DS big Band rehearsal

Back in January I went to see DS Big Band do the final show before the local theatre closed. (Outfit post here.) They practice regularly at the Farmhouse Inn in a village near where I live – it's about a mile and a third – so last night Mr Robot and I walked up there to listen to the practice. The band's style is more of a 50s big band style than a 30s-40s style, a bit more Sinatra-at-Vegas than Benny Goodman, but that's Mr Robot's preference anyway, and as he pointed out to me, you take your live jazz where you can find it! We had a very good home-made pie and a pint in the pub itself, then took more beer through to the function room out the back to listen to the band.

I have mixed feelings about being the youngest person in the room, aside from one of the musicians. I think it's fantastic that there are so many older people in rural Wiltshire getting to enjoy such fantastic music, and I in no way wish they hadn't been there. I do, however, wish there had been more younger people there. Are there no cool youthful cats in Wiltshire? The band are playing a concert at the same venue on the 8th of April, and I really do hope there's a broader audience. This music is so good it needs to be shared with all ages!

Also, on a happy theatre-related note, plans are afoot to turn Trowbridge's beautiful Victorian town hall into an arts venue, including a theatre space, which we need now the Arc is no longer a public venue. This makes me so pleased, because the building has been allowed to decay for some time and it's a stunning piece of architecture. Trow has a bit of a rough reputation, but I love living there, and I think having the town hall restored to provide a space for music, theatre, youth arts projects and so on in the town centre will be a massive boon to the town. I had feared the town hall would end up being converted into flats, so really want it to continue to be a place that benefits the people of the town.