Posts Tagged ‘Norwich culture’
Following the success of the UK’s first City of Ale event in 2011, Norwich City of Ale returns jubilantly in 2012 with more pubs, more beers, and more events than before. It’s a ten-day celebration of real ale, craft brewing and friendly, welcoming pubs taking place all over the fine city.
More than 40 city pubs will be serving hundreds of beers from 35 local breweries. From the Official Launch Party on 31 May to the Closing Party on 10 June a huge range of events will be taking place giving the City a fantastic festival atmosphere.
These include the popular Brewers’ Market, which returns on Saturday 2 June to Millennium Plain outside the iconic Forum in central Norwich, showcasing a brewers’ dozen or so stalls with a wide variety of ales to try and buy.
This year, along with all the usual (and highly enjoyable) suspects – live bands, pub quizzes, barbecues, Morris dancing and traditional pub games – there are some additional showcase events. A political debate on Friday 1 features three MPs influential in the brewing and licensed trade plus the CEO of the Campaign for Real Ale responding to pressing issues focused around the beer and pub industries. There’s a fund-raising auction on Saturday 9 with oddments and collectable items of breweriana. Throughout the festival there’ll be pub and brewery-oriented heritage walks conducted by Blue Badge Guides; a multimedia extravaganza of Norwich’s pub and brewing heritage airs daily on the big screen at Fusion and the iconic City of Ale Bus (a 1954 Bristol Lodekka) will be plying a number of routes around the more outlying pubs (though, wonderfully, all the pubs are within easy walking distance; Norwich is a city on a human scale with the most complete medieval street plan in Europe).
In these austere times when alcohol is increasingly seen as a social evil, with convivial drinkers being demonised by the press, and the beer escalator duty hitting them where it hurts most (in the wallet), this is an occasion to celebrate all that is truly good, wholesome and enjoyable about our national tipple; salubrious, honest, natural, unpretentious real ale. Surely we can all drink to that!
Norwich City of Ale 31st May – 10th June 2012. View the schedule of events and the pubs and breweries that are taking part.
Double-Entendre Delight As Soap Stars Take The Stage In Classic Comedy
Funny Peculiar - Craig Gazey as Trevor Tinsley
Prepare for some near-the-knuckle gags and dozens of double-entendres as a host of soap and TV stars take to the Norwich Theatre Royal stage in the revival of a classic comedy.
Mike Stott’s award-winning Funny Peculiar stars soap favourite Craig Gazey who played Graeme Proctor in Coronation Street – which helped him win the Best Newcomer gong in the recent National Television Awards.
He joins an all-star cast in the comedy, which runs from April 30-May 5 and also stars Vicky Entwistle, (who played the feisty Janice Battersby in Coronation Street).
The cast also includes Gemma Bissix who has starred in both Hollyoaks and EastEnders, and Steven Blakeley who was a hit in ITV’s Sunday night TV favourite Heartbeat.
It follows the story of small-town grocer Trevor Tinsley who seems to have it all with a devoted wife and a new baby. Unfortunately, he gets tempted by the charms of his next-door neighbour prompting a host of misadventures bringing him into conflict with his strait-laced community.
John Bultitude, of Norwich Theatre Royal, said: “Mike Stott’s comedies are renowned for celebrating the humour of everyday life and this is no exception. Expect some real laugh-out-loud moments and the chance to relish in the misadventures of some true British characters.
“Bear in mind, this does feature some near-the-knuckle comedy and is very much an adult show with some X-rated themes, so leave the kids at home.”
Funny Peculiar - Gemma Bissix as Shirley Smith and Craig Gazey as Trevor Tinsley.
Funny Peculiar, Monday 30 April-Saturday 5 May at 7.30pm, and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets £5.50-£22. Contains some strong language and adult humour, and is not suitable for children. Discounts for Friends, Corporate Club and Groups.
BOX OFFICE 01603 630000. Click link for more info or to BOOK ONLINE.
BIG COUNTRY TO PLAY CLASSIC DEBUT ALBUM LIVE FOR 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Big Country, 2012.
Big Country, the cult Scottish rock band who formed in November 1981, kick-off their 30th anniversary celebrations by performing their classic 1983 debut album The Crossing live in its entirety during a thirteen-date tour of the U.K. in February 2012. This includes an appearance at the UEA in Norwich on February 13th.
An international best seller, The Crossing sold over 2 million copies in the UK, spawning 2 Top Ten hits and spending 84 consecutive weeks on the Music Week album chart. Scheduled for release on February 6th 2012, the deluxe edition of the album will come with a wealth of previously unreleased demos and mixes, available on 2CD, double-vinyl and digital download formats.
In announcing the ‘Crossing The Country Tour’, bassist Tony Butler says, “It’s typical to write an album and only play a few songs from it, so to get the opportunity to play an entire album is very cool. This tour will give us the chance to play songs never performed before alongside the well-known ones, songs that were written but didn’t make it on to the album, and the associated ‘b side’ material. We can’t wait.”
Big Country, who on November 19th will receive the inaugural ‘Pride of Scotland Award’ at the annual Nordoff Robbins Tartan Clef event held in Glasgow, reformed with The Alarm’s Mike Peters on lead vocal duties in place of the late Stuart Adamson, who passed away in 2001, for two sold-out UK tours and main stage festival appearances including The Isle of Wight Festival, T in The Park, Oxegen and V Festival during 2011. In addition, Big Country re-united with The Crossing’s producer Steve Lillywhite to release their first single in 12 years, ‘Another Country’.
The Crossing tour will also precede the release of a new studio album, scheduled for release in autumn 2012.
Big Country’s ‘Crossing The Country Tour’ dates are as follows:
Feb. 3: Academy, Manchester, U.K.
Feb. 4: O2 Academy, Liverpool, U.K.
Feb. 6: Barrowland, Glasgow, U.K.
Feb. 7: Alhambra, Dunfermline, U.K.
Feb. 8: O2 Academy, Newcastle, U.K.
Feb. 9: O2 Academy, Leeds, U.K.
Feb. 11: O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, U.K.
Feb. 12: Hexagon, Reading, U.K.
Feb. 13: UEA, Norwich, U.K.
Feb. 15: O2 Academy, Bristol, U.K.
Feb. 16: Rock City, Nottingham, U.K.
Feb. 17: O2 Academy, Birmingham, U.K.
Feb. 18: O2 Academy, Sheffield, U.K.
Tickets are on sale now priced £22.50 from www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk.
The Crossing (2 CD Deluxe Edition) is available to pre-order now on Amazon: http://zaphod.uk.vvhp.net/v-v/111031182341
- 18/05/2012 - Victorian Shell Artistry May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Shipwrecked! Back to 1897 May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - A Walk Through Time: The Victorians May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Norwich 20 Group – Looking into 20 – paintings and sculpture at The Forum May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Tony Foster Paintings/Angela Harding Prints May 18, 2012