With each mile raise a pile for mental health charity, Shropshire Mind, on Saturday 15 May 2010.

Shropshire Mind is a mental health charity run by volunteers who befriend those in times of need, personal duress and loss, also offering education and personal support for those going through periods of mental and emotional discomfort in their lives.

I'm organising a fund‑raising charity walk for Shropshire Mind which is taking place on Saturday 15 May 2010,starting from the Craven Arms Discovery Centre where we will be based.  Monies raised will help with the expense of maintaining facilities in Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Whitchurch and in starting projects in other communities throughout the county.

Based at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms you can choose between 3 walks with stunning scenery along the Shropshire Way.  It's a great day out for all the family.  For further information and to download registration, sponsorship forms and maps please visit www.shropshiremind.org or call us on 01743 368647.

Europe's Premiere Bryan Adams Tribute, 18 til I die,  is performing at the Theatre on The Steps in Bridgnorth on Saturday 31st October 2009.

This 5 piece band of superb  musicians  brilliantly  capture  the  essence of Bryan Adams and reprise his hits from past to present.  Embellished with a spectacular sound & lighting system,  you  will  hear  such  classics  as,  "Summer of ‘69",  "Heaven",  "Run To You", "Can't Stop This Thing We Started",  "It's Only Love"  and one of the greatest ballads of all time... "Everything I Do".  The  band's  artistry  will  surely transport you back to that memorable...summer of '69. Never mind a quiet night in - treat yourself to a loud night out!  For further details about the band, visit www.bryanadamstributebanduk.co.uk .  

Tickets are £8 and can be purchased from the Theatre on the Steps Box Office on 01746-763257 or online at www.theatreonthesteps.co.uk 

Here Comes The Tribe!

The Big Blues Tribe makes its first trip to Bridgnorth with an appearance at the Theatre on the Steps on Saturday 3rd October.

Receiving high praise from the Blues Press and audiences alike, nine-piece The Big Blues Tribe plays big band blues in the style of BB King, Ray Charles and, more recently, Jools Holland’s R&B Orchestra. With a full five piece brass section, from trumpet to baritone sax, and four excellent voices, the Big Blues Tribe brings good-time big band blues to life. Fronted by Oliver Carpenter, one of the Midlands most experienced blues singers, and featuring top musicians on every stand, the band combines musical quality with an infectious sense of fun and a 100% commitment to blues music. From the first shuffle to the last jump, The Big Blues Tribe’s complex and intricate arrangements take a broad range of music from little known tracks to standards like St James’ Infirmary and make them their own. The band is a regular at the major blues festivals and completed 14 major festival performances in 2008 and 2009. The launch of the new album ‘Warning; May Contain Blues’ has also met with universal approval.

Tickets are £10 and can be purchased from the Theatre on the Steps Box Office on 01746-763257 or online at www.theatreonthesteps.co.uk

From 1939 until 1962 RAF Bridgnorth, located on the site of what is now Stanmore Industrial estate and a memorial park, was the home to basic training for the RAF. In the early days Bridgnorth was the first posting for RAF recruits and for many their first experience of "square bashing" and basic military training. Many of these recruits remember their time at Bridgnorth fondly.

Peter Williams contacted bdcr to say ... "On the weekend 8/9 August veterans of RAF Bridgnorth will gather for their third re-union at a social evening on Saturday, and a parade and Church Service the following day. A reception will follow hosted by His Worship the Mayor of Bridgnorth. The event draws together many former recruits to what primarily was given over to basic training. To all of us we were "squarebashing" there for eight weeks.

I have spent 2 1/2 years searching for a trophy known as the Drill Cup, a coveted award contested by all of us as we neared the end of our time there and I feel quite proud that I helped my squad win it for the Squadron before we left. The cup had been lost in the mist of time until very recently.  I located it and negotiated for it to be displayed at the National Serviceman's day at Cosford in June. By way of a bonus we expect to put it on display on this occasion. Searching for it has proved to be a roller coaster ride, but I am 90% sure we now have it. It's future hasn't been decided yet, but I have a secret wish about where it should go next."

It was reported on Friday that eight radio stations currently owned by Global Radio in the Midlands have been sold to a group led by experienced radio executive Phil Riley (full story here ). The stations, BRMB in Birmingham, Beacon in Wolverhampton and Shropshire which of course also serves  Bridgnorth, Mercia in Coventry, Wyvern in Hereford and Worcester, Heart 106 in Nottingham, and Gold in Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Coventry, were put up for sale to avoid referral to the Competition Commision after Global acquired the radio assets of Chrysalis and then GCap Media.

This is a fantastic twist in the development of commercial radio in the UK. Phil Riley started his radio career as a graduate trainee at BRMB in the early 80's and led the successful launch of Xtra am when the then Midlands Radio Group "split" frequencies (prior to then the station transmitted the same programming on am and fm). Later Phil returned to the Midlands to launch Heart fm in Birmingham for the Chrysalis Radio group, the expansion of which he led until he stepped down to make way for the acquisition by Global. The irony of this is that it puts Phil Riley in charge of BRMB up against Heart, the station he so succesfully launched to BRMB's cost. It also puts Phil back in charge of one of his Heart creations, I am curious as to how having Heart in the West Midlands owned by Global, and Heart in the East Midlands owned by the Riley consortium will work, this represents yet another change of ownership for the Nottingham station which seems to have changed hands every two years since it's launch.

The deal could be good news for commercial radio in the Midlands. It puts the "heritage" Midlands stations back into relatively local hands led by someone who is committed to radio, knows how to do it and knows the Midlands well. It is also the birth of a new radio group at a time when the commercial radio industry (what used to be called independent local radio) has consolidated up its own backside. So what of the future? I don't expect to see a return to the "glory" days of Midlands Radio with autonomous radio stations producing most of their own programming. To realise the potential for growth in these stations some radical changes may be required. A note of concern has been expressed in blogs and forums about the long term intentions of financial backers Lloyds TSB Development capital. Global needed to sell and LDC invested at the bottom of the market. A later sale, maybe to Bauer ( at one time reported to be the favioured bidder), at a profit a few years hence wouldn't seem improbable, but for the time being this is good news. We will watch, and maybe even listen, with interest.

There is hope for a return to local services on Midlands and Shropshire commercial radio stations as a number of "heritage" stations are up for sale. Global Radio, as a result of it's aquisitions of Chrysalis Radio (Heart and Galaxy based in Birmingham) and then GCap (BRMB Radio in Birmingham, Beacon Radio in Wolverhampton and Shropshire, Mercia in Coventry and Wyvern in Hereford and Worcester) has been required by the Office of Fair Trading to divest itself of stations in Shropshire and the Midlands to restore competition to pre merger levels. Currently these stations are all run by Global Radio and carry networked programming for large parts of the day. A possible scenario is that "Midlands Radio", the company that owned BRMB Radio prior to it's purchase by Capital Radio in the mid-90's  will be reborn as two former Midlands Radio executives, Mike Owen and Phil Riley, have both been rumoured to be behind seperate bids for the stations  This will go against the trend towards bigger national groups but could be good for radio in the MShropshire and Midlands area. The deal is planned to be completed by the end of 2008 so we will watch with interest!

Daniel's Mill, situated about half a mile from Bridgnorth in Shropshire on the B4555 towards Highley, is a working water mill that has been owned and run by the same family for 200 years, Mark Hateley visited Daniels Mill in June 2008 and talked to owner and miller Alan George about the Mill's history, and the challenge of recovering from 2007's flood damage ready for the season's visitors.