Arts and Leisure
In spite of the adverse climate for the arts currently, there is still much to to celebrate. We intend to present as much as we can in the way of the arts and events but require more volunteers to help us to widen our coverage. If you are interested in working with us we would love to hear from you. If your organisation uses video to record events or whatever and you would like a wider audience please contact us and we can post your material on this site. We can't tell anyone else about your events if we don't hear about them so please keep us informed about what is going on. As with all of the output on Transition Vision we are really keen to hear what you think about what we are doing and receive any suggestions as to how we could improve our programming. Simply contact us.
Resonance and Ritual
A group of post graduate students from the Central School of Drama investigate the resonant frequencies of ancient ritual spaces with a traditional Georgian healing song, visiting West Kennet Long Barrow, Knowlton Rings, Waylands Smithy and The Earth House at Cranborne.
Circle of Tales
The long established "PuppetCraft" were touring village halls in Somerset early in 2012 under the aegis of Take Art. "Circle of Tales" is a puppet show that deals with an African creation myth and the successful search for the first story. John Roberts, the director of PuppetCraft is joined by Libby Quick with music supplied by Zimbabwean Mbira expert Chartwell Dutiro. This video was made by John Holman and is the fourth in a series featuring performers from the Take Art rural touring scheme
Running Blind - The Making Of
This is the story of how the children of The Prince of Wales First School, Dorchester, Dorset, made their animation "Running Blind".
Running Blind
Dorset school children have done it again. Following on from the success of The Sadness of King George", children at The Prince of Wales First School, in Dorchester have produced "Running Blind" which has been selected for a showing at the influential Co-operative Film Festival in Manchester. Blind footballer, David Clark, is training for the Paralympics when the ball mysteriously disappears . . .
Don't Take Art Away
Somerset County Council made the decision to cut support for the arts in the county by 100%. Take Art is a unique, magical, life-changing organisation that doesn’t live in a venue, or studio or a whacking great theatre but in the villages, towns and rural communities of Somerset. They find themseves with a deficit in their budget of £10,000 and are asking anyone who believes that the arts are an important component of life to help out, either with a donation or by supporting their events. This is a video they made in support of their funding campaign.
Luna. Louise Barrett of Pretty Good Girl
John Holman shot this video at a Take Art promotion at Sexey's School in Bruton, Somerset as Louise Barrett and her "Pretty Good Girl" Dance Theatre Company embarked on a national tour with her new, incredibly moving piece "Luna". The male dancer is Andy Burnett. As Louise mentions, this piece is based on the book, Luna, by Julie Anne Peters.
You're Not Like the Other Girls, Chrissie - Caroline Horton
This is the second in the series from Transition Vision featuring the visiting artists to Somerset, thanks to Take Art's travelling arts scheme. Caroline Horton is an actor who likes to write and perform her own material. The production she was touring Somerset with was "You're Not Like Other Girls, Chrissie" which is a story of a love that survived World War II. It is a beautifully balanced piece and will have you chuckling and choking back tears by turns. Here Caroline talks about her career to date and the show whilst waiting to take the stage at Ashbrittle Village Hall. She is too modest to mention that her acting in "Chrissie" wo...
The Anonymous Travelling Market at The Larmer Tree
ATM's first outing of the season was at the Larmer Tree Gardens on Cranborne Chase. If you haven't been to one of their events before now this should whet your appetite. Market organisers, Emma House and Rae Stormonth-Darling, are interviewed in a pink bath tub. The music is provided by Damian of Pressgang with his hurdy gurdy and hammered dulcimer and folk band Heelstone perform their own song in praise of ATM. The young dancers are Steps in Time from North Dorset. This video was shot and edited by John Holman.
Antonia Grove: Small Talk
An interview including clips from a performance. Take Art use their well-established rural arts touring scheme to bring top class and often challenging performances to village halls throughout the county of Somerset. Despite the 100% cut in the county council arts development budget they have put together a really interesting selection of acts for the early 2012 programme. At Transition Vision we thought that it would be a good idea to take advantage of having such major performers in the area and record a series of interviews. This is the first of a series. Antonia Grove from Probe has a pedigree which includes time in...
Sir Terry Pratchett at Hogswatch, 2011
I didn't know that this was going to happen so I was unprepared. I have used some of this in our video "Hogswatch, 2011" but I thought that enthusiasts would like to see the whole thing, warts and all, including out of focus bits and a section where the not insubstantial back of the Cunning Artificer came between me and the stage! Our video "Hogswatch, 2011", contains a part of this talk, a piece about the new Discworld board game "Guards! Guards!", including an interview with its joint designers from Backspindle Games, Dave Brashaw and Leonard Boyd and some impressions of Hogswatch 2011. Thanks to the staff of "The B...
Hogswatch 2011
One of the less expected attractions of Wincanton's High Street is the Discworld Emporium, looking especially fine with its recently completed new shop front, it is a honey pot for fans of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and twice a year hosts a gathering of the faithful. My original intention was to shoot a video about the new Discworld board game, "Guards! Guards!" which I did, including an interview with Dave Brashaw and Leonard Boyd of Backspindle Games, joint designers of the game and then decided to stick around to capture something of the 'unusual' atmosphere of Hogswatch. An unexpected bonus was an appea...
The Last Broomsquire: A Novel
"The Last Broomsquire" is a newly published novel, set in the Quantock Hills in Somerset around 1800, by Martin Hesp. Martin has produced this beautifully shot video to promote his book. For more information or to order a copy visit Flagon Press. Flagon Press is run by poet, writer and broadcaster James Crowden from near Chard in Somerset.
The Waggon a Stooded
An excerpt from "Free to Goo Abrode", written and directed by John Holman and broadcast on TSW in 1991. It was a programme about the life and work of Dorset poet William Barnes (1801-1886), perhaps best known for Linden Lea and I'm prepared to bet was the only time that a whole half hour of broadcast television was entirely in the dialect of the Blackmoor Vale! The charm of his poems and the unfamiliar (to most of us anyway) dialect can obscure the technical mastery of some of his work. The Waggon a-Stooded is an eclogue, a form of pastoral poem which often consists of a conversation between the char...
Walford Mill
Walford Mill in Wimborne, Dorset, is a flourishing centre for craft. John Holman of Transition Vision visited to talk to Christine Fletcher-Jones, Chief Executive of the Walford Mill Education Trust, about the history of the facility, what goes on there and exciting developments for the future. The mill is also the workplace of two crafts people, Kathryn Arbon, jeweller and the silk weaver Debby Kirby who talk to John about their craft and the advantages of being based in a much visited venue. The significance of the Mill has recently been recogni...
Paul Hyland: Man of Letters, Man of Magic. Part 2
Tales of dodgy antelope dinners and a narrow escape from human sacrificing tribesmen and, to finish off, another astounding conjuring trick which depresses the hell out of a poor little ball! Paul the writer. Paul the magician
Activate - Developing and Promoting Dance and Drama for Dorset ...
Aurore Parkin who shares the task of dance development at Activate, describes a dance project that she has been working with Weymouth's B-Side Multi-Media Festival to bring to fruition. After workshops with innovative choreographer Sarah Shorten of Stacked Wonky, the project resulted in a performance by Dorset's young people's dance company "Portrait" performing in Debenhams departmental store in Weymouth, Dorset. John Holman recorded the interview with Aurore and captured some moments of "Portrait's" dance piece at a rehearsal, led by Carly Reader the company's rehearsal drector, in Debenhams. ...
Paul Hyland: Man of Letters, Man of Magic, Pt. 1
Looking back, there have been many towering figures from the world of literature who were inspired by the landscape of Dorset; William Wordsworth, William Barnes, Thomas Hardy, The Powys Brothers, Silvia Townsend-Warner, and Enid Blyton to name but a few and Dorset is still an attractive area for creative spirits. Paul Hyland was brought up in Poole and still lives in the county. His earliest published book was about Purbeck. Paul is well known in the area and has been involved with many creative writing projects and performed his poetry in various settings. Those who know him through literature may be surprised to...
Dorset Hutmakers Plankbridge To Restore Bournemouth Tram
Old Bournemouth tram number 113 is to be restored by the Dorset hutmakers Plankbridge. Plankbridge - Britain's leading makers and restorers of shepherds' huts - recently moved from Druce near Puddletown to a new workshop at Carters' Barn near Piddlehinton. Richard Lee of Plankbridge tells in this short film how he first saw 113 on a farm at Milton Abbas, where he'd gone to look at a shepherd's hut. The farmer had never got round to restoring the tram. Richard thought instantly -- "I want one of those" -- and so he and Plankbridge co-founder Jane Dennison bought it. The plan is to faithfully restore 113 for use as an...
Messing About on the River Tone
Many towns miss a trick by not making the most of their rivers - if they're lucky enough to have one. In Taunton on Saturdays, the Somerset Waterways Development Trust are running an electric pleasure boat, "Future Perfect" and visitors can spend a half an hour viewing the town from the unique perspective of the River Tone. On Saturdays they run from Creech St. Michael for a rural option. We boarded "Future Perfect" during our visit to the "England, My England" festival at the Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre (see our video "The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton") and shot this short piece. Shot by John and Su...
Bolving World Championships
Witness the amazing World of Bolving! These Exmoor folk are taking part in the only Bolving competition in the world, the aim is to call out to a stag then wait for a response. If the stag bellows back then more points are awarded! The IOC should have a close look at this but I fear it is too late for 2012. Richmond Park would have been a splendid venue for this event as befits this noble and essentially English event. Do you know of any other archane sporting events from this part of the world? Pig calling perhaps? Even better, do you have any video of unusual events from Dorset, Somerset or Wiltshire which you would be happy for us to u...
Kit Glaisyer: Dorset art, landscape and power
Bridport-based artist Kit Glaisyer discusses the hills and big houses of West Dorset, following on from the publication of the book Portrait of the Artist, that he produced with photographer George Wright and writer Lu Orza. Warning: contains thinking aloud! :)
The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton
For nearly 35 years the Brewhouse has been developing as a leading South West venue and, more than that, a hub for the arts in Somerset's county town. However, with the disappearance of local authority funding, it has also missed out on continuing funding from the Arts Council England. We went to Taunton whilst the "England, My England" festival was in full swing on St. George's day and spoke to CEO Robert Miles about the Brewhouse and the work that it does and also invited him to comment on the current funding situation and the implications for the future for Somerset's foremost arts venue. The band is the Bottle Top Boogie Band and Swe...
The Arts in Dorset, part 2: An interview with Mike Hoskin.
In this second part of John Holman's interview with Mike Hoskin, Arts Development Manager for Dorset County Council, Mike talks about how the arts are delivered to the further-flung rural parts of the county and also about the challenges facing the sector in the future, particularly when the current round of Arts Council England National Portfolio Fundingprogramme ends in 2015 and against the background of further cuts in local authorities' budgets, including the future prospects for Dorset organisations who were not included in the portfolio selection.
The Arts in Dorset, part 1: An interview with Mike Hoskin.
Arts Council England announced during April 2011 which organisations were going to be funded under the National Portfolio Funding programme. Organisations that were included in this scheme will receive revenue funding from April 2012 for three years. Whilst some in Dorset who had previously enjoyed revenue support from ACE have been left off the list, on the whole, the outcome for Dorset has been good. John Holman spoke to Mike Hoskin, Dorset County Council's Arts Development Manager about the factors that he feels influenced ACE's decisions and what part the council's supportive stance towards the ...
Energy Cafe at Powerstock Common - The 100th video on Transition Vision!
On an extremely fine April day, the Energy Cafe was towed into the woods at Powerstock Common, West Dorset by Karl Edwards' majestic heavy horses. It was an event to publicise the campaign to open the old Maiden Newton to Bridport railway track as a Sustrans trail. The cafe as you will discover when you watch this video is designed to work off-grid as it needs no mains electricity or even bottled gas to operate. Food is sourced and foraged from within a 6 mile radius of the location of the cafe. It was designed as a collective effort at a gathering at Gunpowder Park in the Lee Valley in Essex but is now being further de...
There Is Power In A Union
Just picked this up from Youtube. There's a certain circularity in this. A song from one of Dorset's most currently famous artists, Billy Bragg, cropping up in the context of a power struggle in the USA. Some encouragement from the land of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to the people from the land of the free! Video - Jeremy Gotcher audio - Steve Gotcher
The Leane
This is an excerpt from Free to Goo Abrode, written and directed by John Holman and broadcast on TSW in 1991. It was a programme about the life and work of Dorset poet William Barnes, perhaps best known for Linden Lea and I'm prepared to bet was the only time that a whole half hour of broadcast television was entirely in the dialect of the Blackmoor Vale! The poem The Leane is beautifully read by Dr. David Strawbridge. If you have a favourite poem relevant to the Transition Vision area give us a shout and we will see if we can get it onto the site in some form. Or if you are a poet working in this...
Picnic on the Path - Phil Minton's Feral Choir
In support of a local initiative, supported by Sustrans to turn the route of the disbanded railway branchline between Maiden Newton and Bridport and West Bay in west Dorset into a trailway for walkers and cyclists, Anna Best is organising a series of arts-based events. In September 2010, a group of people turned up at Maiden Newton Village Hall and after a hard morning's work, put on a performance of the The Feral Choir for the assembled picnicers.
Didgeridorset ...
Mike Rigby of Didgeridorset was at the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival. Mike makes and, as you can see here, plays didgeridos. He also leads workshops including for schools. Contact him by e-Mail: didgeridorset@sky.com
Fungus Foray
Margery Hookings went to the Kingcombe Centre in Dorset to go on a Fungus Foray with reknowned expert John Wright and recorded this audio item
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