappearance when she’s befriended by a group of five teenagers who mark every
Hop-tu-naa by performing dares. But Claire’s arrival begins to alter the group’s dynamic
until one year a prank goes terribly wrong.....
7.30 John Meikle A Personal History of Taunton Brendon Books £5.00
Jon Meikle MBE, and now in his 90th year, gives his personal history of Taunton. He is perhaps
in a unique position with his wide experience of local government and running a successful local
business for many years and instrumental in getting the Brewhouse Theatre up and running the
first time around and in a call to arms to save the Brewhouse when it recently closed (now, thank-fully,
open again). It will be a fitting finale to the festival.

21. Girl on the Beach, mixed media by Rachel Hartland
Park Art and Collectables is situated directly opposite Vivary Park Gates at
the top of the High Street in Taunton. The Gallery offers a diverse collec-tion
The Old Brick Workshop:
Workshops and Communal
Space
My concept is to fill the Old Brick
Workshop with artists. My is to pro-vide
a gallery space for exhibiting work,
free wifi, a web site, a dark room and
potentially a printing room. Please
contact me for further details.
Alison Cosserat
21
of contemporary quality artwork and photography to suit all tastes.
The aim of the Gallery is to promote original local art at an affordable price,
and to enable artists to exhibit their work and to sell on the High street at a
reasonable rate. The gallery also offers a variety of small portable, retro and
vintage items for the collector.
Open: Core opening times. 10am to 1pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Friday,
also by appointment.
Address: 31b High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PN
E-mail: Hartlandart@googlemail.com
communal space for net working,
The Old Brick Workshop, Poole industrial estate, Wellington,
Somerset,TA21 9HH Telephone: 07989 465 427
Email: alison.cosserat@tiscali.co.uk

22. 22
Brendon Books Christmas Books Ideas
Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
So Anyway - John Cleese
Tells the story of how a shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went
on to become a self-confessed legend. This
title is punctuated from time to time with
the author’s thoughts on topics as diverse as
the nature of comedy, the relative merits of
cricket and waterskiing, and the importance
of knowing the dates of all the kings and
queens of England. 9781847946966 Corner-stone
£20.00 £16.00
Michael Palin – Travelling to Work
The 3rd volume of the Monty Python
star’s celebrated diaries. After a decade of
filming, writing and acting, Palin’s career
takes an unexpected direction into travel,
which will shape his life for the next 25
years. A new BBC drama starring Palin, }
Remember Me{, will air in 2014.
9780297844419 Orion £25.00 £20.00
More Fool Me - Stephen Fry.
Invites readers to take a glimpse at
author’s life story. Containing raw, electric
extracts from his diaries of the time, this
book offers an account by a man driven to
create and to entertain - revealing a side
to him he has long kept hidden.
9780718179786 Penguin £25.00 £20.00
KP: The Autobiography – Kevin Pietersen
This autumn Kevin will reveal all in his au-tobiography,
telling the stories behind the
many other highs and lows of his incredi-ble
career. Giving readers the full story of
his life, from his childhood in South Africa
to his recent experiences as one of the
leading lights in the world of international
cricket, this will be an autobiography that
entertains and fascinates readers in equal
measure.
9780751557541 Little Brown £20.00 £16.00
Please Mister Postman - Alan Johnson
Paints a vivid picture of England in the
1970s, where no celebration was complete
without a Party Seven of Watney’s Red Bar-rel,
smoking was the norm rather than the
exception, and Sunday lunchtime was about
beer, bingo and cribbage.
9780593073414 Transworld £16.99 £13.99
On that day I Left My Boyhood Behind - Susan Burnett
1914. At 17, Norman Woodcock is called up He returns
having witnessed unspeakable hor-rors,
survived stormy seas, blistering
deserts and days of shell fire. Often,
his only solace was his horse - Tim-buc.
Like most men who returned,
he was reluctant to talk about the
war. It was not until later life that he
began to tell his story.
9781909121843 Acorn Press £9.99
Best of Benn – Tony Benn
Offers a collection of diaries, mem-oirs,
speeches, letters and other
writings. This book follows the ca-reer
of Tony Benn, one of the 20th
century’s most charismatic politi-cians,
through the speeches, articles
and interviews made and given
over seven decades in the House of
Commons, the Morning Star, the
Guardian and to conferences and
workers. 9780091958923
Cornerstone £20.00 £16.00
Moriarty - Anthony Horowitz
Author of the global bestseller }The
House of Silk{ Anthony Horowitz
once more breathes life into the
world created by Arthur Conan
Doyle. With pitch-perfect charac-terisation
and breath-taking pace,
Horowitz weaves a relentlessly thrill-ing
tale which teases and delights by
the turn of each page. The game is
afoot...
9781409109471 £19.99 £15.99
The Taxidermist’s Daughter – Kate Mosse
A new gothic novel from the
bestselling author of }The Winter
Ghosts{, }Citadel{, and }Labyrinth{.
Set in a Sussex village in 1912, a
taxidermist’s daughter finds herself
under suspicion when a woman
is killed at a superstitious night
time churchyard gathering. Is she
the victim of circumstances or are
more sinister forces at work?
9781409153757 Orion £16.99
£13.99

23. 23

24. 24
Brendon Books Christmas Books Ideas
Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -
Richard Flanagan
Forever after, there were for them only
two sorts of men: the men who were on
the Line, and the rest of humanity, who
were not. In the despair of a Japanese
POW camp on the Burma Death Railway,
surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his
love affair with his uncle’s young wife two
years earlier. This year’s Booker Prize Win-ner.
9780701189051 Vintage £16.99 £13.99
Wars of the Roses: Trinity –
Conn Iggulden
1454: King Henry VI has remained all but
exiled in Windsor Castle, struck down by
his illness for over a year, his eyes vacant,
his mind a blank. His fiercely loyal wife and
Queen, Margaret of Anjou, safeguards her
husband’s interests, hoping that her son
Edward will one day know the love of his
father.
9780718159856 Penguin £18.99 £15.99
Stargazers: Gallileo, Copernicus, The Tele-scope
and the Church – Allan Chapman
The story of Galileo and Copernicus’
200 year quest to map the stars, between
1500AD and 1700AD, and the impact of
their ideas on the scientists that followed.
Also looks at the role of the Church, and
argues that, contrary to popular belief, it
actually led the search to discover more.
Allan Chapman recently appeared on
BBC2’s }Stargazing{ programme with Brian
Cox. 9780745956275 Lion Hudson £10.99
Abducting a General – Patrick Leigh Fermor
Published for the first time, this is the late
Patrick Leigh Fermor’s own account of
kidnapping General Kriepe, the German
commander in Crete, on 26th April 1944. It
follows the huge success of Leigh Fermor’s
}The Broken Road{, and the biography of
him by Artemis Cooper, }Patrick Leigh
Fermor: An Adventure{.
9781444796582 John Murray £20.00 £16.00
Brittania Obscura- Joanne Parker
What is the shape of Britain? The country’s
outline, looking a little like a wingless drag-on,
is instantly recognisable on any map or
globe. But jostling within that familiar profile
are countless vying maps of the country.
This book offers an exploration of just a
few of surprising hidden Britains.
9780224102025 Vintage £20.00 £16.00
Ranulph Fiennes - Agincourt
Explorer and sportsman Sir Ranulph
Fiennes provides a new account of the
Battle of Agincourt, and a unique view on
one of the most significant turning points
in English history. Three of his ancestors
fought in the battle and were involved in
the build-up and the aftermath as well,
and Fiennes had exclusive access to all
the family archives at Broughton Castle
9781444792089 Hodder £20.00 £16.00
Cruel Victory - Paddy Ashdown
From the bestselling and prize-winning
author of ‘A Brilliant Little Operation’
comes the long neglected D-Day sto-ry
of the largest action by the French
Resistance during WWII, published to
coincide with the 70th anniversary of the
Normandy landings.
9780007520800 HarperCollins £25.00
£20.00
For the Fallen: A Century of Remem-brance
since the Great War - CWGC
A photographic tribute to the fallen of
the Great War through their final resting
places, lovingly maintained all over the
world by the staff of the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission.
9780749576479 AA Publishing £25.00
£20.00
The Final Over: The Cricketers of Sum-mer
1914 - Christopher Sandford
The first and only book to follow the
leading English players of 1914 from the
sports fields into the trenches, drawing
on the unpublished diaries of England
cricket captain Lionel Tennyson. For read-ers
of }The Final Whistle{.
9780750959667 The History Press
£18.99 £15.99
Plenty More - Yotam Ottolenghi
Vegetables have moved from the side
dish to the main plate, grains celebrated
with colour and flair. It’s a revolution
that is bold, inspiring and ever-expand-ing.
This book focuses on vegetable
dishes, with the emphasis on flavour,
original spicing and freshness of ingredi-ents,
caused a revolution not just in this
country, but the world over.
9780091957155 £27.00 £22.00

25. 25
Brendon Books Christmas Books Ideas
Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
River Cottage Light & Easy - Hugh Fearn-ley-
Whittingstal
A collection of simple, inexpensive and
supremely healthy dishes, all dairy-free
and wheat-free. 170 recipes from raw
chocolate and raspberry tarts to 10-min-ute
fish curry. }River Cottage Veg Every
Day!{ has sold over 360,000 copies.
9781408853535 Bloomsbury £25.00
£20.00
Remarkable Plants that Shape Our World
- Helen & William Bynum
Plants are truly remarkable: even with
all our modern technological prowess
they still feed, clothe and shelter us, help
transport us and can intoxicate and cure
us. Helen and William Bynum are expert
guides to the rich histories, significance
and uses of over 80 key plants in 69
entries, revealing our relationship with
them, both utilitarian and aesthetic,
and their multiple benefits and cultural
associations. 9780500517420 Thames &
Hudson £24.95 £19.95
Christopher Matthew – Dog Treats
A new collection of verse celebrating
man’s best friend, from the comic
genius behind }Now We Are Sixty{
and }The Man Who Dropped The Le
Creuset On His Toe{. ‘Christopher
Matthews is a comic genius’ Sandi
Toksvig.
9781408705667 Little Brown £12.99
£10.99
The Very Hungover Caterpillar - Josie
Lloyd & Emlyn Rees
Helps you follow the quest of one man
as he attempts to shake off his hangover,
through eating whatever he can get his
hands on, and annoying his family in the
process.
9781472117106 Constable and Robinson
£9.99 £8.99
Green & Pleasant Land - Ana Simpson
Our rolling fields and verdant country-side
have ever inspired some of the finest
verse by our most cherished poets, and
the very best are brought together in this
thoughtful and enjoyable collection. Be
transported to a more lush and vibrant
world with this celebration of all the
beauty of our language and land.
9781782433019 Michael O’Mara Books
£9.99
Once Upon a Time - Marina
Warner
In ten succinct chapters, Marina
Warner guides us through the rich
world of fairy tale, from Cinderella
and Hansel and Gretel to Snow
White and Pan’s Labyrinth. Explor-ing
pervasive themes of folklore,
myth, the supernatural, imagination,
and fantasy, Warner highlights the
impact of the genre on human
understanding, history, and culture.
9780198718659 Oxford Univeristy
Press £10.99
The History of Cycling in Fifty Bikes
- Tom Ambrose
The History of Cycling in Fifty bikes
tells the story of the bicycle through
50 iconic machines, starting with the
first primitive wooden two-wheel-ers
through to carbon-fibre super
bikes and the designs of the future,
celebrating sporting achievements,
technological advances and world records along with way.
9780750960601 The History Press
£9.99
Can Crocodiles Cry - Paul Heiney
Paul Heiney unravels further science
behind those things we take for
granted, and explains just why the
world and its contents are the way
they are.
9780750960120 The History Press
£8.99
StarTrek Pop-Ups - Courtney Wat-son
McCarthy
Delivers seven iconic Star Trek
images in a new way popping off
the page in three dimensions. From
the Enterprise NX01 in flight to the
dreaded Borg cube from The Next
Generation and beyond, this title
offers a series of alien encounters
and thrilling action scenes.
9780500517499 Thames & Hudson
£19.95 £15.95
Out and About: A First Book of
Poems - Shirley Hughes
A beautiful first collection of poems.
Katie and her little brother Olly
romp through the changing sea-sons,
taking pleasure in the different
elements and weather conditions. A
lovely gift edition of a classic.
9781406357301 Walker Books
£12.99 £10.99

26. 26
Brendon Books Christmas Books Ideas
Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
Where My Wellies Take Me... Clare & Michael Morpurgo
Pippa loves staying with her Aunty
Peggy. She loves going for walks,
whether it’s sunshiney or cold - long,
wandering walks where her wellies
take her. Follow Pippa into the beau-tiful
countryside as her day unfolds,
and the wildlife, animals and people
she encounters are complemented
by relevant poems from some of our
greatest authors. 9781783700561
Templar Publishing £9.99 £8.99
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Sound Book - Michael Rosen &
Helen Oxenbury
We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going
to catch a big one. Will you come too?
For twenty-five years, readers have been
swishy swashing and splash sploshing
through this award-winning favourite.
Follow and join in the family’s excite-ment
as they wade through the grass,
splash through the river and squelch
through the mud in search of a bear
9780763677022 Walker £12.99 £10.99
Stick Man Book & Floor Puzzle Gift
Set - Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Julia Donaldson and Axel Schef-fler’s
bestselling picture book is
now available as a stunning gift set,
containing a mini paperback of the
book and a 24-piece floor puzzle.
9781407147550 Scholastic £12.99
£10.99
Usborne Slot-Together Castle - Simon
Tudhope & Jez Tuya
ith this book you can create tiour very
own, detailed model castle with seige
towers, a drawbridge, a trebuchet and
two model aremies. There is also a book
about life in a castle whcih features lots
if ideas for games to paly.
9781409583875 Usborne £25.00 £20.00
Welcome to the Museum: Animalium - Katie Scott & Jenny
Broom
First in a series of virtual museum
books, enabling readers to view a col-lection
of curated animal exhibits 365
days a year. Discover more than 160
exhibits in this virtual museum, open
all hours. Over 200 full colour, detailed
spreads. Ages: 7+.
9781783700608 Templar £20.00
£16.00
Under the Rainbow - Katherine Reynolds
In their third great adventure, Dylan de
Polka the dancing dray horse and his
worldly-wise friend Red Tabby travel to
Hollywood to promote their movie UN-DER
THE RAINBOW. Back home, friends
at the Happy Days Circus wait anxiously
for their return. From being a pair of
homeless refugees on the run, Dylan and
Red Tabby now share a road that had leads
to super-stardom. 9780955011672
Ideas4writers £6.99
Pathfinder - Angie Sage
This is the new blockbuster series from
the author of }Septimus Heap{, aimed
at a 9+ readership. It combines breath-taking
action with fabulous plotting,
engaging characters with relentless
tension.
9781408858158 Bloomsbury £12.99
£10.99
Cakes in Space - Philip Reeve & Sarah
McIntyre
Astra’s ship is in trouble. There’s
something very sinister lurking in
the canteen. A cakey monstrosity on
the war path. And then there’s the
Poglites - a space salvage crew who
have invaded the ship in their quest for
spoonage! Astra and her robot friend
Pilbeam are the only things standing in
the way of the ship’s destruction!
9780192734563 Oxford £8.99
The Winter Wolf - Holly Webb
When Amelia finds herself magically
transported into the world of a diary
from 1870s Wisconsin, it’s up to her to
help keep a tiny wolf cub safe... Evie is
magically transported into the world
of a diary she’d been reading, and must
take care of a wolf cub. From a popular
and successful author, who’s UK sales
are over 1 million copies. Ages: 6+.
9781847154521 Little Tiger Press £8.99
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
When Thomas arrives in the Glade, a walled
encampment at the centre of a bizarre maze,
all he remembers is his first name. But he’s
not alone. Like Thomas, the Gladers don’t
know why they’re there, or what’s happened
to the world outside. All they know is that
every morning when the walls slide back,
they will risk everything to find out.
9781909489400 Chicken House £7.99

27. 27
November Events - Please note, Taunton Literary Festival Events are in red
Events in date order. Contact details for most of the venues are given at the end of event listings. Please note, we do not
take any responsibility for errors or omissions. Please confirm with venue timings and programme details.
Date Event Details Venue Time
1 Music James Keelaghan & Hugh McMillan - Folk and Roots David Hall, Sth Petherton 8.00
Children’s Chris and Pui Brewhouse, Taunton 11/2
Music Craobh Rua - Traditional Irish Music Brewhouse, Taunton 8.00
Music Country Music Night CICCIC, Taunton 7.30
Music Concert: Uilleann Pipes & Nyckelharpa Halsway Manor 8.00
3 Comedy Paul Richards: Getting Lost in My Home Town. Festival warm-up event Brendon Books 7.30
6 Comedy Brazz Autumn Comedy Night: MC Stephen Carlin. Nick Revell et al Castle Hotel, Taunton 8.30
Drama The Pantaloons present: Bleak House Regal, Minehead 7.30
7 Talk Rachel Joyce - The Love Song of Queenie Hennesey Brendon Books 7.00
Music Zelkova Quartet with Abel Selaocoe - Milverton Concert Society Milverton Church 8.00
Music Benny Goodman & Glen Miller Concert - Pete Long & his Goodmen Queen’s College 7.30
Talk BACT Talk - Somerset Remembers Bridgwater Arts Centre 7.30
Music John Etheridge and Kit Holmes - folk, blues, jazz Ilminster Arts Centre 8.00
Music Darktown Strutters - Jazz Regal, Minead 7.30
Music Ivana Gavric (Piano) Music by Bartok, Schubert, Greig and Rachmaninov Av. Methodist Ch, Minehead 7.30
8 Book Fair Self Publishing/Small Publisher Book Fair St James’s Ch., Taunton 10-3
Talk Mark Kitto - That’s China. Talk on living and running a business in China Brendon Books 6.30
Music The Hut People - Accordionist and Sam Pirt, Percussionist Gary Hammond David Hall, Sth Petherton 8.00
Music Unknown Worlds - jazz, funk, folk mashup . CICIC, Taunton 7.30
Music Teasing the Cat Warehouse Theatre, Ilminster 7.30
9 Music Faure Requiem - Amici King’s Coll. Chapel, Taunton 7.30
10 Q&A David Mitchell - Thinking About it Only Makes it Worse St James’s Ch., Taunton 12.30
Talk Susie Barrett - The Upper Culm Valley and the Great War Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Tom Moran - Dinosaurs and Prime Numbers Brendon Books 8.00
Talk Pinkery Pond and the Pinkery Canal - Graham Wills Northtown Primary, Taunton 7.30
10-11 Drama A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen - UK Touring Theatre Brewhouse, Taunton 7.30
11 Talk David Mitchell - The Bone Clocks Castle Hotel, Taunton 11.30
Talk Suzie Grogan - Shell Shocked Britain Brendon Books 7.00
11-15 Variety 50 years of Bond movies in an evening of songs from the films - Sat Matinee Wellington Arts Centre 7.30
12 Talk Jonathan Miller - 60 Years of Writing Castle Hotel, Taunton 11.30
Talk Anthony Sattin - Brendon Books Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Ned Lebow - A World Without World War 1 Queen’s College, Taunton 7.30
13 Talk Alexander Waugh - Shakespeare Beyond Doubt Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Paula Byrne - Belle Brendon Books 8.00
Talk Paint the Soul - Maggie Giraud Castle Hotel, Taunton 11.00
Talk Chris Jelley Talk on his art Creative Inn. Centre, Taunton 7.30
14 Talk David Marsh - For Who the Bell Tolls Brendon Books 8.00
Music Tone Valley Jazz Band Cotleigh Brewery, Wivy 7.30
Music Gentle Men - Roy Bailey and Rob Johnson Brewhouse, Taunton 8.00
Music Mike Denham SpeakEasy with Louise Parker Ilminster Arts Centre 8.00
Talk Nicolas Ridley talks about his father Arnold Ridley Museum of Somerset 2.30
Comedy Paul Carroll’s ‘Music Hall Tavern’ Show - comedy drag Regal, Minehead 7.30

28. November Events - Please note, Taunton Literary Festival Events are in red
Events in date order. Contact details for most of the venues are given at the end of event listings. Please note, we do not
take any responsibility for errors or omissions. Please confirm with venue timings and programme details.
Date Event Details Venue Time
15 Reading Shakespeare Aloud - Twelth Night. Participatory reading. Taunton Library 10.30
28
Talk Aidan Dodson - Egypt: Golden Age, Heresy and Reformation Queen’s College, Taunton 2.00
Discussion Writning Motherhood - Carolyn Jesse-Cook, Lily Dunne & Kathryn Sim-monds.
Chaired by Sinead Gillespie
Queen’s College, Taunton 4.00
Talk William Philpott - Attrition: Fighting World War One Brendon Books 7.00
Music Choral Concert - Taunton Choral Society St James’ Church,Taunton 7.30
Music O’Hooley and Tidow David Hall, Sth Petherton 8.00
Variety Women of WW1 - a tribute in Music, Words and Images Bridgwater Arts Centre 8.00
Music Cass Caswell Trio with Sinead MCCabe St Peter’s Ch, W Huntspill 7.30
15-16 Musical Mrs Noah and the Flood - incluidng free workshop Brewhouse, Taunton 2.00
16 Talk Adult Education & An Ageing Society with Wayne Bennett Dillington House 2.30
17 Talk Graham Fawcett on Seamus Heaney Brendon Books 7.00
Music Concert: Gigspanner with Fiddle player Peter Knight (Steeleye Span) Halsway Manor 8.00
18 Talk Richard Smith - The First Englishman to Fly Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Sinclair McKay - Dunkirk: Disaster to Deliverance Brendon Books 8.00
Music The Alan Barnes Quintet Ilminster Arts Centre 8.00
18-22 Drama Murder on the Nile by Agatha Christie - Taunton Thespians. Sat. Matinee Brewhouse, Taunton 7.30
19 Talk Paul Atterbury - World War One in a 100 Family Treasures Brendon Books 6.00
Talk John Lanchester - How to Speak Money Brendon Books 8.00
Music Voice: Patterns of Love Tacchi-Morris 7.30
20 Talk Christopher Simon Sykes - Hockney: The Biography Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Candy Moggridge - Jackie Moggridge: Spitfire Girl Brendon Books 8.00
Dance StopGap Dance Company: ‘Artificial Things’ Tacchi-Morris 7.30
21 Talk Robert Kershaw - 24 Hours in Waterloo Brendon Books 6.00
Open Mic Open Mic Evening St Michael’s, Taunton 7.30
Music Eclectic Lemon Bridgwater Arts Centre 7.30
Magic Pete Firman: ‘Trickster’ Tacchi-Morris 7.30
22 Talk Katherine Reynolds - Under the Rainbow Taunton Library 11.00
Talk Lucy Hughes-Hallett - The Pike: The Story of Gabrielle D’Annunzio Castle Hotel, Taunton 11.30
Talk Alwyn Turner - The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War Brendon Books 6.00
Music Centenary Commemoration Concert - Somersety County Orchestra St James’ Ch, Taunton 7.30
Music Ultra Vinyl (Fundraiser) Briodgwater Arts Centre 8.00
Talk Henry Sandon: ‘Potaholic’ Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre 2.00
Drama Pip Utton brings Casanova to life Warehouse Theatre, Ilminster 7.30
23 Music In Celebration - Taunton Sinfonietta St James’ Ch, Taunton 3.00
Music Angel Tree Service - Ecclesia St Mary’s, Taunton 3.30
Music Piano Recital with Duncan Honeybourne Dillinton House 2.30
24 Talk Matilda Temperley - Under the Surface: Somerset Floods Brendon Books 6.00
Talk Sinead Gillespie - But I Love You Brendon Books 8.00
Talk Somerset and the Defence of the Bristol Channel in the Second World War Northtown Primary, Taunton 7.30
25 Talk Brambley Books: How to Grow a Publishing House Brendon Books 6.00

29. November Events - Please note, Taunton Literary Festival Events are in red
Events in date order. Contact details for most of the venues are given at the end of event listings. Please note, we do not
take any responsibility for errors or omissions. Please confirm with venue timings and programme details.
Date Event Details Venue Time
26 Talk John Sutherland - How to Be Well Read Brendon Books 6.00
29
Talk Paul Upton - Hans Schwarz: Artist Brendon Books 8.00
27 Debate Jeremy Browne & Jeremy Harvey - Education Debate Brendon Books 7.00
Poetry Juncture 25 Poetry Reading Hestercombe Gardens 7.30
Drama Minehead Dramatic Society: Dead Man’s Hand Regal, Minehead 7.30
Musical Tall Stories: ‘Emily Brown and the Thing’- children’s musical Tacchi-Morris 11.30
28 Talk Matthew Parker - Goldeneye: James Bond Richard Huish, Taunton 6.30
Talk Philip Ball - Invisible. Science Talk Richard Huish, Taunton 8.00
Talk ‘Wonderful Things!’ Tutankhamun’s Tomb & Treasures with Lucia Gahlin Dillington House 1.00
29 Talk Angie Sage - Pathfinder Taunton Library 11.00
Talk Chris Ewan - Dark Tides Brendon Books 6.00
Talk John Meikle - A Personal History of Taunton Brendon Books 7.30
Music JS Bach Mass in B Minor - Wellington Choral Society St John’s, Wellington 7.30
Comedy Craig Campbell - Thrilling Mic Hunt Brewhouse, Taunton 8.00
Music Concert: Reg Meuross 2014 Halsway Manor 8.00
30 Music Advent Porocession - In Ecclesia St John’s, Taunton 6.30
Music Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band - Carols and Capers. Milv. Concert Soc Milverton Church 7.30
December Events
Events in date order. Contact details for most of the venues are given at the end of event listings. Please note, we do not
take any responsibility for errors or omissions. Please confirm with venue timings and programme details.
Date Event Details Venue Time
3 Music New Horizon Singers with Steel the Show - Steel Band Silver St Baptist Ch, Taunton 7.30
4 Music Let There Be Christmas: Santa and his Christmas Crackers Brewhouse,Taunton 7.30
Comedy Katherine Ryan - Glam Role Model Bridgwater Arts Centre 8.00
Music Annika Skoogh - jazz CICCIC, Taunton 7.30
Music Ruishton Recorders Concert - traditional Christmas music Museum of Somerset 1.00
Drama Farndale Avenue Townswoman’s Guild Dramatic Society Regal, Minehead 7.30
5 Music Exeter Cathedral Choir Castle Hotel 7.00
Comedy Nicholas Parsons: A Laugh a Minute - followed by booksigning Tacchi-Morris 7.30
6 Music Christmas Concert “Comfort & Joy” - A selection of traditional, modern
and secular carols.- West Somerset Singers
St George’s, Wilton 7.30
Music Christmas Concert - Bridgwater Choral Society St Mary’s, Bridgwater 7.30
Music Christmas Carol’s with Wellington School Chapel Choir Hestercombe Gardens 6.00
Musical The People’s Theatre Company: ‘Santa in Love’ Tacchi-Morris 2.30
Music Taunton Rock Show Chorus: ‘Carols By Moonlight’ Tacchi-Morris 5.30
8 Music Carols on the Train - Taunton Concert Band WSR, Bishops Lydeard 7.00
Music Concert: Luke Daniels with the Cara Dillon Band Halsway Manor 8.00
9 Music The Rat Pack - Christmas Swinging Show Brewhouse,Taunton 7.30

30. Date Event Details Venue Time
30
December Events
9-10 Ballet Ballet Theatre UK: Swan Lake Tacchi-Morris 7.30
10 Music Hilliard Ensemble - Music on the Quantocks St Mary’s, Taunton 7.30
Music Supersonic 70’s Band Bridgwater Arts Centre 8.00
10-13 Drama The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate’s Townswomens Guild’s Dramatic
Society’s Murder Mystery
Warehouse Theatre,Ilminster 7.30
11-13 Ballet The Nutcracker - Vienna Festival Ballet. Sat Matinee Brewhouse,Taunton 7.30
Music Steve Graham’s Classic Jazz Ilminster Arts Centre 8.00
Talk Curator Sam Astill talks about Christmas 1914 & the Christmas truce Museum of Somerset 2.30
Music Demon Barbers - Minehead & West Somerset Arts Society Regal, Minehead 7.30
Music Jazz on a Christmas Evening Tacchi-Morris 7.30
12-13 Music St Agnes Fountain David Hall, Sth Petherton 8.00
13 Music Geoff Nichols Good Vibes Band Cossington Vill. Hall 8.00
Music The Levels Collective - Folk Club Night Briodgwater Arts Centre 7.45
Music .Blues night. Chris King Robinson + Mike Bess CICCIC,Taunton 7.30
Music Christmas Concert with Phoenix Brass Dillington House 8.00
Music Concert/Dance: La Musgaña Halsway Manor 8.00
Music Christmas Carols with Amici Hestercombe Gardens 6.00
13-14 Dance Glitz & Glam - Spotlight Dance Academy Annual Show Regal, Minehead
15 Music ‘A Christmas Truce’ - Collegium Singers St John’s, Wellington 7.00
15-16 Variety Christmas Community Show 2014 Tacchi-Morris 7.30
16 Music Dart Valley Stompers Cotleigh Brewery, Wivy 7.30
Music Concert: Blast from the Past presents ‘A Medieval Christmas’ Halsway Manor 8.00
Music Canticle Choir. The choir perform a selection of Christmas songs Museum of Somerset 1.15
18 Music Christmas Concert with The Big Soul Gospel Choir Oake Manor Golf Club 7.30
Childrens The Christmassy Christmas Show of Christmassy Christmassness TAcchi Morris
19-20 Music Christmas Concert - Taunton Concert Band Tacchi-Morris 7.30
20 Music Handel’s Mesiah - Taunton Choral Society St Mary’s, Tauntnon 7.30
28 Panto Sleeping Beauty Wellsprings Leisure Ctre 2.00
Music Belshazzar’s Feast David Hall, Sth Petherton 8.00
Dance Viva La Diva - Showgirls Christmas Extravaganza Bridgwtaer Arts Centre 8.00
Music Christmas Carole Hoedown with a Difference CICCIC,Taunton 7.30
22-23 Musical Peter Pan - Reamba Travelling Theatre Company Oake Manor Golf Club 3/6
30 Music Christmas Concert - In Ecclesia Bradford on Tone Vill. Hall 3.30
Art Exhibitions November/December
Tania Kovats - ‘Oceans’ 11 October - 9 January 2015 Hestercombe Gardens, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton TA2 8LG 01823 413923
27 October - 22 November Made in Glastonbury A collective of artists working in and inspired by the Isle of Avalon Ilminster Arts
Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.
3 November - 6 December Mark Elliott Smith. Atkinson Gallery, Millfield, Street BA16 OYD atkinsongallery.co.uk
Wednesday 5 November - Friday 20 December. Christmas Craft and Art Show Tacchi-Morris, School Rd, Monkton Heathfield,
Taunton TA2 8PD 01823 414141
24 November - 23 December Christmas Magic A selection of contemporary crafts ideal for special Christmas gifts. Ilminster Arts
Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster. TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk.

31. Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School, Street, Somerset BA16 0YD 01458 444322
Barn, Obridge House Priorswood, Taunton. Contact: Jeremy Harvey. 01823 276421
Bath Central Library 01225 394041
The Blakehay Theatre, Wadham Street, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1JZ 01934 64B5493
Brendon Books, Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 337742 brendonbooks@gmail.com
Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Coal Orchard, Taunton TA1 1JL 01823 283244 enquiries@tauntontheatre.co.uk
Bridgwater Arts Centre, 11-13 Castle Street, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 3DD 01278 422 700
The Castle Hotel, Castle Green, Taunton TA1 1NF 01823 272671
Caryford Community Hall, Ansford, Castle Cary, South Somerset BA7 7JJ
Cossington Village Hall Rrivetts Way , TA7 8LH.
Cotleigh Brewery Ltd, Ford Road, Wiveliscombe, Somerset TA4 2RE 01984 624086 info@cotleighbrewery.com
Creative Innovation Centre CIC, Memorial Hall, Paul Street,Taunton TA1 3PF. 01823 337477 info@creativeinnovationcentre.co.uk
The David Hall, Roundwell St South Petherton. TA13 5AA 01460 240340 info@thedavidhall.org
Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 9DT 01460 258648 dillington@somerset.gov.uk
Dunster Tithe Barn 01643 821658 info@dunstertithebarn.org.uk
Frome Memorial Theatre - Christchurch Street West, Frome, Somerset BA11 1EBTel: 01373 462795
Fyne Court, Broomfield, Somerset TA5 2EQ 01823 451587
Ginger Fig, Bath Place, Taunton TA1 4ER 01823 326798
Halseway Manor, Crowcombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 4BD 01984 618274
Hestercombe Gardens, Hestercombe, Taunton TA2 8LG 01823 413 923
Holburne Museum, Bath 01225 388569
Ilminster Arts Centre, East Street, Ilminster TA19 0AN 01460 55783
Iminster Parish Hall, North Street, Ilminster, TA19 0DG
Merlin Theatre, Bath Road, Frome, Somerset BA11 2HG 01373 465949
Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton Somerset TA1 4AA 01823 255088 www.somerset.gov.uk/museums
Music in the Quantocks 01823 451162
Oake Manor Golf Club,Oake Taunton TA4 1BA 01823 461992
Octagon Theatre, Hendford, Yeovil BA20 1UX 01935 422884
Parish Church St John, Wellington, 72 High Street Wellington(01823) 662248
The Playhouse Theatre,High Street,Weston super Mare,BS23 1HP 01934 645544
Porlock Village Hall, Toll Road (New Rd), Porlock TA24 8QD 01643 862717
Queen’s Conference Centre, Trull Road, Taunton Ta1 4QS 01823 272559 contact@queenscollege.org.uk
Regal Theatre, 10-16 The Avenue, Minehead TA24 5AY 01643 706430 mail@regaltheatre.co.uk
Richard Huish College, 2 Kings Close, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3XP 01823 320800
Silver Street Centre, Silver Street, Wiveliscombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 2PA 01984 623107
Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society, Field Officer, Peter Daniel, 29 Barbers Mead, Taunton, TA2 8PY.
Telephone : 01823 339368. E-mail : peter.daniel51@btinternet.com
Somerset Rural Life Museum. Abbey Farm, Chilkwell Street, GlastonburySomerset BA6 8DB 01458 831197
St Catherine’s Church Hall, Park Road, Frome, BA11 1EU
St John’s Church, Park Street, Taunton TA1 4DG secretary@stjohnstaunton.org.uk
St. John’s Church Rooms, Yeovil, BA20 1HE
St Mary Magdalene Church, Church Square, Taunton TA1 1SA 01823 272441
St Mary’s Church, St Mary Street, Bridgwater TA6 3EQ 01278 422437 saintmarybridgwater@gmail.com
St Mary’s Church, Stogumber office.qtb@btinternet.com
St Peter & St Paul Church, Moor Lane, North Curry Ta3 6JZ 01823 490255
Shapwick Village Hall Shapwick
The Swan Theatre, 138 Park Street,Yeovil BA20 1QT swantheatre@gmail.com
Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, School Road, Taunton TA2 8PD 01823 41 41 41 info@tacchi-morris.com
Taunton Flower Show http://www.tauntonfs.co.uk/
Taunton Library, Paul St, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3XZ 0845 345 9177
Temple Methodist Church, Upper High Street, Taunton TA1 3PY (01823) 275765
Tyntesfield Wraxall, North Somerset, BS48 1NT
United Reform Church, Somerton
Warehouse Theatre, Brewery Lane, Ilminster, TA19 9AD Tel 01460 57049
Wellesley Theatre, 50-52 Mantle Street, Wellington TA21 8AU 01823 666668
31
Contacts List

32. Workshops, Courses & Classes (November/December)
TACCHI-MORRIS ARTS CENTRE Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, School Road, Taunton. TA2 8PD. 01823 414141. www.tacchi-morris.com
Wednesday 19 November StopGap Disability in Dance WorkshopIn conjunction with their performance of Artificial Things on Thursday 20
November at Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Stopgap dancers will lead an inclusive dance workshop with disabled and non-disabled participants.
4.30 - 6pm. £15 (includes a ticket for Artificial Things)
Dillinton House, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 9DT 01460 258648
Love, War & Plenty of Fun: Poetry of the 20th Century - Dinner Friday 7 – Lunch Sunday 9 November
Imagine Watercolour – Art Workshop - Dinner Friday 7 – Lunch Sunday 9 November
Bridge – The Next Step - Dinner Friday 7 – Lunch Sunday 9 November
News from the Fronts: November 1914 - Saturday 8 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Thomas Hardy’s Christmas - Saturday 8 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
An Introduction to Tai Chi - Saturday 8 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
The Coming of Christianity - Dinner Friday 14 – Lunch Sunday 16 November
Russia from 1921 to 1953: The Rule of Lenin & Stalin - Dinner Friday 14 – Lunch Sunday 16 November
Rossini: The Serious Operas - Dinner Friday 14 – Lunch Sunday 16 November
West Country Canals - Saturday 15 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Family History Study Day: Researching World War One Ancestors - Saturday 15 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Wreaths & Swags Workshop - Saturday 15 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Civil War & Revolution: Britain Divided (1640 – 1660) - Dinner Friday 21 – Lunch Sunday 23 November
Christmas in Stitches - Dinner Friday 21 – Lunch Sunday 23 November
Figures & Portraits in Pencils or Pastels - Dinner Friday 21 – Lunch Sunday 23 November
Architecture of Slovakia - Dinner Friday 21 – Lunch Sunday 23 November
Remarkable Women: Edith Cavell & Gladys Aylward - Saturday 22 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Trees for Your Garden - Saturday 22 November (9.45am-4.00pm)
Creative Writing Workshop: Sir Gawain & the Green Knight - Saturday 22 November
Ancient Egypt’s Contribution to A History of the World in 100 ObjectsDinner Friday 28 – Lunch Sunday 30 November
Life’s Rich Tapestry - A Look at Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ Dinner Friday 28 – Lunch Sunday 30 November
The Defence of the West - Dinner Friday 28 – Lunch Sunday 30 November
Gifts for Christmas: Place Mats & Table Runners - Tuesday 2 December (9.45am-4.00pm)
Berlioz & The Romantic Imagination - Dinner Friday 5 – Lunch Sunday 7 December
Dutch Art, Design & Architecture: From Art Nouveau to De Stijl Dinner Friday 5 – Lunch Sunday 7 December
Stained Glass for Beginners & Improvers - Dinner Friday 5 – Lunch Sunday 7 December
When The Party had to End - Saturday 6 December (9.45am-4.00pm)
The Wisdom of Montaigne - Saturday 6 December (9.45am-4.00pm)
Meet Me on The Cloud - Saturday 6 December (9.45am-4.00pm)
Christmas House Party - Dinner Friday 12 – Lunch Sunday 14 December
32
Listings are for September/October by venue charged at £3.00 per line or part line (up to 110 characters including spaces)
or as part of an advertising package. Single individual entries also accepted.
Nikki Mumby- Fitness Classes
Fri 10-11am, St George’s Church Wilton, Taunton TA1 3JU. Call Nikki Level 3 teacher 01823 283350

33. 33
Workshops, Courses & Classes (November/December)
Halsway Manor, Halsway Lane, near Crowcombe, Somerset, TA44BD. England UKGB. 01984 618 274
Halsway Sunday Club 2014 NovemberSunday 2nd November 2014
November Mini Fest 2014 Monday 3rd November 2014 - Friday 7th November 2014 Violin Making Course Autumn 2014 Friday 7th No-vember
2014 - Monday 10th November 2014 Folk Dance and Music Weekend 2014 Friday 7th November 2014 - Monday 10th Novem-ber
2014
Mostly English Dances Monday 10th November 2014 - Friday 14th November 2014 Folk Dance Callers Development weekend Novem-ber
2014 Friday 14th November 2014 - Sunday 16th November 2014
Walking the Wildwoods 2014 Friday 14th November 2014 - Tuesday 18th November 2014
Advanced storytelling course with Shonaleigh and Simon Heywood.
11th Zesty Contra House Party 2014 Friday 21st November 2014 - Sunday 23rd November 2014
Storytelling course for beginners Sunday 23rd November 2014 - Wednesday 26th November 2014
Singer / Songwriters' workshop weekend 2014 Friday 28th November 2014 - Sunday 30th November 2014
Country Dancing for Absolute Beginners 2014
Monday 1st December 2014 - Friday 5th December 2014
Step, Shuffle & Rant 2014 Friday 5th December 2014 - Sunday 7th December 2014
Halsway Sunday Club 2014 December Sunday 7th December 2014
Halsway Manor Christmas Craft Fair 2014 Saturday 13th December 2014
Halsway Manor Christmas Celebrations 2014 Sunday 14th December 2014
'Country' Christmas Dinner and Dance 2014 Monday 22nd December 2014
Halsway Manor Christmas House Party 2014 Tuesday 23rd December 2014 - Saturday 27th December 2014
Halsway Manor New Year’s House Party 2014/15 Monday 29th December 2014 - Friday 2nd January 2015
Ilminster Arts Centre, Meeting House, East St, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN 01460 55783
Monday 3 November Clay An informal amateur sculpture group. All abilities welcome. Every Monday until 15th December.
Wednesday 5 November - Wednesday 10 December Oil Painting for All Suitable for beginners and those with more experience. Materials
will be provided for your first class. Wednesdays 10am - 1pm.
Wednesday 5 November - Wednesday 10 December Drawing For All Wednesdays 2 - 4pm.
Thursday 6 November Festive Fun with Floral Designs 2 - 4pm.
Friday 7 November Watercolour Workshops All abilities welcome. 10am - 3pm (double session).
Saturday 8 November Guitar Workshop 10am - 12pm.
Monday 10 November Clay All abilities welcome. Every Monday until 15th December.
Thursday 13 November Festive Fun with Floral Designs 2 - 4pm.
Friday 14 November Rag Rugs 11am-1pm.
Friday 14 November Readers’ Group 2.30 - 4pm.
Monday 17 November ClayAn informal amateur sculpture group. All abilities welcome. Every Monday until 15th December.
Thursday 20 November Festive Fun with Floral Designs10am - 12pm. For more information and to book please call Angie on: 01460
53020.
Thursday 20 November Knit Tog, Crochet Toon Whatever your level of skill from beginner to master knitter! 2.15 - 4.15pm. Friday 21
November Felt Making Beginners to advanced welcome. 10am - 3pm.
Monday 24 November Clay An informal amateur sculpture group. All abilities welcome. Every Monday until 15th December.
Thursday 27 November Festive Fun with Floral Designs 10am - 12pm. Friday 28 November Stitch a Rainbow: Quilting Workshop 10am -
3pm. Please bring your own sewing machine. A list of materials is available when booking.
Monday 1 December Clay Every Monday until 15th December.
Thursday 4 December Festive Fun with Floral Designs 2 - 4pm. For more information and to book please call Angie on: 01460 53020.
Friday 5 December Watercolour Workshops 10am - 3pm (double session). Friday 12 December Rag Rugs 11am-1pm. Friday
12 December Readers’ Group All books are provided by the library service. 2.30 - 4pm.
Saturday 13 December Guitar Workshop 10am - 12pm.
Monday 15 December Clay Every Monday until 15th December.
Thursday 18 December Knit Tog, Crochet Too 2.15 - 4.15pm.
Friday 19 December Felt Making 10am - 3pm.

34. Taunton’s Green Cathedral
With the launch of the River Tone Project to develop the landscape and
wildlife along the routes to the River Tone, I took the opportunity to re-view
a verititable natural work of art in Longrun Meadow in Taunton, one
of the areas covered by the project, which has now been standing more
than three years.
Stefan Jennings, its main architect, ex-plained
34
how the project was inspired.:
‘In 2004 I met a botanist, while working in
Weston Zoyland, who had recently been to
Germany and had seen some large Archi-tectural
living willow structures made by
an architect/Artist called Marcel Kalberer.
I bought his book, which was only available
in German. The scale of Marcels projects
and his obvious vigour was inspiring
and from then on I endeavoured to find
funds/avail myself of the opportunity to
make something of that
scale and wildness myself.’
His interest in a large
willow project coincided
with a study com-missioned
by the
Env i ronment a l
Agency demon-strating
the necessi-ty
for flood protec-tion
for Taunton’s
regeneration sites.
With a grant from
the South West of
England Redevelop-ment
Agency, land
was purchased to
the rear of Somerset
College and Castle
School.
With flood ponds
and other defences
in place in 2008, at-tention
was turned
towards landscap-ing
the area and
with providing ame-nities.
Footbridges and paths giving access
to walkers and cyclists were built and pro-vision
was made for a for a host of sporting
activities and pastimes and open air edu-
Stefan Jennings The Green Cathedral casting shadows

35. A grassy corridor of the Green Cathedral The Green Cathedral under flood
cation pursuits. Two buildings were com-missioned,
35
an open sided oak barn and
a willow structure, a green cathedral for
which Stefan was given the commission.
In the autumn of 2010 he made drawings
and models and the main work started in
January 2011. He collaborated with fellow
sculptor Sophie Courtier on the project
over the next 4 months.
The ‘green cathedral’, sculpted entirely
from Willow, was believed to be the first
of its kind to be built in this country when
it was opened in the summer of 2011. The
willow for the green cathedral came from
a number of places, ‘Some from an over-grown
withy bed at east Lyng which we cut
at first light late January 2011, more which
we cut by chainsaw from right on the edge
of the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor at
Weston Zoyland. Other material came
from the unwanted tops of willow pollards
which grow on numerous lanes on the lev-els.
Some of the lighter material was pur-chased
from willow growers on the levels,
the Musgroves at Zoyland and P, H Coates
and son from Stoke St Gregory. Every time
we thought we had an enormous amount
of material, we got through it in quicker
than we thought and had to go hunting for
more.’
The work took place during the winter
of 2011 and was just about completed by
early may of that year.
It is a remarkable achievement occupy-ing
a large space measuring 98ft by 54ft.
It has the majesty of more traditional
stone structures, casting shadows and
providing long narrowing vistas and
awe-inspiring wide structural spans.
However, at the same time, it is a liv-ing,
briefing edifice, changing with the
seasons. It is, of course, part of a flood
plain and water, when the land floods, is
not kept out but becomes part of the fab-ric
and is aloud to permeate wherever it
will. The ‘cathedral’ becomes accessible
some times only by a shallow bottomed
boat, until the floods retreat and one is
once more able to pace along its grassy
corridors and picnic in its shade.
Being a living structure open to the
public at all virtually all times, the cathe-dral
is vulnerable to attack and has had
what Stefan describes as ‘a little recent
fire’ in which one of the ‘columns’ was
largely destroyed. This is a great shame
because, as Stefan points out, it has a va-riety
of users who appreciate its special
qualities, ‘from naked moonlit dancers,
to the civil and polite to the special brew
crews and many dogs, deer, eels and bats’
If we want to continue to use it we must
take responsibility for it and not abuse it.
The fire-damaged column will require
repair, but there is also other mainte-nance
required as a result of the chang-ing
seasons: ‘Some restorative work will be
need to be taken over the next few months,
as the leaves drop and we can weave in the
years growth,’ explains Stefan.
With its conception and realization has
come a good deal of responsibility: ‘The re-mit
to make a ‘green cathedral,’’ Stefan re-flects,
‘is quite a heavy one.’ He thinks of it
to some degree in spiritual though not nec-essarily
religious terms and has a real feel-ing
and understanding for the wildlife that
shares its habitat: ‘I have canoed through
it a few times and found odd currents that
must relate to previous directions the river
took centuries ago. I live upstream of Lon-grun
meadow and have been connected
to the rivers Tone and Parret via work or
wandering for about 30 years during which
time I have kept notes on the visitations
of sea Trout, Salmon, Lampreys Eels and
Otters, I have always been keen to express
the excitement of these wild things pass-ing
through Taunton and all the habitation
along the River unseen.’
Now advancing towards its fourth year, It
is a marvelous addition to our local land-scape
and we are lucky to have it and watch
it grow and develop. Let us hope that it
remains for a very long time to become a
natural part of our local heritage and let us
congratulate Stefan on his realisation of the
project.

36. Centenary Commemoration Concert -
Somerset County Orchestra
The next Somerset County
Orchestra concert is a
Commemoration Concert to
mark the 100th Anniversary of
the start of the First World War,
containing music written by
composers affected by the con-flict,
36
including works by Debussy,
Vaughan Williams and Ivor
Gurney.
The concert features the first performance
of a set of songs by Ivor Gurney, special-ly
orchestrated for the occasion, and a
performance of Vaughan Williams much
misunderstood Pastoral Symphony. Cop-land’s
Fanfare for a Common Man opens
the concert, recognizing that the 1914-18
war was the first war in which it was the
common man who suffered the most. 633
Squadron acknowledges the excitement
and courage of conflict which contrasts
greatly with Debussy’s Berceuse Héroïque,
a work reflecting his sombre and forebod-ing
reaction to the start of the First World
War. Constant Lambert was so moved on
hearing the work that he responded to an
event in the Second World War in similar
vein, calling his work Aubade Héroïque.
Like Debussy’s work, distant trumpet calls
pervade the pastoral
scene. Ivor Gurney,
poet and song writer,
was unusual in that
he was a Private
serving with the
Glosters during the
war, unlike the more
well know poets such
as Owen and Sassoon
who were officers.
The Severn Meadows
Song Cycle is a collec-tion
of songs Gurney
set to music whilst on
active service, several
of them being composed in the trenches.
The songs are arranged in such a way as
to follow the experiences and emotions of
the many young men who served in the
trenches; from longing to hope, disillu-sionment
to despair and finally, eventual
peace. Herbert Howells was a great
friend of Gurney but through ill health
did not serve overseas. His Merry Eye is
a refreshing reminder of the country side
and ‘Englishness’ that was so longed for
by many of the soldiers serving in France.
Vaughan Williams served as a non com-batant
and his Pastoral Symphony was
conceived during his duties as a stretcher
bearer in the front lines around Arras.
Despite its title Vaughan Williams insisted
that ‘ it was really war-time music… it’s
not really lambkins frisking at all…’ The
pastoral scenes it describes sound peaceful
and idyllic, but listen carefully and you will
hear an underlying disquiet and tension,
a moving but disturbing description of
the Flanders battlefields. It is, however,
the desperate sadness at the loss of so
many friends which is at the heart of the
symphony, most strongly felt during the
poignant trumpet cadenza, evocative of
the last Post. After an impassioned unison
outcry, the symphony ends with a haunt-ing
off stage soprano solo, a voice for all
the souls of men.
The concert takes place in St James, ap-propriately
on St Cecilia’s Day, the patron
Saint of Music and should prove to be a
moving and memorable occasion.
David Hedges
Commemoration Concert:
St James Church, Taunton
Saturday 22 November 2014 at 7.30 pm
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ivor Gurney Claude Debussy
In Rehearsal
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 3 (A Pastoral Symphony) , was completed in 1922. Vaughan Williams’s initial inspiration
to write this symphony came during World War I after hearing a bugler. It was first performed in London on 16 January 1922, with
Adrian Boult conducting. Ivor Gurney studied for a brief time with Ralph Vaughan Williams upon returning to the Royal Col-lege
of Music but he withdrew from the college before completing his studies. He joined the army as a private in the hope that the
ordered army life would help ease a mental health condition. Initially this shock therapy worked, but he was eventually shot and
gassed and spent the last 15 years of his life in an asylum. During World War I, while Paris was being bombed by the German air
force, Debussy succumbed to colon cancer at the age of 55.

37. Christmas Craft & Food Fayre
37
The Willows and Wetlands
Christmas Craft & Food Fayre
is on Saturday 22nd Novem-ber
from 2pm- 5.30pm. It is being held to raise funds for Friends of
Stoke St Gregory Church of England Primary School. Make Christ-mas
shopping relaxed and enjoyable, come to the Fayre and choose
unique, locally crafted gifts for your friends and family. Santa will
be here in his cosy grotto and there will be a child’s prize Treasure
Hunt.
The Lemon Tree will be serving seasonal food including mince pies
and mulled wine.and the
willow basket shop will be
open as normal.
Also open will be Don
Bishop’s Willows Photog-raphy
studio, the Withies Artisan Studio and The Leather Studio including
Frances George, Edwards & Curwin and the Muddy Dog Company.
It promises to be an exciting event culminating in a celebratory piece ‘A Cel-ebration
of Cranes’ - a Somerset Art Works (SAW) project in partnership
with The Great Crane Project. This part of the event will begin at 4.30pm
and will include 60 illuminat-ed
lanterns made by local
Willow Christmas Decorations
school children, costumes
and dance, two giant crane
models, a 10 piece live band The Big Noise Street Band and there
will be more! “Earlier in the year artist Melanie Tomlinson worked
with students at Huish Episcopi Academy in Langport and students
in Germany creating crane and
wetland inspired dioramas. There
are pictures of them here: http://
thecompanyofcranes.blogspot.
co.uk/.” They are about 20cm
diameter and there will be about
20 of them to see.
Entry is free. Keep an eye on the
Somerset Art Works Page page,
http://greatcraneart.blogspot.
co.uk/ and our social media for
updates.
Phone 01823 490249
crane model being worked on by sculptor
Sarah Butterworth

38. 38
The Milverton Concert Society;
then....and now
For almost 30 years, the Milverton
Concert Society has been bringing
world-class classical music not only
to the local village community with
which it shares its name, but also
to an ever-increasing number of
discerning concert-goers from
all over Somerset. Jo Worth
of the Milverton Concert
Society concisers its past
and present.
The society was
formed - and put
on its first con-certs
- in 1987
and thanks to its
dedicated team of
volunteers, com-mittee
and members,
continues to flourish. From
those early days the society
has enjoyed a strong con-nection
with the internationally
renowned pianist, Melvyn Tan, who gives
regular return performances in the histor-ic
parish church, takes an active interest in
society matters and, since 2010 when the
society raised funds for and purchased its
own grand piano for concerts, has been
our Honorary President
Also from the outset, The Milverton
Concert Society has taken a keen interest
in fostering young musical talent, not only
locally through support of the school
via workshops, putting on special ‘young
musician’ concerts and ‘piano days’ but
also in a wider context by showcasing
outstanding young professional musicians,
from both the UK and abroad in its pro-gramme.
Over the years, the society has gained
an enviable reputation for presenting top
international chamber ensembles and
performers, but this is by no means an
exclusive pat-tern;
we have just
staged a glitteringly
successful op-era
gala - which
included some
lighter musical fare
- and at the end of
November we are
hosting the much-loved
Carnival Band
with their own
trademark eclectic
mix of seasonal, folk
and early music. And this time, the icing
on the early Christmas cake, will definitely
be represented by an appearance by
singer Maddy Prior!
In the meantime, the
award-winning - Zelkova
Quartet will be performing
on November 7th at 8 pm in
Milverton Church. Their
programme includes
string quartets by We-bern
and Mozart and
they will be joined by
a second cellist, Abel
Selaocoe - who has
fought against long
odds in his home
country of South Af-rica
to gain a musical
education in the UK
at the Royal Northern
College of Music - to play Schubert’s
exquisite Quintet in C.
For full details of our 2014/5 pro-gramme
- Pavel Kolesnikov, piano, on
February 13th and the Busch Ensemble
on March 13th - please see our website
www.milvertonconcerts.org find us on
Facebook or look out for our leaflets
and posters with the candle-light theme.
Tickets are on sale via the website, by
phone 08448700887 or on the door.
The society is a member of Making Music
and a registered charity.

39. 39
Taunton Thespians
Photo shows (left to right): Sue Meredith as
Miss ffolliet-ffloulks and Elizabeth Knighton as
Jacqueline de Severac.
Thespians return to the
Brewhouse after five years
with classic Christie mystery
Taunton Thespians are in rehearsal for
Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Murder
On The Nile due to be performed at the
Brewhouse Theatre from 18th to 22nd
November. It will be the first major Thes-pian
production at the Brewhouse since
2009.
Murder on The Nile co-director, Nicola
Dawson says: “We are very excited to
be returning to the Brewhouse. It was
a very difficult decision five years ago to
stop using the theatre but the costs had
increased to an unsustainable level. We’ve
enjoyed performing at the Tacchi Morris
and the staff there are magnificent, very
helpful and professional, but now that the
Brewhouse has re-opened under new
management, it feels like the right time to
make the move back.”
Although Agatha Christie plays are popu-lar
with audiences and the Thespians have
produced many of her mysteries over the
years, this will be the first time that the
Thespians will have performed Murder on
The Nile.
Co-director Martin Jevon adds: “The
play script is different from both the book
and from the film and it stands up well as
a story in its own right. It is a cracking
good mystery with characteristic Christie
mixture of suspense and humour and odd-ball
characters. The script was adapted by
Agatha Christie herself from her novel en-titled
Death On The Nile and was said to
inspired by her travels to Egypt and further
afield with her archaeologist husband Max
Mallowen. It is set aboard a luxury paddle
steamer on the River Nile in the mid
1930s. We’ve had some heated directo-rial
discussions about which way the boat
needs to face to make the best use of the
Brewhouse stage.
Another challenge is that about half of
the cast have never performed at the
Brewhouse so we are planning a site visit
during rehearsals to introduce them to the
playing space which is deeper but narrow-er
than the Tacchi Morris stage and has a
proscenium arch.”
The Thespians had the opportunity to
explore the Brewhouse at the end of
August when a small team of Thespi-ans
presented a murder mystery at
the theatre. The who-dun-it took its
inspiration from the very popular BBC
programme the Great British Bake
Off and was called Murder at Soggy
Bottom – Another One Bite The Crust.
Nicola Dawson says: “It was wonderful
to stand up on the Brewhouse stage
again and remember all the Thespians
productions over the years. The Thes-pians,
together with many of the other
Taunton music and drama societies,
were involved with the campaigning for
and building of the Brewhouse back in
the 1970s so we feel a great sense of
involvement with the theatre.
The Thespians first performed at the
Brewhouse back in 1977 with A School
for Scandal. It is wonderful to see the
theatre open again due to the efforts
of the hard working team of volunteers
and the Thespians want to play their
part in bring the building back to life.”
The Taunton Thespians were formed
in 1927 and perform three major
productions a year including a two
week outdoor summer tour plus in
house productions at their head-quarters,
The Place, in Wilfred Road,
Taunton. Other activities include
participation in one act play festivals,
technical and acting workshops, mur-der
mystery evenings, play readings
and social events. Membership is
open to anyone aged over 16 with an
interest in the theatre.
Agatha Christie’s
Murder On The Nile
Beautiful, wealthy and newly mar-ried,
Kay Mostyn appears to have it
all, as she and new husband Simon
board the paddle steamer Lotus for
their honeymoon cruise on the Riv-er
Nile. With them, apparently by
accident, are Canon Pennefather,
Kay’s guardian and Jacqueline, Si-mon’s
ex-fiancée. Fellow passengers
include the aristocratic Miss ffoliett-ffoukes
and her downtrodden niece
Christine, Herr Bressner, Mrs Mos-tyn’s
French maid Louise and the re-bellious
Mr Smith. Murder on The
Nile is a classic Agatha Christie story
packed full of autocratic dowagers,
bright young things, suspicious for-eigners,
exotic locations and a plot
which twists and turns like the River
Nile itself.
Taunton Thespians will be
performing Murder on The
Nile at the Brewhouse The-atre
from Tuesday 18th to
Saturday 22nd November
at 7.30pm with a Saturday
matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets,
priced £14 (full and OAP) and
£5 (children, students and
the unwaged) are available
from the Brewhouse Box
Office on 01823 283244, via
the Brewhouse website at
www.tauntontheatre.org.uk or
Taunton Tourist Information
Centre on 01823 336344.

40. Remembrance
Concert
On Saturday 15th November, Taunton Cho-ral
Society links with Taunton Sinfonietta
for a concert of well-loved Mozart and
Haydn pieces in St Mary’s Church, Ham-mett
40
St., Taunton at 7.30 pm.
The concert opens with the Overture from
Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ and Mozart’s
Requiem (K 626) concludes the second half.
The Requiem has been chosen to reflect the
anniversary commemoration of World War
I in Remembrance week. It was Mozart’s last
work and sadly, aged only 35, he died before
it was finished so the usual completion by
his pupil Franz Xaver Sussmayer is included.
Interestingly, although a younger man, Mo-zart
had become friends with Joseph Haydn
during his last ten years and from Haydn
we offer his choral Te Deum in D and
his only Trumpet Concerto with Stuart
Paul as soloist. He has strong Taunton
roots, now teaching in schools here and
recently becoming Brass Tutor at the
newly opened Hestercombe Centre for
Young Musicians. He combines this with
regular solo work for local orchestras as
well as Bath Philharmonic and Bristol
Brass Consort.
The evening is conducted by Stephen
Bell, musical director of Taunton Choral
Society, and the soloists are all of high
professional standard. Following his
outstanding Gerontius direction in April,
this promises to be a memorable evening
for Remembrance week. Tickets for this
and our other concerts are available at
£15.00/7.50 students from www.taunton-choralsociety.
org.uk or through the Tick-et
Office at Taunton Tourist Information
Centre, Taunton Library.
The Society follows this up on Saturday
20th December with what many people
regard as the start to their Christmas
celebrations – Handel’s Messiah. This is
an ever popular work and we are pleased
to welcome local soprano Katie Bond,
mezzo Sarah Denbee and bass Craig
Bissex amongst the soloists. The concert
is also at St Mary’s Church and ticket
details are as above.
Taunton Choral Society
The extent to which Mozart complet-ed
his work had been hotly disputed
throughought the years. Mozart’s widow,
Constance contributed to the confusion
and mystery regarding how far he had
completed the requiem on his death. It
was in her interests to keep secret the
fact that Mozart had not completed the
requiem in order that she could collect
the commission. In modern times Peter
Shaffer’s successful fictional play and
film Amadeus has contributed to the
myth suggesting further intrigue by
the actions of a mysterious third party
instructing Mozart to write the requiem. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Joseph Haydn

41. The programme for the
Taunton Sinfonietta’s
November concert ‘In Cel-ebration’
41
features works
to celebrate the Christmas
season.
The ever favourite ‘Christmas Concerto’
by Arcangelo Corelli speaks for itself. The
seasonal connection with the beautiful
‘Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus’ by
Ralph Vaughan Williams is a little more
obscure, but he also arranged the folk
song which inspired this piece, as the
hymn tune ‘Kingsfold’, appearing as ‘O
Sing a Song of Bethlehem’ in the English
Hymnal. This work has an important
part for solo harp, played by Somerset
born harpist Jess Dalwood. Both the
Hubert Parry ‘English Suite’ and Ottori-no
Respighi’s ‘Ancient Airs and Dances’
are dance suites appropriate for the time
of year, and the Italian connection is
completed with a concerto by Antonio
Vivaldi, this time featuring soloists on
violin and cello.
In 2015 the theme for the February
concert is ‘Romance’, appropriate for a
concert close to Valentine’s Day! In May
we welcome back Colin Parr to play some
clarinet quintets in a chamber concert.
Colin, a good friend of director Mary
Eade, has been a favourite soloist with the
Taunton Sinfonietta on many occasions.
After an eminent career with the Royal
Opera House and the CBSO amongst
others, he is now semi-retired, but cannot
stop making beautiful music! In June we
span the centuries from the early Baroque
with a Purcell sonata, a good helping
of Vivaldi concertos in different forms,
a stop in the Romantic era with some
Dvorak, and up to the present day with
two short pieces by Clive Jenkins. Clive,
born in 1968, is still an active composer,
and we have played several of his works
over the last couple of years, which have
been greatly enjoyed by players and
audience.
In September we are pleased to intro-duce
rising star of the baroque cello
Luke Millard to play a concerto by the
18th century Austrian
composer Georg Matthias
Monn, and with Sinfonietta
cellist Chris Sampson the
double concerto by Vivaldi.
Somerset born soprano
Amy Carson will be singing
some Handel, and the pro-gramme
is completed with
Bach and Torelli.
We have reserved a spot
for the Taunton Young
Musician winner since
2006, who will be announced early next year
and performing in the November concert.
Director Mary Eade will play the delightful
G major violin concerto by Mozart, and a
Haydn symphony is planned. In this concert
we will be joined with woodwind to make
this programme possible.
In Celebration, 23 Nov 2014 - Taunton
23 November 2014, Sunday
St James’ Church, Taunton - 3.00pm
Corelli - Christmas Concerto
Vivaldi - Violin and Cello Concerto
Vaughan Williams - Variations on Dives
and Lazarus
Respighi - Ancient Earth Dances Suite no.3
Keep up to date by visiting www.taunton-sinfonietta.
org.uk, ‘like’ Taunton Sinfoniet-ta
on Facebook or follow us on Twitter@
TauntonSinfonietta.org.uk.
Why Not
Advertise in
LAMP?
Make yourself visible while
supporting the promotion of the
artistic community in Somerset
LAMP Magazine
c/o Brendon Books, Old Brewery Buildings
Bath Place Taunton TA1 4ER
01823 337742
lampmagazine1@gmail.com

42. Pete Long and his Goodmen.....Return
Following a hugely
successful event earlier
this year, John Packer
Ltd are bringing Pete
Long and his Good-men
42
back to Taunton
this autumn to recre-ate
another highly ac-claimed
concert from
the Carnegie Hall,
New York.
This concert is even bigger with Ben-ny
Goodman featured in the first half,
followed by Glenn Miller in the second.
The concert takes place in the Queen’s Hall
at Queen’s College, Taunton, on Friday 7
November at 7.30pm.
On 6th October 1939 The American Soci-ety
of Composers, Authors and Publishers
(ASCAP) presented a week-long series of
concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall to
celebrate the organisation’s 25th anniver-sary.
In the course of the week, a concert
was given featuring the orchestras of the
established King of Swing, Benny Good-man,
and the New Kid on the Block, Glenn
Miller. Both bands were out to impress,
and the result was one of the hardest hit-ting
nights in swing history.
Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller were
huge stars and played pivotal roles in jazz
history. Through the course of the evening,
Pete Long will share interesting details
about the musicians, and that memora-ble
evening back in 1939.
Pete Long, who leads the band, is a
fantastic musician often heard on BBC
Radio 2 and with Jool’s Holland and his
Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Pete will
be joined by a selection of musicians
from his ‘Goodmen’, a collective of
jazz professionals that in the past have
included Tony Fisher and Pete Ripper.
The 15 strong ensemble recreates
not only the sound of the historic
concert, performing the original
music, but also the look and feel
of the show with authentic vintage
dress and stage set-up.
Tickets for the concert are available
from John Packer Ltd or by call-ing
01823 282386. They can also
be purchased at Taunton Tourist
Information at a price of £16 for
adults, £14 for concessions and £20
VIP seating.
Pete is a highly charismatic sea-soned
music professional who has
been entertaining audiences on a
global stage in excess of 25 years.
This event is kindly supported by
D’Addario Woodwinds, Yama-ha,
Yanagisawa, Denis Wick and
Queen’s College.

43. The Phoenix Singers
Nine Lessons and Carols
On Monday 22nd December
at 6.30pm, in St John the Bap-tist
43
Church in Wellington, The
Phoenix Singers directed by
Andrew Maddocks, with their
organist John Young, will be
celebrating the tenth anniver-sary
of its annual Nine Lessons
and Carols.
The service follows the traditional
format of bible readings interspersed
with traditional hymn carols and choral
arrangements. This year the choir has
commissioned a carol, written by local
poet and choir member Annie Fisher,
with music arranged by the composer,
organist and friend of the choir, William
Whitehead. The musical commission
follows Whitehead’s carol composition
for St John’s College, Cambridge which
was broadcast on Radio 3 last year.
The carols this year include an arrange-ment
of “Stille Nacht” by Andrew Carter,
poignantly included to mark the 100th
anniversary of WW1, and particularly
the truces along the front in the trench-es
in Flanders in 1914; a theme which
the choir explored at their concert in
Stogursey in October. There are also
carols this year by Kenneth Leighton,
William Matthias, Richard Sheppard, and
RR Terry.
The choir’s Nine Lessons and Carols
tradition began as a candlelit service in
Taunton School chapel in 2005. The event
moved to the larger setting of Wellington
church in 2011 and has become ever
more popular in the Deane, with congre-gations
of around 300.
The tradition of the nine lessons and
carol service emanate from King’s
College on Christmas Eve 1918. The
service had been planned by Eric
Milner White who had been an army
chaplain in the war, so its association
with the First World War and this
year’s anniversary are particularly ap-posite.
However, the ultimate origins
The carol for which Annie Fisher was
commissioned echoes traditional
carols that the choir has sung over the
ten years, from In the Bleak Midwin-ter
and See Amid the Winter’s Snow
(verse 1) through to Away in a Manger
(v6). The singers are keen to see how
William Whitehead reflects this in
his music. Rehearsals for this item
and the full Nine Lessons and Carols
programme begin in November.
Here is the first of 6 verses of Decem-ber
Song:
December journey, lonely road,
Here are two travellers, far from home,
Bitter the wind and deep the snow,
Song that our childhood used to know.
Everyone is welcome to attend
and entry to the service is by free
ticket available from 1st December
from the choir’s box office (01823
432704). Further details can be
found on the choir’s website, thep-hoenixsingers.
co.uk. A collection is
taken during the service to support
The Phoenix Singers the work of St John’s, Wellington .
can be traced back further and to the
West Country as the King’s College
service was adapted from an order of
service put together by EF Benson
in Truro for use on Christmas Eve
1880. Benson was later to become the
Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Benson Eric Milner-White

44. 44
‘The Secret of Success is Having Fun’
December sees Nicholas
Parsons – national trea-sure,
actor, and radio and
television presenter – visit
Taunton’s Tacchi-Morris
Arts Centre with his one
man comedy show ‘A
Laugh a Minute’, which
takes the audience on
a humorous and nos-talgic
journey through
the memorabilia of his
eventful life in the unpre-dictable
world of show
business.
We enjoyed a privileged chat with
Nicholas to discuss the events that have
shaped his career, his thoughts on the
modern showbusiness world, and the
secret of his success.
It’s hard to sum up Nicholas Parsons’
91 years. Host of flagship radio show
Just a Minute for almost half a century;
actor and stage performer (one of his
most notable roles being the suspen-dered-
clad-narrator for the ’94 revival
of cult musical The Rocky Horror
Show); presenter; impressionist; Edin-burgh
Fringe regular for 14 years (his
latest run selling out at 97% capacity);
described as the “ultimate quiz show
host” – hosting ITV’s Sale of the Centu-ry
for 12 years; Rector of the University
of St Andrews and author.
Accordingly, when asked what the
highlight of his career has been, Nich-olas
is quick to confirm: “There hasn’t
been one highlight; my whole career
has been a succession of highlights! My
top comedy show with Arthur Haynes,
a 47-year-run of presenting Just A
Minute, the success of The Rocky Horror
Show…”
However, he is just as quick to point out a
few home truths about being successful.
“Show business is not as all these reality
and talent shows portray it – which give
the impression of overnight success. The
only way to climb is to gradually ascend
and to do something that is good and
successful.”
Just a Minute has been a cornerstone of
his later career, and he remains as pas-sionate
about the show as ever. “What I’m
proud of there is that nothing is prepared,
there’s no editing,” he says. Indeed, the
spontaneity of the show has been a key
ingredient of its success – and this is no-where
better illustrated than in Parsons’
own formidable sense of wit and timing,
which glues the magic together. Though
not always, it seems. “The pilot was terri-ble!”
Parsons laughs.
Clearly one of the things Parsons relishes
about his career is its variety and he is
highly conscious of what a privilege
it is to work in his industry: “I enjoy
working. The fact that I’ve spread
my talents across a broad spectrum –
presenting, one-man comedy shows,
cultural shows about the life and work
of Edward Lear, acting, after dinner
speaking, shows in Edinburgh – is
because I enjoy working.”
Young Nicholas was encouraged by
his parents to take on “a proper job”,
as his father termed it – “they guided
me towards engineering but my heart
wasn’t in it, although I was quite good at
it.”
Parsons began his working life as an engi-neering
apprentice in the tough world of
the Clydeside shipyards, where he worked
for five years. While training in engi-neering
Nicholas undertook amateur and
semi-professional work in acting.
After an extended spell in hospital his
parents asked him what he was going to
do. Nicolas took the brave decision to give
up engineering, leave Glasgow University
and embark on a career as a professional
actor.
“My parents were horrified when they
discovered I wanted to be a performer.
They thought I was mad but noted it was
my ambition and agreed to support me.
I wrote to every producer and forged my
way bit by bit in a very tough profession.”
After a couple of roles in west end shows
in 1945, Nicholas decided to learn his
craft and work in repertory, studying “one
part one week, another the next”. He cites
these two years in Bromley as one of the
key formative experiences of honing his
craft.

45. When asked about his parents’ response
to his growing success, he says: “When
I became successful they were naturally
supportive” – despite his mother’s initial
disapproval for following a career in the
entertainment industry. Ultimately, they
were “surprised and delighted.”
Reflecting on how much both the indus-try
45
and audience have changed Nicholas
notes: “People today are surrounded by
continuous entertainment – cinemas, ra-dio,
television. It’s easy to forget how dif-ferent
the world was when I was born in
the 1920s.” He recalls how profound one
of his earliest artistic experiences and
memories was: “I saw the circus when
I was about five; that was imprinted on
me and I was blown away.”
So what would his advice be for
fledgling performers looking to carve
their career out in the entertainment
industry? One thing Parsons is keen
to stress is that entertainment and
continued success is a long journey,
not overnight success – but also that
it is down to the audience and their
enjoyment.
“I’ve been going to Edinburgh for 14
years. Edinburgh is the most signifi-cant
and largest festival and the most
wonderful place. I see a lot of new
shows there and performers.” Over the
years he’s watched the likes of Michael
McIntyre, John Bishop, Miranda Heart
and Shappi Khorsandi on the Edin-burgh
circuit. “It’s wonderful to see
the burgeoning talent and to interview
them at that early stage in the place
where they got their early experience
and cut their teeth.”
He remains keenly aware of the chal-lenges
for emerging performers. “It’s
tough: performers need to cover their
expenses, promote and flyer shows and
perform”. Looking at an entertainment
profession where some 80% are unem-ployed,
he advises the next generation
that, to succeed, “you have to learn
how to improve and be aware of your
professional ability – and to watch and
listen to others”.
And the secret of his success? Without
hesitation, Nicholas notes: “The secret
of success is to have fun”.
“I just love my profession, I love work-ing
– it’s something I’ve always wanted
to do. Once I had success I never asked how
much I’d get paid, I just took it. I keep working
because I enjoy it. People are always asking me
when I’m going to retire and I always say I’m
in a profession that retires you. As long as the
audience enjoys it and I can stand up and do
it, I will!”
Nicholas Parsons comes to Taunton
to present his one man comedy show
‘A Laugh a Minute’ at Taunton’s
Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre on
Friday 5th December, 7:30pm.
There will be a book signing after the
show.
Tickets £15/£12 Concs.
www.tacchi-morris.com
Dressed for his part in the Rocky Horror Show
Apology. There were a number of errors in the winnning entries for the Page is Printed competition
reproduced in the September/October edition of LAMP. The entries were presented to me as PDF’s and
I used a piece of software which read the entries and converted the text as there was no time to type up
the individual entries. Unfortunately this resulted in some incorrect word substitution and quirky text
entries. The corrected versions can be seen online at www.lampmagazine.co.uk Apologies to all those
concerned,

46. VIENNA FESTIVAL BALLET
THE
Vienna Festival
Ballet brings the
much loved
ballet classic
to Taunton this
December.
The story is based on
E. T. A Hoffman’s fairy
tale, The Nutcracker
and the Mouse King. It
centres around Clara
and her nutcracker
doll, which magically
transforms into a
princely soldier.
Their adventures see
Clara and the Nut-cracker
46
doll combat
NUTCRACKER
the Mouse King, and
join the Sugar Plum
Fairy and her Cavalier on
a wonderful journey through a
shimmering winter land scene to a
Kingdom made entirely of sweets.
Tchaikovky’s musical score is one
of the most popular of all time and
since the 1950s the Nutcracker
has been a firm annual favourite
at Christmas time in this country.
A particular feature of the
music is the use of the
Celesta, a key-board
oper-ated
instrument
that looks like
a small piano or
organ though sounds
like a refined version of a
glockenspiel. It is not com-monly
used though one of
its most notable uses in recent
times is in the score of the first three
Harry Potter films, scored by John
Williams.
The celebrated Austrian dancer Peter
Mallek founded the Vienna Festival
Ballet after his illustrious career as
a dancer of international renown,
in 1980. Now in their 34th year of
producing quality ballet productions,
the company continues to experience
remarkable success and perform great
classical ballets all over the world,
though particularly in the UK. They are
known for their beautiful and lavish
hand-made costumes and head dress-es.
Vienna festival ballets talented dancers
include graduates from the Royal Ballet
School, British, Australian and Italian
soloists, and guest stars from Vienna
and South Africa.
The performance offer an ideal opportu-nity
to introduce children to the art and
skills of ballet
Book Tickets
Brewhouse Theatre,
Coal Orchard, Taunton TA1 1JL
December 11,12th 7.30pm
& 13th 2.30 & 7.30pm
Tel. 01823 283244
www.tauntontheatre.org.uk

47. A scene from the original production Tchaikovsky
Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s
47
Given its curent popularity, especially when performed at at Christmas, it is perhaps surprising to know that the original
production of the Nutcracker at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersberg on December 18th 1892 was not considered a run-away
success. Both the libretto by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and the music by Tchaikovsky received mixed reviews.This
may have been in part because of the prominent use of children in the ballet. In later productions adults were cast in place
of children, particularly in the central roles of Clara and the Prince.
Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery
“Every drama group has expe-rienced
the horrors of what can
go wrong on opening night, and
the ladies of the Farndale Avenue
Townswomen’s Guild. Dramatic
Society are no different, with the
possible exception that almost
everything that could happen
does! The scenery collapses,
cues are missed, lines forgotten,
and the sound effects take on a
strange note at times, as the ladies
present their ambitious evening’s
entertainment with the cunning
whodunit, “Murder At Check-mate
Manor.” And just in case the
audience should get bored there’s a
Film and Fashion Show and Murder
Mystery Quiz, complete with a
Prize!”
Christmas Programme
8th Nov Multi Instrumentalists
22nd Nov Pip Utton brings Casa-nova
to life
10 - 13 Dec Farndale Avenue
Housing Estate
Somerset’s leading theatre ...
Contact Us:
Box Office 07943 779880, theatre
01460 57049
Warehouse Theatre, Brewery Ln,
Ilminster, Somerset TA19 9AD

48. Christmas Magic at Ilminster Arts Centre
Visitors to Ilminster Arts Centre are
in for a treat in the run up to Christ-mas
48
as the venue hosts ‘Christmas
Magic’ - an enticing exhibition of
top quality contemporary crafts by
a range of makers - the majority of
whom are completely new to the
Arts Centre.
‘Welcoming so many new craftspeople to
the Arts Centre will give an exciting, fresh
twist to our regular Christmas crafts exhi-bition,
formerly known as The Christmas
Collection’, explains co-organiser Caroline
Mornement. ‘We have carefully selected
artists and makers to create a display of
beautifully made items that are ideal for
special Christmas presents.’
Those displaying work at Christmas Mag-ic
include Lesley Fawcett, who is both a
member of the Somerset Guild of Crafts-men
and the Batik Guild. She uses tradi-tional
Javanese dye and wax techniques
to produce unique silk scarves and batik
prints that reference Dorset and Somerset
landscapes and the ever-changing forms
and colours of trees.
While Lesley takes inspiration from the
landscape, Jackie Williams creates beau-tiful
scarves using wool from her flock of
Jacob’s sheep at Dommett Hill Farm, on
the Blackdown Hills. Her scarves offer
some welcome protection from the winter
elements as do Liz Oliva’s hats! Liz makes
hats for all occasions, constructing them
in such a way that they are very practical,
comfortable and unique - the perfect ad-dition
to any wardrobe.
Debby Kirby creates colourful and con-temporary
bow ties using hand-dyed
woven silk threads. Her creations have
graced leading London stores such as Lib-erty
& Co and Fortnum & Mason and she
has exhibited widely throughout the UK.
Winter storms provide Rachel Sumner
with the materials to create driftwood
boats which she constructs during the
summer, along with vibrant painted silk
ties and scarves in her workshop on the
North Devon coast.
Run by Kelly Fletcher, Jolly Red is a
modern tapestry company that creates
colourful embroidery kits in numerous
designs - ideal for those who enjoy making
their own handmade gifts.
The Somerset Levels have provided Kar-en
Young with endless inspiration for her
designs which include artist’s books and
brooches. She is a Member of the Somerset
Guild of Craftsmen, the Embroiderers’ Guild
and the South West Textile Group.
A joy to behold are the artist’s books by Jane
Paterson, as are the tactile and visually excit-ing
pewter book marks, textile iPhone cases
and exquisite small boxes by Helen Edwards
who is a member of the Devon Guild of
Craftsmen.
There will be an array of jewellery includ-ing
vintage brooches by Carole Watson who
is a member of several textile groups includ-ing
the South West Textile Group, and the
Somerset Guild of Craftsmen, and stunning
glass jewellery by Claire Hall whose fascina-tion
with landscapes and rich intense colour
informs her designs. Claire is a member of
North Somerset Arts, The Contemporary
Glass Society and The Somerset Guild.
Rachel Reilly trained at Sir John Cass Col-lege,
one of the top jewellery-making and sil-versmithing
schools in the country, and now
has an international client base for her work
- striking wire jewellery in an array of colour
Claire Hall
Debbie Kirby - bow ties
Judy Crosher
Lesley Fawcett
Liz Oliva hats
Rodney Lawrence Bird bowl
Jolly Red

49. Lorraine Houlden
combinations.
Holly Webb, who was instrumental in set-ting
49
up the successful Taunton craft co-op-erative
‘Makers’, produces an eclectic mix of
handmade silver jewellery, some of which
is inspired by the natural world, while Lor-raine
Houlden will be displaying her rush
baskets alongside her jewellery.
With a passion for turning wood, Andy
Millar has produced a beautiful range of
items that look good on any desk top. He is
particularly renowned for his pens, which
Pewter Tins. Helen Edwards
have been crafted to enhance the natural
beauty of the wood. A selection of other
stationery items - including marbled box-es
- will be on offer from the independent
Clementine’s Gift Shop.
Employing the use of strong line and bold
Pauline Zelinski
shapes, Cathy King produces distinctive
semi-abstract or figurative lino cut prints.
She takes inspiration from the natural and
urban landscapes in and around Devon and
the work of artists such as Robert Tavener,
Edward Bawden and the Grosvenor School
of Art.
By its very nature, porcelain - created
from the three elements of earth, water and
fire - is a paradoxical material with multiple
associations: fragility, exoticism, imperme-able
luxury and an essential indestructibili-ty.
Judy Crosher’s aim in working porcelain
in non-utilitarian ways is both to evoke and
subvert its traditional associations.
Rodney Lawrence’s ceramics are wheel-thrown
or hand-built forms with varying
colours and textures and often feature a
signature bird decoration, while Pauline
Zelinski produces brightly coloured ce-ramic
bowls and platters.
The work of Nicola Werner is inspired
by nature, European majolica, faience
and Delftware and she has produced
a range of pots and tiles that will add a
splash of colour to any home.
Colin Clements specialises in carving
birds from native hardwoods such as
Walnut, Yew, Brown Oak, Spalted Beech
and Lacewood with occasional exotics
like Zebrano and Bubinga. These are of-ten
chosen to echo the character of the
bird.
The endearing automata by Robert
Race are inspired by traditional moving
toys that he sources from all over the
world, and will appeal to adults and chil-dren
alike.
After discovering so many wonderful
gifts to buy, you will need something to
wrap them all up in so some hand paint-ed
wrapping paper by Heather Mun-dy-
Castle should be just the ticket!
Nicola Werner
Christmas Magic takes place Mon-day
24th November - Tuesday 23rd
December. Open Monday - Friday
9.30am - 4.30pm, Saturday 9.30am -
2.00pm. Free entry. At Ilminster Arts
Centre, East Street, Ilminster. TA19
0AN. Information: 01460 54973.
Email: info@themeetinghouse.org.uk.
Cathy King
Holly Web
Clementine address books
Robert Race
Rachel Reilly

50. Writers Anon: Plotting with the Three Act Structure
The third of the series of articles by Writers Anon on ‘how to write’.
by Chella Ramanan
The three act formula or
'Hollywood formula' is a
well-known screenwriting
structure, which takes its
foundations from theatre
traditions. It provides writ-ers
50
with a basic framework,
on which to hang their
story. Whether you're the
kind of writer who outlines
your novel or a discovery
writer (a.k.a. pantser) who
prefers to write their way
into a story with the minimum of planning,
understanding the three act structure can
help you stay on target.
If you think about it, it's much easier to get
somewhere, if you have a road map. Oth-erwise,
you may take a wrong turn, have to
go back on yourself or go off in completely
the wrong direction. Applying the three act
structure can help you create a story writ-ing
pattern that's proven to work, which is
ideal, if you want a work that's got a good
chance of selling.
Put very simply the three act structure goes
something like this:
1. We meet a character who decides to act.
2. The action takes place
3. We see the result of the action
But won't using a formula make your story
predictable? This is the fear many writers
have. Really a formula is just a recipe. Once
you understand it, you can add different
writing herbs and spices to your basic reci-pe
to create a unique story.
How does it work?
The three act structure is a big topic with a
hundred and one books on the reasons why
you should or shouldn't use it. As a popular
story format, I think it's an important one
to understand, allowing you to decide
whether it's one you want to use to inform
your writing. It goes something like this:
Act I:
In Act I, we meet our protagonist. We're
introduced to the setting and become aware
of a problem that needs solving. In Pride
and Predjudice, Elizabeth Bennett needs a
husband. In Star Wars, the evil empire is in
control of the galaxy. If it's a romance, our
protagonist will be looking for love and if
it's an action adventure, an asteroid could
be hurtling towards the earth.
By the end of Act I, the protagonist has
a 'call to action' or 'inciting incident',
which forces them to take steps to solve
their problem. In Pride and Prejudice, the
Bennett sisters go to the ball and meet
their love interests for the rest of the novel.
Luke meets Obi Wan Kenobi, who asks
him to become a Jedi. When Luke's family
are killed by the Empire, he goes with Obi
Wan. These decisions propel us into the
second act.
Act II:
The middle is the longest section of the
story and the most difficult part to write.
It's time to start deepening the plot, by add-ing
conflict and making it difficult for our
protagonist to complete his goal.
Everything the main character tries
seems to make things worse, until
they come to their lowest ebb.
In the middle of Act Two, our
protagonist should come to a key
realisation or complication that
changes their world view and raises
the stakes. Lizzie rejects Mr Darcy's
proposal and then discovers he's
a better man than she thought.
Crucially, this act must end in a di-saster.
In Star Wars, they escape the
Death Star, but Luke's mentor, Obi
Wan is dead. With everything hanging in
the balance for our heroes, we head into
Act Three.
Act III:
In the final act, our hero regroups and
puts a new plan into action. She finally
knows what she's supposed to do to
win her love, defeat evil or destroy that
asteroid. The plan should feel audacious,
yet inevitable. The tension rises to a final
climax and the plan is a success or a fail-ure,
depending on whether it's a happy,
tragic or ambiguous ending. No matter
how it ends, the hero learns a lesson and
grows as a character, bringing us to a
neat conclusion.
The three act structure is a proven for-mula
that continues to be used in film
and television writing, as well as fiction.
Understanding the formula can help you
make plotting decisions and see why a
project isn't working. Of course you can
break the rules, but only once you un-derstand
how they work and why they've
been so successful.
@WritersAnonSom
writersanontaunton.wordpress.com

51. THREADS
By Chip Tolson
The London train arrived, Mustapha
waiting on the taxi rank hoped for a good
fare then he would go off shift. As he
edged his cab forward Big Man drove into
the station yard swung his taxi round and
pushed into the rank cutting off Musta-pha.
Big Man had let it be known he’d worked
the rank for twenty years and had the
right to cut in front of newcomers.
Mustapha knew that was wrong, but he
didn’t complain; the taxi boss was already
asking questions about his visa.
Big Man picked up a well heeled City
businessman. A lady stood next in line
gripping an incongruous bright orange
suitcase. Mustapha had been told by his
brother he must use Englishman man-ners;
51
he got out to open the rear door for
the lady and put her orange suitcase into
the boot, but she wanted it in the taxi
beside her. The case needed a heave to lift
it into the taxi.
Back behind the wheel Mustapha turned
and smiled. ‘Welcome, Lady. Where can I
be taking you, please?’
Her cheeks were pale, her eyes bloodshot
from tears. ‘The Cemetery, please,’ she
paused looking at the name displayed on
his licence, ‘Mustapha.’
‘Yes, Lady.’ The windscreen wipers beat
their rhythm sweeping clear arcs as he
weaved into the rush hour traffic. Glanc-ing
into his rear view mirror he saw his
fare staring ahead.
As the rain eased Mustapha waited to
turn in through the cemetery entrance.
Two contractor’s vans were driving
through the gates; the lady got out onto
the pavement.
‘Wait here, I’ll take my suitcase with
me.’ It took Mustapha an effort to lift the
case from behind the front seat. Saying
nothing more the lady walked off toward
the cemetery gates the wheels of her case
rumbling over the paving stones.
‘Did she fear I would be driving away
with her case? Now I fear she will not
return to pay me.’ Mustapha stood by his
taxi watching the lady through the railings
as she trailed her bright case through the
cemetery searching amongst the graves
and memorials stones. She spent time
looking down at a place where a fresh
grave had been dug then busied herself
with private tasks.
Her case was light to lift back into his cab.
In the morning Mustapha waited on the
town centre taxi rank. In the distance
he noticed a bright orange case wheeled
behind a young woman striding with
purpose along the street.
He waited on the Town rank; as time
passed, no new hire came along. Without
any fare he drove away using back roads
to the cemetery parking at a distance from
the gates; he waited. The woman trailing
her case came into sight walking at pace.
She checked her watch, quickened her
pace before with a glance back down the
road she turned into the cemetery. Musta-pha
saw she wore a tracksuit and training
shoes and jogged to a place far from where
she’d been the previous evening even her
bright case lost to view amongst the graves
and shrubs of the cemetery.
Minutes before midday a line of black
cars progressed from town led by a hearse
its roof laden with flowers, the silvered
fittings of a coffin reflecting the sun as
it turned in through the gates. So big a
funeral Mustapha guessed this must be an
important person. A nearby church clock
struck the hour.
The coffin was taken from the hearse and
borne by bearers to the open grave led by
a white robed clergyman reciting prayers
as a stream of sombre suited mourners
came from the line of cars and gathered
at the graveside. The recitation stopped,
heads were bowed hands clasped and no
murmur broke into the stilled hush of the
day. Mustapha watched.
A thunderous firework echoed round the
cemetery scattering the mourners before a
loudspeaker boomed out.
“A seamstress toiled in the attic of a
rich man’s house, sore feet peddling the
sewing treadle every night, hands aching
from stitching linen, until one night the
drunken son of the master of the house-hold
climbed the stairs to her garret,
grabbed the hard worked innocent girl
and forced himself upon her.
The loudspeaker paused, a crackling hum
dazing the mourners looking about and
at each other before the voice boomed
out again.
Weeks later pregnant, bruised and
broken the girl was dispatched without
references or monies out of that house-hold
into penury.
Let he who is now dead rot in damna-tion.”
A firework rocketed high into the sky ex-ploding
into stars; the stunned mourners
staggered about, voices screamed and a
track suited figure came running, leaping
over the suspended coffin she kicked her
foot down and raced out through the
cemetery gates pounding the pavement.
The unbalanced coffin rocked on its
supports over the open grave, tipped and
crashed down into the earth.
Seeing Mustapha’s parked taxi she ran
toward him.
Mustapha was already driving away with
the young woman gasping for breath in
the back of his cab as mourners ran from
the cemetery in pursuit.
‘My forebear is damned, my grand-mother
avenged,’ the woman slumped
down in the taxi.
‘Where’s your suitcase, Lady.’
‘Drive, Mustapha, drive.’
Short Story
Chip Tolson’s varied career includes
Architectural College, Army National
Service and thirty years working for
International Shipowners, in England,
the Far East and Scotland. He’s
now moved to a few hilly acres, on
Exmoor, to enjoy writing. Chip has
written short plays, some of which
have reached the stage. He usually
writes short stories and won the Yeo-vil
Literary Short Story Prize in 2013.
His short stories have also appeared
in anthologies, with three due to be
published in the Yeovil Literary Festi-val
2014 Anthology.

52. 52
Poetry Corner
The poetry corner poems for this issue are provided by Robin Brumby. Robin taught English literature
for many years in further and higher education colleges and currently leads a literature study group for
Taunton U3A. Robin says, ‘I’ve been contributing poems to a range of magazines for fifty years. I am
traditional in approach, though some of the magazines are not. I regard structure as the foundation on
which vivid images and phrases can make their impact. Inspiration comes from people, places, events
around me, but also from history or my own reading. My poetic hero is Tennyson - and not only be-cause
we went to the same school.’
TO MARION
(At Prince Volonsky’s,Siberia)
In the Volonsky residence
Are many corridors and off
Each corridor are many rooms
And from each room and corridor
We hear discordant drone of clocks,
Too many for the Prince to count.
We shall ignore chimes not in time
To follow narrow passageways
That twist and turn like some dark maze
Until we reach tall doors that bar
Our steps, then open to reveal
The music room - and not one clock..
Here let us enter,take our seats
Among the travellers who wait
For one piano and one voice,
And when the young soprano comes
To lift her clear notes through the room
We know the champagne is for us.
THE RECKLESS DUO
The circus town now visiting our park,
A wagon train of caravans around
The Big Top, is a wonderland by dark
Here squatting on suburban, muddy ground.
Each morning on my walk I pass the site.
That dowdy girl in jeans and anorak
Who drags upon a cigarette, tonight
In sequinned jacket, head erect, stares back
Towards her partner as knife chases knife
And thudding daggers outline figure, face.
In lights “The Reckless Duo”: husband-wife
By day when they cohabit our dull space
With meals to cook and tarnished blades to clean,
Their lives like ours well-settled in routine.
THE STOOGE
I am a stooge.
We come in many shapes and sizes.
Sometimes - like Jenny- blonde
And very beautiful,
While I’m bespectacled and rather grim.
Responsive to the comic’s whim,
We feed the lines
On which he builds his joke,
Or stand expressionless and dumb
Amidst his verbal pirouettes.
With grave solemnity
We wipe the custard from our eyes,
Spotting disaster just too late.
We also serve who keep our faces straight.
The poems here are taken from Robin
Brumby’s volume of poetry which is
available from Brendon Books, Bath
Place, Taunton TA1 4ER.
01823 337742
Fire River Poets Open Poetry Competition 2014/15
Taunton-based Fire River Poets are running a Poetry Competition for the third year running. Prize money is now 1st, £200, 2nd
£100 and 3rd £75 along with the chance to be part of a special Competition Winners’ reading in Taunton. The judge this year is
Lawrence Sail, who has published eleven collections of poems and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. All winning and
commended poets will feature on the Fire River Poets’ website (see below).The entrance fee is £4 for one poem, £8 for two,
£10 for three and £3 each for additional poems. Entries must not bear the poet’s identity, which must be included with poem
titles and contact details on a separate sheet of paper. The closing date is 20 February, 2015. Entries may be postal or online.
For full rules and information about the competition and to read winners from previous years, please go to www.fireriverpoets.org.uk

53. My Favourite...
With the season to be jolly edging closer, we asked
Daisy Blacklock to share her top literature, music, art
and performance picks with a Christmas twist. Daisy
was arts reporter and features writer for the Somerset
County Gazette and now works for the county council.
Two years ago I was bold awake in that
twitchy twilight hour, where Christ-mas
53
Eve hands over to Christmas Day,
and panicking. Penny-strapped and so
banned from buying presents, I decided
my best bet at 2am on Christmas morn-ing
was to adopt my whole family a fla-mingo
from the Wildfowl and Wetlands
Trust at Slimbridge. The only problem
then was, not being able to wrap the big
bird, I knew I was going to have to stretch
my creative licence still further. I cracked
open A Very She & Him Christmas,
clunked the play button on my teenage
CD player, and got drawing a bright,
brash poster, declaring ‘Mr Blacklock &
Associates’ proud parents of one flamin-go.
It seemed to do the trick.
She & Him is doe-eyed, quirky US actress
Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward,
and here doing traditional Christmas
refrains and pop covers. Her voice is a
beautiful sweet alto to his soft low-fi folk,
against minimalist acoustic guitar or uku-lele.
The record sounds like it came right
out of a tiny cinnamon-flecked NYC coffee
shop.
Let’s face it, if I didn’t choose Charles Dick-ens’
A Christmas Carol here, I’d be lying.
But I am set on getting J.R.R. Tolkien’s The
Father Christmas Letters under my belt.
Evidently Tolkien wrote them for his chil-dren,
switching from the voice of Father
Christmas to that of his elvish secretary,
which sounds a treat.
The best art is the stuff we made when
we were young. My parents’ house turns
grotto in December. Come over and you’ll
find trees in every room; wall-to-wall rein-deer,
robins, St Nicks, tinsel and baubles;
pub-style lights swinging from the walnut
tree out front. It still makes my heart sing
to see my collage of the three kings, my
sister Connie’s cotton wool snowman,
head twice the size of its body, a child-size
Christmas tree card from a school play,
all Blu-tacked up. I’m pretty confident
Matisse would’ve rated it. Or the cut-outs
anyway.
Two performances from winter 2013 stick
in my mind. Taunton’s Christmas lights
switch-on, my first ever, and Taunton
Theatre Association’s outdoor, promenade
show of Hansel and Gretel at the Muse-um
of Somerset. The crowds that turned
up for both are testament to the feats of
making them happen.
But I also have a left-field ‘performance’,
again nodding to Slimbridge’s Wildfowl
and Wetlands Trust. Come 4pm, winter
hours, visitors can pile into a room with
a long glass window, and silently watch
hundreds of birds of all different species
flock in to feed. Cordoned off from the
world’s chaos, in those minutes it must be
one of the most peaceful places on Earth.

54. Geoff Nichols Good Vibes Band
Cossington Village Hall
Trivetts Way
Cossington
Bridgwater TA7 8LN
Saturday December 13th 8.00pm ( doors 7.00pm )
Having led the legendary Bristol based Avon Cities Jazz Band for 50 years,
vibes and trumpet star Geoff Nichols has in recent times turned to the won-derful
54
swing music of the 1930’s and 40’s, and now presents a programme of
such music which embraces the great works of Gershwin, Porter, Kern and more, and spiced with a selection of his own compo-sitions.
The 5 piece Good Vibes Band is built around the wonderful jazz sounds of the leaders vibraphone and trumpet playing
complemented by the piano,and 3 piece rhythm section. An unmissable evening in prospect
Reserved seats at tables £10.00 ( which includes the usual tasty treats ) are available from host Roger Collett
Phone 01278 451187 or email rogercollett.sounds@talktalk.net
Cass Caswell Trio plus Sinead McCabe
Church of St. Peter & All Hallows
West Huntspill TA9 3RN
Saturday Nov 15th 7.30pm
Formed in 1999, this trio of fine musicians take audiences by storm with their fine renderings of many jazz standards
plus some works especially prepared for this one-off performance. The trio have played major theatres and numerous jazz fes-tivals
throughout the U.K. Their range of music encompasses many styles of jazz, ranging from Traditional/Dixieland through
mainstream to modern and bebop. They are joined by singing starlet Sinead McCabe whose unique voice and natural charm are
fast making her the star of the West Country jazz scene.
Tickets £10.00 from host Geoff Bryant 01278 788061
or Roger Collett 01278 451187
Wine Bar and soft drinks available

55. Christmas at Halsway
This December celebrate the coming
festive season by sharing in the many
Yuletide events on offer from Somerset’s
prestigious traditional arts centre.
Halsway Manor, Somerset’s esteemed tradi-tional
55
and folk arts centre, prides itself on
the diverse and wide-ranging program of
events it holds throughout the year. Hals-way
Manor also prides itself on it’s suite
of Christmas celebrations which this year
kicks off with ‘Murder at the Manor!’ on
Thursday 11. Why not come along
and join in the fun of solv-ing
the 1920s themed crime
caper. Tickets are priced at
£20 which includes a
three-course meal.
Space is limited so
to avoid disappoint-ment
email (office@
halswaymanor.org.
uk) to secure your
place. Bed and
breakfast available
if you wish to stay
overnight.
On Friday
12, Halsway Manor hosts a Festive Dinner
and Folk Session. For £10 you can enjoy
a convivial two-course meal and acoustic
music session. All ages, abilities and musi-cal
instruments welcome!
It’s a full day of enjoyment on Saturday
13 as Halsway Manor presents both its
Christmas Craft Fair from 12pm until 5pm
and an evening of music with Spanish
folk ensemble La Musgaña from 8pm.
The Craft Fair promises fantastic enter-tainment
including performances from
the Urban Voice Choir, the
Halsway Manor Choir and
the Stogumber Hand Bell
Ringers. Festive refresh-ments
will be on offer to
keep you fuelled as you
peruse the vast array of
stalls selling beautiful
local crafts. Adults pay just
£1 and children go free.
There’s a complementary
glass of spiced punch on
arrival for everyone!
On Sunday 14, you can
join in the fun of Halsway
Manor’s Christmas Cele-brations.
The program of
events starts at 12pm with
a roast turkey Christmas
carvery lunch complete
with all the trimmings. At
3.30pm you can enjoy a
cream tea whilst Elizabeth
Jane Baldry gives a festive
harp concert. Following a
supper at 6pm, the mer-rymaking
continues with
mulled wine, a roaring
log fire, a huge Christmas
tree and a rousing Halsway Carol Concert
for all the family in the Great Hall. Those
wishing to attend the entire day of events
can benefit from a reduced ticket price
of £30 (under 14’s £18). Prices to attend
individual events are listed on the Halsway
Manor website.
Acclaimed historical entertainment com-pany
Blast from the Past invite you to join
Harp Concert
them for ‘A Medieval Christmas’ concert
on Tuesday 18. This lively, fun and festive
celebration of the Yuletide of our ancestors
would have known will explore the origins
of some of our Christmas traditions
through the magic, music and adventure of
the middle-ages.
A dinner dance – folk style – wraps up
the celebrations with Halsway’s Country
Christmas Dinner Dance on Monday 22.
Come along and enjoy a delicious, home
cooked meal followed by light hearted
country dancing. (£15 / £5 dancing only).
Bed and breakfast available.
Halsway Manor under snow
Blast From the Past

56. 56