As of six o’clock tonight, I take over the Hitchin is Yours Twitter account for a week; a stewardship I’m anxious to get right.
I’m proud of
my hometown. It’s a great place to live, with so much going for it. I've always
sold it to my non-Hitchinite friends; so much so, that a lot have gone on to move here. Any town
expansion plans are partly my fault. Feel free to picket outside
my house.
I love its
history and architecture. Take St Mary’s Church, for example. The building is beautiful
inside and out, and huge for a town of our size. There has been a place
of worship on site since the 7th Century. Much of the present
building dates from the 1300s. You wouldn't get that in America.
(Don't forget the British Schools Museum too.)
Hitchin is a hive
for creative people and a hub for the arts. It boast two theatres, two comedy
clubs, a couple of art galleries, a festival for world music and a thriving
music scene. This drew me to the town in the first place. I grew up
in Stevenage and my band Big Day Out started gigging here in the late-90s. I
studied performing arts at North Herts College and acting at Hertfordshire
Theatre School: a professional drama school that had Hitchin as its home for
twenty years. Not a lot of people know that.
A lot of actors live in Hitchin; not surprising, what with its proximity to London and its
fondness for drama training. When I was in the West End production of
Dreamboats and Petticoats*, I'd pride myself in being home in
three quarters of an hour. This was better timing than much of the cast living
in London.
I should mention that Hitchin is also home to the fantastic photo-realistic artist Sarah Graham (she really looks that real) and "TV's Glen Davies", as if I didn’t, they wouldn’t forgive me. ;)
I’ve lived in Hitchin for fifteen years. My comedy partner Glyn Doggett often mocks me playfully
for growing up in Stevenage when he born in Hitchin. I see it as moving here by choice. It didn't take long to know it was right for me. I was born in Welwyn Garden City anyway, so I still get a few points on the aspirational-middle-class front.
I shouldn’t be
daunted by running Hitchin is Yours for a week, but I am. I want to represent
the town in the best possible light. I suppose this shouldn’t be difficult; I
only need a quick glance around to see what’s good about it.
*name-dropper.