AV News 184 - May 2011
Wilmslow Fiesta
Margaret Roberts & Penny Osbourne
On Friday and Saturday evenings, the 4th and 5th of March, the 'Fiesta' was
held at the Wilmslow Guild AV Group in Cheshire. It was the first time we had
attended, but we soon discovered what we had missed. What a wonderful
time it was! The evening started with an entertaining introduction by Howard
Bagshaw, which featured a certain Ford car - which brought forth a giggle
from the audience.
The evening consisted of 13 AV sequences with a short break in the
middle for refreshments. Howard Gregory, chairman of the AV Group, briefly
introduced each sequence, giving us a taster of what was to come. We were
amused by 'Little Ted's Big Adventure', we sat on the edges of our seats as
we heard the 'Night Caller' crunch across the gravel and we learned about
the 'National Arboretum Memorial Gardens', which featured a few days later
in a National TV programme.
Throughout the evening, craft and creativity were in evidence everywhere,
from Jill K. Bunting's foray into watercolours, as she dug deep to find the artist
within to re-create an oil painting of 'Grapes, Pear & Plum', to Suzanne
Walker's beautiful images of nature reflected in the fabrics of Harris Tweed in
'Inspired By The Landscape' and Joan Horne's AV about handmade cards.
For someone who has drawn since I was knee-high to the proverbial
grasshopper, I found the work of artist 'Tony Bramham', as portrayed by Colin
Balls, absolutely fascinating.
Colourful images of India, a whistle-stop visit to Spain and a trip to the
moon entertained us all, although I have to say the latter isn't on my holiday
'wish list'! And with having our own garden railway, we couldn't fail to enjoy
Howard Gregory's sequence of the 'Canadian Pacific'.
Each year the audience vote for the sequence they would most like to see
again and last year's winner, 'Blackburn Diva' by Sheila Davies, showing the
life of Kathleen Ferrier, was shown. I instantly recognised the name and face
I had seen so many times as a child on sheet music, everytime I rooted
through the stool to find the music for my piano practice.
Jeff Mansell & Howard Bagshaw's AV 'Special', telling of the excellent work
of Walton Hall School, was really inspiring. There is no greater reward for a
teacher than seeing the 'light' go on in a young person's mind and watching
the transformation and build-up of confidence through music and drama. The
story was told with touching simplicity and careful photography and this
sequence made a profound impression on me - and on many others in our
audience.
Thank you, Wilmslow Guild, for such an excellent evening; it was well
worth the long journey from Northwest Wales.
The winner of the audience vote was 'Special' & this sequence will be
shown again at next year's Fiesta, which will be held on 2nd & 3rd March
2012. Make a note in your diaries not to miss it.
Visit http://www.wilmslowguildav.org.uk/ for more details.
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