Thursday 14 November 2013

Chairs, Beards and Cracking Codes

See what happens when you make a good job of this blog? You get promoted.

At last night's Buxton Festival Fringe AGM your usual blogger, Keith Savage, was elected our new Chair by popular acclaim.

Stephanie Billen has stepped down as Chair after five very successful years in charge. In her final Chair's report Stephanie looked back at her time on the Fringe and thanked our volunteers, the venues and the town for their support. Afterwards, Fringe committee members and friends gathered to pay tribute to Stephanie and thank her for her tireless efforts with some gifts. We'll miss you, and hope you're not too far away!

In other changes, Maria Carnegie becomes Vice-Chair and Pam Mason is our new Secretary. Thankfully Barbara Wilson stays on as Treasurer, so someone still knows what they are doing. Good luck with the new roles everybody.

Meanwhile, in preparation for his ascension to the throne (it's just an ordinary chair like everyone else's really) Keith has grown a beard to help acquire the necessary gravitas for the role. Other easily led members of the committee have followed in cultivating hirsute accoutrements to their chins in an effort to fit in with the new regime, but Reviews Tsar (Czar?) Robbie Carnegie has taken the opposite course. Robbie has shaved his beard in preparation for his role as computing and code-cracking legend Alan Turing in Buxton Drama League's Cracking the Code at the Pavilion Arts Centre this weekend. Don't miss it!

Also on this weekend in Buxton, starting tonight and carrying on through to Sunday is Buxton Film's Mini-Festival with a series of films at 7pm and 9pm at the Paupers Pit in the Old Hall Hotel. There is a great selection of films on offer and you can find out more at their website.

Saturday 9 November 2013

A Few Reminders

If you live in or close to Buxton (sadly not The Great Town of 2014 - the Academy of Urbansim award going to Cork, land of my great grandfather so I'm told) just a couple of reminders.
1] The Buxton Festival Fringe AGM takes place this coming Wednesday, November 13th, in The Old Hall Hotel (starting at 7pm in the Shrewsbury Room). It will, no doubt, be a tearful and emotional occasion as we say thanks to Stephanie Billen who is standing down after 5 years of chairing the Fringe committee. If you want to say 'Thanks' in person - and maybe get your picture in the Buxton Advertiser, we'd love to see you there.
2] We open for entries to Fringe 2014 on Sunday December 1st. We'll be taking some time off from processing the first entries by having a bit of  a launch 'do' at the Green Man Gallery starting at 6pm. The prospect of mulled wine, superior cheese straws and vol-au-vents and singalong carols should be all the enticement you need.
While you await Fringe 2014 you could do much much worse than see the Buxton Drama League production of "Breaking The Code" at the Pavilion Arts Centre, 15 & 16 November. Based on the life and work of Alan Turing you'll spot some Fringe regulars in the cast and possibly front-of-house.
Finally, if you are struggling to remember the glorious weather we enjoyed at Fringe 2013 check out the videos posted on the Fringe website that capture some of the heat and the drama.