Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre and producers Imagine Theatre are delighted to announce that panto favourites Paul Burling and David Ashley will return for this year’s panto season. They’ll be back in the fairest pantomime of them all Snow White From 02 – 31 December 2023. Tickets are on sale now!
The duo who performed together in last year’s successful pantomime Beauty and the Beast, had audiences rolling in the aisles will return this year for all the usual panto fun and frolics.
This pair are standouts. They work so well together as a comedy double act’.
Swindon Advertiser
David Ashley is mesmerizingly fantastic. Paul Burling is hysterical, wowing the audiences with his impressions and humour.’
Total Guide to Swindon
Hilarious impressionist Paul Burling made it to our screens as a finalist in 2010 in Britain’s Got Talent. He’s been amazing and thrilling audiences since on TV and stage across the UK. The panto regular said of his return:
‘I had such an amazing time at The Wyvern last year. I’m delighted to be coming back in Snow White with David! We’re looking forward to another spectacular season of silliness and can’t wait to see you there!’
Paul Burling – 2023 Panto Cast Announced
Not only but also
Joining Paul is Swindon’s favourite dame David Ashley. His 30-year career has seen him perform across the West End in shows such as Cats, Les Misérables, Blood Brothers, Starlight Expressand Me and My Girl. This year will mark his 10th Pantomime at the Wyvern Theatre.
David says: ‘I love doing panto at The Wyvern, it’s one of the highlights of my year, so I’m so excited to be coming back again. I’m already picking out my most extravagant frock!’
2023 Panto Cast Announced – panto dame david ashley
Laura James the Theatre Director at the Wyvern Theatre says: ‘We are so thrilled that Paul and David will be returning to Swindon this year. They completely stole the show in last year’s Beauty and the Beast and provided some of the best comedy moments we’ve had in years. Our wonderful panto audiences clearly adored them both, and we cannot wait to welcome them back to our stage. Oh no we can’t!’
After the Magic Mirror declares Snow White to be the fairest in all the land Morgiana, the Wicked Queen, flies into a jealous rage. Will Snow White’s friends be able to save her from the Queen’s fury letting them all live happily ever after?
Mirror, mirror on the wall – which is the best pantomime of them all? Snow White of course!
MALMESBURY’S ATHELSTAN MUSEUM CELEBRATES THE UNVEILING OF A DRAWING OF THE MARKET CROSS BY ARTIST THOMAS ROWLANDSON
Malmesbury Market Cross Exhibition. MUSEUM VOLUNTEER Anne Goodyer will explore the history of the Market Cross in Malmesbury. She’ll do it by launching an exhibition to celebrate the recent acquisition of a drawing of the famous landmark by the English artist and caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson.
Anne is a member of the Malmesbury History Society and a volunteer at the museum. She’s an expert on the Market Cross. ‘When the drawing ‘Market Day at Malmesbury Market Cross’, came to the museum it seemed an ideal opportunity to bring the picture, the history and items from the collection together in the one exhibition,’ Anne said.
Anne Goodyer – Malmesbury Market Cross Exhibition
About the exhibition
The exhibition, on Tuesday March 7, will explore the cross’s history from its construction in 1490 to the present day. Visitors will be able to look one of the replaced gargoyles in the eye. They can also view historic images of the cross on an interactive display tablet.
‘I particularly enjoyed researching the statues at the top of the Market Cross, as they’re usually quite hard to see. These are now the subject of a short film on the Explore Malmesbury website.’
The exhibition runs from Tuesday March 7 to Tuesday May 30. (You can view The Explore Malmesbury website here: https://exploremalmesbury.com/#/poi)
Teatime talks
On Wednesday March 15, the museum’s popular Teatime Talks return to the Rausing Building. Vieve Forward will share her research into Malmesbury-within-the-walls (Bineport) in the late 13th century. It’s based on three cartularies (charter books) of Malmesbury Abbey. The talk will also concentrate on the market area before the building of the Market Cross. It will include St Paul’s Church and what are now Oxford Street and Gloucester Street.
The talk also touches on:
The textile industry in Malmesbury
The plight of lepers
The location of the guildhall and the people who might have lived, 750 years ago, on the site where the Rausing Building now stands.
‘I came across the MA Medieval Studies at Bristol quite by accident. By the time I had to choose a subject for my dissertation, I had already made up my mind to write something about Malmesbury. I’d bought an old book on an online auction site called the Registrum Malmesburiense. It’s a transcription of one of the cartularies of Malmesbury Abbey, and it fascinated me.’
To be able to read the cartulary, as well as others from the abbey, Vieve had to take Latin courses. She’s based her talk on the research for her dissertation.
I hope those attending my talk will go away having heard something new and interesting about medieval Malmesbury that they hadn’t heard before. I also hope they’ll be able to tell me things I didn’t already know myself.’
Tickets for Vieve’s talk, which begins at 2.30pm on the March 15 are £6.50 (which includes tea). They’re available from the museum shop or online: https://athelstan-museum.arttickets.org.uk/
WORLD NUMBER ONE and Paralympic judo champion Chris Hunt Skelley MBE is working with young people to inspire them through sport.
Chris, who won the gold medal in his weight category in Tokyo2020, is supporting young judo fans in Northern Ireland at the British Judo Member Club, Simply Judo.
Chris Skelly – Judo Paralympian Leads Masterclass
Two-day event
The two-day event is for club members and coaches. It will include specific classes for adaptive members too. Registered blind, Chris is club president of two clubs for the deaf, blind and vision-impaired in Northern Ballymoney and Jordanstown.
Chris was seventeen when his eyesight began to deteriorate. At nineteen he received the diagnosis of with ocular albinism. This meant he had to discontinue his work as a mechanic. The same year Chris tried judo. After attending classes as a child, he later went on to train full-time at the British Judo Centre of Excellence in Walsall. For Chris, at a time when his vision loss had destroyed his dreams, judo saved him.
‘I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today and along the way I’ve been to the deepest darkest parts of my life. Further, I’ve had to pull myself out of those moments. I’ve learned to adapt and change – like a phoenix from the ashes.
‘It’s why I’ll never lose my roots and won’t forget where I came from. I first did a masterclass in 2019 and loved it.’
Chris today is preparing for the Paris 2024 Paralympic qualifications. He recently took gold again at the IBSA Judo Portugal Grand Prix. That win earned him valuable points towards qualifying for the next Paralympics.
Chris is married to fellow Paralympian Louise Hunt Skelley PLY. They live in Wiltshire in England with their therapy dog, Milo, a three-year-old Spanish Water Dog.
The masterclass event is going to be on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March at Maghaberry Community Centre on. There are three classes on Saturday and two classes on Sunday. The cost is £10 a session. Find more information here: www.simplyjudo.com
Unlocked: Pandemic Portraits – or to give this book its full title – Unlocked: Portraits of a Pandemic. By A J Stone, this book is, as you’d imagine, an oral history drawn taken and transcribed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Front cover of Unlocked: Pandemic Portraits by AJ Stone
We all experienced and dealt with the pandemic and lockdowns in our own ways. No two people had the same lockdown. For my own part, life didn’t change all that much. I live alone, I work from home – and that carried on in the same way. Aside from missing my granddaughter, I mostly enjoyed that first lockdown. I mean wasn’t the weather glorious? No sooner were we pushed into lockdown than the sun came out. And it never really went away did it? Though, I’d have to say that, even with the sunshine, towards the end of it I’d had enough. I mean – I like me a lot. But even I’d had enough of me by then.
Anyway, while I was walking down the dual carriageway, just because I could, and buying leopard print loafers, Amelia (the A in AJ) was writing to funeral directors, Will writers and a host of other individuals and organisations seeking people’s pandemic voices to record. And Unlocked: Portraits of a Pandemic is the result.
The author, A J Stone with Junab Ali – he features in the book
A casual look through
And here I have to confess, I’ve not had a chance to read the book yet – I’ve not long since finished Badgeland. But the most cursory of flicks through Amelie’s book shows it features a wonderful and diverse range of subjects all dealing with diverse situations.
And it’s easy to see from my flick through that lockdown was a LOT harder for a lot of people than it was for me. Well …. I knew that anyway of course. So I look forward to getting my teeth into it properly.
‘Moving from labour ward to funeral parlour, temple to pub, A. J. Stone examines these questions and more through intimate interviews conducted during and after England’s national lockdowns. From a mother whose neighbours fail to understand why she can’t keep her autistic son quiet to a boxer who succumbs to online gambling when all his sporting events are cancelled, Stone never flinches from the reality her subjects had to face. These are stories of joy and heartbreak, each presented in their raw, unfiltered glory. Their cumulative impact constitutes a fascinating oral history of our times. If you love true stories and learning about other people’s lives, join the readers who are raving about Unlocked.’
From left to right: Daniel Thuysbaert, AJ Stone, Alex Call, Angela Atkinson
As well as from a certain massive online warehouse, you can also get this book from Bert’s Books in Old Town – and #Obvs I urge you to do so! You’ll also found it in the shop in the central library if you hang out in that area.
Ernie Hunt – from Bert’s babes to that famous free kick
Well – here we are with another of Swindon’s offspring and an entry in to the much under-loved This Sporting Life category to boot.A football boot at that. Listeners I give you, Swindon Footballer Ernie Hunt!
Swindon Footballer Ernie Hunt stood by a marvellous retro Swindon football club coach
One of Bert’s Babes
Born the son of a speedway rider, Roger Patrick, AKA Ernie, Hunt entered this world in Swindon on 17 March 1943. Ernie was under the employ of British Rail when, in 1957, Swindon Town signed him on amateur forms.
His debut game came on 15 September 1959 in a 3–0 defeat to Grimsby Town in Division Three. At the age of 16 years and 182 days Ernie became Swindon’s youngest ever first team player – a record that stood until 1980 when a younger player broke it.
Further, he comprised one of many young players to develop under the tutelage of Bert Head, the Swindon manager. The list comprised the auspicious likes of Mike Summerbee, John Trollope, Rod Thomas and Don Rogers.
At length, Head moved on to manage Crystal Palace taking them to the top flight for the the first time in their history, since 1969.
Ernie signed as a professional in March 1960, becoming the top goal scorer for four consecutive years. In so doing he helped the team win promotion to Division Two in 1963. He played three times for the England Under 23 squad.
Swindon Footballer Ernie Hunt playing for STFC – as far as I’m aware this photo is a Swindon Advertiser image.
A hungry wolf
When Swindon suffered relegation at the end of the 1964-65 season, he joined Division Two Wolverhampton Wanderers for a then record fee of £40,000,having scored 88 goals in 237 games for the Town. He was top scorer when Wolves achieved promotion to the top flight in 1966/67.
A brief spell on Merseyside – then sent to Coventry
Ernie only played a few more games for Wolves before Everton bought him in September 1967 for £80,000. Unfortunately, he didn’t settle on Merseyside and was sold to Coventry City for £65,000 in March 1968. There he helped Coventry to narrowly avoid relegation on the last day of the season. He holds an unusual record of having played against the same team for three different teams in a season, turning out for Wolves at Fulham’s Craven Cottage in August 1967, Everton in September, and Coventry in April 1968.
That free kick
Ernie found himself the fan’s favourite in his five years at Highfield Road where he scored forty-five goals in 146 games. Yet, he’ll always be remembered for scoring Match of the Day’s Goal of the Season in October 1970, ironically against Everton. Willie Carr gripped the ball between his heels then flicked up for Ernie to volley it into the far corner. The move, the donkey kick, got outlawed at the end of the season. His obituary in the Coventry Telegraph describes him as such a fans’ favourite that Coventry had to stop the round the pitch parades on their Legends’ Day. This because the ovation for Ernie went on so long it delayed the start of the second half.
The final chapters
Ernie ended his professional career at Bristol City in the 1973/74 season. After football, he did a number of jobs including widow cleaning (he fell off the ladder and broke 8 ribs) and running a pub in Ledbury. In his obituary the author said that Ernie had told him that the latter was like giving an arsonist the matches.
He died in 2018 June in a Gloucester care home.
Swindon Footballer Ernie Hunt playing for Coventry City
