CATHEDRALS are some of our most remarkable buildings – ancient, up to 800 years old in some cases, beautiful, spiritual and often located in remarkable positions. Durham immediately leaps to mind and St Paul’s in the Blitz is truly described as iconic. But perhaps the most extraordinary is Salisbury, not just for its undeniable beauty…
THE line-up for this year’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival, from Friday 27th September to Sunday 6th October, includes some of the country’s best-loved writers – Cressida Cowell, Michael Rosen, Cornelia Funke and Jacqueline Wilson. The organisers of one of the biggest children’s books festivals in the world have put together a programme of more than…
PHILIPPA Langley, who came to national attention with her persistent – and ultimately successful – efforts to locate the remains of King Richard III (under a Leicester car park), comes to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Thursday 19th September with a talk about her latest historical investigations. Her talk, The Princes in the Tower,…
IT is easy to look at a stone quarry and see nothing but destruction – a great scar in the landscape. But Andy Littler, geologist, chartered engineer and quarry manager, has a very different story to tell when he comes to Sladers Yard arts centre at West Bay, on Thursday 29th August, to give the next…
IF your thoughts go north of the border at the mention of “the Fringe” you clearly haven’t discovered the Shaftesbury Fringe, a weekend of entertainment, comedy, music, dance, theatre, cabaret, poetry, eccentricity and all-round original creativity. This year’s Shaftesbury Fringe, running over four days, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th July, features a massive line-up…
FORMER Children’s Laureate, best-selling children’s writer Michael Rosen is coming to Bridport’s Electric Palace on Thursday 1st August, celebrating his 50th anniversaries of his live performances and the publication of his first book. The talks are at 11.30am and 2.30pm. One of the world’s best-selling writers for children, and a popular broadcaster, Michael, who was…
SIDMOUTH Folk Festival returns this year, from Friday 2nd to Friday 9th August – for the 70th anniversary, making it one of the world’s longest established celebration of traditional folk music and dance. Sidmouth has been at the heart of the English – and British, European and world – folk scene, championing traditional music, dance…
THE great West Country moors – Dartmoor in Devon, Exmoor in Devon and Somerset, and Bodmin in Cornwall – are steeped in history and myths. One significant area of Dartmoor is Crockern Tor, once home to the Stannary Parliament, and now the inspiration for a series of story walks, organised by Devon’s Villages in Action,…
WHEN fans of Chalke Valley History Festival heard last year that long-time sponsors the Daily Mail were ending the relationship, there was inevitably concern – how would the festival fare without this major, high-profile supporter? The answer has been a resounding “very well, thank you.” With a renewed focus, a slightly changed name, a wonderful…
Until 1st July, a sound installation created by Orlando Gough and Alastair Goolden continues in the ancient Messums tithe barn at Tisbury. De Nadder / di -næd.ər is “a season of no things”, and the soundscape is inspired both by the flow of the adjacent river Nadder and a play on the word “nada” meaning…