Edinburgh Festivals - Day 2

Edinburgh has a habit of throwing the most unexpected weather at you and today was no exception with temperatures of 22 degrees, cloudless skies and views from the top of Carlton Hill to die for. It almost seemed criminal to go indoors for the shows.

Nevertheless the day started with the frenetic bun fight which is the Promoter's (or is it the Producer's) networking breakfast. It's a great chance to meet some interesting people who have shows they are desperate to get people like us along to see - and to meet a few old favourites too such as Ines Wurth who has brought some great new shows to Edinburgh this year.

Saw some good shows too - see the tweets opposite for instant reviews. Two very different highlights today (so far) include Kev Orvian's hugely entertaining 'The Illegal Tour' about an Armenian Immigrant musician and Martin Creed's inspirational and unified exhibition 'Down Over Up' at The Fruitmarket Gallery - one of my favourite spaces. The Edinburgh Art Festival has some great looking exhibitions on this week and I hope to see as many as I can this week.

Edinburgh Festivals – Day 1

Amazingly this is my 12^th year of Edinburgh Festivals and despite all the predictions of it having outgrown its own boots it is back with an even bigger line up with a staggering 2500 shows. It has proved to be a great source of innovative, quality and cutting edge arts which we frequently programme as part of our work at Pound Arts and I am hopeful that this year will be no exception.

It was a desperately early 5am start this morning from Bath but we were in our first show by 11am. See my twitters (opposite) or those of my partner ianjmartin for up to date brief reviews of what we see.

I hope to see some great new work this year, some inspirational visual arts, and some challenging and thought provoking physical dance and theatre. But above all it is the city itself which never fails to impress me. The wonderful buildings, bold architecture and a pulse which never ceases - that is what Edinburgh Festival are all about.

In addition to my show and event tweets I will try to keep up a daily blog. Today comes from the cafe at the Underbelly – one of the most extraordinary (and smelly) venues. Despite the early start I am hoping for a second wind as I have several shows left tonight!

Corsham Almshouses saved - for now!

Wiltshire Council's planning meeting last night was livelier than usual with controversial plans for building nine single person's flats in the grounds of this grade 1 listed building on the agenda.

I spoke representing Corsham Town Council's unanimous recommendation for refusal of this this proposal and reminding the committee that this was backed up by overwhelming local opposition which demonstrated very strongly that this proposal is inappropriate.

As expected the meeting was packed with the good folk of Corsham (including a good few hecklers!). The debate lasted over an hour and a resolution was eventually proposed to reject the application which was carried by 6 votes to 3 (with one abstention).

So that is the end of round one! But I suspect this is not the end. The trustees may appeal - or submit an amended plan. But this must be costing them an enormous amount of money and questions may be asked as to whether this is an appropriate use of the charity's funds.

It was good to see how local opinion can make a difference - particularly when it is so strong, so vociferous and overwhelming that to override those views would be ill judged and a smack in the face of local democracy.

Horse Chestnut Disease hits Wiltshire

I wonder how many of you were aware that one of our grandest trees, the Horse Chestnut is under attack from an alien moth which is sweeping across Wiltshire?

The disease is caused by The Leaf Miner Moth (Cameraria ohridella) and was first identified in Macedonia in 1985, subsequently causing devastation to horse chestnuts across mainland Europe.

Since 2002 the disease has been sweeping across the UK from the South East and a recent survey has revealed how its effects are now being seen across Wiltshire: http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/surveyresults.html

The moth lays its eggs in the leaves so that when the larvae hatch they eat and tunnel their way through the tissues of the leaves. The effects are all too obvious with the tell trail marks on the leaves of these majestic trees causing them to turning brown and wither. Over time this will seriously weaken the tree by preventing it to photosynthesise effectively so the tree starves to death.

Experts believe the effects of the disease could equal the devastation of the Elms 20 years ago.Forestry Research Scientists have estimated that some 35,000 to 50,000 trees are already infected and it is likely that many Horse Chestnuts are likely to be lost over the next decade.

Ongoing research by Dr Darren Evans of the University of Hull and Dr Michael Pocock of Bristolhave recently launched a study to try to discover just how big a problem is posed by the horse chestnut leaf miner. People across the UK are now being asked to help record the impact of the disease at http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/

In my role as one of Tree Council's Tree Wardens I am keen to raise awareness of this disease so I am particularly pleased with Mike Wilkinson's coverage in this weeks Gazette and Herald: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/8314574.Trees_in_Wiltshire_face_a_wipeout and also in the Wiltshire Times: http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/8317822.Fears_for_Wiltshire_s_trees/

One surprising ray of hope comes from the increased presence of a parasitic wasp, which is the leaf miner's natural predator as its feeds on the Leaf Miner Larvae. There is apparently a time lag between the moth infesting a tree and the wasps attacking the caterpillars. So let's hope they catch up!

However, to make matters worse the Horse Chestnut is being subjected to a three pronged assault as it not only the leaf miners causing problems for these trees. The second threat comes from the Leaf Blotch Fungus (Guignardia aesculi) which attacks the leaves so that reddish or brown blotches with yellow borders develop. However, the most damaging condition seems to be Bleeding Canker the cause of which is a fungus-like organism - Phytophthora. Varieties of this disease are known to be responsible for attacking more than Horse Chestnuts, such as sudden Oak Death. I think I have also seen this on some of our trees around Corsham.

Meanwhile - Back on the Buses

The announcement of the new ‘Zig Zag’ bus service by Wiltshire Council linking Chippenham, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge sounds like a great success story for rural public transport.

However as the announcement came just days before the new service started on 1st August - and therefore days before a number of existing services were dropped it is no wonder that local people are wondering what on earth is going on.

Although I am in principle in favour of what this service claims to achieve I am appalled that there was no consultation with any local people or their elected representatives, the timetabling of the service is woefully thin and the complete lack of any information at nearly all the bus stops – while the now defunct ones continue to be listed - is exasperating.

As an example, the bus link from Corsham to Chippenham Community Hospital sounds wonderful but the reality is just two a day on weekdays only leaving Corsham at either 10.25 or 11.50 and leaving Chippenham Community Hospital for the return trip at 11.12 or 12.39. A tight turnaround for most appointments – and it doesn’t even go from Newlands road!

Will we be surprised to see the whole zig zag service cut in a few months due to a lack of customers?