mostly david ephgrave

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to climb the bell tower at St Mary’s Church in Hitchin; something I’ve wanted to do for years now, but have always missed out on through not knowing it was open until after the event. It was lovely to be able to see my picturesque home-town from such an advantageous angle. St Mary’s is the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and the tower is unusually high for a church in a town of Hitchin’s size, but it was still surprising just how far you can see, with the view stretching far into the neighbouring towns and villages in the distance. Just the route up the tower was interesting as it afforded views of the inside of church you wouldn’t normally see. It’s a beautiful building it’s easy to take for granted through familiarity, which must have seemed huge back in the day. On the way up, I stopped to talk to a couple of the bell-ringers who were very informative about their pet subject. Apparently the oldest bell is...

It was great to finally cross off watching Kim Wilde sing Kids in America in a church from my bucket list today.  She was performing alongside her brother Ricky at St Mary's in Hitchin, as part of a scaled down version of the town's annual music festival Rhythms of the World, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year - but then, who isn't? Theirs was the shortest set of the night, but the most anticipated; not least by me, who last saw Ricky Wilde when my old band Big Day Out recorded a demo at his studio in Knebworth eighteen years ago (I think I've got the numbers right). He championed us at the time, having judged us the winners of a local Battle of the Bands, and swore he'd get us a record deal, yet for some bizare reason we decided to opt for one of my dad's friends from work as a manager instead; recording our best songs at a different studio before going to Wilde's, where we worked on lesser material. It's fair to say that we were idiots.  K...