Bath Voice What’s On in March: story time in the library, Elevate Festival, USA photography exhibition at the American Museum and Heathers The Musical

MARCH 6, 2023

Regular events in Bath
Mondays
Widcombe Choir. Widcombe Social Club. 7.15-9pm. For details see the Widcombe Association website.
Tuesdays
Central Library with Bath La Leche League. Meet the friendly breastfeeding support for mums. 10-11.30am. Details at Email: mara.rl.richards@gmail.com or call 01225 339023 (Mara) or 01225 317631 (Helen).
Old Theatre Royal Tours. Guided tours every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday of The Masonic Hall in Bath, also know as the Old Theatre Royal.
Wednesdays
Widcombe Wayfarers Walks. Meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, starting at 10am at the west end of Widcombe Parade. Walks last between 1-2 hours and are medium paced. Come dressed for the weather, with suitable footwear and be prepared for a few climbs. Walks are limited to 20 people and registration is now compulsory. The walks are free but if you would like to make a small donation to this event you can do so when you register. See the Widcombe Association website for details.
Widcombe. St Matt’s Widcombe. Coffee morning at 10.30am. Come down and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee.
Southdown Methodist Church. Warm Spaces. 1-4pm. Southdown Methodist Church Centre and Thursdays 10-4pm offering a warm space, refreshments and activities.
Thursdays
Story Time at Bath Library. 12noon to 12.30pm. Let’s share stories and books at the library! Perfect for families with children aged 0-5. No booking required.
Bath Good Afternoon Choir. They meet every Thursday at the Central United Reformed Church in Argyle Street Bath from 2pm to 4pm. The choir is led by Grenville Jones, where the accent is on social singing for people who have afternoons free.
Fridays
Bath Mosque – Al-Muzaffar. Friday prayers. Check website for various times. https://bathmosque.org.uk/
We Get It. Walcot House. Bath based charity offering support to anyone who has been diagnosed with any cancer or who is supporting someone with cancer. The friendly & informal Get Together at Walcot House, 90B Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5G between 10AM-11:30AM. You are very welcome to join us for a coffee and a chat .For more information see our website – wegetit.org.uk – or email us at together@wegetit.org.uk
Saturdays
Bear Flat Community market and café. Third Saturday of every month, from 9:30am to 12:30 pm in the church hall on Bruton Avenue. To book a stall, email market@bearflat.org.uk
Walcot Antique and Flea Market. The market is every Saturday from 7.30am to 4pm.
Bath Farmers’ Market. Green Park Station. Every Saturday at 9am-1.30pm. You will find quality, fresh, seasonal produce at a fair price. The goods are sold directly by the people who produce them and everything usually comes from within a 40 mile radius of Bath.
Sundays
Magdalene Chapel, Holloway. Holy Eucharist – 10am at the Chapel
Church of Our Lady & St Alphege Mass 11am, 6pm. Oldfield Lane.
St Luke’s, Wellsway. 10am. Service of worship, prayer and teaching.
St Matthew’s, Widcombe. 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month 10:30am Contemporary Family service.
Bath Abbey. Holy Communion 8am using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. This service includes a sermon, but no hymns, and lasts for 45 minutes.

Theatre Picks In Bath
Thu 16 Feb-Sat 18 Mar. Ustinov Studio. Charlotte & Theodore. Meet Lotty and Teddy. Two dreamers – colleagues, lovers and then man and wife – determined to make a difference in their worlds, and to keep the spark In their relationship and their family alive. But can they do this as academics on a university campus where every well-intentioned thought, each well-meaning gesture and idealistic good deed can have unexpected and long-lasting consequences?
Tue 28 Feb-Sat 4 Mar. Theatre Royal Bath. Noughts And Crosses. Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought. Between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides. A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge. As violence breaks out, Sephy and Callum draw closer, but this is a romance that will lead them into terrible danger. This gripping Romeo and Juliet story by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman and adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world. Adapted from the story which inspired the hit BBC TV drama series.
Wed 1-Sun 5 Mar. The Egg Theatre. I Want My Hat Back Trilogy. Two turtles have found a hat. The hat looks good on both of them. But there are two turtles. And there is only one hat.
Thu 2–Sat 4 Mar. Mission Theatre. The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Presented by Bath University Student Theatre. One of the world’s richest people, Claire Zachanassian makes a visit to her former debt-ridden home town of Güllen. She makes an offer to save the town from its dilapidated state by offering a sum of money that one could only dream of. However, it comes with one condition. Expelled from her town in disgrace as a teenager, Zachanassian seeks revenge over her ex-lover, Alfred Ill, and asks the Güllenites to kill him in return for one billion.
Fri 3-Sun 19 Mar. Elevate Festival at the Theatre Royal Bath’s pop-up venue. Artists from across the region, the two-week programme of diverse events showcases new writing, dance, theatre for families, rehearsed readings, drag entertainment and scratch nights – all proudly presented by a range of locally-based amateur, emerging, graduate or professional performers from Bath, Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Tue7-Sat 19 Mar. Theatre Royal Bath. The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Returning to his childhood home, a man finds himself standing beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his remarkable friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean–a place where everything is possible.
Thu 9-Sat 10 Mar. Rondo Theatre. Habeas Corpus. Alan Bennett’s farce presented by Bath Spa with the graduating students from BA Acting and BA Theatre and Festival Production. Habeas Corpus follows the comings and goings in the Wicksteed home. The pleasures of the body (‘corpus’) are the driving passion for everyone gathered together with family, friends and colleagues.
Fri 10 Mar. Theatre Royal Bath. Lockdown Blues. Six women, six stories, six lockdown blues. Comedy drama.
Sat-Sun, 18-19 Mar. The Egg Theatre. Dinosaurs and all That Rubbish. An imaginative adaptation of Michael Foreman’s environmental tale with dancing dinosaurs, fuelled by rock’n’roll. This riotous hour, packed with signature Roustabout silliness, will have you tapping your toes from start to finish!
Tue 21-Sat 25 Mar. Theatre Royal Bath. Heathers The Musical. A black comedy rock musical based on the eponymous 1988 film about school girls.
Wed 22 – Sat 25 Mar. Rondo Theatre. The Memory of Water. The Rondo Theatre Company perform Sheelagh Stephenson’s dark comedy of sisters and sibling rivalry.
Thu 23 Mar. St Alphege’s Church, Oldfield Lane. The Argyle String Orchestra Centenary Concert. Includes work by Handel.
Fri 24 Mar. Ustinov Studio. Learning to Fly. The story of a remarkable friendship James made when he was a lonely, unhappy teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street.
Tue 28-Sat 31 Mar. Roper Theatre, Hayesfield School Upper Oldfield Park. Oklahoma! Students of Beechen Cliff and Hayesfield Girls’ School and Bath Theatre School bring Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical to the stage.
Wed 29 & Thu 30 Mar. Rondo Theatre. Escape to Wonderland. Inspired by the words and stories of Lewis Carroll, WhimsiCo’s debut play Escape to Wonderland combines poetry, music, and prose to explore grief, love, identity, and growing up in a time when it is incredibly hard to do so.

Theatre Picks Outside Bath
Wed 1- Fri 3 Mar. Bristol Malcolm X Community Centre, Bristol. A Midsummer’s Dream. A heart split into 2. Set beneath a glittering, ethereal surface you will find Shakespeare’s dazzling play transformed into a macabre Edwardian fable from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Tue 7-Sat 11 Mar. Alma Tavern Theatre, Bristol. Tender Napalm. Misplaced Theatre returns to the Alma Theatre with Philip Ridley’s explosive, poetic and brutal play contains sexual language and threats of violence. 8pm.
Fri 10-Sat 18 Mar. Tobacco Factory, Bristol. This House. UK politics is in crisis and the country is in economic peril. Fights break out in the Houses of Parliament and the government whips can barely contain the chaos. Sound familiar? Well this time, it’s 1974 and in this not so distant past, Westminster. Bristol Old Vic Theatre School production.

Pick of Diary Events in Bath
Mon 27 Feb-Sun 5 Mar. 4 Abbey Street. Art Exhibition. Protection Exhibition is a collection of works by nine artists.
Fri 3 Mar. Widcombe Social Club. Live music from Wiltshire’s Happy Kingsley. Music starts at 6:30pm. Expect this show to make you laugh, cry and ultimately wonder how he makes the acoustic guitar sound like you’ve never heard it before.
Sat 4 Mar. Victoria Art Museum. New English Art Club Exhibition Tour with Peter Brown. 1pm. Discover the stories behind the paintings in our latest exhibition, Capturing Life: A Century of the New English Art Club.
Mon 6 Mar. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queen Square. Bath Natural History Society. A talk on Beetles and their world. 7pm (coffee) for 7.30pm start. Admittance: £2 members, £4 non-members. For further information please see the website: bathnats.org.uk The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution has a long series of talks and events – too many to list here but see what’s on visit https://www.brlsi.org/whats-on/
Wed 8-Fri 10 Mar. Mission Theatre. Mid-Somerset Drama Festival. Three days of acting, verse speaking, mime and much more from young performers around Bath and the South West.
Fri 10 Mar. Widcombe Social Club. Gypsy Swing Jazz. Free from 6.30pm.
Sat 11 Mar. Widcombe Social Club. Disco night. 1980s – so get your glad rags on and have a boogie – from 8pm.
Sat 11 Mar. Burdall’s Yard. Viva Vocals. Female voices community choir from Corsham, directed by John Sandford and accompanied by Michelle Howarth on keyboards. Their strapline is ‘Sing Yourself Happy’ and that is what they strive to achieve at each practice and concert opportunity.
Sat 11 Mar. Bath Abbey. Abseil in aid of the Genesis Trust. See their website for details of how to take part.
Sat 11 Mar. Hayesfield School. Bath Symphony Orchestra – Scandinavian Spring Concert. Music includes Sibelius Karelia Suite, Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 and Sibelius Symphony No. 1.
Sun 12 Mar. Komedia. Drew Hall Trio. 2-4pm. Bath-based singer songwriter & soul singer based in Bath, in the UK. His musical style provides a combination of bluesy, soulful & easy listening sounds with a unique & strong singing voice, and a distinct, contemporary style of guitar playing that sets a perfect tone, and puts you in wonderfully chilled state of mind. Free.
Mon 13 Mar. The Forum. London Symphony Orchestra with Barbara Hannigan. Programme includes Olivier Messiaen L’Ascension and Gustav Mahler Symphony No 4
Fri 17 Mar. Widcombe Social Club. Just Parsons. Pizza and tales of questionable romance with the music of Parsons. Music starts at 6:30pm, free.
Fri 17-Sat 18. Bath Abbey. Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus and the Fulltone Orchestra. The Fulltone Orchestra and a massed choir. Music from Vangelis, Hans Zimmer and John Williams.
Sat 18 Mar. Burdall’s Yard. Sober Sundays. The band will release their new new single ‘Rabbit Hole’ at Burdall’s Yard.
Sat 18 Mar. St Luke’s Church, Hatfield Road, Bath BA2 2BD. Cappella Nova: Fly Me To The Moon concert. 7:30pm In aid of 5k Your Way, a community-based initiative for those living with and beyond cancer and their families and friends.
Sun 19 Mar. Burdall’s Yard. Plucky Devils, from 2pm. An impromptu performance group for guitarists (and lutenists), open to pluckers of all ages and stages. Led by Burdall’s Yard’s resident musician (and incorrigible punster) Sam Brown.
Mon 20-Tue 21 Mar. The Forum. The Dance Umbrella. Bath & North East Somerset School Sport Partnership. The showcase for schools’ dance, and it provides children with meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences outside of the classroom. The Dance Umbrella brings together young people from across the local area in a celebration of dance and movement.
Wed 22 Mar Widcombe Social Club. Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, Scottish folk duo.
Thu 23 Mar. Holburne Museum. Gardeners Question Time. A panel of expert gardeners and landscape designers will field questions from the audience.
Fri 24 Mar. Burdall’s Yard. The Dunwells. folksy rocky sound that was a sell out last time they played the yard.
Sat 25 Mar. St Stephen’s Church, Lansdown. Coronation Concert: Handel-Haydn-Mozart. Bath Cantata Group. King Charles III will be crowned on 6 May. Bath Cantata Group looks back to previous coronations in this concert performing Handel’s Coronation Anthems, composed for George II in 1727 and Mozart’s Coronation Mass, composed for Francis II in 1792 as Holy Roman Emperor. Haydn’s joyful Trumpet Concerto in Eb completes our programme with soloist Eliza Talman.
Sat 25 Mar. Christchurch. Bath Tub Orchestra in collaboration with Ramshackle Orchestra. The orchestra is a mixed ability orchestra that plays all kinds of music from pop songs, jazz, blues, film soundtracks and classical favourites.
Thu 30 Mar. Holburne Museum. Galliarde Ensemble Concert. An Enlightened Heart project highlights the music and performing traditions of women in the eighteenth-century.With the inclusion of new pieces for early instruments commissioned by group members from young female composers Jenni Pinnock and Rebecca Rowe. The quartet features the young recorder player Kate Allsop who recently completed her graduate studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire gaining a first and winning the course prize. Kate is joined by the seasoned performers Sara Stowe (harpsichordist and singer), Ibi Azziz (viol) and Matthew Spring (lutes and viols).
Wed 5 Apr. Bath Abbey. St. John Passion – J.S. Bach. The Abbey Girls and Lay Clerks perform alongside baroque specialists Rejouissance. As we move through Holy Week towards Good Friday come and hear one of the most moving Christian works ever written by one of the greatest composers who ever lived. The Abbey Girls and Lay Clerks perform alongside baroque specialists Rejouissance. Featuring Ruairi Bowen as Evangelist
Pick of Diary Events outside of Bath
Tue 7 Mar. Clifton Conservation Centre. Dormice talk. Journey through a year in the life of this endearing, endangered inhabitant of Leigh Woods and see how it is faring in and around Bristol.
Wed 8 Mar. Wesley’s New Room, Bristol. Talk: Who was John Wesley? From speaking out against the slave trade to improving prison conditions and empowering women, John Wesley is little-known in Bristol. However, his story of childhood drama lost loves and commitment to social justice is worth discovering.
Sat 11 Mar. St James Priory, Bristol. Easter by Candlelight. Exultate Singers returns to the medieval church of St James Priory to perform a feast of beautiful Renaissance and Baroque choral music from Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Sun 19 Mar. Trinity Centre Bristol. St Patrick’s Parade and Street Party. The parade will depart form Trinity at 12.30pm heading through Old Market and along Castle Park before finishing with a huge party in and around St Nicholas Street. Free.

Exhibition Picks in Bath
American Museum, Bath. Claverton. The Museum features collections from the United States where you can visit room sets that recreate periods of American history giving the feeling that someone has just stepped out, as well as our world-renowned folk art, quilt and map collections. The Exhibition Gallery features America in Crisis from 11 March to 4 July 2023. Take the rare opportunity to see this major American photography exhibition with over 80 works from 39 top American photographers, exploring social change in the US through the lens of a diverse group of artists from the 1960s till today.
Museum of Bath at Work. Julian Rd, Bath BA1 2RH. A Visual Record of a City at Work exhibition continues with photos and videos. Enter the world of working Bath through a series of authentically reconstructed workplaces, workshops and display galleries. Two thousand years of working life are on display from a Victorian ironmongers and engineering works, a soft drinks making factory and even a Bath Stone mine working, all on show in a former Real Tennis court, dating from 1777. Displays in two galleries: Landscapes and Livelihoods and Knowing Your Place.
Victoria Art Gallery. Capturing Life: A Century of the New English Art Club This exhibition will combine work by current New English Art Club members alongside a core of over 30 paintings by illustrious past members. You’ll have the chance to see major pieces by John Singer Sargent, Philip Wilson Steer, Gwen John, Walter Sickert, Stanley Spencer and Winifred Nicholson. Until 11 April.
Holburne Museum. Illustrating the World of Woodcuts in the Age of Durer. This is a rare opportunity to view the complete set of woodcuts known as The Great Passion, produced by the most famed artist of the German Renaissance, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Until 23 April; Alberta Whittle: Dipping below a waxing moon, the dance claims us for release: newly commissioned sculptures. Until May 8 2023.
Herschel Museum of Astronomy. Commemorating 200 years since the death of William Herschel. Star Viewfinders. Come and make a star viewfinder and take part in the National Star Count. Find out how light pollution can affect our views of the constellations and see how many stars you can spot from your back garden. Drop in activity. Free with museum entry. Activity will run daily in the gallery from Saturday February 11th.
Museum of East Asian Art. Revolution, Propaganda, Art: Printmaking in Modern China. Continues to 3 June 2023. The exhibition showcases a series of prints selected from Muban Educational Trust’s collection of over 6,000 and tells the story of China’s twentieth-century wars, revolution and rejuvenation. The exhibition explores artistic trends, political movements and technical developments in modern Chinese printmaking. The works presented mark several significant anniversaries in China’s modern history, including the May Fourth Movement (1919), the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (1921), and Lu Xun’s seminal printmaking class, which symbolises the origin of the Modern Woodcut Movement (1931).

Exhibition Picks outside Bath
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Queens Road. The art of Japanese porcelain. The exhibition examines how Japan became the global leading makers of porcelain between 1640 and 1680. Until 30 July 2023. We Were Everywhere: World war experiences from pre-Partition India. This exhibition explores the experience of Indians and Pakistanis during the world wars and the partition of India. Until 5 March 2023. Sweet Patootee Arts: Turning Point. A series of four short films by Sweet Patootee Arts inspired by oral histories about the Black Caribbean experience after WWI. Until 5 March 2023.
Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan is a new exhibition celebrating the rich culture of prehistoric Japan. Through a number of exquisite objects, some seen for the first time outside of Japan, the exhibition tells the story of Japanese settlements and stone circles of the middle and late Jomon periods, roughly the same time when Stonehenge was built and used. Until 20 August 2023.
Do you have an event you would like to be included in the next edition – email Erica at erica@bathvoice.co.uk or call her on 07402 441485.

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Theatre Picks In Bath
Tue 29 Nov-Sat 3 Dec. Mission Theatre. Racing Demon. Next Stage Theatre Company’s patron is David Hare, who penned this play about the clergy. Originally written in 1990, this fascinating glimpse into the working lives of the clergy remains fiercely topical today. Ex ITV newsman Bob Constantine directs, with Brian Fisher as the Rev Espy.
Thu 1 Dec. Rondo Theatre. The Ghost of a Smile. Two of Charles Dickens’ ghost stories directed by Gavin Robertson and performed by Nicholas Collett.
Fri 2 Dec. Rondo Theatre. Casting the Runes; Two Ghost Stories by M R James. Nunkie Productions bring two classic stories in this one man show.
Sat 3 Dec. Rondo Theatre. The Bean Spillers: the Improvised Musical. Created & Performed by Sam Cochrane & Alex Prescot. High comedy based on audience suggestions.
Thu 8-Sun 18 Dec. Rondo Theatre. The Naturals’ Christmas Cracker. Widcombe’s Natural Theatre Company with a bonkers celebration of Christmas.
Thu 8 Dec-Sun 8 Jan. Theatre Royal Bath. Aladdin. Traditional pantomime with its origin of a mash up of the Arabian Nights and the emergence of China in the late 18th century. With Jon Monie (who used to star in Bath’s pantos with the late Chris Harris) as the titular character with a guarantee of high humour, classical references and big song and dance numbers.
Fri 9 Dec-Sat 31 Dec. The Egg Theatre. Midnight Mole. Day time curtain up times aimed at very young children and their parents. A story set in a cherry orchard full of puppetry and music.
Fri 9 Dec-Sun 15 Jan. The Egg Theatre. Five Children and It. Written by Marietta Kirkbride, and based on the novel by E Nesbit the show was big success last year gaining a five star review from Bath Voice.
Sun 11 Dec and Wed 14 Dec. Mission Theatre. Cold and Magic: Winter Baroque. Performed by Joe Levy, and accompanied on piano by Leila Kermani with Baroque music of 17th and 18th Century Europe.
Sat 17 Dec. Roper Theatre. Cinderella. Pantomime. No need to travel to Bristol or Salisbury. See the rags to riches story here in Bath performed by the young people of Stagecoach Performing Arts.
Tue 20 Dec-Sat 31 Dec. Ustinov Studio. Christmas Carol. Masterson’s one man performance of Charles Dickens’ redemptive tale of Ebenezer Scrooge. The novel that helped to create our modern day Christmas.

Theatre Picks Outside Bath
Fri 25 Nov-Fri 2 Dec. Bristol Redgrave Theatre. Robin Hood and Marian. The Bristol Theatre School students stage Theresa Heskins’ musical version of the folk hero ideal for children and schools.
Thu 24 Nov-Sat 7 Jan. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. The Nutcracker. Transported to a fantastical kingdom where toys come to life, nutcrackers can talk and just about anything feels possible, Clara soon discovers that it’s not just mice lurking beneath the floorboards.
Sat 26 Nov-Sun 8 January. Salisbury Playhouse. Cinderella. Traditional rags to riches pantomime.
Thu 1 Dec- Sun 15 Jan. Bristol. Tobacco Factory. The Snow Queen. Join Gerda on her quest to the frozen north as she tries to save her best-friend Kaj from the icy, wicked clutches of The Snow Queen.
Fri 2 Dec-Sun 8 Jan. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Belle and Sebastian. A Travelling Light and Bristol Old Vic co-production based on the stories of Cécile Aubry. A boy and his dog escape to the mountain in a wild adventure.
Sun 4 Dec-Sat 31 Jan. Bristol Hippodrome. Cinderella. Pantomime with Craig Revel Horwood, Andy Ford as Buttons and Lauren Hampton as Cinderella.
Wed 14 Dec. Bristol Alma Theatre. Word Wizard’s Christmas Cabaret. A mash up of Elton John tribute songs, humour, poetry and quirky story telling.

Pick of Diary Events in Bath
Sat 12 Nov-Tue 3 Jan. Bath on Ice. Royal Pavilion, Royal Victoria Park. Ice skating outdoors and Glow Golf returns.
Thu 24 Nov-Sun 11 Dec. Bath Christmas Market. Meander through the streets of Bath adorned with over 150 twinkling chalets and discover some of the best crafters that the South West and beyond has to offer.
Thu 1 Dec. The Pavillion. U3A. Talk on Wildlife Photography. To join call 01225 318438 or complete the online form on their website.
Thu 1-Sat 31 Dec. American Museum of Bath. The Enchanted Garden of Light is a series of illuminated walks through the grounds.
Thu 1 Dec. Burdall’s Yard. The One and Only. Briony Waite’s story of music hall star Mari Lloyd. Performed by Fiona Battisby, with musical accompaniment by Freya Evans. Marie Lloyd started treading the boards at the age of 15, developing a singing repertoire that combined arch sauciness with lyrical intensity.
Sat 3 Dec. Oldfield Park Infants School Christmas Fair. 11am-2pm. Fun and games, raffle, live music, bar and refreshments.
Sat 3 Dec. St Michael’s Without. Shining Lights Christmas Concert. The children of Bath (Voices for Life) join Noctis Chamber Choir for an evening of festive music. Tickets from Bath Box Office.
Sat 3 Dec. Bear Flat Artists. Christmas Art Fair & Market. 10am to 5pm, Free Entry. Methodist Church Hall, off Wellsway, Bruton Ave, Bear Flat BA2 4QJ www.bearflatartists.co.uk
Sat 3 Dec. Hayesfield Girls’ School. Christmas Fair. 10am – 2pm. 50 exhibitors from the local area creating a festive shopping experience.
Sat 3 Dec. Santa’s Charity Float.
The annual circuit of the city by the man in red will begin at the Orange Grove by the Abbey at 3.30pm for an hour before moving off around the city at 4.30pm.
Sat 3 Dec. King Edward’s School. Christmas Fair. There will also be as a variety of crafts and games for children to enjoy. The café will be selling teas, coffees and soft drinks. There will be delicious homemade cakes, cookies, pizza and soup for anyone who would like lunch.
Sat 3-Sat 24 Dec. Prior Park. Christmas Trail. Dates: 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 24 December. Aimed at children, collect a trail card from reception and as you explore the garden, find the 24 doors that represent an advent calendar and open to reveal festive pictures and Christmas messages.
Tue 6 Dec. Bath Forum. Strictly Come Dancing Stars Aljaz and Janette in A Christmas to Remember. The best Christmas Song and Dance show in town runs the publicity. With songs from Phil Spector, Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé, and a whole assortment of pop festive classics, carols and crooners.
Wed 7 Dec. Bath Forum. Swing Into Christmas. Celebrate the festive season in style with the vocalists and instrumentalists of the Down for the Count Orchestra.
Fri 9 Dec. St Michaels Without Bath. The City of Bath Brass Band Family Christmas Concert. Join the City’s Brass Band in it’s Centenary year with a festive concert of traditional and seasonal music. Join in with carols and listen to ever popular arrangements of popular tunes. Tickets available from bathboxoffice.org
Sat 10 Dec. Chapel Arts. Untamed Burlesque. With Renegade Stripper Tuesday, Lady Blue Phoenix, Clay Taurus, Doris Johnson, Violent May, Sal De Bain and compere Fantastic Ms Fanny.
Sat 10 Dec. Bath Abbey. Carol Service. 7pm. With popular favourites, and some unexpected items, there will be carols for the congregation to join in, together with readings. This will be a memorable and colourful evening full of fun and style. This carol concert with a variety of music from all styles features the youngest Abbey Choir, the Melody Makers, and the Boys Choir, the Girls Choir and the Lay Clerks.
Sat 10 Dec. Larkhall URC Church. Christmas Concert with the Bath Tub Orchestra. 7pm – Larkhall URC Church, Avondale Buildings, Bath BA1 6NO. Founded in October 2018, the BathTub Orchestra is a mixed ability orchestra that plays all kinds of music from pop songs, jazz, blues, film soundtracks and classical favourites. To join the group visit https://bathtuborchestra.com/
Sat 10 Dec. Komedia. Uproar Christmas Special. Komedia Bath and Bath Mencap are proud to present Uproar! Christmas Special – A festive edition of our ever-popular club night exclusively for adults with learning disabilities, their families and carers.
Sun 11 Dec. Magdalene Chapel, Holloway. Carol Service. 6pm, with refreshments to follow.
Sun 11 Dec. Bath Contemporary Artists Fair. Green Park Station. Local artists sell their work – a chance for an unusual Christmas gift for someone. http://bcaf.co.uk
Sun 11 Dec. Haycombe Cemetery. Christmas Service. In memory of loved ones at Haycombe Cemetery. 3pm. Preceded by a chance to see the crematorium refurbishments and the new memorial display garden from 10.30am – 2.30pm.
Tue 13 Dec. St Thomas à Becket Church, Widcombe. Pass on a Poem. 7.30pm for 8pm. Enjoy a winters evening of poetry. Choose a poem (by any poet except you) that you would like to read. If you wish to take part contact: Deborah Clements (mail@radnclements.co.uk Tel: 07397 199942 by the 6th December so that she can devise a running order. Refreshments will be available, including wine. Donations are welcome! Organised by the Widcombe Association www.widcombeassociation.org.uk
Fri 16 Dec. Widcombe Social Club. Bill Smarme’s Seasonal Nuts with The Bill Smarme Rock N’ Roll Trio as well as other Nutty guests and happenings. We will also be having a Christmas address from the Reverend Derek Burton (from Twerton).
Fri 16 Dec. Bath Forum. Live at Christmas. Comedy night with a host of stand-ups.
Fri 16 Dec. Bath Independent Christmas Night Market. Green Park Station. Expect art, design, retro, vintage, statement/silver jewellery, handmade products, eco-friendly gifts, homeware, vinyl, top local beverages and music.
Sat 17 Dec. Chapel Arts. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Bath’s cult cabaret crooners swing their sleigh ride into town to kick-start the festive season.
Sat 17 Dec. A Christmas Lullaby. St Matthew’s Church, Widcombe Hill. 7.30pm. Details on the Widcombe Association website. The Chamber Choir Cappella Nova with conductor Tony Shield.
Thu 22 Dec. Bath Forum.The Muppet Christmas Carol. The film is screened with a live orchestra.
Sat 24 Dec. Magdalene Chapel, Holloway. Midnight Mass. Early Midnight Mass & Carols for all the family from 7pm.
Sun 25 Dec. Magdalene Chapel, Holloway. Christmas Day Service. Sung Eucharist with Carols. 9am.
Sat 31 Dec. Komedia. Krater Comedy Club NYE Special. Featuring two circuit-leading stand-ups and one of the best comperes in the business!
Sat 31 Dec. Widcombe Social Club. NYE Disco. Ticket required for a rousing party atmosphere to see in the new year.
Thu 5 Jan. The Pavillion. U3A talk on the effects of the Poor Laws.

Pick of Diary Events outside of Bath
Sat 26 Nov-Sat 24 Dec. Avon Valley Railway Santa Specials. Father Christmas has left his home in Lapland and will escort families on the steam train. Includes a grotto at the station in Bitton.
Sun 4-Sat 24 Dec. Father Christmas at Avon Valley Adventure & Wildlife Park. At Pixash Lane, Bath Rd, Keynsham. Meet Father Christmas, take a Reindeer Rocket ride, visit the Enchanted Village – where children can post their letters to Santa.
Thu 8-Sun 11 Dec. Bristol Watershed. Palestine Film Festival with Mediterranean Fever, Huda’s Salon, Eleven Days in May, My Tree and Alam.
Thu 22 Dec. Bradford on Avon. Bathampton Morris men. 7.30pm. A display of Christmas mumming – the ancient story of good v evil played out in public.

Exhibition Picks in Bath
American Museum, Bath. Hatching The Past An exhibition about American Dinosaur Explorers. Until 31 December.
Museum of Bath at Work. A Visual Record of a City at Work exhibition continues of photos and videos.
Victoria Art Gallery. Peter Brown exhibition until 15 Jan. This exhibition features over 100 new oil paintings and prints by the ever popular Bath-based artist, ‘Pete the Street’.
Holburne Museum. Rodin – Degas: Impressionist Sculpture. (Pictured) Until Jan 8. Focus on the artists’ representation of the human body and their expression of its energy through both dynamic poses and static poise; Elisabeth Frink: Strength & Sensuality. Until Jan 8; Richard Smith Kites. Until 17 Dec; Nalini Malani: My Reality is Different Until 8 Jan;
Herschel Museum of Astronomy. Commemorating 200 years since the death of William Herschel. The museum will be exhibiting some artefacts on loan from the Royal Astronomical Society and Herschel Family Archive which will showcase William’s achievements. The exhibition will also acknowledge the important contributions of those working with William, including his sister Caroline Herschel. Until Dec 31.
Museum of East Asian Art. Revolution, Propaganda, Art: Printmaking in Modern China. Continues to 3 June 2023. The exhibition showcases a series of prints selected from Muban Educational Trust’s collection of over 6,000 and tells the story of China’s twentieth-century wars, revolution and rejuvenation. The exhibition explores artistic trends, political movements and technical developments in modern Chinese printmaking. The works presented mark several significant anniversaries in China’s modern history, including the May Fourth Movement (1919), the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (1921), and Lu Xun’s seminal printmaking class, which symbolises the origin of the Modern Woodcut Movement (1931).
Widcombe Social Club: Photography exhibition by Emma Delves. Until 31 December. Viewings available Friday nights and when club is open. Waterside Bar. Deadly is a series of images of supernatural explosion of sensuality and femininity. Emma has styled the models as Vampire, Bride of Frankenstein, Witch, Ghost and various Mythological Creatures and Goddesses. Free entry. (Pictured below)
University of Bath. Richard Smith Exhibition. The Edge. Until 17 December. Free entry. Richard Smith was one of the most innovative and celebrated painters in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s and seen as the father of Pop Art. Open from 11am to 4pm, Wed-Sat, admission is free.

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More news of Bath’s chic community in Bath Voice magazine – now out – or read online at https://issuu.com/bathvoice