Nomad Thoughts

The Shed Photography. Private View. The Malthouse. 30th December 2011

2011-12-31T20:43:00.000Z

I don’t attend many Private Views, but The Shed caught my imagination during ArtsFest, mostly due to the enthusiasm of its founder, Chelsea Davine, so when Sally Holman said she wanted to do a little film of the show, I dragged myself out of my post-Christmas torpor, and hauled my camera to the Malthouse. See the video on our Lyme Regis TV page on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anfmXRj2DJE&feature=youtu.be
I often find at Private Views that it takes a glass of wine or two to catch the feeling, but not in this case, I was hit by the presentation immediately on entry, the lighting, as you see from the video, affected my camera in strange ways, so the sense of illusion was present right from the start. One or two people mentioned the effect of the light on the vision, in the video it’s a slight rippling that affects the beginning, and the sparkly white dots that persist throughout, and before you suggest the cam heads need cleaning, I did that before I went out, so I guess I’ll put it down to the persistent sense of magical illusion!
That sense of illusion persisted in the hanging displays, not the exhibits, magnificent in themselves, I’m referring to the trays holding photographs for purchase, which seemed to sway, and when you I didn’t look directly at them, gave me the feeling that I was on a boat, somewhat disorienting, but perfectly in keeping with the theme of the exhibition, the coast, and the sea itself.
Maybe I’m still under the influence of Christmas Spirit, but I wasn’t alone. I counted more than 100 people, which is pretty damn good for a wet December evening, haven’t seen the Malthouse so full since our Music at the Malthouse session during ArtsFest. You could say that the exuberance and enthusiasm of the participants and organisers was picked up by the very complimentary audience, which also showed in the intense visuality of the exhibition. This is cutting edge art, powered by digital technology, devised for the internet, and at the same time, a social co-op of artists, both amateur and professional, who all, as you can hear in the interviews, share the same sense of enthusiasm, and the feeling of progress.
I’ve included a few stills from the video here, but to see more, see our Lyme Regis TV Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?id=100000496698281&tid=179650088849&frecId=false&skipClustering=true&qn=1325358466&success=22&failure=0&set=oa.10150497327338850#!/media/set/?set=oa.10150497289193850&type=1
The whole concept of The Shed Photography exudes clarity and innovation, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next, in fact, in order to keep a photographic eye on them, I’m going to join myself....

Late Night Opening?

2011-12-29T13:35:00.001Z

Recently, over the last couple of weeks we have had a couple of emails criticising us for not participating in ‘Late Night in Lyme’. It is utterly untrue! We really did our very best to participate! We sent someone down with a camera in the first week, but our cameraman called us at 5.15pm saying, ‘It’s freezing cold, raining , I’m soaked to the skin, there’s nobody here, and I’m going home!’. The next week, we came down ourselves, looked around a couple of shops, and again, found only emptiness and despair, the only sound being a disco, paid for by the council, churning out Christmas hits to an empty street.

It’s interesting because, way way back in 2008, we filmed a Late Night opening, as far as I remember it was organised by the Carnival Committtee, and the word filtered back to us afterwards was that it wasn’t a great success. I remember it, a lot of shops were open, and providing their own entertainment, at no cost to the town! You don’t believe me? Here is the short video we made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIyqmVMucIY
My question is: The above event was organised by the traders themselves, with the help of the Carnival Committee, at no cost to the council. So why is the council spending £2,000 of public money on supporting ‘Late Night in Lyme 2011’?.

I’m very happy to see the council supporting events that involve and benefit the whole town, including traders, but I think it’s positively nefarious that ‘Late Night Opening’ is supported by the council. It is a gross misappropriation of public funds,

And ok, I know you’re going to tell me that the shops in Lyme draw people here, and are vital to the economic success of Lyme Regis, but how true is this in Broad Street at Christmas? It isn’t true at all! Was this money given to a Traders organisation? If not, who sanctioned the money spent on advertising, on a logo design, and on a disco in Broad St? How many traders were likely to gain any benefit from this, because as far as I can see, the Cobb, and the lower end of Broad St, the top of Broad Street, and Silver Street, were in darkness. Seems clear that the only people likely to benefit were a handful of traders in the middle of Broad St!

These are difficult times, for everyone, not just Broad Street shops. Quite a lot of folks in Lyme could do with a small cash input at the moment, many people, young and old are hard at work trying to make ends meet at a time when jobs are scarce. How many local people are employed by this handful of Broad Street shops? How many of these shopkeepers actually live in Lyme?

Giving public funds to them is entirely nefarious and needs to be questioned.

Ask yourself this: How many shops are there in Lyme who can seriously and honestly say that they can promote Lyme by the selling of Christmas oriented products? I counted 9, and one of those is a owned by a councillor, interestingly enough, a councillor who is on the Tourism & Advertising Committee. I didn’t see any evidence that any of these shops were attempting to bring custom from outside the town boundaries, that is to say, the council is supporting them to bring local residents into the shops on 4 consecutive Friday nights. Or to put it another way, you, the ratepayer, is paying twice. You’re paying your council tax, and your council is giving your money to traders, to bring you into town on a Friday night to do what you can easily do in the day, which is, go shopping.

So here, is a short video of Late Night in Lyme 2011, supported by the council to the tune of 2 grand, it’s the best we could do, and while you’re viewing it, ponder on the idea that your money paid for it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRcejTTbqME

It’s also a fantasy, peddled by ‘Late Night in Lyme’, that only one shop didn’t stay open. Ask me, and I’ll give you a list of shops that didn’t stay open, plus the reasons they didn’t.

If you like, you can put this into the context of last weeks Full Council meeting, where the council refused to reduce your council tax against the advice of a long term experienced councillor. They would rather waste your money on shopkeepers.

Lyme Regis TV Times October 2011

2011-10-29T17:56:00.002+01:00

LymeRegisTV

LIVE SHOWS COMING SOON:

Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance: 5th November. Woodmead Halls.

Lyme Live at Woodmead Social Club.

Lyme Live 'OPEN MIC' at Woodmead Social Club: 21st November. Woodmead Halls.

ONLINE NOW:

Click the title to go direct to the programme...

Are Seagulls a Serious Menace? After Vicky Norman made her vehement statement to the Council, we went out around the town and gathered some views from Traders, Residents and Visitors. It's clear that action is necessary, though opinion seems to be divided. Should there be a cull? Raptors on the beach? A total ban on feeding the gulls?

The Final Cry: Now updated. Includes Phil Streets emotional resignation speech, Final Proclamation on the steps of the Guildhall, speech at his Leaving Party, and receiving the honour of Freeman of Lyme Regis.

Private Freedom and Public Security.16th September at Woodmead Halls. Oliver Letwin, local MP and Govt minister in discussion with Clive Stafford-Smith of 'Reprieve', an organisation that defends prisoners on Death Row in the USA, and in Guantanamo Bay. Organised by Lyme Regis Branch of Amnesty International. All the more interesting since Oliver has been in the news for dropping Govt. documents into public bins!

ArtsFest in the Shelters: 17th September. ArtsFest Opening Ceremony by Sally Holman, music from Dom Kirtley, and interviews with ArtsFest artists.

New Ducklings in the River: 17th September. Public spirited local family introduces new ducklings to the river.

Lyme Live ArtsFest Special: Woodmead Social Club 19th September. Sally Holman (ArtsFest Co-ordinator) with Chelsea Davine and Brian Matravers in conversation with Pip Evans. Music from Julian Shaw

Lyme Live 'Open Mic'. 19th September. An ArtsFest event which included Lyme Regis TV Annual Music Awards. Three Finalists were each presented with a Microphone from Axe Music. Some very special performers turned up for this session, including 2 performers fresh from sell-out appearances at Londons prestigious 02 Arena!

Music at the Malthouse: 21st September. A full house for this ArtsFest event featuring performances by local musicians, Julian Shaw, Roy & Rob, Marshall Stapleton and the Pure Dirt Band. The Bob Dylan set at the end is a bit raucous, but was a great ending to one of those really special nights.

Alan Dearling Book Launch 'The Friendly Invasion': 23rd September. Alans new book is a drama-documentary set in wartime Lyme Regis as American GI's trained for D-Day. Two interviews (Nomad and Pip Evans) at Serendip Books.

B Sharp Busking Festival: 24th September. For this event, a piano was installed in the Shelters. Our camera was there at the right moment to film this fabulous set from an unknown piano player! Can anyone give us the name of this very accomplished musician?

Sgt. Peppers Only Dartboard Band: 1st October. The last in this years series of 'Legends Return' shows at Woodmead Halls. This 'Fab Five' (with Sgt. Pepper himself on keys) had us singing and dancing all night with all the Beatles hits!

LRTC Full Council Meeting: 5th October. The Public Forum features full statement from a concerned local resident about what happened at the Hub Youth Club Opening Night.

Hear Here 'Songs of Lyme' B Sharp. 20th October. Around 100 youngsters excelled in this performance at Woodroffe school with great music written with the assistance of John K Miles and Billy Bragg. A DVD of the show will be available, contact us or Fran Williams if you would like a copy.

Lyme Live RBL Special: 24th October. A prelude to the forthcoming Festival of Remembrance on 5th November. Pip Evans talks to Dave Manners and 'Army John' Hunt. A reallly thoughtful tears in the eyes interview. Music from Julian Shaw.

BACKTRACK:

Sams Mix Tape: 25th June. We forgot about this one, been sitting in our files for several months! Young people from the town got together themselves to have a Benefit Night for Sam Nunn. We caught some of the acoustic performers that opened the show for a very successful evening at the Marine Theatre. Hope the audience noise isn't too distracting!

WOODFEST! 22nd to 24th July. Proceeds to RNLI. This link takes you to the Friday Night session with Papa Le Gal, but we still have more to come from this weekend celebration of local bands and performers. Checkout links below the main screen for other performances from Woodfest.

STREAMING SERVICES:

As we reported earlier this year, we are gradually introducing a streamed service on all our channels, and will over the next few weeks be reducing channels from the present 8 down to 5.

MusicTV Channel: Now features more than 15 hours of continuous video on the Channel Front Page

Events Channel: Now features around 10 continuous hours.

Over the next month or two, all our channels will be featuring a continuous 24 hour stream of video, all from the past 12 months, meaning that every time you tune in, you'll be likely to find something different every time....

More video's on our Lyme Regis TV YouTube Channel.

For regular updates to programmes, join our Facebook page: Lyme Regis TV

NB: If you have a website including a link to us, please update your link from 'LymeRegisRadio' to www.lymeregis.tv

Thankyou

ArtsFest and LymeRegisTV

2011-09-13T23:47:00.000+01:00

ArtsFest & LymeRegisTV

LymeRegisTV is presenting 5 events for ArtsFest

(see attached jpegs)

LymeLive! ArtsFest Special Monday 19th September. 7.30pm Woodmead Halls. Pip Evans will be chatting to the stars and luminaries of ArtsFest, talking to artists about the work they are presenting this year, and reviewing this years event. A light hearted look at the year in the arts in Lyme Regis. BAR Open 7pm. Admission by Donation.

LymeRegisTV Song Contest: The Final! Monday 19th September. 8.30pm Woodmead Halls. In the past year, LymeRegisTV has filmed around 40 bands and musicians, many presenting their own original work. This session features 3 of the best original songwriters we've found through our Open Mic, Woodfest, Legends Return and other events. Each will be presented with a Prize from Andy Cable of Axe-Music. It's an 'Open Mic' night, singers and musicians are welcome to join us.

Music at the Malthouse Wednesday 21st September 7.30pm. The best of local singers and musicians present an evening of acoustic entertainment, with the accent on participation. Included in the programme so far:

JULIAN SHAW. Laid back vocals, a touch of nostalgia, and excellent guitar picking. A local favourite in the bars, hotels and restaurants of Lyme Regis.

MARSHALL STAPLETON. Musician and Luthier, and a specialist in the blues. The instruments Marshall plays are manufactured by his own hands in his Lyme Regis workshop.

ROY & ROB. Roys clear high tenor, coupled with Robs deep vocal harmony and acoustic guitar, with a selection of popular melodies.

MARY LAND and the PURE DIRT BAND. Sardonic Americana fronted by 'Lyme's Most Colourful Couple' (View from Lyme Regis). Great songs and harmonies, excellent lead guitar playing, entertainment guaranteed y'all!

Othee musical vagrants will be dropping in to give a song or two.

We're going to 'jam' on a few Bob Landy songs at the end, requests welcome, songsheets for Tambourine Man and Blowing in the Wind will be available.

Free Admission. Hat on Floor. Wine and Nibbles.

ROCK MASTERCLASS Saturday 24th September 3pm to 6.30pm Woodmead Halls. Workshop with Irve Davis-Griffiths and Nomad. Bands and musicians are invited to polish up their act on the stage at Woodmead Halls. A PA is provided, all you need to bring is your voice and/or your instrument. Your final performance will be filmed and you'll have an opportunity to produce cover art for your video.

Irve is a well known face locally, a youthworker, musician and music teacher, who runs rockschool camps for teenagers and a studio locally, and the man behind the Mighty Shed events. Nomad is an artist/musician, drama teacher, and Editor of LymeRegisTV.

Participation is £5 per person, and everyone receives a DVD of their final performance.

LymeRegisTV Movie Night Saturday 24th September 7.30pm Woodmead Halls. We're always aware that whenever we view our video's online, there's a reduction in quality, so to redress the balance, we're going to show a selection on a bigger screen. There'll be an ArtsFest flavour to the evening, we'll show Sally Holmans excellent movie of ArtsFest Artists last year, and the Tracey Emin/Mark Hix interview from a couple of years ago, in amidst a wild mix from our archive, this years Carnival Procession, and some choice cuts from our 'out-takes' file!

Admission by Donation.

And after ArtsFest....

Legends Return at Woodmead Halls Sat 1st October presents

SGT PEPPERS ONLY DARTBOARD BAND!

presenting their internationally acclaimed performance of THE BEATLES.

Tickets in Advance £11 from Lyme Regis TIC 01297 442138.

In Town from Serendip, 11 Broad St.

Online: http://www.lymeregis.tv/legends.html

2011-08-27T18:41:00.000+01:00

LymeRegisTV

LIVE SHOWS COMING SOON:

ArtsFest & LymeRegisTV

LymeRegisTV is presenting 5 events during ArtsFest Week:

LymeLive! ArtsFest Special Monday 19th September. 7.30pm Woodmead Halls.

Pip Evans will be chatting to the stars and luminaries of ArtsFest, talking to artists and writers about the work they do, and reviewing this years event.

LymeRegisTV Song Contest: The Final! Monday 19th September. 8.30pm Woodmead Halls.

We've invited 3 of the best original songwriters we've found through our Open Mic, Woodfest, Legends Return and other events throughout the year. Each will be presented with a Prize from Andy Cable of Axe-Music. It's an 'Open Mic' night, singers and musicians are welcome to join us.

Music at the Malthouse Wednesday 21st September 7.30pm.

The best of local singers and musicians present an evening of acoustic entertainment, with the accent on participation. We're going to 'jam' on Blowing in the Wind at the end, so please learn the words!

ROCK MASTERCLASS Saturday 24th September 3pm to 6.30pm Woodmead Halls.

Workshop with Irve Davis-Griffiths and Nomad. Bands and musicians are invited to polish up their act and produce cover art for their DVD. Participation is £5 per person, and everyone receives a DVD of their final performance. Irve is a well known face locally, youthworker, musician and music teacher, who runs rockschool camps for teenagers and a studio locally, and the man behind the Mighty Shed events.

LymeRegisTV Movie Night Saturday 24th September 7.30pm Woodmead Halls.

We're always aware that whenever we view our video's online, there's a reduction in quality, so to redress the balance, we're going to show a selection on a bigger screen. There'll be an ArtsFest flavour to the evening, we'll show Sally Holmans excellent movie of ArtsFest Artists last year, and the Tracey Emin/Mark Hix interview from a couple of years ago, in amidst a wild mix from our archive, and this years Carnival Procession....

ONLINE NOW:

Click the title to go direct to the programme...

The Final Cry. On 10th August, Phil Street, our popular Town Crier, in an emotional speech, resigned and is moving on to new pastures. Here is the speech, and his Final Proclamation on the steps of the Guildhall.

The Carnival Procession! Sat 13th August. If you can't find your face somewhere in this video, you probably weren't there! Features holiday makers from all over the country and the world, plus all the fun of the floats and walking entries in the Procession

Lyme's Got Talent II! 9th August, a Carnival Week event. All the acts, and the winners from this great sell-out show. Woodmead Halls packed to capacity, and a real variety from Lyme's talented young people.

WOODFEST! 22nd to 24th July. Proceeds to RNLI. Three days of music from Woodmead Halls, and running almost continually from 2pm Friday until 2am Sunday. It's going to take months to edit and upload all the video, for the time being, here is one number from each band and solo show. This link takes you to the Friday Night session with Papa Le Gal, check out the page for other shows, including full performances from all the acts in Battle of the Bands, plus Adam Sweet, and the Triangulators, more to come!

Opening of the New Marine Parade Shelters. 9th July. A special day of speeches, dedications, music, and performance, organised by Lyme Regis Town Council, to celebrate the Opening of our new prestigious seafront shelters.

RNLI 150 Years Anniversary 28th July Lifeboat Week.

Blessing of the Boats 29th May. Annual Event with RNLI and Royal British Legion

The Great Cheese Challenge! Organised on Bastille Day by The Town Cheesemonger as a challenge between West Country and French cheeses. A superb event, and an original method of cheese-tasting.

'Open Mic' Session at Woodmead Halls 20th June, featuring the talents of local performers including Julian Shaw & Richard Smith, Mary Ball and Billy Matthews,

ZZ Tops! Sat 18th June. a 'Legends Return to Lyme' show from Woodmead Halls. A spectacular high energy performance from the Toppers!

Adam Sweet 18th June, Woodmead Halls. A short 10 minute clip from this young accompished and professional local blues singer and guitar player, playing the support slot for ZZ Tops.

Bad Apples at the Castle Inn West Coker. A rare trip out of town to film this excellent local rock band. Our very own Mary Land joins the band to sing 'Rocking in a Free World'.

LymeLive! Hub Special 13th June. Filmed during the Hub campaign for the Peoples Millions, Ayvin Rogers chats to Pip Evans about the youth of Lyme Regis. Also featuring Pip in a nostalgic interview with Geoff Baker, about Lyme, and his brilliantly funny book, 'Rock Bottom'.

LymeLive RNLI Special. 18th July. Pip Evans talks to Rob Michael about Lifeboat Week, and to John Dover about the work of the RNLI. Music from Julian Shaw.

Mayor-Making Ceremony 23rd June. The Ceremony and speeches from this historic Annual event.

LRTC Full Council Meeting 6th July. Apart from the Public Forum, the main business of the meeting was about appointing reps to public bodies. Unfortunately, we had to cut a lot of the meeting due to poor sound quality caused by councillors testing microphones.

Are Seagulls a Serious Menace? From the Public Forum, 10th August. Vicky Norman speaks about the increasing menace of seagulls. We are making a short video to publicise this issue, and would welcome seagull stories and comments.

LRDT AGM 6th June at Woodmead Halls. Unexpectedly quite a stormy session!

COMING SOON ONLINE:

ArtsFest

STREAMING SERVICES:

As we reported earlier this year, we are gradually introducing a streamed service on all our channels, and will over the next few weeks be reducing channels from the present 8 down to 5.

MusicTV Channel: Now features more than 12 hours of continuous video on the Channel Front Page

Events Channel: Now features around 7 continuous hours.

For regular updates to programmes, join our Facebook page: Lyme Regis TV

NB: If you have a website including a link to us, please update your link from 'LymeRegisRadio' to www.lymeregis.tv

Thankyou

Red Card!

2011-07-02T11:58:00.000+01:00

I'm sad to say that the fury following the recent Council Elections still continues unabated. Difficult to talk to anyone right now without being accused in one way or another, and I really do think it's time some people put down their sharp sticks, and time for others to cease firing up the anger.
To make a small analogy, it's a bit like footballers arguing with the decision of the ref, and in an election, the referee is the electorate. The electorate has spoken, now shut up and get on with it, or receive a Red Card and get off the pitch.
Some of the arguments I've heard in the last few days really belong in the 'So What' department, bordering on 'Sour Grapes'. I mean, really!? So What if some established councillors have been mentoring, teaching and helping prospective new councillors. Is it illegal? God help us, encouraging interest in the council should be praised, not derided. So What if the parents of one councillor didn't stand for prayers, its their choice, their prerogative, and has no bearing on council business. So What if new councillors got together before the meeting and divided up the the spoils of Chairmanships! Isn't this the way it always happens? Don't we always know who will be the next Mayor before the meeting? Aren't some minority and dissenting councillors always excluded? So What if one of the new councillors served on an Inner London Council in the past. So What if a group of potential councillors formed a single group to help each other, and so what if they already have an agenda, so what too if they have the kind of majority that can make change happen. So What if the new configuration gives more power to LRDT and Lyme Forward. So What if none of the candidates polled 50% of the vote, they never do.
Over the past year I've witnessed a lot of sniping and backbiting amongst the 'old' council, mostly because the council was in the control of the 'old guard', I've heard a thousand times how much we need change, forward thinking, and new blood. Well, there you go, you puts out the ballot papers, and you takes your choice. The electorate, or the good citizens of Lyme, have voted for change, they voted vociferously for a new council, and the best that can be said is that you get what you wish for.
If I might add a personal thought, it would seem to me from electoral statements made by all candidates, and reflected in the choice of Mayor, that one mandate stands out above all others:
A Fairer Share for Lyme.

Election Fever?

2011-05-13T21:13:00.000+01:00

It would seem that the recent LRTC Elections here in Lyme have been a lesson to us all, but the lesson learned isn't about elections, but about internet etiquette (netiquette). Worth remembering that whatever you put on the net, is there forever. It can never be deleted, and might one day return to haunt you.

Not that it's been an election with the result influenced by the internet. It hasn't been, even though the local press gave coverage to questionable Facebook comments. Aside from videos of candidates made by LymeRegisTV, and a few comments on personal walls, there has been very little internet activity. Most of the action has been out on the street, and having been out leafleting myself, I can tell you that between the candidates, new and old, it's all been peace, love and promises of future friendship. "If you get elected, I'll support you on this that or the other issue", has been the main measure of both agreement and disagreement. No doubt the knives are hidden behind the back, but for the time being, all is well.

There's no doubt either that the Council needed change, we all know that, but it's still unfair to criticise the old (or previous) council for their assumed inactivity. Rhetoric about 'a council fit for purpose' is merely electioneering, it isn't a presentation of policy. Being a Councillor isn't about making decisions, it's about acting on them, putting in the work behind the scenes to make change happen. Having observed Council meetings through a camcorder lens for the last few years, I can tell you, it isn't always the council that moves slowly, there's often the matter of getting agreement with other councillors, besides being able to move only at the prevailing speed of Local Govt, which is dead slow. In 4 years time, the llikelihood is that the 'new' council will be just as reviled as the 'old' one.

There is one word used in every election address that I find really questionable, it's the word 'affordable', used in connection with 'housing'. You could search the length and breadth of the UK, and what you would find is that there is no such animal as 'affordable housing'. Not true either that the Council hasn't done it's best in this direction. A few years ago, there was an Affordable Housing Day, during which, citizens were asked to put flags in likely spots. This exercise, except for one unlikely site, drew a blank. I can't see much good coming from looking at empty houses either, what happens, as the council found out a couple of years ago, is that the moment you make a move on a property, the owner turns up out of the blue, as if by magic, and tidies it up. More radical answers are needed. Most work in Lyme is seasonal, and worse, part-time. Many people who work in Lyme travel here from out of town, they can't afford to live here. For new employers and new business to be attracted to the area, Lyme needs a 'work force'. It doesn't have one. Lyme needs a patch of land on which at least 40 houses can be built, and for them to remain useful to the town, they have to be 'affordable' to more than the first owner. Unless radical answers are found, Lyme will continue it's economic decline. This question isn't merely about the offspring of residents finding a house here, it's about the economic future of the town.

In fact, the 'old' council has a lot of successful projects to its credit, one of then coming to fruition in July when the new shelters are open. To say that the council doesn't involve the people is a blatant lie, and proposing to move the council round to different venues isn't change, it's just moving the council round to different venues. Giving discussion time for the public to meet the council is already done, that's what the Public Forum does.

Change is gradual, the best and most valuable changes don't happen overnight. It's taken a number of years for the council to change, and much of the groundwork has already been done, significantly, three councillors have been instrumental in reconstructing the council in order for the public to be involved. Sally Holman changed the committee basis by the formation of the Community Development Partnership Committee which has involved many local organisations in future planning. Lorna Jenkin was instrumental in updating the speed of council work by developing the council website, and Lucy Campbell is the brains behind Insparation, and the generator of many other youth projects. The channel for change has been 'Lyme Forward', in which all three of these councillors have played a part, and without which, the new candidates wouldn't have had a platform to prove their worth in the first place.

Our councillors work very hard. The job is unpaid, and for some, full time. There are those who don't speak a lot at meetings, and some who speak too much. I would advise the new members that there is a difference between proposing changes, and rhetoric. You don't have to be grand standing to prove your worth.

LymeRegisTV News/Updates/YearAhead March 2011

2011-03-11T13:47:00.001Z

Having had a couple of months Winter break, we are now returned, and looking forward to another brilliant year in Lyme Regis.

Besides filming local events, across the board, from the arts and tourism to public issues, LymeRegisTV is an umbrella title for a wide range of self-promoted events, along with occasional issues of our popular ‘Lyme Live’ series, the year ahead is as follows:

Legends Return.
Returning for a second season at Woodmead, 12 shows are projected, from rock bands to solo artists, and across the board. Brochure for the whole year should be available end of March. Six shows booked so far:
The Hamsters. Friday 22nd April.
Stackridge. Sat 30th April.
ZZ Tops. Sat 18th June.
Larry Miller Band. Sat 9th July.
Paul Lamb & the Kingsnakes. Sat 30th July.
The Mods. Sat 27th August.
Tickets on sale any day now from Lyme Regis TIC 01297 442138, online at LymeRegisTV, and other local outlets. For regular updates, see the Legends Return to Lyme Regis Facebook page.

WOODFEST! Woodmead Community Festival 22nd to 24th July.
Organised by the Legends Return team, with proceeds to RNLI.
Friday features a Celebrity Opening, and a sponsored Battle of the Bands. In the evening, Woodmead rocks to the sounds of The Triangulators from Bristol, and local favourites PAPA LEGAL. At midnight there’s Live Radio, video highlights of the day, and a Piano Bar in the Small Hall till 2am.
Saturday is music all the way, in the afternoon, Art of Creation (Lauenau Germany) Bad Apples (Yeovil) and Wandering John (Coventry). Main evening show features a third return visit from French Canadian outfit, MOSQUITO-B. After Midnight, video highlights, and Piano Bar.
Sunday features a SONG OF THE SEA session with local singers and performers, with a £100 Prize for the best poem about the RNLI, and in the evening, Ballroom Dancing rounds off the weekend.
If you want to take part, call us: lymeregistv@live.co.uk, for updates, see the Woodfest Facebook page.

Woodmead Social Club: ‘Open Mic’ and ‘Lyme Live’.
Primarily a social evening for the clubs and group members that meet at the hall. Will be a monthly weekday evening in the Small Hall, the bar will be open, and we hope that everyone involved at Woodmead will take this opportunity to get to know each other.
Will feature occasional Lyme Live Specials to focus on town events and What’s On At Woodmead, and a regular ‘Open Mic’ session, an evening for local musicians to sing their songs, and tell their stories etc.
Soloists and duo’s only, we don’t have room for bands, though we’ll have a small PA System.
____________________________________________________________________________________

We are still is continuing to go through changes. In reality, we’re still only at the beginning, having only just completed the transition from our LymeRegisRadio identity, and learning how to use the new TV Channels has been, and still is, a steep learning curve. But we’re making it, and in the 10 months since we launched the LymeRegisTV website, we’ve been very impressed with our progress through the search engines It’s this that is prompting us to look at our site stats in a different way, and to make some changes to the site.
Developments and Changes for the year ahead:

Channels:
At present we have 8 channels, and over the next few months this will be reduced to 5, as follows:
News & Events, Arts & Music, Sport & Leisure, Religion & Spirituality, and Civic and Community.

LymeRegisTV/Radio Streamed Service.
Broadcasting to Lyme and the world from 6pm to Midnight Daily, with a mix of live camera, audio and video shows, as follows:
DJ’s, Presenters for a range of daily music shows: We are looking for some Local Stars who can present a weekly/monthly radio show from their own home.
Live Camera Shows: Live broadcast of music shows and public meetings from Woodmead Halls, and other venues where a broadband connection is available.
Monthly Video News: A round up of the past month in video.
The Archive: Video and audio from our prodigious archive going back to 2004. There are many programmes here that deserve another airing, some stories to be told, and a weekly retrospective of life in Lyme.
All new programmes would be featured on the Stream Channel before being available on the ‘View Again’ Channels.
We need Presenters, Producers, Organisers, DJ’s, just about everything you need to fly a full time radio station. If you’re interested in taking part in this major venture, please talk to us.
___________________________________________________________________________________

We cover an average of 3 events weekly, we would like to do more, but we are only a small team. We now have 5 camcorders, and we are quite happy to loan them to anyone who wants to film events for their own organisation. When we first started with LymeRegisRadio in 2004, there was no one like us out there. There was no YouTube, no Twitter, Facebook was still an idea and uploading soundfiles to the net took hours in a very complex process. We are non profit making and have no funding. We do it for fun, and intend to continue in the same way. All we have is time, and most of that is taken up by filming programmes, editing them, and uploading to the main website. That is to say, we’ve taken LymeRegisTV to the top by getting out there and putting the hours in, not by throwing money at Google!

www.lymeregis.tv
Facebook page

2011-01-22T13:42:00.000Z

It’s quite some time since I wrote anything about the council, and it isn’t because I don’t have anything to say, more that it’s taken me some years of attending meetings to figure out how it works. I find it pretty clear too, that a number of councillors, judging by their input at meetings, don’t know how it works either.
On the surface, most people would think that the council chamber, especially when the council is session, is probably the most boring place in Lyme Regis. Having been recording council meetings for the past 5 years, pretty much the term of the current council, I find that the opposite is true. Not just that the Council really is the hub of the town that often deserves more praise than it receives, it has a fascination much deeper than its duty of service to the town. There are good reasons why the wheels of local government grind slowly, in this chamber, there is a diverse group of individuals, all with differing interests, often from different walks of life and each has his or her own view of what is best for the town. There are always personal likes and dislikes lurking below the surface which can affect decisions the council makes.
What can make a meeting interesting is the quality of the debate, which often depends on who is present. Indeed, there are some who think it’s a place of decision rather than debate. You could in fact, divide the council into 3 groups, those who debate, those who propose decisions, and those who never, or hardly ever speak, except to vote or second something. Influencing all of this is the Public Forum, often the starting arena for future meeting agendas.
The present council has all but run its course, elections are due in May, and word has it that the apple cart is likely to be upset with a whole host of new candidates rumoured to be standing for election. It makes the chamber quite a fraught place at present, five years of undercurrents of feelings, all about to burst, along with the obvious electioneering and ensuing conflicts as councillors jockey for position, along with prospective members attending public forums and adding more to the melee.
Quite a large agenda for this meeting, including discussion about the Museum expansion into the hallowed council parking area, and gritting of pavements and roads.
For me, the biggest item is the new Lyme streetlights, and the proposition from Dorset County Council to switch them off between midnight and 6.30am daily. Lucy Campbells observations even drew applause and cheers from the public, who were immediately admonished for their intrusion by Chairman, Owen Lovell. Lucy has a really good point: What is the point of having brand new lights in the town, and then switching them off when it’s dark, especially as the new white lights are lower cost anyway? The idea that only ‘essential’ lighting will be left on is puzzling, I feel that anywhere I’m likely to be out walking after midnight is ‘essential’, which in part was Lucys other observation, midnight is too early! This isn’t 1911, it’s 2011, and people of all ages are up late, and might even be out walking a hangover.
Find the meeting here:
http://www.livestream.com/civicchannel/video?clipId=flv_5c715ef5-3744-44e9-a76b-3c5d258ceb20&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb

Snow Rage!?

2010-12-28T17:07:00.010Z

Just looking at the headline in this weeks Lyme News and 'Snow Rage', which to me, sounds more than a bit sensationalist, and while I agree that for motorists, conditions were really bad, the rest of us have had a really good time in the snow.

So c'mon killjoys, how often does this happen? Generally only a few days during the dead of Winter, and even then, we only had a couple of inches when the rest of the nation was completely snowbound. Occurring as it did at a time when most people are already on holiday, it only leaves one option, leave the car home, and get out there and build a snowman!

The truth of it is that Lyme looked quite magical, and though I know that Lyme is magical all year round, there is something special about this crystalline whiteness covering our favourite areas and landmarks, and the silence that comes with snow, when there is no traffic on the roads, is almost awesome.

Just a reminder here: Christmas is a Festival of Children, and the kids loved it!

Here are some of our pics of Lyme in the snow, including the suicidal snowman on the beach! (Our condolences to Frosty, whoever you may be!)

A link to our Christmastime in Lyme video, filmed on the 18th December after the first snowfall.

Mayan Prophecies? Piffle and Tosh!

2010-12-05T15:13:00.004Z

I still think of myself as a newcomer to Facebook, and mostly, I love it, I like the immediacy of it all. I don’t reply to many messages, but it’s brilliant knowing what everyone is up to or doing right now, whether it’s cooking for the kids, getting wasted somewhere, conflicting with friends, and the rest, it’s all good. I’m finding too that I’m updated on local events quicker than email, plus more complete, and more events than I could ever attend. I like the sharing of videos and info too, I join in a fair bit of this myself, updating on LymeRegisTV, or the Legends Return shows.

So. What I’m about to say, I hope you will take with a sense of tongue firmly in cheek. The essence of Facebook is that, within reason, you can say whatever you like, and to borrow from Voltaire, I defend your right to say it. Being the way I am, a lot of my friends have a spiritual outlook, but there is a difference between spirituality and blind fundamentalism posing as spirituality.

What I don’t like, and never did like, either on Facebook or at my front door, is preaching and sermonising, especially if the person doing it is posting three or four messages daily, all exhorting me to open my heart, get ready for the Cosmic Shift, develop a belief in ‘all that is’, or other trite claptrap. I don’t like either, status’s that don’t encourage some diverse comment. If it isn’t an open conversation, I can’t be arsed. I’m particularly averse to semi-biblical terminology and delivery, it sounds pompous, avoids meaning, is most often trite, and lacks the personal touch. You know the kind I mean, blind fundamental statements that only invite compliments or agreement.

I had one recently exhorting people to stop misusing Facebook by the use of trivia, and get down to some real work by informing others about the coming apocalypse in 2012. I really don’t need the Mayan Prophecies to tell me that human beings on Earth are in a heap of shit.

The Mayan Prophecies is a typical example. Comes round again and again from various sources, most of them erroneous. The ‘prophecies’ themselves don’t exist, except in the minds of gullible truth seeking New Agers. Truth is, in terms of statistics, history and common sense, the prophecies are all wrong, not just that their primitive astronomy was out by thousands of years, or who were the Mayans anyway, but every human being born on earth has felt that they were born into a time of chaos and change, and it seems to be a weird trait of the species to hope for outside intervention to resolve problems. Depending on the religious source, this supposed ‘Cosmic Shift’ could be arriving in any number of directions, might be alien intervention, if only we could decode the crop circles in time to save us, or it might be Jesus, dropping in amidst clouds of glory.

….on the other hand, scientists suggest overwhelming change if humanity cannot resolve its relationship to the Earth in Being. You don’t need a prophet to tell you about climate change, the real question is, what can you, as an individual or as a family, do about it? The journey is always about personal transformation, learning how to live lightly on the earth, and doing it by choice, not because a god recommends it.

‘Spiritual life is more about PRACTICE than BELIEF. Unless backed by contribution in ACTION to society, words are meaningless’. (anon)

So if you’ve found the answer, I’m really pleased for you. Maybe your message of opening your heart to love with monotonic New Age music, can help 20 million people in Pakistan whose hearts are wide open, waiting in abject desperation for the love to come. I’m sure your simple philosophy will give some cheer to the thousands of human beings dying of cholera in Haiti.

It reminds me of something George Bush said a few years ago, that there’s no point in doing anything about climate change because jesus is coming. Similarly, I’ve heard it said that there’s little point in doing anything about world poverty because the Mayan Prophecies say the world is ending in 2012, or the aliens are coming to sort us out. All we need to do is tell people to open their hearts and the love will come. If it doesn’t, it’s your fault, you just weren’t ready and didn’t prepare yourself by opening your heart.

I’m hearing a lot recently about this ‘energy shift’ that is supposedly ‘coming’. It isn’t, and it’s entirely the wrong path. Examine it yourself, change has always been part of the explicit truth about life on earth, and though we can appear to be going through enormous changes in our lifetimes, it was always so.

A better, and hopefully more truthful way of seeing it is that more people on earth are feeling this than ever before. I love this, it means that more people than ever are conscious of the environment in which they live, more are changing the lives in order that the rest of the world can have a life in the first place……

It’s really fundamentalist thinking, the idea that all you need to do is believe this, and you’ll be saved. Genuine New Age philosophy is about personal change. Once you get the message, and feel the ‘energy shift’ , you’re supposed to seek your path, then get off your backside and start doing something to change your life, and thereby, benefit others.……..if all you have is words, you haven’t got it, you’re fooling yourself, and it’s your ego telling you that you have the answer……

This idea of, ‘just open your heart to All That Is’, is the usual soporific answer of the smug, graceless, selfish and complacent Western middle classes….just be patient, I’m sure things will get better for you, in the meantime I have a motor car, a fridge, I live in a 3 bedroom heated house, my kids have a bed to sleep in and have a school to go to, so what could be wrong with the world? Just stop moaning and open your heart to love mate, and you can have what I’ve got!

We are all wealthy people, living in one of the wealthiest countries on earth, we have more than our share of love already. The real ‘spiritual’ message is about giving up some love (sacrifice) in order that others may at least have a life. Instead of these short ‘sermons’, I would be more interested in real life examples/stories about how your belief has changed your personal approach to life? You never tell me about “the things which you do”, you only send me sermons, sometimes three, four or five times daily. Mostly, these sermons don’t exchange friendship. They tell me nothing about who you are……..

‘Belief’ is the realm of Religion, being Spiritual is a choice, you don’t have to believe in anything. Spiritual life is more about what you practice than what you believe……

How we interpret the world comes from personal experience, and cultural identity. What you believe to be the ‘truth’, may not be the truth. To live a spiritual life, one doesn’t have to believe in ‘god’. It’s wise to keep on open mind, especially where beliefs are concerned. Over a period of time, beliefs change. Beliefs belong to no one, and if we are to ever live in a peaceful world, all of us need to modify what we believe, both in the light of the belief of others, and new discoveries. The danger is in becoming attached to ideas, making them personal and unchangeable.

I appear to have digressed. What I really meant to say is that what I like about Facebook is the little click that lets you block someones messages without knocking them off your friends list, because, after all, a friend is still a friend even if they’re driving you mad with fundamentalist views. Mind, there are one or two (well, three actually) who have exited me from their lists simply because I’ve added comments that question their ‘beliefs’! I’m happy if you question mine, say what you like as long as you keep an open mind…..

Mosquito-B Saves the Day!

2010-10-07T14:14:00.003+01:00

Mosquito-Buzzes Lyme Regis!

Alternative headline would be: ‘Mosquito-B Saves the Day!”, because that’s what happened on Saturday night, 2nd October. This was the second visit by this truly legendary French Canadian outfit, and as the first time, way back in April, with Stackridge, they brought some Mosquito Magic with them. We figured that the first time we saw them last May, would be the last, that they would never pass this way again. That was before we knew about Dan Louis’ love for Lyme Regis, and even though he fears flying, he had to return to Lyme. On this second UK tour, they’re finding out of course, that the UK loves Mosquito-B, and they’re getting rave reviews wherever they appear.

At 5pm we were on the verge of cancelling the show. The main act for the night was ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Only Dartboard Band’, an excellent outfit, but unfortunately for us, sadly depleted. Due to a family crisis, the band was minus George (Harrison) and Paul (McCartney). Only members present were John (Lennon), Ringo, and Sgt. Pepper himself on keyboards. Worse than that, George and Paul had gone racing off to a hospital taking half the bands gear with them. That was the moment Mosquito-B stepped in. Next thing we saw at the soundcheck, is both bands playing the most brilliant Beatles rock n roll.

I really believe in this band, I listen to a lot of music and I’m hard to please, but there is something about the pure sound of this band that can be raw and incisive, yet remaining smooth and mellow. I think Dan Louis’ personality is a little like that, as a performer, one minute explosive and kicking, and then smiling benignly as he tells the stories behind the music from their new ‘Killing Mars’ album.

Was a proud moment for me to wear the TUSA shirt and be invited on stage with them as an ‘honorary astronaut’! Great to play some blues harmonica with a really tight band in which every member contributes to the rhythm section, Dan Louis’ pumping bass, Dom’s pneumatic drums, with Jeffs sharp guitar work. Irresistable! When Dan Louis exhorts the audience to ‘Get Up’, he really means it, and the whole room gets up and rocks. I’ve never seen a band sell so much product afterwards either. They were shifting their pressed in England vinyl album hand over fist.

If you want to know about the album ‘Killing Mars’, which will be a hit in Canada where they’re much more well known and have a large following, check out their website, and join their Facebook page. I’m writing this wearing my TUSA (Totally Unknown Space Agency) shirt, and looking forward to the Mars mission!
http://www.mosquito-b.com/

This band is really accomplished, and if they hadn’t been such brilliant musicians and all round good guys, we really would have had to cancel the show. The combination of Sgt. Peppers with Mosquito-B gave us a rockin’ gig which I feel personally was the best ‘Legends Return’ gig in the whole series. So thanks, you did us proud, and we’re fans forever.

Anyway, here is the video of Mosquito-B at the Woodmead Halls in Lyme Regis, including some footage of the band playing some Beatles tunes with Sgt. Peppers Only Dartboard Band, a classic night, you don’t get gigs as fine as this very often.

Mosquito-B in Lyme Regis

We’re hoping that they’ll be back next year already, and if they do make the trip, I’m offering to drive the van myself!

Early Start at the Rousden Boot

2010-07-25T20:00:00.002+01:00

A really early start for us this morning, up at 6am and this week, selling aswell as buying, and I'm pleased to say, we had a great morning. We don't sell very often, only when we've bought and watched so many DVD's that we can't move around the house safely for the stacks, so Mary was really pleased to sell out a whole big box!
But it's still the bargains we're after, and amidst the usual CD buying, a few other items fell happily into my possession, including a brand new sealed and boxed Blues Harmonica, key of C, it's the key I use most and is always the first to need replacing, so very pleased to pocket the harp for a quid.
Not much around today in the way of CD's, but here goes........
The Shangri-La's: Best Of. I don't usually buy 'best ofs', or 'greatest hits' albums, but this is such a great collection, I couldn't resist. Best track of course, 'Leader of the Pack', ('vroom vroom vroom').
T-Bone Walker: Stormy Monday. This great blues star is among the first to play the then newly invented, electric guitar, and stunned me out when I first heard it aged around 15, and buying records from the 'bargain bins' because I couldn't afford all the new releases, but thats how you get the blues.......
Electric Light Orchestra: Greatest Hits. Ditto above, but I've been searching for so long for the original albums on CD, and failed to find one as yet, that I gave in, mostly because it has 'Mr. Blue Sky', 'Telephone Line', and 'I Can't Get It Out of My Head'. Smooth stuff from ELO, lots of big time studio production, quite the opposite to my last one, coming up........
Lonnie Donegan: Rock Island Line. The Singles Anthology 1955-67. Lonnie is now, to paraphrase the words of one of his songs, long gone, and his influence on British music culture can't be over estimated. Was hearing Lonnie in 1955, that caused me to pick up the guitar in the first place. Being a bit of a 'purist' even then, at 11 years old, I was mor a fan of the Vipers and Chas McDevitt Skiffle Bands, but at the end of the day, Lonnie did it first, and that first single, the Rock Island Line, started a train rolling which changed the direction of British Popular muisc. But this is exceptional, a three disc set, comtaining pretty near every record Lonnie made, and designed to match the original releases with record labels, pictures and information. Of course, everyone knew that Lonnie was a bit 'music hall', rather than Rock 'n' Roll, and he went completely out of favour when later he started recording soft ballads like 'The Party's Over', but for a few short years between 1956 and 1961, Lonnie was the king.
So that's it for this week, we're selling next week again, so find our stall and have a chat and cup of tea with us!

Back to the Boot!

2010-07-20T14:03:00.005+01:00

I've really missed these mornings at the Rousden car boot sale, for the past 3 weeks we've been busy with the auditions for Lyme's Got Talent at Woodmead Halls, and though it's been fun and really enjoyable, hauling PA Systems about at 8.30am on a Sunday morning is not half as enjoyable as rooting in other peoples rubbish!
Wasn't a 'big boot' this week, I presume the weather must have put people off, but there were bargains to be had, and besides the usual crop of CD's, I also found some mic and guitar leads, brand new and packaged, for a fiver. Also found some lovely Tibetan Buddhist wall plaques, painted metal, one of them being a 'wrathful entity', the Mahakala, which I'm going to fix to my front door to chase away evil spirits! (Mormons. Jehovahs Witnesses, anyone I don't know wearing a tie....)
Anyway, on to the real business of the day, increasing my CD collection!:
Sarva-Antah: Mantras from Tibet. A brilliant addition to my daily yoga music. A half hour stretch, followed by a sitting meditation, best thing there is for clearing the mind and creating crop circles in the head. Only two chants on this wonderful CD, one of them plays for 55 minutes!
Sarah McLachlan: Touch. Canadian singer/songwriter, famed for emotional ballads and the range of her voice. I think I first heard her on a Bob Harris show a few years ago.
Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan. The stunning first album by Bob Dylan, and he looks so young on the cover! Some classy songs on this one, showing Dylan at the beginning of his career, and signs of the laconic delivery that later became his trade mark. At this time, he was the darling of the radical folk movements, something which he would overturn with a devastating electric performance at the Newport Folk Fest, only a couple of years later.
Mark Knopfler: Sailing to Philadelphia. I'm a big fan of Dire Straits, going all the way back to the days I lived in Deptford, SE8, but I bought this mainly for the title track, a duet between Mark and James Taylor (Sweet Baby James, You Got a Friend etc). I was a schoolteacher at the time I lived in Deptford, living on the Crossfield Estate, off Deptford Church Street, I had a primitive recording studio in our flat. I remember this really tall guy at my door (circa 1976), who I later recognised as John Ilsley, with this bulky metal tape box under his arm, asking if I could do some copies for him, I couldn't, but I intro'd him to John Dodds who worked at Jeff Beck's Underhill Studio in the Old Kent Road, who eventually sorted it all out. I'm pretty sure in retrospect that it was the 'demo' that made them famous within a year. I remember too, playing gigs at the Oxford Arms, where Mark Knopfler was rumoured to be playing dominoes in the back bar, the landlord knew me as George, and we played with a (literally!) down and out barrelhouse piano player we only knew as 'Harry', believe it if you want,........
White Noise: An Electric Storm. The stuff of legends, and what a find! The genius behind this rare and totally groundbreaking album was a character called David Vorhaus, a musician who had interests in electronic music. It was a secret at the time, revealed since, but the album was made at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, where worked the truly legendary Delia Derbyshire, who very few people have heard of, but everyone knows her work. Among other projects, she created the original Doctor Who theme tune. My head is still reeling after hearing 'Black Mass An Electric Storm in Hell' for the first time in about 30 years! Best Track? The first one, 'Love Without Sound'.
David Gilmour: On An Island. The astoundingly successful guitarist of Pink Floyd, with an impressive number of solo albums to his credit. This one isn't just an album, it's beautifully presented, not in a plastic box, but a blue CD size booklet with the disc on the back page. An excellent range of harmonic music, vocals and instrumentals.
That's it for this week, six great albums, in new and pristine condition, difficult to say which is the 'Choice of the Week', but this lot only cost £1 each.......

The Sunday Boot.

2010-05-23T14:32:00.004+01:00

Been three weeks since we went to a Car Boot, but at the crack of dawn this morning, well, 8am if that counts as cracking, off we trundled to Rousden in the excellent company of Mike Finch, a blazing sunny morning, already t-shirt hot, biggest boot I've seen for a very long time, stalls all the way up the field, and most of Lyme out and about for this most glorious of social occasions. And were there bargains to be had? I could have come home loaded down, but I stuck with the £20 maximum in my pocket, and got stuck in to the picking and choosing. First item I found was a nice pair of Panasonic Headphones, running a small home recording studio, I'm always looking for these, and I never seem to have enough sets to go round musicians when we're working. I also found another flight case, so there's my obsession with boxing things coming through again. Do I need another flight case, who knows, I'm sure I'll find another lot of leads and cables to fill it. But the best of the boot is always the CD's, and fabulous new additions to my collection, all of these I got for £1 each or less, so here it is:
Ry Cooder: Why Don't You Try Me Tonight. A best of collection for sure, and laden with real Ry classics, including 'Crazy 'Bout an Automobile, and full of the stunningly exclusive guitar work Ry Cooder is famous for.
The Dubliners: Seven Drunken Nights. Now I am not a fan of drunken Irish music, except when it's played live and loud, but this one has several songs I remember from my drunken youth in the pubs and folk clubs of Middlesbrough Teesside, songs like 'All For Me Grog', 'Black Velvet Band', 'Whiskey in the Jar', among others.
The Seekers: The Very Best Of. A Double CD, and nostalgia from the same era really, it was around this time that I first picked up a guitar, and these acoustic songs were easy to play, besides which, I was hopelessly in love with Judith Durham, the exceptional jazz singer who sang these folksy songs.
Fairport Convention: What We Did On Our Holiday. An early album, perhaps even the first (?), by this eclectic borderless everlasting band, and featuring Sandy Denny, Richard Thomson, and Ashley Hutchins, who later moved on to form the Albion Band. The song I'll play over and over again, and recommend to Mary's iPod is 'Meet on the Ledge'.
Miles Davis: The Best Of. I generally prefer original albums to 'best of' collections, and I can't deny, this one has some tracks from 'Kinda Blue', including 'So What', but the rest of it was work I've never heard before, and will wait until one late night when I'm in that jazzy mood, great way to let go at the end of the day.
Dave Van Ronk: The Folkways Years. Put your hand up now if you ever heard of this guy! Not surprising if you haven't. His career begins around the same time, same era as Bob Dylan, in fact there are those who might say that Van Ronk did all the groundwork, and Dylan got the fame. American folk blues, with some great finger picking guitar work. Would never have expected to find this at a boot sale!
Steve Winwood: Back in the High Life. An artist with a long track record of producing great music. I bought this one for the title track, a song which I hope Mary and me can sing together.
Dolly Parton: Halos & Horns. I got this one for Mary, she loves bluegrass, and this is a later album by Dolly, now she has returned to her bluegrass roots. Featurs some great pics of Dolly too.
Well, that would have been it, except I cheated a bit. On Saturday, I was in Bridport, market day etc, and just happened to be perusing my favourite record stall, when I came across a real rarity, an album that I've been seeking for years and years, and then some more.....
Dino Valente: Dino Valente. The only album he ever made, more famous for being the singer with the Quicksilver Messenger Service, and for songs that became much more famous by other people, Dino is an enigma, a true mystery man of rock music. The album and sentiments are pure hippy dreamer, but some have stuck in my memory for more than 40 years. Valentes haunting vocals, and self accompanied with booming echoed 12 string guitar, overlaid by delicate guitar solos, just about takes the breath away. Finding this is like reaching a peak, I've thought before that it might be the most rememberable record I ever heard, and I might even stop collecting CD's.........
Jeff Wayne: War of the Worlds. When I had the vynil version, I played one particular side of it till the groove ran smooth, and as soon as I identify the side on this Double CD, I'll probably continue in the same vein, or groove.

STACKRIDGE.......and MOSQUITO-B...

2010-05-02T12:19:00.002+01:00

This gig was truly 'Legendary', and lived up in every way to our overall title of the Legends Return. I'm personally never going to forget the visit of the most excellent Mosquito-B, and the wonderful contribution they made to the success of this show.
Right from the start we knew it was going to be a great night, even the soundcheck turned out to be a pre-performance performance as Mosquito-B played the Korgis hit, 'Everyones Got to Learn Sometime', not realising that they were in the presence of their influential heroes. At the back of the hall, Stackridge applauded and shouted out that they had to put the song in their set!
From the moment Mosquito-B hit the stage, the magic of the night started to flow. This band is heart and soul rock 'n' roll, and to hear this totally British sound coming out of these three French Canadians blew the room away, everyone swarmed out of the bar area to be part of the magic. And what a variety, everyhing from brilliant covers to songs from their very own 'Killing Mars' album. They over-ran their alloted time by 15 minutes, but no one wanted to stop them, and ending the show with Frank Sinatra, and 'Video Killed the Radio Star', I tell you, Mosquito-B is going to be ringing in my ears for a long time to come. When 'Killing Mars' is released, I'm buying it, even if I have to go to Canada to collect it myself!
Was only a short interval before the mighty Stackridge powered up the audience to the next level, in a room already high on energy. If any band could claim to be Legends of Rock, it's Stackridge, an eight peice band performing songs from every stage of their prodigious songbook, including one song they hadn't featured since 1969, and work from their new album 'A Victory for Common Sense', sounding as fresh and enthusiastic as they were then. These guys do not rest on their laurels, and performing to an audience of die-hard Stackridge fans, they proved that their sound never dates, and rock music performed as superlatively as this can live forever.
Must have been near 11.45 before the music stopped, and the audience was still hanging around chatting with the bands after 12.30.
Thanks of course to the Woodmead team who had a busy night behind the bar!
Next up is Larry Miller and his Sensational Rock Blues Band on Saturday 15th May. Larry is an expert at winding up an audience, and besides being among the top guitar players in the UK, is a born entertainer.
Legendary nights of pure rock 'n' roll at its best, can't be beat, and we are laready making plans for Mosquito-B to return on a much bigger tour later this year, so, against the odds, you might get to see this fabulous French Canadian band again, so there you go Dan, you're a hit already in the UK, you gotta get over your fear of flying!

More Bargains at the Boot!

2010-04-25T11:47:00.005+01:00

Often when we get home and compare notes, its as much a question of who did you meet, as much as what did you buy. Did as much chatting as looking at stalls this morning, but as always, managed to find my share of the bargains on offer. Found another nice little chess set for £1, travellers chess, only small, wooden peices with pegs in an inlaid wooden box. Very sixties, reminded me of my first chess set, brand new, still with instructions under the lid, which has a hinge and clasp. I like boxes, don't know why, never examined the psychological reasoning, just all kinds of boxes, so I bought a yellow Flight Case, again brand new, for £2.50. Great for gigs, plugs and leads etc.
Had a field day (the boot is in a field) when it came to CD's, I bought 12 in total, all on my wishlist, and all for 50p each!
Best of British Folk: Too many goodies on this, including Richard Digance who caused me a few embarassing moments here in Lyme a couple of years ago. And the Humblebums! Does anyone remember who they are? Was a duo, and both gained their own individual fame in the following years. A track from Gordon Giltrap who got me my first real guitar in 1975. Its a Fylde, a bit battered now, but I still have it, and it plays better than ever.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Into the Great Wide Open. Am I ever a fan of this mans music? Oh Yes! Best track, 'I'm Learning to Fly, was the first on the deck this afternoon.
Jean Michel Jarre: Revolutions. There was a stack of his albums, obviously someones entire collection, but I contented myself with this one, more for the title than anything.
Nina Simone: The Great Nina Simone. Loads of her best work, including some of her show songs, like 'Porgy and Bess', hits like 'Aint Got No- I got Life', and a live version of 'Young Gifted and Black'. Not something I would play every day, but its time will surely come.
Jacques Loussier Trio: Baroque Favourites: This outfit gained fame originally for their jazz versions of Bach, this is a later work, mostly classics, and especially, the wonderful rendition of Johann Pachelbel's 'Canon in D Minor'. Real headspace music, bliss....
Steve Forbert: Alive on Arrival. Would be pushed to find anyone who remembers Steve Forbert these days. He made a comeback album a couple of years ago, sounding older and more experienced, but this is his first album. Heartfelt voice, a lot of white soul.
Bob Newhart: Anthology. American comedy at its best. I've heard all these 'audio sketches' before, they date back to the mid 50's, and while they still encapsulate that time, they haven't dated too much. The 'Driving Instructor' and 'Introducing Tobacco to Civilisation' are true pearls and the full on irony of Bob Newhart will live forever, or as it says in the sleeve notes: 'a universe of irony with a small planet of bitterness'. A double CD, brand new and unplayed!
Stanley Holloway: The Best Of. I hope these wonderfully British monologues are never forgotten. If you remember these, you're at least as old as me! I got quite a reputation for reading these at North East folk clubs before I finally left the area in 1971, and I can still remember some of them by heart. 'Albert and the Lion', 'Three Ha'pence a Foot', 'Marksman Sam', classic humour, and a worthy addition to my collection, which I would never have expected to find on a CD. Might give it to my Mum eventually, she would love it. I'm just wondering (to myself), if David Manners would let me do one at the next RBL Festival of Remembrance in Lyme!
Leonard Cohen: Ten New Songs. Yeah, I know I bought a 'Best Of' last week, but this is newer stuff, it's his 2001 album, star song and big hit, 'In My Secret Life'.
John Lennon: Mind Games. Not half as brilliant as his first solo album, which I've yet to find on CD, but great songs, and John Lennon, a great man, and a great mind. Loads of drawings/pics/info that wasn't on the original vynil album. I'm a long time fan of Lennons work, and this one will be played to perdition.
Ralph McTell: Spiral Staircase. I had this album in my student collection, and I think I bought it for the title track. A truly fine guitar player, with an excellent cache of songs. This was the album that first settled his prodigious public reputation. I have to say however, that in later years, I heard so many bad versions of 'Streets of London' in folk clubs, that I added it to my death list!
Eric Burdon of the Animals: House of the Rising Sun. I don't know yet if these are the original tracks by the Animals, its still sealed in its wrapper, but all the hits are there, including the rare 'Tobacco Road'.
So thats it, this weeks insight into the mind of Nomad. But music is more than that, more than nostalgia and memories, its about who you are and where you've been, how much you've changed, and to some extent, who you are now. Thanks for comments!

Nomads Bargain of the Week!

2010-04-18T12:35:00.002+01:00

Really pleased that the Car Boot Sale is back at Rousden. Me and Mary are Boot fanatics, so much so that we've been travelling to Yeovil during the Winter, courtesy of Mike Finch. The Rousdedn Boot is the the social event of the week here in Lyme, and was good to meet so many friends this morning. I never go with the express idea of buying anything, and we both have different search items on the agenda. Mary seeks out clothes and DVD's, while my interest is gadgetry and CD's. It's a cheap morning out and aside from a burger and a black coffee, we don't spend much. Today was no different, but found a very nice chessboard and peices, all intact, wooden box etc, for £3! I was just about finished and about to stroll back to the motor when I found a whole stack of excellent CD's, all for around a £1 each, and in great condition. I used to think that you could get an insight into someones personality from their record collection, so if you want an insight into mine, heres a list of this mornings haul:
Ry Cooder: Bop Till You Drop. Fabulous guitar album from the master of slide guitar and movie theme tunes!
John Martyn: The Church with One Bell. Gotta be among the best acoustic players this country ever produced. Irresistable.
Randy Newman: Lonely at the Top. He writes these strange little songs, all with a moral or political sting in the tail, it's playing right now, hadn't heard it for years, was spinning on the deck the moment I got home.
Page & Plant: Walking into Clarksdale. I've seen this CD turning over quite expensively on eBay, was over the moon to get it for a quid. Reminds me we have 'Whole Lotta Led' booked for the Legends Return series at Woodmead, and if you can't have the real Led Zep, I don't mind follow ups or the best of imitations.
John Fogerty: The Long Road Home. A mix of great Creedence Clearwater songs, with a sprinkling of Fogertys solo work. Best played loud in headphones for full effect.
Leonard Cohen: Greatest Hits. OK, I know it's only a hits album, but all the old favourites are there, including my favourite Cohen song, 'Famous Blue Raincoat'.
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue. A real classic that I've been looking for for ages. Been thinking of it since Mark Foxhall Band played 'So What' at the first Legends gig.
ZZ Top: Eliminator. Classic, I'm saving this for a party night at home.
Melanie: 20 Greatest Hits. A great star of the SixtiesHer version of 'Ruby Tuesday' is better than the Stones original. Does anyone still remember her? She is in the UK this year, probably her last ever British Tour. We had an opportunity to book her for Woodmead, but she was just a little too expensive for us.
The New Bushbury Mountain Daredevils: Urban Hill Hillbilly. An unknown quantity this one, but I'll give it a whirl, and Mary loves those ringing American banjo's.
Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde. I already got this one, but I couldn't leave it there, and you've guessed it, i'm re-creating my vinyl collection in CD's. I might be old fashioned, but I don't do internet downloads, and I like to play the whole record.
So that it, a mornings stroll, now down to some serious Sunday work, which has to include some sitting on the porch, such a beautiful day here.

LEGENDS RETURN: PAUL LAMB & THE KINGSNAKES

2010-04-06T00:32:00.002+01:00

No doubts, the first show in our series was brilliant, a total out and out success, and from the moment the Mark Foxhall Band opened the show, we knew it was a great night. The room rocked from the start. Interesting, to see Mark playing with a completely different outfit, and a different sound we've heard from him at other gigs. This was cool jazz to beat the coolest. Into Miles Davis within seconds of hitting the stage, and the band gave it all they had. An illustrious band too, including Fat Marrow Blues Band harp man, Richie Harmsol, and none other than Richard Steward, the ultra cool Headmaster of Woodroffe School. Thet played almost 15 minutes over their allotted 40, but no one had the heart to stop them.

From the moment Mer announced them, Paul Lamb had the audience on their feet. Opening with Ryan Lamb, son of Paul on guitar, followed by the rest of the band, grins all round, close ups on the camera, was like a non stop roller coaster till the end of the first spot.

Drama at the Guildhall!

2010-03-25T16:15:00.007Z

And what about Cllr Darryl Turners dramatic return to the Council Chamber last week (Weds 17th March). Right from his opening statement, he gave his thoughts and feelings full throttle, no punches pulled and no holding back! Significant that most of the council kept their heads bowed in silence, not wanting to be the subject of his gaze as he took one member after another to task. One or two councillors, notably Sally Homan, came out of it relatively unscathed, most of the brunt being borne by Mayor Michaela Ellis, who was visibly shaken by his tirade, and causing Owen Lovell to withdraw his nomination to the Three Cups Council group. A couple of weeks previously, at the Youth Provision, Cllr Turner was heard muttering loudly under his breath that he had to get back on the Council, so it was no surprise to me when he stood in the recent election, What was surprising is that no other citizens stood against him, giving him an open road back to the council Chamber. Darryl is now representing Lyme on both the District Council, and Lyme Regis Town Council, significant then that prior to the meeting, Ken Gollop was heard to shout out that he couldn't serve two masters, which was in effect, the reason he stood down from the Council in the first place. What changed his mind? See his public statement for yourself, it's all on our CivicTV Channel at LymeRegisTV, find it here:
http://www.livestream.com/civicchannel

The Terminator

2009-11-10T23:23:00.005Z

The recent and continuing controversies around file sharing, bit torrents, illegal downloading and the like present a genuine dilemma, a story that won't rest until the 'culprits' are castigated and excluded from the fraternity of the internet, when the reality is that every story has two sides. I have a particular dislike of the very ugly public service thing that seems to precede the movie on every DVD I buy. You know the one I mean, loud pacey music, sharp angle cutting, slick filming, that equates stealing someones handbag with copying a movie from the net, or buying an 'illegal' DVD. It doesn't equate at all, truth is that if the internet offers the option of getting something free, then that's the option people will choose.

The battle lines for these discussions were drawn around 40 years ago when recordable cassettes were released to the market, along with cassette recording machines that could copy from the radio, and from recently released albums. Like most, I rarely use cassettes these days, but still have many in my possession going back to 1968 when the first cassette recorders and blank tapes become available. Even up to 10 years ago, I was still taping from the radio.

Sometime in the early seventies I can remember seeing a headline in the music trade journal, Music Week that stated ominously, in big black capital letters, 'THE DEATH OF MUSIC'. I recognised immediately that music was not going to die, you can't kill music any more than you can kill death itself, and though the music 'industry' was about to enter a long phase of terminal change, music itself would live forever. It's probably true that the last great burst of the recording industry reached its peak in the late sixties, and had already completed its 'peak of the art' phase by the mid seventies. After this point, the self taping revolution was already dealing out its death blows to the beleaguered music industry, and by the mid eighties when CD's started to become available, it wasn't long before the recordable CD hit the global market. By the nineties, the internet was already ascendant, and from then on the days of the music industry, along with many other industries, were truly numbered.

These day we have memory sticks, iPods, external hard drives, mobile phones, plus another hundred methods of storing every music track, or entire movie you ever wanted to hear, and the British music industry has disappeared altogether.

Maybe the speedy rise of the internet took everyone by surprise. Suddenly this new entity took control before anyone had time or opportunity to build rules around it. Some say that the lawless nature of it is a good thing, and eventually all musicians/writers/artists have to accept and learn how to deal with it in a new way, and on its own terms, but that direction is driven mostly by the desire for freebies. The problem is that its everyone who wants freebies, and the internet has become the Terminator of everything, from industry to solo enterprise and individual creative effort.

2009-10-11T00:33:00.003+01:00

To Friends/Members/Crew/Contributors/ArtsFest. THANKYOU! I would like to offer my own personal thanks to everyone who took part in creating this very special event. To Christine Allison and her team who organised it all so brilliantly. To cope with a total of 60 artists, all with different needs, plus all the myriad other events surrounding ArtsFest, is a garantuan task. For local artists, £50 all in to have pictures on display in the Baptist Church Hall, the Town Mill ,town shops, and have publicity in a glossy brochure, is fantastic value, so it isn't surprising that more artisits take part every year. Add to that Open Studios and workshops, and it's easy to see how this event drew the imagination of the whole Lyme community. I also apologise profoundly to the hanging team at the Town Mill for the wet red paint on my contribution, and I promise that next year my pictures will all be completely dry.

My own event, 'Thought...for a moment' at the Town Mill, might have said 'Nomad' above the door, but it was very much a collective effort from the ComMA group, and I couldn't have done it without the special input of these friends. In no particular order, thanks to Emily Blech, local young talented musician/singer/songwriter/actor who gave us some great film footage, sang and spoke on the 'Rave' track, and (completely unrehearsed!) did the Rooftop scene with me. Simon 'The Beard' Leach who played 12 string guitar, Mary Ball who sang with me, Jon Hallet and his drum skills, and Bill McCallum who provided film inspiration and handled the Camcorder on the night. This was really an experimental trial run and I expected the techie stuff to fall to bits all the way through, but in the end, it held together, and with a great audience, we got through it. An edit of it will shortly be appearing on the MusicTV Channel of LymeRegisTV. Having had the experience, we are already considering doing something similar next year, in a larger venue, with audience particiation, and a lot of coloured light.

The real ComMA event was Friday Night Live at the Town Mill, which did indeed turn out to be an ArtsFest Special. Sally Holman dropped by and chatted about the early days of ArtsFest and its development, desperately trying to keep yours truly strictly on the subject of ArtsFest, but I always have so much to talk about with Sally, and don't see her often enough! Lucy Daniel Raby, local auther and writer of Nicholai of the North talked also about ArtsFest, writing workshops, and her forthcoming Christmas production at the Marine Theatre. We did those interviews early because Lucy and Sally had other commitments, but we'd just put Julian Shaw, singer songwriter and a regular favourite on Friday Night Live on the stage, when suddenly the room filled with people, including Jill Raines, one of the Bermuda artisis in town this week. So with the assistance of some Lancashire lads and lasses, a good time was had by all. Seems also a good time to let you know that Lyme Live returns on 12th October, in its new guise as Monday Night Live at the Woodmead Halls, and thereafter, every second Monday in the month, with a Quiz Night in December. Thanks also for all the welcome feedback on my Dream paintings at the Baptist Church Hall, and at the Town Mill.
Best Wishes,
Nomad

British Telecom & Alices Restaurant

2009-04-20T02:44:00.003+01:00

First, I must apologise for being absent from my blog for so long. For the past several months, we’ve been occupied with house moving, and though I can’t say it was tough, I can’t say it’s easy to move after 12 years in the same central Lyme flat. Now we’ve moved and settled in, the dust is clearing, both from our possessions and our minds, and we are now ready to face another great year in Lyme Regis. We spent most of January clearing up our lives, and moved at the beginning of February. Only dark spot in the whole thing was British Telecom, who failed to read our instructions and left us disconnected from the world until almost the end of the month. As you can understand, this has meant a delay both in creating programmes and uploading them to the site, I got so mad during it, I wrote this diatribe to BT, which I already circulated pretty widely by email, so you might as well enjoy the benefit also…

British Telecom(A Parody by Nomad, with apologies to Arlo Guthrie and ‘Alices Restaurant’)
This song is called Mary’s New Home, and it's about Mary, and her new home, but Mary’s New Home is not the name of Mary’s new home, it's the name of the song, and that's why I called this song Mary’s New Home.

You can get anything you want at British Telecom.

Phone ‘em up they’re in Bangalore,

Twenty thousand miles from your new front door.

You can get anything you want at British Telecom.

Now it all started two months ago it's on two months ago at Christmas when my friend Mary got the news that she could move into her new home, which happens to be just around the corner from the place she lives in now with her partner Nomad and a highly trained vicious Ninja killer parrot known as Bubble. After visiting the new place, she decided that the move would happen at the end of January. Being as she was leaving the old place, and seeing as it was close by, she decided to take her phone number with her and phoned BT who said on their website, ring this number and have your phone put in at your new address, including Broadband connection. Just phone 0800 800 150, and one call does it all. Took us awhile to get through, and we had a lot of fun getting the right Press One, or Press Two, Three, and even Four, until finally getting a text message saying your phone will be connected on your moving day. Afer having an Indian Dinner that couldn’t be beat, we went to bed tired but happy and didn’t get up until the following morning. Well moving day came round, and using a pick up truck, two estate cars and a saloon car, we loaded 127 cardboard boxes, furniture, clothes, computers and a washing machine, and each vehicle making 3 trips, we set off making the whole move by 3.30pm in the afternoon. Was a nice day, the sun shone, and we opened a bottle of wine and toasted the weather after everything was moved. After having an Indian Dinner that couldn’t be beat, we went to bed tired but happy and didn’t get up until the following morning

But that’s not what I came to tell you about. I came to talk about BT…… We picked up the phone and sure enough there was a dialling tone, so we waited for BT to connect the Broadband, and for the phone to ring. Mary noticed, (remember Mary? It’s a song about Mary), that no one was phoning her, which isn’t usual, Mary being a very popular person, having a job and all and a lot of friends. I picked up the phone, dialed 0800 800 150, and fixing on the nature of my enquiry, pressed 2. After pressing two, I had to press 1, 2, 3 or 4. I pressed 2, and then had to tap in the full phone number, which I did when a nice lady with a Scots voice said, “I am sorry, I can’t find any information about this number”, and hung up. I was hung up about this, and dialled again, pressing two for the nature of my enquiry, and this time pressing 3. A nice man with an Indian accent asked how he could help me. After getting all the details down, the guy, in Indian guy, speaking in a French accent to an English person, said…..”Are you satisfied sir with my service to you, the way I’ve dealt with your query?”....and I proceeded to tell him the story of the 127 cardboard boxes, the furniture, clothes, computers and washing machine, adding the pick up truck, two estate cars and a saloon, and reminded him that Mary still didn’t have a phone connection, or internet, but that he had been very polite and very helpful. He smiled all the way from India and told me, with triumph in his voices that the phone would be on in 3 working days. I reminded him that that’s exactly what the last operator said, and he said no worries this time, this is all in hand and now in progress. I accepted his reply, and feeling hung up, I hung up.

3 working days later, and still not having the phone connected, I called Mary’s number and a nice English lady informed me that I had dialled incorrectly and should try again. Understanding immediately that the phone was still not connected I phoned BT again at 0800 800 150. The nice Scottish lady answered the phone and said, depending on your enquiry, press one or two, and when that is done, depending on the nature of your enquiry, press 1, 2, 3, or 4. I pressed Three and waited for a while until a man with a nice Indian accent called Akit asked how he could help me. I proceeded to tell him the story of the 127 cardboard boxes, the furniture, clothes, computers and washing machine, including the pick up truck, two estate cars and a saloon, each making 3 trips in all, and he said, very good sir but how can I help you. I proceeded to tell him the story of my 7 previous calls to BT, the buttons I pressed, and how long it took and that Mary’s phone was still not connected, and he said, “Sir, your phone IS connected”. I told him it wasn’t, and I tried to phone it and it didn’t ring, and he said “Sir! Stop it right there!”, and said “Sir, we have given you a new number!”……I proceeded to tell him the story about how Mary was only moving round the corner, and reminded him that the number, don’t forget the number, it’s coming round again, 0800 800 150 would move the phone number and Broadband all in one go, and seeing as it was just around the corner, a new number wasn’t necessary. He told me that wheels were already in motion, and in 5 working days, Marys phone would be active with her original phone number.

I reminded him that I was told that 3 days ago, and the 3 days before that, and time seemed to be increasing instead of decreasing, and I couldn’t help it, I began to raise my voice a little, telling him that he didn’t seem to be listening to my problem, he told me then that I was not listening to his helpful advice, and that the answer was always 3 to 5 working days. I asked him to repeat back to me what my phone number was and what new address it should be connected to…and I realized I was listening to a stock question, asked at the end of each enquiry, in order to convince the caller that their problem was being dealt with, and that the answer to any question is always 3 working days. So, next time you call BT at 0800 800 150, see if YOU can find which button to press if all you want to hear is that the answer is always 3 working days. 3 days later and Mary still not connected, and the realization dawning that I was gonna have to go through the entire process again, I figured I needed some therapy, and called my psychiatrist. I was hungdown brungdown hungup and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things, realizing I was never gonna get a phone or broadband, and I was stuck in the desperate cycle of phoning every 3 working days. And I walked in and sat down and said, “ Shrink, I wanna kill! I wanna I wanna kill.Kill. I wanna I wanna rip out telephone wires, I wanna tear BT phone operatives apart. I mean kill, kill,KILL,KILL." and I started jumpin’ up and down yelling KILL KILL, and he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling "KILL KILL",

When I went home, sat down and dialled 0800 800 150, I was good and ready and fired up. And I pressed 1’s 2’s and 3’,s until finally I was ear to ear with another BT operative somewhere very far away. Putting on my meanest most sinister voice I uttered quietly, “I’m recording this call for therapy purposes”, and then laid out the entire story of Mary’s New House, with three part harmony, full orchestration and feeling. Now friends, there was only one or two things the BT operative could’ve said and the first was he could have given us a medal for being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and we didn't expect it , and the other thing was he could have said Mary’s phone would be connected in 3 to 5 working days, which is what we expected, but there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, “Sir, you have the wrong department, I am transferring you now”, I shouted out in pain and frustration, “I wanna make a complaint, and suddenly, everything went quiet in India, until Mozart came on the line, followed by what appeared to be the BT psychiatrist, saying, “How can I help you Sir”. In tears of despair, I told him the entire story, and he said, “Don’t worry Sir, I am writing down everything you say, I will put it in writing and send it to the Complaints Dept, you will receive a copy by email. “I HAVE NO PHONE OR BROADBAND SO HOW WILL I SEE WHAT YOU SEND ME!! “No problem Sir, Mary’s phone will be connected for certain in 3 to 5 working days”.
And that’s how it stands at present. Mary, (remember Mary? It’s a song about Mary) is still not connected. and the only reason I'm singing you this song now is cause you may knowsomebody in a similar situation, or, you may be in a similar situation, and if you’re in a situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's call BT wherever you are on 0800 800 150 and say, “You can get anything you want, at British Telecom, and hang up. You know, if one person, just one person does it, it might ring bells. And three people , three people, can you imagine, three people calling 0800 800 150, singing a bar of British Telecom, and asking if Mary’s phone is connected yet, they might think it’s an organization and start getting their act together. And can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day calling 0800 800 150, singing a bar of British Telecom, and asking if Mary’s phone is online yet, friends they may thinks it's a movement. And that's what it is, the British Telecom Mary’s Phone Movement, and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it comes around on the guitar. With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and sing it when it does. Here it comes.
You can get anything you want, at British Telecom.
(excepting phone calls)
You can get anything you want, at British Telecom.
Phone ‘em up, they’re in Bangalore,
Twenty thousand miles from your new front door
You can get anything you want, at British Telecom,
(excepting broadband)
at British Telecom………..

I can now tell you that we are finally online and rolling towards a great year on LymeRegisRadio, with many changes to tell you about........

Tesco in Lyme Regis?

2008-10-23T02:17:00.004+01:00

Tesco in Lyme?
Expressing any opinion about this in Lyme right now is tantamount to suicide. Feelings on the question of the impending arrival of the retail giant are running very high. I don’t think that even the two years upheaval of our seafront caused this much controversy, to the point where it’s the only talking point wherever you go.
But opinions vary, depending on which cross section of Lyme society you’re talking to. When we made our video last week, we interviewed local traders, mostly shops close to the epicentre, but we’ve already been asked if we might ‘redress the balance’ by pointing the camera at shoppers.
At the Lyme Traders Association meeting tonight, you could have cut the air with a Tesco plastic bag. The accent of the discussion was about what happens when a giant like Tesco drops onto a small town. Local Traders suggest that Tesco will kill all the shops, invite other ‘big name’ competitors into Lyme, change the face of Lyme forever, etc, etc. Colin Willis chaired the meeting as best he could amongst a plethora of actions and ideas, almost begging them to calm down and look seriously at the options available, announcing the alternative consequences of a large retail area being empty, like the Three Cups. Meanwhile, propositions of campaigns being announced, sticking up posters, canvassing the town, hate Tesco till they go away, organising meetings, canvassing the populace, demonstrating outside the store, boycotting, with the main theme of Stop Tesco Coming to Lyme, and personally I think its all rhetoric.

No doubt at all that it’s a thorny subject. We all feel for those who might lose their jobs, or lose their livelihood, but these are changing times, and as Marcus Dixon so subtly put it, the way people shop is changing, more shopping is done on the internet, the real question arises within the community, and it’s uncertain as yet that the community of Lyme Regis don’t want Tesco. There is also the view that the biggest loss to the town is Woolworths, or that Woolworths merely decimates a different area of local business than Tesco. In the main, Tesco hits the food shops. Pip Evans commented that having visited a nearby Tesco Express, he found no fresh fish on sale, a remark directed, not too subtly, at Simon Bennett, local wet fish man, who with Franny Owen, is the loudest and most outspoken. In fact, the meeting wasn’t well supported by traders, might seem clear that those shops whose trade is unlikely to suffer, didn’t attend. I can hear already the cry of the few that Tesco will damage everyone, damage the town permanently, destroy Lyme’s retail individuality, but, is that really true? It represents a flawed belief that visitors only come here for the shops. It isn’t true! None of us, visitors or residents, are here because the shops are great. In fact, most of us are complaining that we can’t get our staple foods in Lyme. In the Summer the tourists empty the Co-op while residents are at work, and other food shops are either too expensive, or too specialist for daily needs. From that point of view, if Tesco is going to fill that need, I’m all for it. Also, I don’t have a motor car, and I can avoid a twice weekly trip to either Axminster or Bridport. A lot of elderly residents are in a similar situation, having to make a 14 mile round trek to do a little shopping.

The reason people come here, (and including via ancestry, those born here), visit this place, open businesses here, live here, paint pictures, make movies and write books here......, has a lot to do with that big blue thing that borders the southern edge of the town.

Lyme Regis and the Art of Being......

2008-05-28T03:30:00.003+01:00

Thanks to all who participated for Dorset Art Week, Lyme ArtsFest, and all the other myriad lifesavers that occur like magic in Lyme Regis all the year round. We're always on the lookout for colourful events and colourful people who sound good in my favourite media: audio! I know its easy to get the impression that we're moving on to TV and Video, but don't be fooled, I'm a Radio man to the core, and we are forever radio.

There are some events however that work on both an audio and a visual level, and Hugh Dunford Woods Sculpture Garden was just such an occasion. I so enjoyed drifting around the garden with my little Camcorder finding sparkling little surprises of feeling everywhere I looked. Even without the sculpture, this is a garden with deep feelings, and the wood, on its own account, is quite magical. I was particularly drawn to the arrangement of work surrounding the pond, the little boy peering into the water, the shell overlooking, but then going into the wood, I find a man with a dog on his head, and I'm stunned! I was struck, almost literally, by the face, accepting of the dog, and kind of recognising its right to be there, on his head. I understood a lot more after I heard Mary talking to the artist when I edited the recording. Reminds me very much of my relationship with our parrot, she can get very stroppy and in fighting mode when denied the RIGHT of a shoulder.

But all that was before I was chatting with Lucy Campbell, and Adrian Gray turned up and said he was just about to do a spot of Stone Balancing (This was after a conversation with Lucy about our mealy mouthed council wasting its own time by debating whether they can claim another measly hundred quid out of an artist that is a genuine asset to this town, I'll say no more, fearing that people will think I'm occupying Matt Puddy's ground). What I saw Adrian Gray do was nothing short of miraculous. How does he do that? I watched him intently, video camera running, and it seemed as if he was almost thinking the stone into place. I could almost hear him talking to it, ear pressed against the stone, listening to it. Even his posture seems to emulate the stone he is balancing. Then, after the tension, and the watching and waiting, suddenly its complete, the stone is free to fall, and it doesn't.........

We've been trying to get an interview with Adrian, but apparently he is allergic to electricity. Being a person myself with allergies to motor cars, and living in a world full of them, and not being able to escape the demons they create, I know how he feels. So we are experimenting with doing some programmes via Thought Waves.

But it wasn't just the big sculptures, or the spectacular events that captured the eye, there were these very erotic naked women in small bowls, so realistic it was easy to imagine you were viewing from a distance, through a monochrome scale, like sexuality itself....so visible and yet, so well hidden........

Hugh's little publicity stunt nearly got us all going too. There he was, on our live Sunday View programme, telling us all about how those grass circles just appeared overnight. Very good Hugh, you almost had Pip Evans believing you! But we got the truth, and its revealed on our video.......

I really do hope that Hugh is going to continue these wonderful little events at Little Place. Mary and me were saying how nice it would be to sing some country music in your lovely garden this summer........

Hear and see the whole story at this location: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/sculpturegarden25may08.html

Sing it with Flowers, St. Michael's, Lyme Regis

2008-05-13T01:34:00.002+01:00

After the mad chaos of the last couple of weeks, walking into the church on Sunday afternoon was like experiencing the antidote. A sudden and welcome slow down as the light and colour of the Flower Festival melted into the vision.
Since the first Live Broadcast SUNDAY VIEW on the 4th May, our feet don't seem to have touched the ground, and because there is a lot of ground breaking activity, its a total experience, never quite knowing if the technology will hold up requires full attention on the job in hand.
And yes, ok, I freely admit we didn't get everything right first time, and the first SUNDAY VIEW was a bit of a disaster, but if you were one of the few who checked in to the LIVE Broadcast, you got the programme as advertised, though in the studio, chaos reigned as Nomad aattempted vainly to wrest control of the various knobs, sliders and switches that link Pip and guests to the Live online Studio.
After this session, we cleared up the studio, headed straight across the road, and spent the afternoon shooting video at the May Day Fete in Anning Road Playing Field. More than 30 stalls representing local groups and organisations, great entertainment from the Majorettes and Junior Band, stunning Tai Kwon Du demonstration, couldn't be beat. almost the whole town was out and about at this annual event purely with locals in mind. Congrats to the hard working Carnival & Regatta Committee, mucho applause please! See the video on This Weeks Video page,here: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/videopages.html
We followed that up on Tuesday evening with a magical night at the Ropemakers Arms in Bridport. The Live Cam worked perfectly throughout and we broadcast some excellent music to the people of the internet. You can hear our recording for yourself at this location: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/folkatherope6may08.html and guaranteed, it's well worth listening to. We called it 'Folk at the Rope', and though Mary Land and the RollOvers contributed folk songs by the Jefferson Airplane and Rolling Stones, most of the evening, all the way to Mitch Normans own brand of sophisticated 'folk funk', was fairly authentic. Thanks to the 'chance listener' from the USA who emailed us asking if we were in Oregon, because the only Bridport he could find was in Vermont! Tune in LIVE to next months session by clicking to the LIVE CHANNEL, details on Front Page soon.
We might have had an hour two break then, but on Wednesday morning, the phone was hot with news of the Landslip, and we were out on the beach the moment the tide began to roll out, getting there to find that a lot of others were there already. It was fortunate enough that our good friends Dr. Sandy Burnfield and George Hoffman were eye witnesses to the event the night before when hundreds of tons of cliff began crashing into the sea. We have an exclusive inteview in video and audio, plus spectacular rockfall footage, you can find it all here: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/landslipbig7may08.html
Things might have quietened down a notch then, except in the evening of the same day, we were recording the Policy Meeting of Lyme Regis Town Council, which unusually was full of excitement and vehemence. (see last blog entry). Hear the meeting complete and unedited, including Cllr. Ellis's phone ringing half way through the proceedings, at this location: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/councilmeetingpolicy7may08.html
After an all night editing session, Mary and I had a shot at a Live Broadcast on our own on Thursday night, for which, many apologies, we've now worked out how to play video's one at a time, and in the sequence we choose. When we do 'A Week in Lyme Regis' video clips this week, on Thursday at 8pm, we hope to get it right, or at least a little more right than last week.
Friday night as most people know by now, is our regular night out at the Royal Lion, and now that the Friday Night Live interviews hve been incorporated into the Sunday Live show, its brilliant, having a real night off, drinking convivial Guiness with friends while wearing our new LymeRegisRadio T-Shirts from Jiving Jellyfish!
We had to stop on Saturday and catch up on a morass of editing and updating, being swamped with new stuff and desperate to get it online and heard, followed by late night prep for the Sunday show, which is where we were at 11am Sunday morning. Hauling studio gear into the Green Room in the View From office. We went Live at Midday with some good music chosen by Pip Evans, and speaking for myself alone, I hope he will include a little something by Nat King Cole in the next few weeks. If you have your own requests and dedications, please send them in, to either us at lymeregisradio@hotmail.com, or Pip personally, philip@pemedia.co.uk. Surprisingly enough, we pulled it off with very few problems, our guest this week, Rikey Austin spoke eloquently and with deep feeling about why she is organising the Cancer Research Relay in August, Rob Thom headed imaginary footballs across the studio while discussing the year at Davey Fort with Pip, Jenny Finch from www.whatsoninlyme.co.uk informed us about events in Lyme in the week ahead, and amidst Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Steve Black and Ella, fossil walker Brandon Lennon ended the show by updating us on the landslip. You can hear the recording of it here: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/sundayview11may08.html
Thinking that before racing home and commencing editing we would do one last video at 'Sing it With Flowers' in St. Michaels. We stepped into the church and as we walked into the Flower Festival, we just.....simply,......stopped.

Council Policy Meeting:

2008-05-08T17:25:00.006+01:00

Last night at the Policy Meeting (7th May 08), Cllr David Cozens launched an astonishng tirade against our much valued local Community Policeman, Richard Winward. Richard is a local man in every way, and has been based in Lyme for many years, he doesn't deserve to be attacked publicly in such a vicious and unprincipled way. Though I'm in absolute agreement with the rule of no skateboarding on Marine Parade, this is no way to deal with a caring local policeman who has much more important work to do besides sorting out a few adolescents on the seafront. When asked about skateboarding at the Town Meeting, Richard owned up to the fact that on occasions he had given permission for a few kids to use the shelters. Obviously, in the absence of anywhere else he could direct them, he puts them in the nearest off street spot where he can keep an eye on them, offering as his reason they would only be boarding somewhere else, probably further up the Parade. Its not a situation either in which he has any legal power. What if the youngsters challenge his rule, can he arrest them? Caution them? Give them an on the spot fine? Even if a Bye -Law is in force, he still has very little power to do anything, and it's a great message to send out to visitors and holidymakers, that their children will be in trouble with the police for involving themselves in an 'illegal' activity if they visit Lyme. It seems to put skateboarders in the same category as criminals. If we need a skateboard park at all, it needs to be on or near the Parade, the gardens, or the seafront. Its where the action is, especially in the Summer. Holidaymakers don't want to traipse their kids half way to Charmouth to take part in what is essentially a street activity. If Lyme has failed to provide a safe central area, its the fault of the council, not Richard Winward, who is unfortunate enough to be caught between two opposing camps, and is doing his best while the council dithers about in indecision.
This council rambles on about squeezing a few extra quid out of a stone balancer, or how much juice can be squeezed out of a solar powered squeezer, and occupies half its meeting time in trivia instead of making real decisions. Then when it comes to grief, it blames its workers, helpers and support organisations. I'm not unhappy about Lyme looking forward, but what about Lyme NOW?
What is needed, and was made clear at the Town Meeting is that the Police need proper guidance from the Council on this matter. Telling him to "Go out there and enforce this" is stupid, pointless and futile.
I don't agree either that we need to pander to every whim of young people either. In every town in every city in the country, there are young people in a constant complaint that there is 'nothing to do around here'. It happens everywhere, its a youth thing. Skateboarding is a transitory thing that young people do for a while, then, if they're sensible, move on to something better.
So here is a man who owned up to his 'mistake', and admitted his 'fault', there should be no more to be said. Here is a man condemned by his own honesty, who could have avoided saying anything at all if he chose, but he told the truth. Richard has proved himself to be honest and reliable, and to be castigated for it in such a vicious way is beyond the pale.
Richard Winward has the trust and respect of Lyme Regis, and has earned that respect by being a good man, and an exceptionally good policeman.
I consider Cllr Cozens to be out of order on this matter. Not just out of order, but uncharitable and unforgiving, and though he claims to have experience of working with young people for 50 years, he doesn't appear to haave learned learned anything from the experience. We should be grateful that our brilliant team of local coppers aren't of the 'old school' represented by Cllr Cozens bully and bash method of upholding the law.
A complete recording of the meeting can be found here......
http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/councilmeetingpolicy7may08.html

Skateboards, Dogmess and Traffic: The Town Meeting

2008-04-14T03:33:00.003+01:00

There's nowhere like Lyme Regis for Meetings. There's meetings about something or the other thing almost every day of every week. Lyme is a very vocal town, and everyone has a different opinion. The Town Meeting is the principle civic meeting of the year. More than just a council report, its an opportunity for citizens to make their voice heard in an open forum. And given this sparkling opportunity, what do the citizens of Lyme ask about? Skateboards, Dogmess and Traffic. There's a brief nod to the youth club, but overall, its the same old subjects. I can't imagine many places on this planet where the most difficult and long running problems revolve around skateboards, dogmess and traffic.

It started with a litlle controversy when one of the town's elector's objected to the meeting being 'recorded'. The objection was relayed to Mayor Sally Holman, who relayed it to me. My perception is that it's a public meeting, and its open to recording by anyone. No part of it was designated as secret prior to commencement, nothing was confidential, the press were there to report on it, and in fact, anyone who made notes is effectively recording, and if you discuss the meeting afterwards with one who wasn't present, you're reporting. It was Adrienne Maslen, the reporter from Lyme News who, at the request of Sally Holman, explained the concept of 'qualified privilege' to the assembled multitude. Thankyou Adrienne!

You could say that everyone in town wants the young people to have a skateboard park, but not within my earshot, not on my patch is the general response. The word we used to use was 'NIMBY': Not In My Back Yard! Or 'ABH', Anywhere But Here. And the problem persists because everyone is half right, and no one is half wrong. One stretch of the argument states that skateboards are dangerous in public places. This isn't the view of only the older population, it's the voice of experience. Common sense tells you that on a crowded street or open boulevard, skateboards create serious problems. A skateboard on the loose from its rider is effectively a motivated vehicle without a pilot. Its low level, heavy, and directionless. Falling from Marine Parade onto the Cart Road, at speed, could potentially cause serious injury. I'm not in disfavour of anyone skateboarding, but in the right place. I don't see why skatebording can't be a school activity. Youngsters don't play football on Marine Parade, or in Broad St, they do it in school. If, as PC Winward suggests, skateboarding is a legal sporting activity, then it should be taught in the proper way, via schools and clubs, with teams or open competitions. I agree with Cllr Owen Lovell, skateboarding should not be allowed on Marine Parade. There is no set up for a Skateboard Club in Lyme, if there was a recognised club, rather than representtion by a few enthusiasts and social workers, they would no doubt press for action, and a premises. I wonder if anyone has ever counted the number of young people there are in the skateboard fraternity, or how transitory their association.......?
I'm of the same view regarding dog's on the beach, dog's should not be on the main beach, at any time, all the year round. It isn't as if there aren't other beaches within walking distance,but the main beach is, for tourism, one of Lyme's prize assets. I'm not dog owner, but even if I was, I would see the sense of this responsibility to the town. Our lifeblood here is tourism, we need a pristine beach.

Hear the full meeting, and make up your own mind, at this location: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/townmeeting5Apr08.html

2008-04-11T03:26:00.003+01:00

Continuing from yesterday, and considering Launching things. We've already had three Launches this year, aand several more coming shortly.
The first was at the end of January, when in association with Pip Evans and the 'View from', we presented an 'Any Questions' session at the Woodmead Halls. An excellent evening, good questions, brilliant panel, just like the real thing, except all the questions were about life in Lyme Regis. The results are still online, worthwhile listening, if you hven't heard it yet, here is a link: http://http//www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/anyquestions03mar08.html .
The second was on the 2nd March when we relaunched LymeRegisRadio with a face lift. We ran a little competition at the same time, and maybe this is a good moment to tell our winners that we haven't forgotten them, we hope they will come down to the Royal Lion in couple of weeks and collect signed copies of their prizes, one of which is a signed copy of Pip's book. The face-lift is still ongoing, we are still in the process of reorganising, loading new pages, and adding new features. For this,Mary deserves your unburdened applause, she had to change more than thousand separate templates, and is still hard at it.
Pp's book brings me to our third launch, 'Lyme Matter's' by the inestimable Philip Evans, a tome in which we don't merely get regular mentions, but which occasioned the Launch of our first CD, a selection of Friday Night interviews from the Royal Lion, and gave me the most difficult editing job I've had to do in years. Imagine taking more than 30 separate interviews, most 20 or 30 minutes long, some like Richard Austin's, much longer, and reducing them down to 18, with an average length of 3 minutes, without cutting out the best of the most interesting bits. I had to start again twice when I inadvertently deleted the wrong bits, but I made it within Pip's deadline. (Pip is a hard taskmaster, but I live with Mary, so I can take it, I've got used to it)). We didn't do any audio on launch night, but we video'd Pips speech, and in amidst a lot of other nice vids, you can find it here: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/TVandradiolivebroadcastchannels.html . While we are still test running the new live channel, you can view a selection of video's after dark, and in the daytime, check out our Lyme WebCam.
We've already completed our first live broadcast, live from Cliff House in Charmouth, find it here: http://www.lymeregisradio.com/sound/livebroadcastfirst19mar08.html , live interviews,music from Mary and the Rollovers (!), and contributions from the chatroom.
The live Radio/TV channel will be launched on the 4th May with a new series titled the Sunday View.....
More launches to follow. The reason I get confused between Lunches and Launches is that I'm working on an ancient clapped out IBM laptop on which several keys have to be bashed to make them work nd the 'A' key is missing entirely, worse than my old Olivetti really..........

Plastic Bags, Carbon Footprints and Turn Lyme Green

2008-02-05T15:35:00.000Z

While I am completely in agreement with the aims of the TurnLymeGreen campaign to make Lyme Regis bag free, there are other questions that need to be answered. Yes, it is true that plastic in the oceans creates terrible problems for the world wide marine environment, and its true that plastic bags do not decompose in landfill, its also true that plastic bags are made from petro-chemicals, but if the genuine aim is to 'save the world' and reduce global warming then we have to look at these questions from an entirely different viewpoint.
The whole world political and science communities are now agreed that the greatest danger to our future, and the future of our children is caused by carbon emissions, most of which come from the human addiction to private motoring and aeroplanes. That is to say, even if the whole world became plastic bag free, it would make hardly any percentage difference to our 'carbon footprint'.
I've always beleived that environmental change begins at home, as with plastic bags, its collective public pressure that creates the legislation that rids us of them. Its the personal choice of individuals that persuades supermarkets and companies not to offer them as a 'free' persuasive gift to encourage us to consume more. The desire for oil, or the addiction to motor cars, creates war aswell as global warming, and if we really want to make a difference we would consider using motor cars a lot less, and flying a lot less. Our greed and materialism in these matters is also a vast and awful misuse of our wealth which creates terrible poverty in other places, so while we're all feeling sorry for the albatrosses in Hawaii, lets add a measure of compassion for the tens of thousands that die in Africa, much of it caused by the rampant consumerism of the Western world.
So, while I'm happy to see Lyme 'thinking globally and acting locally' (a phrase I first came across in the early Seventies), its all beginning to look like a cynical campaign to put Lyme Regis on the tourist map, rather than a real effort towards cleaning up our town, where, incidentally, the carbon monoxide fumes in Broad Street are almost unbearable on some days durng the Summer months!
I was at the TurnLymeGreen Traders Meeting at Woodmead last week, was very interested to hear about Sir Ghillean Prances many world travels in the past year, and the rep from Global Packaging listing how many countries he visited in the past few months. It seems likely that the total global footprint of those involved in TurnLymeGreen far outweighs that of the people they're trying to influence. Which is why I would like all involved to answer these questions:
1. How many cars do you each own, how big is the total carbon emission from your motoring, and how many miles do you travel in an average week?
2. How many air flights have you made in the past year, and whats the total mileage?
3. How often do any of you use public transport?
We all know that finding new methods of getting a free plastic bag (or several) every time you go shopping is NOT the answer. The answer is to acquire long lasting shoppng containers, and use them time and time agan for a period of years. Its not about global packaging. The involvement of the Co-op in this is laughable, ("Oh, we're so lucky to have a Co-op in Lyme!") if you walk around the Co-op, you'll see that every shelf is full of plastic packing, that nearly all goods are over packaged, its clear that plastic bags isn't even an Nth of its plastic output, and we're consulting them? And, just to add to the argument a little, whatever was said at the meeting, when I was in the Co-op last week, I purchased 3 items, and as I was pickng them up, I was offered a plastic bag!
I've just received the new mail-out from TurnLymeGreen today, which only adds to the confusion. They now say that its ok to use paper bags, implying that paper is a renewable resource and less damaging than plastic. Answer is that it isn't. This type of farming creates soil depletion (another serious environmental danger), takes land away from food production, and doesn't include the carbon cost of transporting it around the world. So you pays your money and you takes your choice. Six of one is no worse than half a dozen of the other.
I hope I'm not making too much of this, my intention isn't to offend, hurt anyones feelings, or pour floodwater on the efforts of others, I'll still continue to give support to any intentons, including TurnLymeGreen, that seek to make our town, and the world, a better place to live, but a campaign that isn't going to produce genuine heartfelt change is not the answer. Everyone is now aware that global warming is increasing far more quickly than predictions even 5 years ago. Events that were predicted to be happening in 20 years time are happening now. Not in the future. Now. Sea levels are now rising so fast as to make our own lovely new sea defences valueless in 20 years time, you want evidence, you only have to look at recent flooding on our own doorstep, and local environmentalists talking about the Somerset Levels beng underwater withn your lifetime. If you truly want to put Lyme on the map, act now, but it will take a lot more personal sacrifice than making Lyme bag free.

Turn Lyme Green: The Launch

2007-11-09T14:00:00.000Z

You only have to look at our Front Page to see how successful this campaign has been. High profile and very visible, capturing the imagination and interest of the whole town. Candida and Company are very persuasive people, and have worked incredibly hard to bring this issue to public attention. I was never much of a plastic bag user, but as a result of the last few weeks, I'm sworn off them altogether now, and I hope that plastic bags are never seen again within the area of Lyme Regis. I'd also suggest that this first campaign isn't over until the last plastic bag leaves town.

If you want to keep up with developments, here is a good place to start: http://www.turnlymegreen.com/

The discussion at the Launch event was quite spirited, ranging from empty milk containers, where do they go? Why does milk come in a plastic bottle anyway? Phil Street asked about seagulls, and though I don't personally feed the gulls, not since one of them wilfully stole Mary's ice cream, I can't help the sneaky feeling that its maybe its us that are the problem, not the gulls! Black bin bags, someone reminds us that we are talking about doing away with plastic, rather than finding new ways to dispose of it. Plastic is a petro-chemical product we're reminded, Its time we followed the example of Ireland and ban plastic bags entirely, and why not I say! And after plastic bags, what next? Light bulbs! ?
Its a personal question. Change only occurs when individuals make personal decisions. Its no use asking this or that Council or Authority to do your thinking and acting for you. Voting was always something thats done with the feet. You add your vote by ceasing to accept plastic bags.

I can't even remember how long ago it is that it became acceptable to carry ones goods around in a plastic bag. I do remember that when I was a child, my Mother carried a great thick leather shopping bag up and down to the shops every day. The bag must have been heavier than the shopping. And there was no question of packaging, the grocer just weighed the spuds, and poured 'em straight into the bag. She didn't drive to the supermarket either, there were no supermarkets and a lot less cars way back then. (ok,I know I'm showing my age here) I suppose I must have been schoolteaching in late seventies London when I first became aware of picking up plastic at the supermarket. At that time, it was to some a welcome idea, after all, the environmental theme then, (now long since forgotten) was saving trees! So suddenly plastic was 'sold' to us as better and more convenient than the paper bags we had previously, the ones with the string handles that cut your fingers.

Plastic is only the tip of the environmental time bomb. Some would say that unless we start tackling the real issues surrounding Global Warming, we don't have time. The real problem, according to Prof. Hugh Torrens (Royal Lion interview with Nomad during Fossil Festival 4th May 07) is over-population. Too many people. There are now so many people on earth that we are creating a mass extinction of everything else.

Those of us who have been long term, or even lifetime campaigners for environmental change should feel very heartened to see this surge of public interest, but I wonder how much is about 'fashionable' causes, whether its a lasting continuous interest, or even if its attacking the right issues. If people cease using plastic bags, and put in their low-energy light bulbs, its no help if they then feel they've done enough, and continue increasing use of motor cars and aeroplanes. I wonder sometimes if we're not all going off to sleep in some kind of carbon monoxide haze........

The real issues? Comments?

Rt. Hon Oliver Letwin MP: Affordable Housing

2007-11-05T00:54:00.000Z

You only have to look down the Front Page to see how busy we've been, and during the next few days, equally as busy,if not even more so.A lot of high points, and if I'm to single anything out, I would start with the talk to the LRDT on the subject of Affordable Housing by our esteemed local MP, the Rt.Hon Oliver Letwin. Was a good speech, lucid, humorous, Oliver is a natural crowd pleaser, and based his talk on the 'good news', and the 'bad news'. The good news being that its possible to create social housing in Dorset, the bad news is that none of the current legislation can be applied to Lyme Regis. Oliver suggests the real cause is that "you live in a very lovely place". This part is very true, and probably explains why he spends so much time here himself. (He is back in town on Saturday to dedicate the new Polish War Memorial in Anning Road, an event we'll be recording with Ken Whetlor). Being such a lovely place creates a multiple problem. Not just the lack of 'Affordable' housing, or a lack of housing for people who work in the town, but house prices pushed up mercilessly by the second homers who don't live here, and an increasing lack of hotel accomodation for holidaymakers. All of this is bad for the local economy. So its a let down and a disappointment that what works for Buckland Newton, (Mr. Letwin's prime example) population 600, doesn't help Lyme Regis, population closer to 3,800.I'm not sure, as far as ordinary working people are concerned, if any house in the UK is 'affordable' any more. If the national average for obtaining a mortgage is around 7 times the Annual Income, then home owning is impossible for most people. I'm not sure how many barstaff/shop/care or hotel and seasonal workers earn 35 grand a year, but thats what most work in Lyme is about! (unless you manage to land a plum job with Pip Evans?). In short, Lyme these days is much more a place to live than a place to work, and if hotels continue closing, it won't even be a place to visit.Oliver is in a difficult postion really, he represents the party that decided in the 80's to sell off all the social housing in the country, on the basis that everyone should aspire to own their own house, and everyone can afford to. The result of that legislation is that we are faced with an overwhelming shortage of housing, worse than at any point in UK history. I don't entirely blame the Tories, some of the problem is caused by immigration, much of which is caused by bombing people out of their own countries. Worth saying at this point that Oliver was a strong supporter of sending British Troops to Iraq. Last question Oliver was asked at the LRDT meeting, was whether with the benefit of hindsight, would he still support his parties policy on Social Housing in the 80's. Apparently he does. (No one asked him if he still supported the war in Iraq). The question I would like to ask is about the growing public feeling towards taking Green Belt land to build houses on (featured I think on You and Yours BBC Radio 4 this week?). Whats his policy on this?With all that said, I'd just like to add that Oliver Letwin works very hard for his constituency, we seem to come across him everywhere these days, and I quite enjoyed his talk.
In terms of politics and parties however, I recommend Guy Fawkes.

"At the going down of the sun............."

2007-10-29T03:13:00.000Z

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning. We will remember them.
These wonderful words have been ringing in my ears since I left the Marine Theatre some hours ago. Words designed to make you look at your heart, and look back on your life, feel for those you've loved and lost and give thanks for those who still survive. When Ken Whetlor first asked us to record this event, I agreed immediately. Its a passionate programme with a message that needs to be addressed by us all. Pip Evans said, "I know its not your sort of event Nomad", but I have to say it is.
I had no claims to being there, in among this community of friends who shared experiences so deeply, they can never forget. Listening to Dave Manners excellent commentary, in which by the aid of projected images he took us on a journey of wars, starting with WW1, (the war to end all wars?) and progressing to the present day, with injuries and death to serving men in Afghanistan and Iraq. I looked back at my own life, and understood how much all these wars had affected my family, almost from the dawn of the Twentieth Century. As a child, I remember in my Grandmother's house in SE London, a circular brass plaque on the sideboard, and being told the stories of men I'd never seen and never met, and never would. I had an Uncle who was rescued at Dunkirk. I heard the stories about my family being bombed out of their home in Forest Hill, London, and subsequently being bombed again in Peckham. My Father was a Leading Aircraftman in the RAF. My Mother served in the WAAF. I grew up with my Mothers unsorted bagful of wartime photographs, each of which told a story, theres my Dad next to a Spitfire, just leaning on it like he owns it, and there's Rommel, goggles pushed up on his forehead, smiling into the desert wind in his armoured car. Who could have taken that picture? How did it come to be. Then there are lines of tents in a desert, followed by lines of cemetary crosses, in endless lines. How did that happen. How did that come to be. How did I come to be.
My birthday is the 25th May 1946, won't take you much Maths to figure out when I was conceived, I'm not a War Baby, I'm one of those confounded baby boomers, and I'm one of the first of them. I'm 61 years old. In all my life, I've never had a war on the land in which I live. I've never been forced by circumstance to go to war. I've never done any military service, and I'm sure that there are a few men here who might suggest a spell of it might STILL do me a bit of good. I have to admit, they're probably right...........
Its a high price to pay, a terrible price that in the end damages all of us. My family, my ancestor's, your family, everyones family, paid dearly for the peace and freedom we experience now.
And the sad thing is that war's still occur, all over this beautiful world we live in. Most of the world isn't able to live in the same wealth as any of us in Britain. When I heard David Manners say, in reference to the Battle of Paschendale, 3,000 lives lost for every yard gained, my heart almost turned over. Its impossible to imagine what those men went through, even how you can survive mentally after being in such a place. And looking back now, most of us would wonder what they were fighting for.
We must mourn the dead, its both our right and our duty to do so. We must celebrate the living too, and if there's any fighting in the future, I wish it was a fight to end war. Forever. But then I'm a known idealist, I've grown up in a free idealistic society. My parents, like others of their generation, just wanted to live in peace after the constant suffering of two world wars. They wanted me to have all that they never had, and you can't help looking back, wondering if my father had he lived, would have thought about my life, if he would approve of my life in this free society that he fought so hard to acheive.
Most people only know those central lines of this poem by Robert Binyon who died in 1943, so if you don't know it, here is the whole poem........'For the Fallen'...........

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.Solemn the drums thrill:
Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

The Matrix

2007-10-23T01:03:00.000+01:00

While we've been reconstructing the site, I've had the opportunity to sort out all the programmes we've made, and tonight, I was looking through the Friday Night Live sessions with some wonderment when I looked at the number of people we've chatted to over the past year. Not just the number, but the diversity, representing all aspects of Lyme life. Most of the interviews are presented by our esteemed newshound, Pip Evans, and when combined with Pip's weekly rundown and discussion of local news, gives a detailed picture of the past year in our town. Easiest thing is to give you a list, so here it is, with most recent first : Larry Gibbons, Marcus Dixon, Richard Doney, BT Walkers Club, Andy Cable, Sally Holman, Elaine Thompson, Maddy Anholt, Chris Hoskins, Miriam Hillyard, Jo & Ken Whetlor, Phil Street & Mike Higgs, Gilly Warr, John Fry, Ellen Rook, Think Floyd, Belly Dancers, Alan Vian, Helen Christian, Amy Street, Richard Austin, Susan Brown, Prof. Hugh Torrens, Wendy Knee, Marcus Dixon, Matt Puddy, Zeta Bowley, Peter Moyles, Simon Emmett, Jenny & Richard Finch, Colin Willis, Ken Whetlor, Hugh Dunford-Wood, Juan Geyer, Matthew Dale, Leslie Stone, Derek Town, Dr. Colin Dawes. If you don't know all these names, there'sonly one way to find out, go and listen to the programmes which you can access via the Front Page. But this isn't just an illustrious peice of name-dropping, its every walk of Lyme life, and crosses all borders. Be interesting to do a diagram on all these names and see where they match or cross through each other, maybe its possible through this extensive list, to find the person in Lyme who knows more people than anyone else! Life in the Lyme Matrix!!
It is true that The Matrix is among my favourite movies. Unlike Mary, I'm not much of a movie-buff. Most movies I can watch once and I've seen it all, but the Matrix and its series of follow-ups, is up there in my Top Ten movies of all time. (along with Woodstock, My Dinner With Andre, Help, and the Constant Gardener). I sometimes wonder what would happen if the Matrix was remade in Lyme with Lyme citizens in the lead roles. I would have to cast myself as Neo, if only because Mary has to be Trinity. Only Pip Evans could play Morpheus, but casting the Oracle demands a little thought. Sally Holman, you think? I'm sure there has to be a part in there for Matt Puddy, but he is the self casting type, and would have to suggest his own part. The really big question is who would be playing the part of the evil Mr. Smith, the programme that multiplies to many Mr. Smith's and by Matrix III has almost destroyed the system. Personally, I think theres only one person in Lyme who could play this part to the full, and I'll write the name down on a peice of paper, seal it in an envelope, and open it at 10pm this coming Friday in the Royal Lion. If you have the same answer as me, I'll buy you a drink. Answers in your own sealed envelope please. If you think its you, I'll buy you a drink if you turn out to be right.
And Now.....back to the Matrix......(cue doomy music)

Low Carbon Lifestyle

2007-10-12T01:54:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday this week, Mukti Mitchell, son of Satish Kumar (of 'No Destination' and 'Resurgance' fame) sailed his low carbon self designed and built award winning vessel, 'Chance' into Lyme Regis harbour for an unscheduled stop on his Low Carbon Lifestyle Tour. Starting at the Co-op in Broad St, and ending in a talk at the Marine Theatre, an excellent opening for the forthcoming Turn Lyme Green campaign.
Mukti delivered his message in an informal conversational style, which only served to enhance his obvious passion for his subject. Starting by telling us about his boat, continuing with pictures and anecdotes about his tour of the British coastline, and ending, not with doom and gloom prophecies, but by emphasising the pleasure to be gained from living a low carbon lifesyle.
I went along initially hoping to get a chat with Mukti, but we wound up recording the entire evening, including audience questions.
I found a lot of affinity with the last part of his talk, I'm a Low Carbon person myself, and have found over the years that it isn't always easy to live a Low Carbon life within a High Carbon society. I don't own a motor car for mainly ethical reasons, but when Mukti starts talking about the pleasures to be gained from giving up High Carbon ideals, I was in agreement all the way. That is to say, there's a certain bliss about not owning a motor car, and its a bit like the old cliche of banging heads on walls, you don't see the bliss until you stop doing it. But Mukti is right, when you travel by train, or bus, you don't experience the stress of driving, and you're able to use the time to focus on tasks to be done, rather than concentrating on the road. When I originally 'gave up' owning a motor car, more than 15 years ago, it was for altruistic reasons, but it wasn't until Mary and I owned a car briefly a few years ago that I quickly realised how wonderful it was to not own one. Note that i didn't say I ceased driving, I 'gave up' the unnecessary need to own a motor car. I firmly beleive that society is addicted to the beast, and doesn't know how to give up its dependance. Quite clearly, we live in times when there are much easier/safer/faster/more cofortable/less stressful methods of getting from one place to another, including, in this internet age, not going anywhere. People asked to 'give up' exhibit the same traits and excuses as drug addicts separated from the object of their need.
The honest unwanted truth is that we all have to reduce our Carbon Footprint, (the currently fashionable way of saying that we are using too much resource too fast), and the ultimate cause of global warming is now accepted as human in origin. Unfortunately, global warming is only one of the world problems created by private motoring and air travel. The other aspect is the global conflict caused by need for oil, and the speed at which developing countries can afford to live like us in the western world. Include a rapidly doubling human population, and the scale of the problem facing life on earth, is enormous.
So thankyou Mukti, was a pleasure to be in your company and hear your message.

Its Not About Winning.......

2007-09-27T03:55:00.002+01:00

So there we were, at the impressive Chantmarle in the outback of rural Dorset, at the Community Champions Awards sponsored by West Dorset District Council. We were nominated for an award in the category of 'innovation'. We were in good company too, other nominees from Lyme were Ellen Rooke, Woodmead Halls Voluntary Committee, (in which we too are also involved), represented by Suzanne and Derek Hallet, and young local visionary and future Prime Minister if ever I saw one, Lowell Fachau. We chatted with all the Lyme nominees, and the nominees who nominated them, Dave Edwards of Carnival Committee fame included, and our own nominees Nigel Fortnam and Cliff Powell. A good spread was provided, decently filled sandwiches etc, entertainment was laid on by vocal acapella trio 'Wild Thyme'. We nattered with leading figures, Mary Penfold, Ron Coatesworth, and even Oliver Letwin rose to our level for a brief minute. A grand and multifarious affair indeed.
But as far as awards were concerned, nothing doing. None of our Lyme Luminaries got an award. We all got to stroll up to the front and collect a certificate from Ron Coatesworth, which was a fine photo opportunity, but no winners.
But its not about winning. Its about the 'Triple F Factor'. You thought I was going to say its about taking part, and to some degree it is. In many ways its about networking, this being a perfect opportunity to tell West Dorset about our newest 'innovation', SouthWestRadio, which we did, even presumptiously giving out leaflets about it to all and sundry. But above and beyond everything, its about the 'Triple F'.
We were beaten by the West Dorset Youth Bank, a healthy and well motivated looking bunch of youngsters charged with the responsibility of giving large amounts of Lottery Dosh to deserving youth causes and projects. Worthy winners indeed.
So we didn't mind not winning, because, as I said, its not about winning, and this event fulfilled all the criteria of the Triple F Factor.
It was a Free Food Function.

Hold the Front Page....

2007-08-29T04:05:00.001+01:00

Trying to keep up with blogging, plus a million other myriad activities, is not easy in Lyme during the Summer Holiday. During Lifeboat Week and Carnival Week, we were out and about non stop, recording events every day of the week, so its quite fitting that we should have a short break to recuperate before we pile into the next stage of Radio Existance. (thats not a bad name for a radio station!) So for the last few weeks, we've been tourists, strolling, looking in shops, had out of town friends and relatives visit, eating out every night, chips on the beach, its been great.

I love the summer in Lyme, if I count up the summers of my life, I've had all the best of them in Lyme Regis. That isn't a joke, a lot of people who visit Lyme, would love to be living here. One of the pleasures of the Summer is meeting friends that you only see once, maybe twice a year, and always in holiday or weekend off mode. Thats the danger of Lyme life, the feeling that you're on a permanent holiday. So I say categorically, from here folks, there aint nowhere else to go.

So this blog is going to be about all the questions/advice/compliments we've had over the last couple of months, and there are some questions that just keep going round and round, questions like, "Whats your FM frequency?", definitely on the wane as a constant question, though still drops in occasionally. Next up might be "Are you going to be on the airwaves?" Answer is no, for so many good reasons that I've lost count. As far as Airwaves is concerned, we're digital people, we even listen to Radio 4 on the internet! Analog radio is so far behind the times that its already obsolete. To get on what some people laughingly call 'Real Radio', the best we could get here in Lyme would be a Community Broadcast License. This is something you have to apply for, and funding has to be in place in advance, the cost of the License is £1500, and thats before you spend another at least twice as much as that for an aerial, transmission equipment, then you need a place to broadcast from. Its likely that we might be granted 28 days broadcasting per year, and a radius reception of around 15 miles maximum.
Compared to the value offered by the internet, its trivial. Online, 24 hours daily, all the year round, all programmes available any time you want to listen, and listen again, and a growing diverstiy of programmes too. Our catchment area is the world.
Other question might be 'Do you make any money?' To which the short answer is 'No'.Not a cent. But we don't really care, theres enough spin off in other areas to make it all worthwhile, including free lunches, another of which we had this week, for which all thanks to Ken Whetlor and the Chain Gang! Aside from that, the site itself is a great advert for our web designer skills. We're also going to release some of the back catalogue, both video and audio, on CD's, hopefully in the next month or so, and being aware of how many photographs we have on the site, we can now offer full gloss prints of any pictures on the site, see forthcoming Sales Page which will appear after the site make-over.
'Why don't we feature more music?'. We would if we could get it! Its why we're commencing regular OpenAudio sessions in Lyme and Axminster in the coming weeks. Local musicians, stand-up comics, performance artists please watch this space for further details of when and where.

To quote an old song, right now, there are a lot more questions than answers revolving around Lyme Regis Radio. We've had a brilliant year, and we feel in many ways that we've reached a peak. There've been so many new developments that its diificult to list them all. This time last year we were still recording on 4 track tape recorders, and it already seems a world away. We now have enough digital recorders to lend them out to anyone who wants to make radio programmes, and our studio in Lyme is available to any musicians in town that want to use it. Thanks to Pip, we now have regular Sports and News programmes, and there are still gaps we need to fill. Thanks to Colin Dawes and Richard Winward, among others, we have regular series, and we will be announcing more in the very near future. We're also grateful to Lyme Regis Town Council for allowing us into the Council Chamber to record meetings. If I've been a little outspoken on this question, forgive me, its not that I'm just trying to 'talk things up' for journalistic effect, I genuinely didn't expect that our request to do it would stir up feelings so much.

Great also, having reached seasons end, to find that we've been nominated for an award, its the icing on the cake, and if we actually win a Community Champions Award, it will be the strawberry on top of the icing. Its only a small award, and all thats at stake is a £50 cheque which we have to give to a charity or organisation of our choice, but all the same, its nice to be noticed.

Which is all why its time to ring the changes. We are about to commence a major revamp of the site. We will be staying online while we do it, so if some things look a bit haywire when you tune in, please bear with us. Its going to take about 3/4 weeks to complete it. Have to tell you though, that a lot of our earlier programmes will be disappearing, so take a last listen while you can.

Webcasting Councils

2007-08-16T17:35:00.001+01:00

So we've now 'officially' recorded our first Full Council Meeting, and quite a stormy one it was too! I was approached by Mayor Sally Holman and Cllr David Cozens immediately on entering the Guildhall to inform me (officially) that I did not have 'permission' (theres that word again) to record until the Full Council had approved the decision of the Policy Committee, though I don't want to say too much about this. I'm very pleased that our forward thinking enlightened Council is the first in Dorset to have its deliberations recorded for webcasting. Included in our audio is the council's comments on LymeRegisRadio recording, which was recorded prior to 'permission' being granted. My view hasn't really changed, if 'permission' had been refused, would we still record meetings? Answer is probably yes.
I fully understand, and take to heart Cllr Cozens comments on defamation. It is true that if a member of the council had 'defamed' someone, either someone in the council chamber or outside it, and we had published the comments, we are as liable to being sued as the Councillor responsible. I also applaud Cllr Lucy Campbell's reply, and I hope that webcasting will create a council that listens to itself! Clearly, individual councillors should speak responsibly at all times, and not just because a microphone is present. So yes, as Cllr Cozens stated so vehemently, individuals are responsible for their own words. But it wasn't us that requested a no editing rule. It was proposed by the council. Besides, there is another view. It might just as well occur that someone outside the council who is 'defamed' in the council meeting, may not have known about the defamation without the public spirited service of LymeRegisRadio. Its a bit six of one whichever way you look at it.
My first thought was to return to the next Public Forum and ask the council to reconsider changing the no editing rule, but then I thought that this would leave the door open for a complete council 'cleaning up' prior to webcasting. Its quite clear that what Cllr Cozens is concerned about is someone outside the council, not present at the meeting, hearing something they shouldn't. And if anyone sues me for defamation? Well, the councillor responsible will also be sued, and I will of course, apologise to whoever is offended, pointing out that I only made a recording, I didn't report or translate someone elses words. I recorded the meeting, exactly as it took place, word for word.
And when did anyone last sue the council or any of its members for defamation? Never.
Cllr Meech made it clear that its highly unlikely, that only once has a councillor overstepped the mark, and that councillor returned and apologised the following month. It is clear that in most, if not all circumstances, an apology is sufficient.
So in the event of a defamation occurring at a Council Meeting, LymeRegisRadio will not webcast any of the meeting until we have contacted both the defamer and the defamee and asked their opinion!
And if I had anything else to say, it would only be to ask Cllr Cozens not to point at me or shout in my direction, in any situation where I don't have the right of reply. (chuckles)
The difference isn't created by the existence of the internet, or even the lightning speed of modern communications. The reality is that we live in more enlightened times, where openness and freedom of information rule the day, where politicians and councillors can't any more say what they like behind closed doors. It was always meant to be this way, ever since councils were required to present the minutes of their meetings for public scrutiny. Recording and Webcasting is only a better way of doing it. Its because its possible that its happening.
Mayor Sally Holman is quite correct when she says that in the main, its council's that are doing this job themselves. There is a lot of precedent for this. Our pressure, as time progresses will be to ask the council to take this on board. We would be just as happy to link to the council's own website. It doesn't matter really if its us or the council that does it. The truth is that this is a public meeting, and the council deliberations should be heard by everyone, not only those who could make it to the meeting.

Summertime in Lyme Regis

2007-08-13T16:47:00.001+01:00

What a time we've had, starting with Lifeboat Week to the end of Carnival Week, we haven't stopped moving. Out and about almost every day recording events in audio and video, and we hope you're by now enjoying the results of our efforts.
Inevitably, not (yet) being superhuman we can't do everything all at once and we still have a backlog which is going to take a few days to catch up on.
The Carnival Procession itself is an editor's nightmare, though we offer congrats to all our team for winning Third Prize for our entry. Weren't the Belly Dancers fabulous! Really spectacular, and so colourful too. As last year we had our microphones outriding on both sides of Broad Street chatting to the crowds, and all credit to Ken Whetlor who just about managed to keep up with the car all the way down the hill, along Marine Parade, to the Cobb. Had a drink in the Harbour Inn with some of the Belly Dancers, thanks Thea, the truly original scary woman, and thanks to Ozzie her boyfriend for giving out the leaflets on the way.
A brilliant carnival, big thanks to the Carnival Committee for producing the best ever event!

Anonymous Callers and Bus Trips

2007-08-03T03:07:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd take a trip to Axminster this week, have a scoot around Tesco's, call in and say hello to Andy in his new Axe Music domicile, maybe stop for a coffee somewhere, and enjoy a bus ride. Arrived at the Square in time for the 2.40, which didn't turn up, hung around thinking it might be late, and it still didn't turn up. Figured I'd wait then for the next one at 3.40. It didn't turn up, and by now, the complaints at the bus stop were flying thick and fast, "they're 10 years old, always breaking down", comments one elderly buswaiter, "I was on one last week, broke down twice" from another, "sometimes they don'thave a driver", getting heated now, "they don't pay 'em enough!", and a holidaymaker chips in, "I don't know how you stand it, how do people get to work?". By now its 4pm and I'm thinking, if there are no buses going, then there aren't any coming back, and at 4.10, I was just starting up the hill again,and the bus turns up! Amazing how quickly the complaints turn to compliments when the driver explains that there was an accident between Dorchester and Bridport, and all the buses had to turn round and find another route. I got to Tesco's, and was on the bus back at 5.15 (on time). All part of the rich tapestry of Dorset life, I moved here from London where the buses were supposed to be every 10 minutes, were never on time, always turned up in sixes, and where you had to fight to get a seat, and thats before you started the tube journey. Here, I watched the colours changing across Golden Cap, nattered to a few folks I haven't seen in ages, and read the View from Lyme. Bliss. No complaints.
Which brings me, not very neatly I admit, to Anonymous Blog comments! To put it clearly, anonymous comments, whether email or blog, are not welcome at my door. Less welcome than Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons, who at least say who they are, and who have been thankfully absent since I came to live in Lyme.
Amongst several emails, all expressing positive views I had one Anonymous comment on my last Blog. And I heard you the first time mate, no need to keep on sending it, then turning shirty in another Anonymous Comment because I hadn't published your Comments. First, if you had put a name to your comment,I might have published it, though as your comments were inflammatory and demonstrated that you had no understanding of the situation, I probably wouldn't. I'm pretty convinced that if you'd been a local, and had said who you are, your comments would have been totally different. Judges Rules and Contempt of Court indeed!
Might be worth telling you that our Message Boards are completely unmoderated, say what you like in there, its Public Forum, but not on my Blog!

Moderation......

2007-07-19T19:00:00.000+01:00

Since posting the last blog, I've received 5 responses, two phone calls, two emails, and one 'anonymous' blog comment, and whoever you are, 'anonymous' it doesn't matter how many times you send me the same comment, I'm not publishing unless you tell me who you are! Mainly because your comments are inflammatory, and I don't want to add fuel where there is no fire. All the responses except one were positive, one being simply "go for it Nomad!" My blog was essentially tongue in cheek, all I did was express my surprise at finding that the question arising was 'permission' in a situation where we figured that permission was already an accepted part of the picture. But having said that, I'm happy to reply to all comments, if only to demonstrate how seriously individuals take things over a matter which is really not even a storm in a teacup:

1. Our digital recorder is no bigger than a notebook and we have no intentions of rigging up a microphones in Councillors faces. We've in fact been discussing this idea with several Councillors for some months. We didn't just walk in and start recording, we asked the council politely if they would provide us with the facilities to do it properly, we did that at the beginning of the meeting. We then recorded the meeting and though it was obvious I was recording, no one moved to either comment or prevent us.

2. Its obviously in everyones best interests if the microphones are placed as invisibly as possible, and that the recording process is discreet and unobtrusive. Its why we had hoped for a discussion on ways and means rather than 'permissions'.

3. The rules have changed and its not the internet, or the speed at which technology is evolving that changed the rules, but Freedom of Information.

4. Agreed, the Council is an Authority, and one which I have respect for, but if the Council is meeting in Public Session, the Council Chamber belongs to the public. If the council is meeting in private session, we would, just like the Press, be asked to leave.

5. The courtroom point is daft! Judges Rules don't apply here. The council chamber is not a courtroom and the council does not have the authority to hold us in contempt and send us down to the cells. Best the council could do is call a policeman and ask him to eject us for what? Sitting quietly in the corner and reporting?

6. I'm not 'uppity',or 'ranting', nor am I a 'cut above the rest' because I'm holding a microphone! If any thing, I'm making the point that our request was misrepresented and if we hadn't recorded it, we couldn't make this point now.

7. I'm not grateful, or ungrateful to the council for granting us what we already have!

8.And what if the council did reply to our 'ungratefulness' by withdrawing its 'permission'? All it would be withdrawing would be its willingness to co-operate in making everyone heard.

I'm not trying to cause trouble, and I'm not trying to make enemies. I'm very aware that most of the council want this innovation to progress. I'm only trying to clarify a point about our right to report a Public Meeting fairly and in full. The council welcome this, as do the residents of our town.

To be honest, the last place on my list of favourite events to record is council meetings. Meetings are often either deadly boring or only of interest to those who were present, so I'm at this point uncertain as to how much attention we'll give it. My own intention is to set the recorder rolling and head off to the Royal Lion until the meeting is over!

Somewhere Over Lyme Regis

2007-07-16T01:40:00.000+01:00

Did you see it last Sunday? The spectacular Double Rainbow which graced the sky of Lyme for around half an hour in the late afternoon of Sunday the 8th July. Final proof, if it was needed, that Lyme Regis truly is a magical place, where magical events are occuring. Mary just happened to be gazing out of the window at the time, then suddenly picked up her Camcorder and whizzed downstairs, returning minutes later with the beautiful images you see on the site. And we couldn't resist it, we got together with the Beard at the first opportunity and recorded Mary singing 'Somewhere Over Lyme Regis'. Its difficult not to regard such an event as some kind of sign, it spread from end to end of the town, curving across Lyme Bay, and you can see clearly where it lands at each end, so bring your shovels and spades folks, because now we know where the pot of gold is! So why not sing along while you're watching it, then tell your friends its there, and we'll all sing together. Magic!

George Melly

2007-07-10T03:30:00.000+01:00

I'm quite sure that many people in Lyme will remember George Melly's appearances at the Marine Theatre where he regaled the audience with his stories and memoirs, sitting on his big chair in the centre of the stage, with a small table at his side with a jug of water, a glass, and a bottle of whisky. I'm sure he once recounted the famous 'yodelling in the canyon' story from the Oz Trials in 1968. Mostly the shows were a report on the various places and under what circumstances he passed out, but his rapport with the audience was so friendly and easy going that it wasn't like a performance, George certainly had the personal touch with everyone he met.
I knoiw this because, when I had my shop just opposite the Marine Theatre, he used to call in and see me. He was originally introduced to me by the Concert Promoter, Paul Meredith, and on his last couple of visits, I was charged by Paul with the task of looking after him. On his last visit here, (around 3 years ago maybe?) he was in especially expansive and ebullient mood, and Paul almost pleaded with me, "Keep him here Nomad, don't let him out of your sight!". George breezed purple suited into the back of the shop, "Hello Nomad! Lovely to see you again!",like an old friend, "Nomad,in the past I've been somewhat disparaging about your paintings, but today, I think they're merely....derivative!!!" Loud guffaws followed to the amusement of a couple of potential shoppers. He sang Happy Birthday to You to a child, I don't know if it was the childs birthday or not, but she got Happy Birthday anyway! A woman in the doorway, enquiring of me about a Psychic Reading got the response, "I'll give you a reading darling, come in and give me a kiss". She did too! A few minutes later, I had to go and serve a customer, when I saw George breeze out of the shop, waving his panama as he passed, and after bagging up the purchase I went to find him, he'd only been gone ten minutes and I found him in the Pilot Boat, already esconced on a barstool, chatting to the clientelle, and imbibing his third scoch. Luckily Paul took charge and dragged him off to the theatre, still smiling.........
He was fully charged that night, and when he finished the show, with a wide sweep of his panama and a deep low bow to the audience, he would've been off the stage head first if Paul hadn't been behind him and grabbed the back of his coat.
George was a brilliance, and besides being just about the best raconteur I ever heard, was a very learned man, (and if he'd had better things to say about my paintings, I might have complimented him on his art criticism also). I first saw him perform, years ago in a little jazz pub called, I think, the Mitre, near the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel, and he has to be among the best, and most under-rated jazz singers ever produced by this rule ridden and sexually disapproving nation. Good for you George mate, you stood up for freedom of thinking, and less inhibition, and I'm sure that wherever you are now, you've had a few already!
While on the subject of the Marine, it was Paul Meredith who promoted the Legends Visit Lyme concerts a few years ago. These were fabulous shows, and Paul brought to Lyme Regis the best of performers in such a wide series of genre, music and performance that its difficult to list it all. In his last year here I think he put on more than 20 shows, all of them with star quality bands and artistes. We got into trouble at the time for writing letters to the trustees in support of Paul after he was axed by the 'previous management'. Nuff said! I have nothing to say about any previous managers at the Marine, and all I can say is this: Whatever 'history' was left behind, was not caused by Paul, and I don't give a damn who says otherwise. When Paul first started his shows, about 13 years ago now, there was no management at the Marine. Paul used to open up and lock up again after the shows. The Marine was shut much of the time, and only became successful enough to have a manager again after the success of the Legends Visit Lyme Concerts.

The Big Pink?

2007-06-27T22:00:00.000+01:00

This is a bit of a bits and peices leftovers catching up blog. The last few weeks have been so busy that we haven't had one single 10 minute breathing space, and even though Mary and I had made resolves to catch up on ourselves and spend less time thinking about LymeRegisRadio, this hasn't actually occurred, and we've in fact been doing more, not less. All to your, the listeners benefit, especially as you're now about to hear the first part of Richard Digance's very long and totally absorbing tent show at Uplyme, besides seeing video of various town luminaries pretending to watch cricket while, for the most part, consuming a lot of food, giving their dosh to Cancer Research, and drinking heavily.
In the meanwhile, amongst our emails, which, without telling a lie, usually either inform us of upcoming events in the Lyme environs, or express praise for the sterling work we do in telling the world how bad the weather is in this part of the local galaxy, we find this dismissive missive from one 'Jon Steed' expressing disapproval. Now the last time I heard about 'Jon Steed' he was in the Avengers, circa mid-sixties TV series which I personally most remember because it featured various bits of Joanna Lumleys body. I'm assuming that this email didn't come from the real Jon Steed because he was an actor, therefore its a pseudonym for a personage, maybe with honourable intent who considers himself to be some sort of 'avenger', and judging by his choice of nom-de-plume of similar age to myself. I don'tmind avengers, masked or otherwise, as long as the avenging is pointing in the right direction. In this case however, he has definitely picked up the wrong breifcase. Words variously mentioned in the esteemed Steed's missive included 'evans','ego', 'bottom', inclusive of......oh the hell with it, here it is in full, read it for yourself......
Could someone please grab Nomad's legs before he completely disappears up 'Evans the Ego's' bottom. It getting to be embarassing! It's beginning to swamp what was an independent voice for Lyme Regis. Be brave and do your own thing!
Now, you can understand why I speedily checked the front page just in case there was an over abundance of Pip Evans, a character who I can only say I have the best regard for, but there are places in this world where one would want to resist disappearing, and one of them is.......yes, you guessed it. I hope you're going to excuse me for writing in this vein, but I'm at the present inspired by the style of Richard Digance, whose performance I thought exemplary, a kids show with rude words by an aging geezer with very little hair who needs lessons in pulling women, no doubt, but highly entertaining just the same.
I also can't help the nagging thought that someone called Jon Steed really exists as a solid citizen of Lyme, or even Uplyme, in which case, I would suggest he either changes his name, or ceases avenging.
Anyway, upon perusing the front page, what I find is that at present, only one programme appears with Pip's name on the bill, out of a total of 9 items on the Front Page, and its the Royal Lion from a week last Friday. Theres not even much Evans in our Top Twenty this week. Only place where Pip is mentioned in Big letters is my last blog entry, but credit where its due mate! This was a BRILLIANT event, perfectly organised, that emptied the pockets of the local well-heeled into the coffers of Cancer Research. So all I can say Mr. Steed, is that Pip Evans bottom is perfectly safe where I am concerned. Worth saying also that Pip's expertise and professionalism have only served to enhance LymeRegisRadio and add to our public profile. So sorry Steed, at the risk of upsetting you further, all I can tell you is that I haven't had so much fun in years as I've had with Pip since I first met him in the conveniences of the Harbour Inn around this time last year, and I don't think any of our listeners would disagree that Pip has brought us some excellent programmes, from the Royal Lion Friday Nights, to the Sports View sessions, and all the bits in between, and now the Big Pink.
As far as I'm aware, the original 'Big Pink' was, according to rock legend, the big garishly painted pink house that 'The Band' moved into to be close to Bob Dylan when he hired them as his backing band. Those original sessions produced an album by the band, titled Music from the Big Pink, and the well known Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan, a bootleg that become so successful it superceded everything Dylan had previously accomplished (except perhaps 'Like a Rolling Stone') and to his and his record companie's chagrin, was eventually produced as a legit album with the same title. All of this I wrote from memory without referencing Google, so if I'm wrong, correct me.
When I did check it on Google, I find that since then, there have been numerous 'Big Pinks', all trading off the same Dylan/Band imagery, but none of them relating to the human female mammarial gland, by which one can only assume that Pip's title has hit the nipple on its soft head (Jon Steed?) and one can only wonder why such an obvious analogy was never felt up before.
So here it is, on the Front Page, the Big Pink Charity Cricket Match, complete with speeches and video's, superlative performances by Richard Digance, and 'name & shame'pics of those who should've been outside watching the cricket, with deep thanks, in case I wasn't clear enough already, to Pip Evans for producing an event which all who were present will remember for years to come. Is that enough to please any soft heads Jon Steed? I'm off now for my injection.
This has been the Editors View from the Brave and Independent Voice of LymeRegisRadio!

We Were All In the Pink!!

2007-06-25T02:13:00.000+01:00

Hi Pip and Jackie,
Thankyou so much for involving us in your amazing weekend of fun, frolics, and cricket. You deserve all the credit and kudos available for pulling out all the stops, and for a truly deserving, and personal cause. Was clear from the start that you really worked hard on this, and I'm sure its been worth all the stress its probably caused you for the past few weeks. Congrats from us up here at downtown LymeRegisRadio.
Difficult to find a high point, pulling in Richard Digance has to be a master stroke, and even though the b******* picked on me more than once, he still had me rolled up with laughter to the point where my eyes hurt and my Guinness curdled. Richard, I'll defend you all the way, you put on the best performance I've seen in years, and to be on stage for almost the three hours you did, and still have the audience eating out of your hand, licking your feet and crying out for more, defines the peak of artistry. I've been listening to the audio tonight, and I'm still falling apart. Mind, I'm partly falling apart because of the mix of alcohol consumed on Sunday, Whole bottles of it were circulating the atmosphere, and by 3pm, it was possible to become pie-eyed by the high octane atmospheric content in the (as Richard put it) Tent. White, Red, Pimms, Guinness, lager, and a shot or two of something in a hipflask that I hope was Brandy, all passed my lips.
There were also low points and moments of high drama, mortification when one of the speakers cut out during the first half of the Digance show, then the panic of the interval, and the fear on Pip's face when I was sticking the Mic plug into the wrong socket, but I do have to say, one of the speakers got quite severely wet when we were waiting in the rain for Pip to transport us to Uplyme. Only other difficult moment was during lunch on Sunday when Sally (Her Worshipful) told me off. And yes, I'm sorry Sally, (theres gotta be a song title in there somewhere?) I was over the top and out of line, and my only excuse is that Digance is so off the wall, that I couldn't help trying to keep up, and by then I'd already consumed an awful lot of wine. (Though, at the same time, I can't really accept that Mayors and other Worshipfuls aren't up to doing the same stuff as the rest of the human race, after all, we're only human, and while I'm a respecter of persons, I'm not a respecter of roles and authorities, and I can't really find it in myself to put someone on a higher plane merely because they're wearing a set of gold shackles. I hold it all with the same regard as I do for standing up for the Queen. I don't.)
And the speeches on Sunday afternoon. Pip, I saw with my own runny eyes, the tears rolling down the faces of your audience, and it was so clear, that this was a gathering of personal friends, Mary and myself, felt privileged to be present at such a gathering. I was wiping the tears away myself when Jackie made her speech, there was so much love in the room. (tent)
After the cricket (finally) commenced, I was in the tent taking a few 'name & shame' pictures of people that should have been outside when I even got caught up in some impromptu Palm Reading! One minute readings in exchange for which, recipients were asked to drop a little cash into the bucket.
And the auction! Was the best auction I've ever seen! Masterful! We got a bit of video of Richard sorting out the first item and I was out of it when he auctioned off one of our jack cables. More than that, I have to explain to Andy at Axe Music, it was his cable, that he lent us with the Floor Monitor (that didn't work!).
So I dunno, I can remember going home on Saturday night, I'm aware that you and Jackie lifted us down the hill, but my mind is a blank until we were back on the site on Sunday morning. I'm sure however that some cricket was played, I know this because I have evidence, a short video of Pip's entire innings!
I finally went home on Sunday in the company of Nigel, and all I can say, being in print, is that a safer driver there never was!
All in all, a star studded fantastic weekend, the like of which will never be seen again, at least probably not until Digance returns. A triumph Pip, you should be truly proud of your acheivement this weekend. I'll remember it for the rest of my life, (or at least until my next injection..........)
God Bless You All!
love and blessings,
Nomad
ps: Its going to take a day or two to edit the content and put it online, Richard for a start will need a lot of strategic editing.
Big thanks to Richard Digance for allowing us to record his entire show. We're going to put a half hour or so on the site each week, and to everyone who hears it and wasn't there,or even if you were there and hear it again,or even if you keep on listening to it till you memorise the script and your ears fall off, we hope that you'll make a donation via the link on the site.
Happy listening.........all you need is love......

Help! We'reUnder Seige!

2007-06-19T01:26:00.000+01:00

Another fantastic weekend in Lyme Regis, from the colourful tradition of the Relief of the Seige of Lyme, to the Picnic in the Park, Saturday was another of those days when we did so much that the Digital Recorder ran out of space, and the Camcorder ran out of battery.
We started on Friday with our regular weekly session at the Royal Lion with Alan Vian chatting with Pip Evans about carnivals past present and future, including the return of the legendary Bumble's Circus at next year's Sixty Years Celepbration. Helen Christian of the Cafe Sol in Coombe Street called in to tell us about their event on Tuesday when all the takings from the day will go to Cancer Breakthrough. So now you know where to go for your afternoon coffee on Tuesday.
For the Seige event, being so colourful, we did a lot of Video, parades, drummers, singers, pikestaffers, and weapons and map demonstrators, should take you a couple of hours or more to view it all. Alan Vian resplendent in Long Hair, definitely looking the part and doing announcements with a fair amount of aplomb. Rev. John Harrison commented afterwards that he found it mildly embarassing leading the parade with the Taunton Garrison down Broad Street, with the 'soldiers' shouting 'no papery'. No worries John, they were talking about Lyme News!
A change of pace in the evening for the Picnic in the Park. A rainy evening didn't deter the locals, because after all, this was a party for residents. The Town Band turning in their usual popular performance, and Tony Langford's Coly River Jazz blowing some hot notes. Even if I say so myself, the recording quality on this was nothing short of spectacular, all praise to the soundman for providing such an excellent sound system. Made a change too for Mary and me to be performing ourselves. Was our first outing in Lyme for some years, and our first show with the Beard giving it out on his big old 12 string guitar. Just to confuse everyone we played under the pseudonym of the Mary Land Chicane, but no one was fooled. We got a bit wet, but who cares, we all had a great time.
Just settling in to a days editing on Sunday, when a call from Dave Matthews of Lyme Bay Holidays sends me hotfooting round to Broad Street for an interview with Richard Heygate, (Sir Richard no less) and in case you didn't know, the innovative Sir Richard is at least partially responsible for the invention of the ATM machine, so next time the one in Broad Street goes on the blip, you know who to call! I thought I was going to talk to Richard about his new book, coming out in October and titled 'Endangered Species', and has a chapter about Lyme Regis, but wound up nattering about every subject under the sun over a glass of white, finding out on the way that Richards partner is as much a fan of Johnny Cash as I am.
On Monday evening we strolled across the road to Woodmead Halls for the official release of the Lyme Regis Community Plan, a prodigious document, several years in the making which everyone who sees a future in Lyme should read, not just read, get involved!
And if you work it out, thats 4 consecutive days recording, editing and programme making, which is why we're under seige! Help! We can't continue at this pace! We need at least one more webmaster, two presenters and a producer or we'll never get throught the Summer and live to tell the tale!

The Lyme Response to the Sunday Times

2007-06-15T15:40:00.000+01:00

Received this letter from Mike Lewis, Town Clerk of Lyme Regis, addressed to the Sunday Times..........

Dear All,
My response to the article in the Sunday Times.
Mike

The Editor,
The Sunday Times,
1 Pennington Street,
London. E98 1ST
15th June 2007
Dear Sir,
Front page 10th June - “Swim in British waters at your peril”, inside page “Health-risk beaches” and separate map entitled “Sick seas”.
Ref: Church Cliff Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset
With reference to the article last Sunday concerning the state of Britain’s bathing waters, in particular the references to Church Cliff Beach Lyme Regis; I must register concern, on behalf of Lyme Regis Town Council, at the impression given to the reader that swimming from this beach
would be risking the health of those foolhardy enough to take the plunge.
I enclose for your edification the results, published by West Dorset District Council, of the Environment Agency’s water quality sampling off this beach for the whole of last season (2006) and the readings to date from similar testing this year.
As you will note Church Cliff Beach did not at any time during the sampling period fail the current EU guidelines for bathing water quality.
The laudable aim of the article may well have been to alert the bathing public to the fact that the EU is considering raising the standards by which sea water is tested for unwelcome organisms injurious to health.
However the inclusion of Lyme Regis on a map (albeit bearing the rider in very small print that these are forecasts), leads the reader to believe that these are resorts with a problem of water quality, and in our case is likely to have been based on outdated information. The several articles will undoubtedly have left the public with the mistaken belief that this beach and its bathing waters should be avoided at all costs this season by those wishing to enjoy a healthy holiday.
This is not to say that Lyme Regis can afford to be complacent and the Town Council will be working with partner agencies to ensure that the resort can meet the new water quality standards when the time comes. The intention is to continue to offer both residents and the many visitors a healthy and safe marine environment worthy of the accolade of World Heritage status.
The Town Council would urge therefore that in the next edition steps are taken to ameliorate this currently damaging and misleading impression of Lyme Regis.
Yours faithfully,
M.LEWIS
Town Clerk
Lyme Regis

Sunday Times Pollution

2007-06-15T14:45:00.000+01:00

Had only just got back from the Civic Parade when the email from Sandy Burnfield arrived informing me about the Sunday Times article about polluted beaches, citing Lyme by implication, and in the end, you don't have to read between many lines to recognise it as a load of tosh! A mix and match of information from different sources applying to new EU rules which don'tcome in to force until next year! It created the biggest postbag we ever had, and its not surprising that people feel a little consternation when they read stuff like this. Rest assured folks, Lymes beaches, besides being scenic and beautiful, are as clean as you'll get anywhere, and you'll have no fear of infection from bathing in these waters. They're checked regularly and results are posted locally. Just in case you missed it, heres the offending article, won't take you long to work out the flaws for yourself. Maybe its bathing in the Sunday Times that causes infection?

2007-06-04T02:36:00.000+01:00

Its been a CLASSIC week, starting at Urban Lawns Music Festival in Axminster last weekend where we recorded some excellent music, worth giving your ears a treat, put your headphones on and slip away into the atmosphere. Besides great music, this has to be just about the best organised and friendliest Music Festival I ever attended, we wish we could have stayed longer. If I've got any personal favourite session, it would have to be the Anna Page Band, intelligent relevant, philosophical sardonic country music at its best. I'm still singing the chorus of 'My Gods Better then Your God' more than a week later. Find out more about Anna at this location: http://www.myspace.com/annapagemusic. Was really pleased also to walk into our old mates Karmadeva who were performing in the evening. Karmadeva played ot our own LymeRegisRadio Launch event a couple of years ago, and I love their music, darkly gothic folk rock fronted by Jane Stanness, we have their CD playing on the 'Urban Lawns' page too, and somewhere in our archive, I think you could still find thier original show for us in Lyme Regis.
A total change of pace on Weds when I chatted with Sally Holman, our new Mayor (thankyou Your Worshipful!) down on the seafront, a sunny day, seas rolling in the background, seagulls crying, and Sally talking about her plans for the year ahead.
Friday afternoon saw us at Davey Fort welcoming the Creully Football Team for the Annual Twinning Event with our own Lyme Football Team. After the greetings and the ritual drinking of beer, we were all outside where the French Flag was raised, the National Anthem was sung, followed by the Marsellaise, and theres no doubt that the French contingent sang their anthem with much more enthusiasm than our lot. And yes, before you ask, being personally a known Republican, I sat down for the Queen, and stood, glass raised for the Marsellaise. Vive La Republique!
Our usual spot on a Friday evening is of course the Royal Lion, and even though we recorded Pip Evans weekly news at Davey Fort, we strolled down the hill, having chips on the way, arriving at the Royal Lion around 7.30. Good company as always, with the Beard, Colin Dawes, and the surprise company of Ken & Jo Whetlor, who had been eating out at the Lal Qilla Indian Restaurant.
On Saturday, though we missed the England v France footie match, which we hear England lost due to drinking less beer than the French team, we were at By the Bay in the evening for the Celebration Dinner. Our good friends Derek and Elaine laid on a spread of fabulous proportions, couldn't be beat! But first there were the formalities, speeches and presentations. Our Worshipful Sally Holman was present, loads of pictures were taken, we met Gerard and Gerard from Creully, Mary got chatted up by Silvo, we collected up a lot of email addresses, and maybe we're off next year on the trip to Creully too........
We ended the week on Sunday afternoon at Rousden Social Club, a nice little venue, where Dave Emmett was launching his new album. Dave took part in our Open Audio sessions last year, and we were only too pleased to join quite a goodly crowd to wish him well with his musical venture. Thanks for inviting us Dave, and all the best with the album.........
And thats all for now folks!

The Making of Mayor's

2007-05-25T03:11:00.000+01:00

What perecentage of the venerable ratepayers of Lyme Regis care or give a damn who will be the next Mayor. Not many I'm sure. More than 50% (48% voted) didn't care or give a damn who is elected to the council in the first place. So it very likely safe to say that almost 80% of the population have not the slightest interest in the recent Mayoral Election. I took a little Straw Poll of my own today, and out of the thirty or so people I asked, only two knew we had a new Mayor, and only one knew that Sally Holman had been elected. But thats democracy for you!
Speaking personally, from the downtown view of LymeRegisRadio, I'm only too pleased that for the second year running the Mayor likes us! We were really knocked out to be invited to the Mayor Making Ceremony, and we're also pleased to count Sally among our personal friends. We also know just how much work she puts in for this town. I'm not one who stands on ceremony, and I personally reserve the right not to stand for a toast to the queen. I'm not a subject, I'm a citizen! Aside from this, we heard some great speeches, particularly outstanding was Phil Streets exhortation to Councillors, often prodigious by their absence, to be seen and present at Civic Events. Well said Phil. Also liked Lorna Jenkin's comment about Pip Evans being off most Councillors Christmas Card lists! I observed too that though both Lorna and Mike Poupard totally ignored the 'new media' in their speeches, despite the fact that we were sitting there with headphones on recording every word verbatim, and right at the end, Sally herself told the assembled that they could hear it first on LymeRegisRadio.com. Sorry Mike Poupard, aside from fish and chip wrappers, we believe that the future includes a paper-free world!
Whats more, the apre bash at the Power Boat Club was brilliant, and the spread, especially the orange cheesecake, was beyond comparison! Also worth adding that the LRPBC has the best and cheapest Guinness in town.
Maybe some of the local Press furore over the Election of our new Mayor has been just a little over the top and now common sense needs to prevail. We're great supporters of Ken Whetlor, and as already said in my last blog, he has served the town well during the past year, and we wish him all the best for the future. We hope in fact that as soon as his eye problems are sorted out that he will continue to work with LymeRegisRadio.
So while thanking Ken for his full time efforts during the past year, we also wish Sally Holman, our newly elected Worshipful, all the best for the year ahead.
Nuff said!!

Thanks Ken and Jo, you're the best.....

2007-05-12T02:27:00.000+01:00

In the past year, Ken Whetlor has given his best to Lyme Regis, and I want to go on record as saying that his best is very very good indeed. I'm not saying this because Ken has been a good 'mate' to us down here at LymeRegisRadio, but because we've seen him in action all the past year, giving his best to the town. I wouldn't mind so much if he hadn't fulfilled his duty, if he hadn't fulfilled his role at Council Meetings, if he hadn't been available for advice when needed, if he hadn't played his part in Committees, if he hadn't fulfilled his public role, if he hadn't served his time. But he has, in all respects, Ken Whetlor is, not just a good man, a man who cares about Lyme Regis, but has been a good Mayor. I see no reason at all why he should be prevented from serving out a second year. I would ask if any Mayor in the past years has been present at so many public events? Even through illness he has continued to give his best, and to my knowledge, hasn't refused a single request to be present at a public event. Every event we go to, Ken has been there, most times with Jo at his side. This couple have given their best to Lyme Regis, and those who supported 'secret' ballots to remove him have no respect, either for themselves, the office they represent, or for the wonderful town we live in.
So, I'm asking, if there were any good reasons why Ken Whetlor isn't still serving this town as Mayor, please tell us, because we don'tknow.
And at the end of the day, Ken will still be giving service, still be playing his part, unlike some others, who voted against him, vote in their own personal interests, and don't give half as much.........

This Psychic Lark

2007-04-24T03:03:00.000+01:00

Its what I was asked a few days ago, how did you get into "this psychic lark". Well, as with all good stories, its a long one, and I don't intend to tell you all of it right now.
I suppose it begins with being fortunate enough to have a Crazy Grandmother who had lived a lotof her life in India. My Father, now long since gone, was born in India, and though maybe I should visit one day to see my Dad's birthplace first hand, I've never really had the urge to travel. My Nan's house was full of artifacts from India, brass elephants, large butterflies in cases etc, and she used to tell me about her life in India prior to the War. I was particularly drawn to the stories of the Fakirs and the Yogi's, the Sadhu's and Sanyassins, though this in itself is no reason I should fool about with Tarot Cards and the like.
I began a practice of Yoga when I was still a child, and I've stuck to it all my life, though, when you've been a practitioner of the art for a number of years, it becomes something that practices you, not you it.
I'm going to jump the story now a few years, not that nothing happened in between, I'm saving that for another day. Sometime around the mid-Seventies, (work it out for yourself, I'm 61 years old next month) I was performing in a Workingmens Club, I loved Social Clubs and club life, still do. I was really on a roll that night, and as you do when you know the audience is on your side, I was ad-libbing a bit. I'd met an agent a few days previously who had asked me to contact him "when I had the nerve to put the guitar down", so, it was the second spot, I put the guitar down, gave it a go. I started doing a spoof mind reading thing, fingers to my forehead, and spouting anything that dropped into my consciousness about the people in the audience. I was getting laughs, and the audience was rolled up with tears in the eyes, when I came off stage, I was immediately booked for another show, and there was a queue of people waiting to chat.
At that moment, a fight broke out in the middle of the room, two blokes going at it hammer and tongs, breaking furniture over each others heads etc. It seemed that in my enthusiasm I'd revealed a secret affair! But I was only joking, honest! This was only a 10 minute bit in a 2 hour show and these good folks were asking me to read their palms because I'd been so right about them! I got out of there fast, thinking furiously of ways and means of including this into my 'act' without getting thumped, which is when I chanced on the idea of One-to-One theatre,...........

Onwards & Upwards

2007-04-13T03:12:00.000+01:00

When was I last here? Must've been more than a week ago! Moving so fast now that one day soon I'm going to meet myself coming back over the trail I've just been wondering. I'm a selfmade doppleganger, I never know which image of myself is the real me. Now I'm getting the 'feel'of this blogging lark, I may have to start doing it as a straight diary.
Last week of course, we had the visit of Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne to contend with. Now I'm not a Royalist, so reporting this one presented me with several 'moral' dilemmas, I mean, the above is only a small selection of her royal names, and how many names does one person need! In the end,I did it for Lyme, no doubt at all that a Royal Visit, even by so minor a royal personage, has to be good for business. In the end it was a lot of fun, running with the Press Rats, guided all the way with special viewing privileges, and instructed not to shout out to the Princess because its offensive to protocol or something. I never saw her smile during the entire time she was here, and I really felt like shouting "C'mon girl, smile for the camera!". All in all though, an excellent day,but there were no free munchies.
Since then of course, we've done a couple of SportsView sessions with Pip, notably the Seasiders bringing home the Perry St League Challenge Cup for the second year in succession, chatted with Marcus Dixon about the forthcoming 'Rising Seas' Fossil Festival next month, and rumours of a Bob Dylan Festival, (can that be real, Bob visiting Lyme?) and the Easter Parade, which was brilliant. Kids having a good time is what a visit to the seaside is all about, and seeing so many local grown up kids showing off their Easter Bonnets was a hoot. I give my special prize for the best bonnet to Jo Whetlor whose creation even defied gravity.
But the high point for me has to be our Lyme Adventure with Colin Dawes, a beautiful day, not a trace of wind in the air, perfect outdoor recording conditions, and Mary and Colin talking about fossils under Black Ven. Was so informative that I'm even thinking about taking up fossiling myself. Recommended listening folks! More to come from Colin next month when his perfect radio voice reports for LymeRegisRadio at the Fossil Festival. www.risingseas.co.uk
And the icing on the cake is that once again,the site hits have reached a new peak, on Weds 4th April, we scored a grand total of 3,650!

My Sporting Week

2007-03-31T02:33:00.000+01:00

I'm quite enjoying my sport at the moment. For the last few weeks I've been strolling up to Davey Fort with Pip Evans and have been really enjoying the atmosphere of the Football Social Club. An excellent sporting environment where the Guiness flows free. Its about as close as I've ever been to a football pitch for a lot of years, and all will be well unless someone brings me a set of boots and asks me to kick anything, in which case I would have to resort to past methods of avoidance.
Almost all the sport in my life has consisted of finding ways of avoiding it. I used to hate 'games' at school, and found it utterly irksome, that it was 'compulsory', and I determined to beat the system and get excused games on a permanent basis. It wasn't easy, and some loss of face can't be avoided. Forgetting your kit,or bringing notes from uninformed mothers only got you off for one week, and it took some ingenuity to get excused forever. I'd been reading this 'Jennings' book, and in one of them, the sub-hero, (known as Derbyshire) had avoided games successfully by tieing his football boot laces together so tightly that they were permanently inextricable, I tried this, and it worked quite well, trying to run up a pitch in 2 inch strides not only provoked friendly laughter from the 'lads' but even got me some kudos for standing up to a fascist PE teacher. After this I never got picked for any team ever again. There was one severely misguided PE Master who figured I was a 'good little runner' and put me in a reserve team for cricket. From his point of view it was a mistake, from my point of view, it wasn't so bad, was a lot easier than football where you have to be careful never to be in possession of the ball because otherwise, your privacy would be invaded by the horde. Object was to get rid of the ball as soon as possible, though handling it could get you 'sent off', which wasn't so bad, you could then avoid the communal shower and sneak off to the art room. Cricket was ok, you could get out to the extremity of the area (silly mid outa here?), and be forgotten in a matter of minutes. The problem for me wasn't really the sport, I was always much shorter than everyone else, its not easy to argue with someone a good foot and a half taller who really wanted to take the ball from you, and being a 'good little runner' is one thing, but when everyone else has a stride double the length of mine, it was never easy to get anywhere first!
I'm not entirely opposed to sport, so don't get me wrong about this.It was a sporting hero in my College days that was very influential in building my confidence. A man called Bob Hardisty, changed my life when I was a student. Bob was amazing, and I still get a lump in my throat when I think about him. Through 'Uncle Bob', I learnt how to express myself, how to defend my ground, how to stand up for myself. My Father died when I was 22 years old, I was still a student at the time, and Bob, probably unknowingly, helped me through what was up to then the most difficult period of my life. Bob had one singular distinction as an amateur football player, he played for Manchester United in their first match after the team was decimated in the Munich air crash, and played for the legendary Bishop Auckland Football Club. I had so much respect for him. He taught me that avoiding sport was ok, but you had to learn to compete in the real world, and whatever you chose to do in life, you had to respect others, respect yourself, and make every performance the best you ever did. But this is to speak only half the truth, Bob was a great teacher, an 'integrationalist' who believed that subject barriers got in the way of education, and was as just as excited about the learning process as the young people he taught, the great lesson I learned from him about teaching was his stock in trade statement: "Trust the Kids!!" Myself and other students used to chat in his rooms far into the night, and he would still be up at 6am every morning for his work-out which he did to the accompaniment of 'Saturday Night at the Movies" by the Drifters, played so loud that the whole residential block was awakened. His great catch phrase when anyone, whether in the room, or on the TV said something that touched his heart, (which was on average about every 1o minutes), was "Bloody Roll On!" accompanied by his fist punching the air. Thanks Bob, though you're gone now, I still think you were the greatest Man I ever met in my life, thanks. Back in Bishop Auckland, they even named a road after him.
Didn't help much when I was a rookie schoolteacher in London though, having to spend freezing mornings on Blackheath, and being the youngest and newest male teacher in the school, it fell to me to take the deviant group up to the Heath once a week. and did I take some kit and join in?Yes, I damn well did!
So I'm quite happy up at Davey Fort, I'm even getting into the spirit of it, and I'm rooting for the Seasiders tomorrow in the game against Merriot, if we (we!) win this one the top spot is ours, and this year Lyme is the firm favourite for winning the Perry Street League, so go for it Seasiders, the glory is all yours!!
But social clubs is where I grew up, from my teens onwards, I played in bands all over the North East, and I always loved club life, still do. So bring on the Guinness fellas, and if you want me and Mary to bring our guitars and PA up one night, we'll do it, and we'll do it for the beer............just don't ask me to kick anything.......

Pity the Poor Editor

2007-03-27T03:34:00.000+01:00

Over the past three, or is it now four, days, I've listened to the Town Meeting at Woodmead Halls last Friday, no less than 7 times. Now I'm not suggesting it was the most boring meeting I ever attended, because I quite often at meetings find myself wondering how people would respond if, right in the middle of the Mayor's speech, I got up and tap danced on the table.
But have a heart, 7 times!
1) The Meeting
2) Listening back to recording.
3) First run edit, recording from the MiniDisc to the Fostex
4) Detailed edit, from the Fostex to the Tascam
5) Editing together the two separate recordings from the meeting
6) Copying into the computer in real time
7) Final Playback after uploading to the site.
If you have any questions about the meeting, all you need to do is ask, I have it memorised, and could quote it word for word.
I edit on the 'Just a Minute' principle. (apologies I'm a dedicated listener to Radio4) Its the show where Nicholas Parsons asks his four contestants to speak for one minute on a given subject without Repetition, Hesitation or Deviation.
And as you know, a Town Meeting contains a lot of repetition, Repetition, not to mention.....umm..Hesitation, and (where was I?) Deviation.
Whatever, its done, its online and rolling, please listen to it, listen to it three or four times, it was a long show............

The Power of Black Velvet

2007-03-21T04:02:00.000Z

www.lymeregisradio.com
Been a very busy week since I was last here, you wouldn't think a small place like Lyme Regis could generate so much activity, but Lyme has a community spirit like nowhere I've ever lived before, and if you check out www.whatsoninlyme.co.uk, whose leading light Jenny Finch we interviewd last Friday, you'll see just how much is going on. Last Tuesday was the Rock Point for the first SportsView programme with sports supremo Pip Evans, on Wednesday we recorded, and played ourselves at the Nags Head Music Club, Thursday evening we were recording at home for the Beard and Mary, and the accompaniment of harmonica genius Richard Smith who added some overdubs to our developing albums. www.harmonix-harmonica.co.uk. Friday night no less than 5 interviews at our Friday Night Live session at the Royal Lion, Saturday afternoon up at the Football Ground at Davey Fort for Pip's SportsView, and in the evening we attended Civic Night, a posh affair with many tux's where we recorded the Mayor, Ken Whetlor in conversation, some inebriated, with local luminaries. Fabulous night, good food and entertainment, couldn't be beat. Sunday, what happened Sunday? I'm losing track! Sunday we stayed home and caught up with the backlog. Monday would've been a day off, except it was Rio's birthday, and we were forced into eating Indian food, drinking wine, company being joined by Graham Turner. Tuesday, to the meeting of the Lyme Traders Association. Is that it? Its enough! You can hear it all online at www.lymeregisradio.com.
Great to see a couple of comments appearing here. Thanks Robin, funny thing is, I do remember that conversation, and if my opinion has changed since then, I still think Tony Blair is eloquent, difference being he has proved himself to be the most eloquent liar in the history of British politics. And yes Jenny in Missouri, velvet should be included, not necessarily black however, I totally believe in the freedom to choose ones own velvet.

Occupational Therapy

2007-03-13T03:28:00.000Z

I'm not sure I have an 'occupation', not in the traditional sense. I'm always occupied, but I haven't followed a 'trade' or 'profession', or even a 'job', since about 1977. I can remember how it happened, I was a 'schoolteacher' in Inner London, under all kinds of stress, and tis particular morning, I strolled into school, late as usual, and trying to look nonchalant, holding that 'been here for hours' expression on my face, and I walked into the Headmaster's office, I didn't knock, because even back then, I didn't have a lot of respect for authority, (healthy fear? yes, respect? No.) only to find him slumped over his desk, crying. Not sobbing you understand, just crying softly to himself. Avoiding embarassment but not about to leave, I asked him what he was so upset about, and he said, "Its my Birthday, I'm 60 today". So I said, well, we need to celebrate, offering the opportunity of heading to the pub at lunchtime, because in those days, teachers could do that, slope off for a quick one at lunchtime. He said, "For the past 25 years, all I've done is sit behind a desk, and I really wanted to write books, paint pictures, play music, and now I'm too late". What I figured he was really saying was its time to pack it in, so I did, I wrote my notice on the spot, and since then I've written books and poems, wrote songs and played music, painted pictures, and enjoyed every minute of my life, and more than anything I do, I love to paint, I dunno though.........
Tomorrow, to follow Genny's thread, thankyou for the comments Genny, we're going to discuss devising a new religion..........

Gimme That Old Time Religion

2007-03-10T04:02:00.000Z

So in the end it all turned out fine, and though we didn't have our usual Friday Night Live session at the Royal Lion, we had a Friday Night Live in Lyme. We were at the Baptist Church Hall, (and no no no! Nomad hasn't suddenly got religion, unless its the old fashioned kind) on the corner of Sherbourne Lane where we recorded a concert with Martin John Nicholls, songwriter, singer, storyteller and Friends who performed a brilliant set of heartfelt songs, mostly penned by Martin, intersperced with his stories of life in West Africa, often drawing sharp comparisons with our quiet untroubled comfortable lives. Originally, we were just going to record the music, but Johns words are so potent, and so lucid, that you'll hear the whole thing online.
That is if, (isn't there always an 'if'?) if our new Digital Fostex Recorder behaved itself. We are still getting used to its little foibles, and we're never sure. When we started, we were plugged into the mixing desk,but as soon as the musicians started playing, the sound was horribly distorted, they sounded like a punk band, so we hurriedly switched to Mics, me asking Mary to crawl unobtrusively (ha!) across the front of the audience t place them. Later,Martin realised our problem and adjusted the mixer for us. Still, it will all come out in the edit.

Those who attended also experienced a delicious African dinner with a Senegalese flavour, which unfortunately we didn't because we were dashing about between the Church Hall and the Royal Lion (straight from the church into the alehouse?). The concert was a benefit for Christian Aid. Martin, besides turning out an excellent clawhammer picking on his guitar, is lucky enough to have two good looking girls on stage with him, Jill singing and Nicky playing keyboards, with three part harmonies, producing a very full sound. And what I really like about Martin is this; he has sincerity, he has experienced everything he talks about, and he means it.

One Step On

2007-03-08T03:29:00.000Z

Most people who know me would know I love music. Mostly I love playing music more than listening to it, so even if I'm just listening, I'll still be trying to catch the chords, guess the harmonies,identify instruments playing. So I'm always buying records and CD's, selling them on, buying again, choosing which to keep, and at the moment, I'm listening to past greats, which is why I picked up this album. 'Bumpers' has passed through my life several times, my original copy, way back in 1970, didn't get worn to death, one particular side, Side Three got played until no sound remained. This album had so many great tracks, some of them detined to never be heard again. 'I Am the Walsus', performed by Spooky Tooth is very near better than the Beatles, and 'Hazy Jane' by the tragic Nick Drake. Mellow 'Cadence and Cascade' from King Crimson, and the track I was always waiting for, 'I'm Reaching Out On All Sides' by a band called If, who I never heard of again, but one line from that song has suck in my head since I first heard the album, 'I want it said when I am gone, I moved the world just one step on'.
And why Jonathan Richman? One of these discs, (real old vinyl) went on eBay this week. Which one lived to eBay another day?

Normal Service is (Almost) Resumed

2007-03-04T00:49:00.000Z

Email from Dick Greener from the Strawbs management today who liked our interview with Dave Cousins and is going to add it to the Strawbs mailing list, which should generate a few more hits. Though he also pointed out that we got all the song titles wrong, so, before Mary puts it right on the site tomorrow, the correct titles of the three songs are : Cold Steel, Witchwood, and Benedictus. And just in case anyone else is having problems accessing the Audio, simply 'Click Here' under the Strawbs pic on the Front Page which will take you to the Audio page, and the Media Player opens automatically, and gives you the music. And while you're doing that, find out more about further appearances by the Strawbs at http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk.

A great night at the Royal Lion last night, everyone back on form again, Cap'n Pip on the subject of Affordable Housing, (a topic close to my own heart, on which I have many questions) and we chatted to who are going to ride clapped out 15 year old Mopeds from Lands End to John O' Groats and hoping to raise a lot of money for MS charities. They seek sponsors, and details are on the Audio Page. Picture shows Mary with the intrepid heroes outside the Royal Lion. They're off sometime in May, we intend to go and see them off, audio of Mopeds slowly fading into the distance, and we'll bring you details as an when. They're doing a Video Diary en route, and hopefully we'll bring you some of that too.

After the rigours of the week, we had a bit of a Saturday night off, couple of friends round for dinner, we sat around eating, drinking wine, and listening to our own programmes. Besides a few minutes of Richard Wynward, (a bit serious for Saturday night entertainment) we had 15 minutes of the fabulous stereo on the Phoenix Singers from St. Michaels, and then got into the Ska rhythms of the Toretz, (http://www.toretz.com) recorded at the last Fuego's street party. We recommend it, theres music on the site to suit all tastes and all occasions, so log on, tune in, and click to your next choice of programme at www.lymeregisradio.com.

And what about the Eclipse, hope you all stepped out into the cold night air to view the redness of the moon..........

Power to the People!

2007-03-02T04:13:00.000Z

What a brilliant morning it was. At the Town Mill to witness the switching on of Hydro-Electric Power in Lyme Regis. It attracted a lot of attention too, film and TV crews, journalists of all persuasions, and of course, Fiona from You & Yours on BBC Radio4. Two hits in one, thanks Fiona,my favourite Radio Station, and my favourite programme. We talked to quite a few people, Fred Thompson, one of the prime motivators of this project, Kevin Benfield, a couple of the youngsters involved, Ken Whetlor the Mayor, had a wonderful morning including a coffee and a muffin. The Town Mill is organised by a dedicated team of volunteers, and everyone deserves large pats on the back for making todays switch-on possible. http://www.townmill.org

Hopefully, it should be running online today, but all depends on Mary, because if you remember from yesterdays blog, we are having computer problems, and having reformatted everything, we are now putting all the software back, and all that time consuming boring stuff you have to do after computer meltdown.

And on Friday, if its a nice day, and you're out on the beach in the afternoon, you might just come across Mary with Dr. Colin Dawes recording the next episode of Colin's Lyme Adventures. Then in the evening, its our regular weekly Talk Session at the Royal Lion, when, besides chatting to Marcus Dixon, Manager of the Lyme Regis Development Trust http://www.lrdt.com , Pip Evans will be talking to Richard Smith, the man who reinvented the mouthorgan ('http://www.harmonix-harmonica.co.uk'); and a pair of lunatics who intend, in the cause of charity, to ride mopeds to Scotland. Personally, I'd rather have a Guiness.

A Grey Drizzly Day in Lyme

2007-02-27T18:49:00.000Z

Its not just Lyme that feels grey and drizzly today, I feel it personally! Had a bad start today when I failed to make it to an Appt with Ken Whetlor, illustrious Mayor of Lyme Regis at LymeNET (http://www.lymeNET.com) at 10.30 this morning. I mean, how bad is that, not turning up for the Mayor of all people! Still, I talked to him later on the phone, and assured him that I was wearing sackcloth and ashes, and beating myself with a hairbrush by way of atonement. I was supposed to be helping him sort out a new site for his blog, a question which has occupied both of us for weeks, and which we now seem to have resolved by signing up to Blogger.
The real problem is eBay. I got so engrossed this morning sorting out my listings for today, that I completely forgot about Ken until Mary arrived home around 12.15 asking me how the session with Ken went. So, I'm a little disappointed with myself, and I promise you Ken, it won't happen again.
Which is where we reach the point about grey and drizzly days. Mary was all set to meet Dr.Colin Dawes for the next programme in his series 'Lyme Adventures with Colin Dawes' though the weather was not clement for strolling up and down the beach with our brand new battery driven Fostex Digital Recorder. Getting it wet on its first outing was certainly not conducive, and we cancelled the session. Upshot is that you'll now have to wait until Saturday to hear the next exciting episode at LymeRegisRadio. (http://www.lymeregisradio.com)
In fact, its been a disappointing week in general, what with Cap'n Pip, (Philip Evans of the View from Lyme Regis newspaper) being down with coughs splutterings and general lurgyness, we finally got his weekly news up and running yesterday.
But things get better, eBay looks good for tonight and Mary and I are having a well earned night at home. This weeks View from Lyme is online and running, and alls well, looks like curry for dinner.
Met Paul Starck in town this afternoon, he was in his taxi, and stopped us in the middle of the road to tell us about his brilliant idea for a website, more on this after we chat with him in the Royal Lion on Thursday night.
Interesting to hear about Ian Gillan on the national news today. Good for you Ian, don't let these nefarious people release your sub standard material! Should also generate a few more listeners to his interview with Mary which you can find on the Talk pages of LymeRegisRadio!
Back Later!
Nomad