Woking Writers Circle

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The Vanity of Small Differences – At The Lightbox, Woking until 7th July 2024

Grayson Perry’s Tapestries

Grayson Perry’s large and vibrant tapestries are currently on display in Surrey at The Lightbox, Woking, flooding the main gallery with colour.

The six tapestries, each measuring 2m by 4m, tell the story of Tim Rakewell as he embarks on a journey of twenty-first century social mobility. A familiar story? Indeed. Tim Rakewell’s journey is inspired by William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, (c1735).

Grayson spent time in Sunderland, Tunbridge Wells and the Cotswolds for the Channel 4 series, All in the Best Possible Taste. He incorporated many of the characters, scenarios and objects he encountered in these contemporary scenes, exploring the British preoccupation with social class and what is perceived to be good taste.

The Agony in the Car Park

Also inspiring the various scenes depicted are a wide range of works from artists as diverse as Bellini and Gainsborough.

Most visitors have found it helpful to watch the short video before viewing the tapestries as the references to the other works of art undoubtedly add interest to the experience.

Having spent a considerable amount of time in the company of the tapestries as a Lightbox volunteer, I can honestly say I have felt fascinated and uplifted – not only by the tapestries themselves, but also by the reactions of visitors. People of all ages have spoken of their delight in these remarkable works and many have returned for a further visit, bringing friends or simply coming for another look in order to absorb the allusions and complexity of each scene.

There is a refreshing inclusivity and vigour about Grayson’s art and the enthusiastic response to the exhibition confirms that this message has been fully appreciated.

Heather Cook

Upper Class at Bay

29/04/2024
A glimpse of Woking’s musical past – at a gig to support its grassroots music future

by Greg Freeman

There was a fascinating glimpse into Woking’s musical past on Saturday night when Steve Brookes – the man who formed The Jam with Paul Weller at Sheerwater school in 1971, and then quit it four years later, just as the band was about to hit the big time – appeared at the Fiery Bird live music venue in Woking to talk about those olden days.

Steve had suggested the gig as a fundraiser for the Fiery Bird, which is currently in temporary premises in the former Quake night club in the centre of Woking. The building is due to be demolished in a year or so, as part of the redevelopment of a larger area in the centre of Woking. Which will leave the Fiery Bird without a home, unless the council can help find them a new, permanent one.

He talked about meeting Paul Weller at school in Sheerwater, and quickly beginning to learn and write songs together – after being impressed that when they performed in the music room at the school one lunchtime by the fact that nearly all those that came to watch them were girls. Encouraged by Paul’s dad John, they performed their first gigs on weekday nights at Woking Working Men’s Club, just as a duo.

Why did he leave The Jam? They had been playing together for four years, almost inseparable from the ages of 13 to 17: “Paul and I just started to drift apart … it was time to go.” They were “great mates” again now, though, and Steve has played on a couple of Paul Weller albums. He also told how he persuaded Paul to join him at a charity gig a few years ago at Woking’s HG Wells Centre in aid of Woking Hospice. Steve wanted to maintain the element of surprise, so hatched plans to smuggle Paul in via the adjoining hotel. It helped that the young hotel receptionist – told that someone famous would be coming in – had no idea who Weller was when he arrived.

I could see some of Paul Weller’s mannerisms in Steve Brookes as soon as he appeared on stage – or maybe Weller has some of his. After all, they were close companions for four years in their teens. Formative years. Brookes has a fine voice and guitar style, and entertained us with a number of tunes, covers and originals, that he and Paul played together in those early Jam years, as well as a couple of more recent ones of his own. As his website says , after a long break from performing, Steve is back playing music again. It was an inspirational and informative evening for those who take pride in Woking’s music heritage.

Also on the bill were singer-songwriter Rebecca Jane, pictured below, with a nice line in country-influenced tunes, and the band Phoenix Chroi, headed by Elaine McGinty, pictured above, the moving spirit behind the Fiery Bird and the Phoenix Cultural Centre, along with her partner Joe Buckley, who plays bass in the band. Woking Writers Circle has strong ties with the Phoenix. I’ve read my poems at the open mic on a number of occasions over the years, and fellow WWC member Cathy Rogan has played there with her band The Ukeaholics, and more recently as part of a new ukulele duo Mother of Order.

What the Phoenix has always been about, is trying to provide a grassroots space for music and community arts in the town. The people that run Woking, the council and its officers, sometimes give the impression that they are not interested in allowing things to grow from the bottom up, but only in directing everything from the top down. As the first of Woking’s series of towers start to rise, The Jam is an example of something that grew from below, even if their Town Called Malice has seen fit to commemorate them with three giant lumps of wood. But don’t get me started …

The Fiery Bird centre remains something worth supporting, encouraging and preserving. Keep the flame alive!

09/04/2019
All right on the night! Confessions of a local am-dram performer

by Greg Freeman

Woking Writers Circle gives proper prominence and support to our splendid New Victoria theatre by regularly reviewing their productions – and it’s right that we do. But spare a thought, too, please – and your support – for the local amateur dramatic scene as well.

The Woking area has a number of thriving am-dram groups. I belong to Send Amateur Dramatic Society – but we are not in the least sad, despite our acronym. I joined the group only two years ago, after nursing an ambition to tread the boards for most of my life. Unfortunately my work in the evenings made that impossible until I retired a few years ago.

So, rather late in the day – but better late than never – I turned up for an audition for Goodnight, Mr Tom in January 2017. To general surprise – not least my own – and encouraged by my wife Gillian (a far more experienced am-dram performer) I landed the part of Mr Tom, a grumpy old chap, alongside rising star Evan Huntley-Robertson, who played young William.

For those that don’t know the story, it’s a heart-warming tale of wartime community spirit, although it certainly has a dark side as well. It was a great joy to perform it at Woking’s Rhoda McGaw theatre in June of that year with a number of our junior members, who acted with cheery confidence and brio and played a big part in the show’s success.

Since then I have been cast as Friar Tuck in Send’s annual village panto, plus a cameo King Richard; a dying husband with dementia in a one-act play with Gillian that we took to Woking drama festival; and I now have a part in an upcoming one-act, comedy whodunnit that we will be performing at our usual home of Lancaster Hall in Send on 14-16 March at 7.30pm.

Our play is called Over My Dead Body! I play a rather insubordinate butler (that’s me, second from left, next to his lordship). But I’m not telling you whether I did it. There’s another comic one-act play on the bill as well, Bride Before a Fall. And if that isn’t enough, there’s a Joyce Grenfell monologue, Nursery School Flowers, which in my book should be worth the £8 admission price alone.

Maybe you too have nursed similar ambitions to become involved in local am-dram? They are a lovely, friendly crowd at Send – no divas or egos – with a thriving junior section as well. But we are always on the lookout for new members. You don’t have to perform if you don’t want to – there are plenty of backstage jobs as well, including set-building for the DIY-handy. One of the pleasures of am-dram for me is feeling part of a group working towards a common purpose – a group buttressed by a number of dedicated, long-standing, unsung heroes. That collectivism that we tried to convey in Mr Tom, perhaps? It’s relaxing, despite the line-learning – and it’s almost always fun.

So why not come along and see for yourself, on one of those 14-16 March dates? The box office is 07542 107815 or email Sendamateurdramatics@hotmail.co.uk – or you can just turn up on the night as well. Hope to see you there!

04/03/2019
Magic! Mushroom farm becomes a wetland, thanks to preservation society

by Greg Freeman

Out in the countryside between Woking and Chobham a transformation has been taking place. A 17-acre former mushroom farm that was largely covered over in concrete is being turned into a wetland to attract birds – and the public – by Horsell Common Preservation Society, the charitable membership company that owns great tracts of green land around Woking, (see map, right), about 80% of the town’s public open space.

I took a tour of the Heather Farm site the other day with the society’s estate manager, Paul Rimmer, to see the progress that has been made. The society took over the site, which is on the flood plain of the river Bourne, in 2010 after a land-swap planning deal that enabled McLaren to expand. Later that year demolition work began of a number of buildings, including asbestos sheds and a boiler house with oil tanks, plus removal of 14 acres of concrete. A main lake and five wildlife ponds have been created with the help of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust. Paul said: “As soon as we dug the hole, water started to appear, and it was helped by the heavy rains of last winter. We dug a channel from the river bank, so that as soon as it floods, this land floods, too. It’s good for flood defences, and fluctuating water levels are good for wildlife.”

On the day that I visited there were a pair of swans, ducks, and a flock of geese. Grebes and tufted duck have also been spotted. When opened to the public the wetland will have observation areas for the public, as well as a café from where you should also be able to see the birds, in the one remaining farm building, which will also accommodate storage areas for the Lightbox art gallery and local drama groups. It is hoped that all the facilities will be complete for an opening on June 21 2015. Other plans include a biomass boiler using woodchip from the society’s land, which should be able to heat the building and drastically cut bills. There will also be a reed bed filtration system to treat sewerage.

Earlier this year a team of around 100 volunteers planted 15,000 aquatic plants, such as reeds, flag iris, and marsh marigolds. Dogs will be barred from the site, but the society also owns the land that borders the wetland, and Paul said dog walkers would be encouraged to use that perimeter, which it is also hoped will relieve pressure on other parts of the common where ground-nesting birds need protection.

Horsell Common Preservation Society came into being in 1910 when the-then Earl of Onslow wanted help in administering his land. That arrangement lasted until 1966, when the land was offered for sale. The society bought Horsell common, while Surrey county council took over Chobham common. Since 1995 the amount of land owned by the society has increased by 35%.

At the same time as it has been carrying out the transformation of Heather Farm, the society has also been restoring the Muslim burial ground created in the woods outside Woking for first world war soldiers, completion of which will include an Islamic garden within its walls. Paul said he visited Heather Farm three or four times a week. “Every time I come I just can’t stop smiling. I look at this now, and think, ‘Bloody hell, we’ve done well.’ It’s very satisfying.”

04/05/2016