Our House is the story of Joe Casey who, on the night of his sixteenth birthday, takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, out on their first date. In an effort to impress her with bravado, he breaks into a building site overlooking his home on Casey Street, which is owned by Mister Pressman, a high-end property developer. The police turn up, at which point Joe’s life splits into two: the Good Joe, who stays to help, and Bad Joe, who flees.

The story then continues, following both good Joe and Bad Joe’s lives through alternating scenes and the lyrics of some very well know Madness songs.

Last night we went to the Grand Theatre to see “Our House” performed by a cast from Coppice Performing Arts School, Ashmore Park and we did not come away disappointed.

They were amazing. From the second the young cast took to the stage to the final curtain call the audience we’re enthralled. The musical numbers had us tapping our feet and the characters we believable and incredibly well-played. Sitting high up in the Grand Circle it was easy for us to see the cast exiting the stage and we were impressed by the professionalism of all involved staying in character until the were well out of sight.

A special mention must go to Jay Wiley (Joe Casey) for some very speedy costume changes when switching between Good and Bad Joe, and to Stephen Clifton (Vegas Minister) for a very brave costume choice coming onto stage in front of cast and audience of his students in a white “Elvis” jumpsuit!

Each and every individual on the stage looked like they both belonged and wanted to be there, from the dancers in the chorus to the lead actors/actresses who gave it their all and the teachers who had given up their weekends to support both on stage and off. The dedication of all involved is a credit to the school and to Wednesfield as a whole.

They deserved the rapturous applause they left the stage to and we can only hope that they enjoyed performing for us as much as we enjoyed watching them!

Our House was first performed by the pupils of Coppice Performing Arts School in Spring 2011 and images from those shows can be found on the school website.

There are events taking place all the time in different areas of the city but there are two upcoming events we’ve been asked to share with you taking place next week.

Tuesday 30th August Family fun day in West Park.

Organised by the Local Policing Team & the South West Local Neighbourhood Partnership they  have extended the invitation to everyone across the city to attend. There is going to be a bouncy castle and assault course, Face Painting and Nail Art, Mystery guests and local radio DJs along with a Football competition with Wolves Kickz (registration via their Facebook page is needed).

The day will last from 10am to 6pm with rides costing just 50p and proceeds will go to Compton Hospice.

Click on the image to see the full size poster:

Friday 2nd & Saturday 3rd September Junction Arts Festival

Junction is a contemporary arts festival taking place on 2nd and 3rd of September 2011 in Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton.

The festival brings together a broad spectrum of work from local and regional artists including visual art, live art, video projection, and music all in a lively two-day programme. There will also be the opportunity to look around artist’s studios with White Tree Studios and Eagle Works opening their doors during the weekend.

The Festival is open to all and free to attend.

TATA Steel Automotive based in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton are this year raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  As part of their fund-raising campaign  employees have arranged a charity gig at the Robin 2 Club in Bilston on the 31st July.

The line up included MEZZOTONIC (Headliners), The Limelight (as previously featured on WV11), Diamond Lil, Flatline Stereo, Adam Carr and Sam Draisey.

The night kicks off at 7:30pm, with doors opening at 7:00pm and is due to finish at 11:30pm.

Tickets are £3.50 in advance and £4.00 on the door with 60% of the takings going to the charity and can be bought online here.

More information can be found online at www.wvgig.co.uk and you can contact Adam Carr for details on ajcarr1989@gmail.com.

Local Historian Ray Fellows will be giving one of his local history talks  at The Vine Inn on Lichfield Road on Saturday 26th February at 7pm.

Ray and several other locals are interested in setting up a local history /heritage society in Wednesfield where residents could take part in regular local history events – if you’d be interested in joining, or would like to find out more about Wednesfield’s rich history, why not pop along?

It’s sure to be busy so arrive in plenty of time and enjoy one of Wednesfield’s hidden gems – The Vine Inn.

Christmas is coming…..whether you like it or not!

UPDATE: For more events check out our Christmas 2010 posts.

Here’s a round up of Christmas events that are happening in and around Wednesfield – if you know of any more, please let us know in the comments…

Friday 3rd December – 4pm onwards
Christmas lights switch on in Wednesfield High Street – this begins at 4pm with the lights being switched on at 5:30pm

Saturday 4th December – 10am
St Thomas’ Church on Wednesfield High Street holds it’s Christmas Fayre from 10am onwards.

Saturday 4th December – 11am
St Alban’s Church on Griffiths Drive in Ashmore Park holds it’s Christmas Fayre from 11am onwards.

Saturday 4th December – 2pm
St Gregory’s Church holds it’s Christmas Fayre with tombola, cake stall, bottle stall, tins n things, bric a brac, refreshments and lots more.

Monday 13th December – 2pm-3pm
Christmas Offa Festive Fun: Emma Purshouse and Wyn Saha from Offa’s Press will be at Wednesfield Library reading Christmas poetry and stories.

Monday 13th December – 7:30pm
Performance by the 21st Wolverhampton Boys & Girls Association Marching Band
Location: Christmas Tree / Amphitheatre outside the new Wednesfield library

Tuesday 14th December – 6pm
Performance by the Wednesfield High Gospel Choir
Location: Christmas Tree / Amphitheatre outside the new Wednesfield library

Wednesday 15th December – 12:30pm
Performance by the Greycoll Pipe band
Location: Christmas Tree / Amphitheatre outside the new Wednesfield library

Thursday 16th December – 6pm
Performance by the Azaad Dhol Drummers
Location: Christmas Tree / Amphitheatre outside the new Wednesfield library

Friday 17th December – 5pm
Performance by Ashmore Park Choir
Location: Christmas Tree / Amphitheatre outside the new Wednesfield library

At the moment the Library’s events page lists two events, read on for details…

Leading Lights

Celebrated author and performer, Debjani Chaterjee OBE will be running a writing workshop and telling us tales. With a graphics workshop, face painting, mendhi, competitions and more. Come and join the family fun and celebrate Divali.

Thursday 4 November
4pm – 7pm
Wednesfield Library, Well Lane, Wednesfield WV11 1XT
FREE
For further information call 01902 556278

A Christmas Offa

Offa’s Press poets Emma Purshouse and Win Saha entertain at the Wednesfield Library Readers’ Group meeting. All welcome!

Monday 13 December
2pm – 3pm
Wednesfield Library, Well Lane, Wednesfield WV11 1XT
FREE
For further information call 01902 552061

Local Historian Ray Fellows is holding a history talk about Wednesfield and the Battle Of Wodensfield at The Vine Inn on Lichfield Rd this Friday.

Ray’s talk marks the 1,100th anniversary of the battle which was reported to have taken place on the 4th and 5th of August in the year 910. The Battle took place where Wednesfield (or Wodensfield as it was then called) now stands and was crucial in helping to forge the unification of England as one Kingdom.

Wednesfield born former Mayor of Wolverhampton, Phil Bateman recently said:

“The first written references to Wednesfield come in the Anglo Saxon chronicles where there is reference to a great battle at Wednesfield in which the Mercians and their allies inflicted a defeat on the Danes which lead to effective end of their power. It has always been an important part of Wednesfield’s traditional history that this great battle was fought here and a reference to it appeared on the Wednesfield Urban District Council’s coat of arms.” (as seen above).

Ray’s talk begins at 7:30pm on Friday 6th August at The Vine Inn on Lichfield Rd and all are welcome.

Who are The LimeLight and how did you get your name?

The LimeLight are a 4 piece group who formed in January 2010. The group consists of Danny Hill (15) on lead guitar, lead vocals and occasional drums, Alex Jones (15) on bass and backing vocal, Aiden Best (15) on rhythm guitar and backing vocal and Ben Leighon (12) on drums and backing vocals.

The LimeLight name came about when Alex was researching his music instructor Simon Lees. Alex found that Simon had played at a venue called The LimeLight in Crewe and he felt this would be a great name for the newly formed band. Luckily, the band were in agreement and the name was selected!

When did the band form and how did you all meet?

Danny has been singing and playing guitar since the age of 5 and has won competitions UK wide for his talent. Danny and Alex were best friends throughout primary school, so they got together to form a duo. They played as a duo for a number of years – mainly at school events. Danny and Alex met up with Aiden at Wednesfield High School, and Danny taught Aiden how to play guitar. The school are highly supportive of their talent with and The LimeLight can often be found performing at functions along with the school choir.

Ben is considerably younger than the other 3 lads and has only been playing drums for a few months, having been taught initially by Danny. In this time he has become a super little drummer and is actually a better drummer than he realises!

Since forming the band, the lads have gone from strength to strength and are the best of friends.

What are your musical influences?

The boys genre is indie/alternative/rock and they have many musical influences such as: Guns and Roses, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Killers, The Jam, and many more!

Do you write/perform your own songs?

At the moment the band perform mainly cover versions from their influencing artists. However, they have recently written and produced 6 of their own songs and have many more in the preparation stage. The band have performed these new songs at recent gigs and they have been very well received!!

Original songs include: Gimme a Call, Date, Win or Lose, I See You (a sure fire hit single, watch the video below!), Say What You Like and Paradise No More. If you want to see the bands real potential – come and see them live!

How may gigs have you played so far and have you had any interesting or crazy gigging experiences?

The band have played around half a dozen gigs and have many more planned at local venues such as  The Slade Rooms and The Varsity. The band are also performing at a charity event at the Robin 2 club in Bilston to raise money for Compton Hospice and The British Heart Foundation. The gig will be a very big event which will raise money for two very worthy charities and will also be great exposure for the band.

The band’s first gig was in Wellington at The Plough. Due to some parental concerns about motorway travel, the band were driven to the gig in Danny’s Dad’s old Toyota Town Ace (nick-named the Ute!!!). It’s not the fastest of vehicles and when full of band members and equipment, it’s lucky to do 50 mph with the wind behind it!!! Nevertheless, it got the band safely to their destination, and their first gig went down a storm! It’s is now referred to as the tour bus – and will no doubt be used for many future events!

Where do you hope to be in 12 months time?

In 12 months time, the band hope to be performing to 12,500 people at Wembley Arena!!!

Where can our readers see/hear more?

You can find more information on the band and listen to their music via the following links: Facebook, website, YouTube and MySpace.

The band also have the following gigs booked:

16/07/2010 – The Varsity, Wolverhampton(18+) – £4 admission on the door
03/08/2010 – The Ashmore Pub, Wednesfield
04/09/2010 – The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton – £5 admission
23/02/2011 – Robin 2 (private) – £5 admission (all proceeds going to Compton Hospice & BHF)

The band are also available for functions. Please contact 07977 412 361 for more info.

And finally…..when you’re rich and famous, will you come back and play in Wednesfield??

Definitely!!!! The band are very proud of their roots and they would probably return to their old rehearsal room at The Ashmore Pub for a gig or two to thank their fans!

Thanks to the band for answering all of our questions, we with them the best of luck!

The Fayre is a charity event and all funds raised will be donated to local charity Compton Hospice.

WV11.co.uk will have a stall at the fayre and will be handing out flyers to promote the website – we’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the kind of local news you’d like to read about as we approach our 1st Birthday, so make sure you come and say hello!

Download the programme here for more information.