SHAFTESBURY once had one of England’s greatest abbeys and convents, destroyed in Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries – all that remains is an atmospheric and peaceful walled garden off Park Walk. So the subject for this year’s Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Gardens Spring Lecture on Wednesday 22nd May is highly appropriate. Caroline Holmes, a…
THE Bath Festivals start on Friday 17th May, with the Party in the City – Bath’s biggest free event, so no need to book – followed by nine days of music and literary events, from peerless Renaissance choral music to Irish folk, from best-selling novelists to top broadcasters, historic walks and many other fascinating events….
MARLBOROUGH LitFest celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, from 26th to 29th September, and the first event has been announced – the festival’s patron, Sir Simon Russell Beale, will be talking about his memoir, A Piece of Work, on the evening of Sunday 29th September. The book, A Piece of Work, is due to be…
THE 2024 Bath Festival, running from Friday 17th to Sunday 26th May, will take audiences on an astonishing and exciting journey through some of today’s most exciting writers, challenging thinkers, hilarious comedians and brilliant musicians, with subjects that range from the climate crisis to silent horror classic Nosferatu, from the Sky at Night presenter Dr…
BRITISH Museum curator Sophia Adams will give a talk about the important Iron Age and Roman finds from a grave on Cranborne Chase, at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester on Thursday 18th April at 7pm. “Traditions and Transitions: The Story of the Chettle Grave Group” will discuss the 2003 discovery of a locally made bronze…
DORSET’s much-loved folk duo Ninebarrow – James LaBouchardiere and Jon Whitley – are almost as well known for their love of walking as they are for their beautiful harmonies and charming original songs. For some years they have been leading walks and writing books to introduce their fans and fellow-walkers to different areas of their…
DORSET musicians Emily Burridge, cello, and Karen Wimhurst, clarinet, join sound artist Adrian Newton for All Trees Are Clocks, a multi-media performance celebrating ancient trees and woodlands, at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Sunday 21st April at 2.30pm. The musicians play live, accompanying field recordings and video curated byAdrian Newton, documenting how ancient woodlands are changing…
TRAVEL writers will be descending on Sherborne over the weekend 5th to 7th April, for the town’s Travel Writing Festival, bringing tales of adventures and experiences around the globe, from Bodmin to Beijing, and across the centuries, from Caesar’s Gaul to the UK shipping forecast. Speakers include world-famous photographer Don McCullin, explorer Benedict Allen and…
STORYTELLER Tim Lowe will take his audience back to the 18th century in his performance of An Audience with George Chafin, at Chettle House near Blandford on Saturday 6th April a 2.30pm. Lowe reimagines the life of George Chafin, an MP who was Head Ranger of Cranborne Chase. He talks about his family and local…
AN exciting partnership has been formed between the Theatre Royal Bath Theatre School and Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in the city. The students and the museum will be producing a new production to explore the life and writing of Mary Shelley, the creator of the gothic horror story, Frankenstein. Around 20 young people, aged…