Church Stretton and South Shropshire Arts Festival

We were delighted that Tony Benn could step in, at very short notice, to replace Ann Widdecombe for our evening performance on Tuesday night, while at the same time really sorry that Miss Widdecombe had been taken ill.  We wish her a speedy recovery and hope to see her here sometime in the future.

Mr. Benn was accompanied by Samantha Norman, who led the discussion in the first part of the evening and then moderated questions from the audience in the second part.  It was great to be able to hear one of our distinguished statesmen give his views on everything from vivisection to war, and we were well entertained by his wit and insightful discussions.

As usual, here are the pictures:

photo credits:  John Arnfield

The Church Stretton Art, Crafts and Photography Exhibition opened on Monday.  170 people came to the opening reception which was great fun and very successful.   If you didn’t make it to the opening, do come soon as the artworks are selling fast this year.

Steve Lunt, head teacher of Church Stretton School opened the show with lovely compliments on the quality of the art and some relevant comments about how he hopes to see increasing co-operation between the school and the town.

Alison Holt, our guest artist, was the recipient of many accolades.  Most people were absolutely amazed at the intricate detail and lovely depth of colour in her needle paintings.

Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Photo credits:  John Arnfield

Here are the photos from Colin Stone’s lovely Chopin concert. If you didn’t come you missed a real treat. He has great power on the piano, but he can also make it sing – and he did!

Photo credits:  John Arnfield.

Due to the sudden illness of Ann Widdicombe, the Arts Festival has had to quickly find a replacement for our Tuesday evening talk.  Fortunately, we were able to secure the services of Tony Benn – the outspoken ex Labour MP.

We hope that the audience will find Mr. Benn just as entertaining as Miss Widdicombe and we look forward to hearing what he has to say!

” The office of The Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe regrets to announce that she will be unable to fulfil her speaking engagement at The Church Stretton and South Shropshire Arts Festival on Tuesday 27th July 2010.

Miss Widdecombe, today, underwent emergency eye surgery and has been advised by her doctor that she is unable to carry out any engagements for at least a month while she convalesces.

Priority will be given to rearranging Miss Widdecombe’s appearance and she is desperately sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Whilst Miss Widdecombe is convalescing we would ask that she receives no direct media enquiries.”

Members of the committee set up a bright and colourful Arts Festival stall at Church Stretton’s SummerFest.  Lots of tickets were sold, which is great news!  In fact, we’re pleased to announce that our final concert with RED PRIEST has completely sold out AND there’s a waiting list for tickets.  Other events are selling fast too, so don’t wait any longer to get your tickets.

By the way, if you’ve ever phoned up for tickets and wondered who was on the other end, it was probably Gloria.  She’s on the left in this picture.  In the centre is Roger, our Chair and on the right is Richard Walker who’s the chair of our wonderful music sub-committee.