Performing a vital role for us all

Last Friday I had the privilege of hearing a lullaby of Broadway. No, I didn’t need to go Stateside to do so, I just needed to pop up to Kingswood Theatre, in Bath, to watch a truly uplifting performance of the hit musical 42nd Street played out by the enthusiastic youngsters of the Zenith Youth Theatre.


Zenith – originally called the Bodlets – have been providing high quality youth theatre for youngsters in Bath for nearly 50 years but this was the first time I’d actually seen the team in action for myself. And I came away thoroughly impressed by the sheer energy and excitement this splendid organisation generates.

I was impressed with every aspect of the show from its high production values to the efforts put in by the youngsters who sang, danced and acted with sheer gusto to leave everyone with a smile on their face and a tune in their head.

I think organisations like Zenith do a wonderful job. There are so many youngsters now who want to go on the stage and become stars of screen or the theatre but groups like this remind youngsters that you really do have to put the legwork in and, by so doing, you greatly enhance your chances of becoming that next ‘overnight sensation’.

But to me groups like Zenith and the many others who provide opportunities for youngsters to take part in the performing arts offer far, far more than just the chance of being the one in a thousand who can become a major star.

I suspect the vast majority of those in the troupe I saw on Friday probably don’t ever want to go down that stardom route, but they want a hobby that will be fun, will enhance their ability to work as a team player and will give them the chance to develop their personalities so they can be stronger and more confident in the wider world.

I can still recall watching with a tear in my eye when I first saw my daughter appear on stage doing ballet at the tender age of three. She danced enthusiastically for many years and eventually joined a youth theatre group herself that led her to perform with other youngsters in the chorus of some big shows in the Midlands. But even when she finally hung up her tap shoes and put down her scripts, what stayed with her was a confidence, self-belief and positive outlook on life which she’s carried with her ever since.

In my experience encouraging youngsters to take part in the performing arts – whether it’s singing the Lullaby of Broadway, playing in a rock band or learning to dance –- provides a sense of both fun and comradeship but also encourages discipline and a real sense of purpose and commitment.

I came away excited by what I’d seen on Friday and if some of the genuinely talented youngsters I witnessed go on to be stars, then that’s great. However, if being part of a group like Zenith just makes the majority of those youngsters, better, more confident and happier people in the future, then that is every bit as important as seeing their names on the real Broadway.

So well done Zenith – and well done also to every other group that gives our youngsters a chance to shine under those bright lights.

A 'typical' week in a newsroom? Hardly.

This originally appeared in my Bath Chronicle column on November 24 after a crazy week in the office....

On Monday night, November 21, I had the pleasure of talking to the Weston Local History Society on the subject of the local and national media – past, present and future. It was, hopefully, an informative evening for everyone but there was one point when I was literally lost for words. And that was when one of the members asked me to describe ‘a typical day’ in the life of an editor or a newsroom.


The reason I couldn’t answer immediately is that I realised there is no such thing as a typical day and although we are governed by strict deadlines, what happens between the end of one week’s paper and the publication of the following weeks is totally unpredictable.

And this week has really proved the point.

I was away for a few days last week, only popping back into the office in advance of the Christmas light switch on. I therefore expected that on Monday all the talk would be about John Cleese and the Christmas extravaganza but by the time I came in again the agenda had moved and we have gone on to have a truly remarkable week in the newsroom which really reiterates why the best jobs are those where you never quite know what is going to happen next.

For a starter, we were very short staffed due to holidays and sickness. We all assured ourselves we could cope – and cope we somehow have – but what we weren’t expecting was the astonishing amount of important news stories that had flowed into the office for our small team to deal with.

As hopefully you will may seen in the paper of November 24, it was a big week locally filled with both tragedy (the story of the soldier David Boyce killed in Afghanistan and the sad story of the woman who died at a Bath petrol station) but also with triumph in the shape of the light switch on which brought the whole community together – as did the moving march through our city by the servicemen returning from the Middle East. Throw in the fact that we had some fascinating news about expansions to two of our biggest supermarkets, an RUH fire, the build up to Bath City’s big FA Cup match and so many other stories that  put the whole team on full alert and that really was a week where I can feel even more proud than usual of the small but dedicated team who do everything they can to give you the best possible newspaper, website and Twitter updates.

Of course, we can only produce the news service we do by the fantastic support we receive from you all as our readers and this gives me one of those rare chances to say thank you for that. We care passionately about our community and because you also care passionately about how your community is represented this ‘teamwork’ means we can hopefully always rise to the occasion on weeks like the one we have just seen.

I was out talking again on Friday, November 25, this time to a group of students at Kingswood School about journalism. And one of the points I  made to them is that this is a job where you never quite know what is going to happen next and that is why it is so hard to answer the question ‘what is your typical day’.

And next week? I have no idea.