Comedy Club returns to Queens Hall

THE monthly Comedy Club is back at the Queens Hall, Minehead, on Thursday, April 5, with four comedians on a bill headlined by Adam Ethan Crow (pictured).
During the past eight years, Adam has honed his stand-up comedy act to suit any room, due to the diverse venues in which he has found himself.
Be it a festival, a comedy club, or a corporate function, his act seems to work anywhere on the bill.
‘An entertaining and skilful comedian’ says Time Out, ‘cracking act’ says Dr Fox (Capital Radio), and ‘really funny’ - that, from Ricky Gervais.
As a television warm-up man, Adam has covered the spectrum while heating up studio audiences from coffin dodgers on ‘Open House’ with Gloria Hunniford, to the outlandish lager louts on Channel 5’s ‘Night Fever’.
On the other side of the camera, he has appeared in The Dream Team (Sky One), Casualty (BBC 1), Live At Jongleurs (Paramount), The Bill (ITV), Lovejoy (BBC 1) and The Real Dating Show (Channel 4) to name but a few.
At the 1997 Edinburgh Festival, Adam wrote and performed with Mitch Benn the surprise sell-out hit ‘The A-Z of Comedy’.
Also on the Queens Hall bill are Mike Tombs, David Whitney, and MC Danny Dawes.
The show starts at 9 pm and tickets are £4 on the door. Last food orders are at 8.30 pm.
Photos submitted.

'Purple Alliance' poll bid to take over district council

A CO-ORDINATED bid to wrest control of West Somerset District Council from the present Conservative administration will be launched at the quadrennial elections due to take place in May.
Around 20 ‘Independent’ candidates will stand for election in a co-ordinated campaign echoing the television comedy-drama The Amazing Mrs Pritchard.
In the television series, a supermarket manageress decides to run for election as an Independent MP, then suddenly finds herself leading a Purple Alliance party, and becomes the Prime Minister.
The parallel West Somerset scenario is being led by retired Dulverton shopkeeper Keith Ross (pictured), who is a sitting district councillor, with the backing of Minehead shopkeeper Graham Sizer.
They have rallied people to put up as ‘Independents’ at the May elections, although the group is closely linked with the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Sizer was formerly chairman of the Lib Dem-created pressure group Direct, and he also nominated the Lib Dem candidate, Ian Galloway, in the controversial Somerset County Council elections of 2005 when sitting Conservative councillor Colin Hill was ousted from his Minehead seat.
Councillor Ross admitted to The Crier that the ‘Independent’ group of candidates had been called together for a first meeting which had been hosted by a Liberal Democrat.
However, Mr Sizer denied being involved in any interviewing of potential ‘Independent’ candidates or screening of them to select candidates in order that they did not stand against each other in a particular ward and split the vote.
Mr Sizer said:” It has been blown up out of all proportion. There is no politics involved.
“There is a group just like any other group of politicians. There are a lot of people out there who are fed up with how the council is being run at the moment.
“They are good people. They just need a help in getting around the protocols of things. There has never been any screening. It is a hell of a broad platform.
“There has been no agenda in anything as far as bringing the ‘Independents’ together under one umbrella.”
Mr Sizer said he did not know how The Crier columnist Dudley Seale had formed the impressed that he had been asked to go before a ‘selection panel’ when he expressed an interest in standing for the council.
Councillor Ross said the next ‘Independent’ group meeting would be on neutral ground at the Queens Hall, Minehead.
However, the premises are owned by former Labour councillor Marcus Kravis – and Labour members at County Hall have helped to keep the Lib Dem administration in power.
Councillor Ross said the meeting on March 21 was for anybody ‘with a mind of their own’, which meant ‘somebody who is not led by a political party’.
He said: “We will give them our support to get them elected, ‘we’ being the existing members of the council who are Independent.
“There is help readily available through the Independent group at the Local Government Association, which is there to help councillors and candidates to get a foot on the ladder.
“They do not become an Independent political party. There are no group meetings. All decisions are made in open debate in front of the community, not behind closed doors as political parties do, and it will include all members of the council in that initial debate.
“Many of the people I have been talking to will be quite happy not to be a controlling group. They are happy for the best person to do the job.
“If that means Roger Webber (Conservative) is the best person to run finance, then that will be his job – if he gets re-elected.
“We have about 20 candidates at the moment. It will be interesting to see if another 11 come out of the woodwork on the 21st and we can cover the whole district.
“We are also keen that people represent the community in which they live. Somebody living in Dulverton, for instance, would not do justice representing the Quantock Vale ward.”
Photo submitted.

Success for West Somerset Business Fair 2007

THE fourth annual West Somerset Business Fair was successfully held in the Queens Hall, Minehead, with more than 50 exhibitors and hundreds of visitors during the day.
The show was organised by the West Somerset Business Network (WSBN) and was opened with a performance by the West Somerset Community College Band.
The event used all three floors of the building, with a business ‘village’ in the basement area, a main exhibition arena on the ground floor, and a series of seminars presented upstairs.
It was designed to maximise opportunities for business people to network with each other and to allow exhibitors to showcase themselves and their products and services.
The star prize in the two draws which were held at the show was a free Toshiba laptop computer given by Westlabb Ltd, a not-for-profit company which has been administering a pilot project on behalf of West Somerset Council to provide broadband internet connections for rural communities.
It was won by Magna West Somerset Housing Association chief executive Graham Colls, who said: “I am flabbergasted, but I am sure we will put it to really good use.”
Westlabb director Bob Druitt said: “I am delighted the prize is going to benefit a local business.
“The West Somerset Business Network has provided an excellent forum for the business community to get together at the fair and it is great to see so many people here.”
WSBN chairman Sandra Wilson said: “We would like to congratulate Graham and thank our partners Westlabb and Connecting Somerset for sponsoring the prize.
“Entrants filled out homeworking surveys to enter the draw and the results will be analysed to find out what future needs the local business community might have, and to see if there is a demand for a high-speed broadband connection in West Somerset.”
The laptop computer was presented by the Mayor of Minehead, Councillor Ann Foxhuntley, who is also the district council’s deputy leader.
Councillor Foxhuntley said: “Westlabb has provided a great service to local communities by training over 300 people in IT skills with the help of the Exmoor Community Computer Centre.
“The fair is one of the most important dates in the commercial calendar because it provides a great opportunity for businesses to get together and network, while also attracting new customers, which is great for the local economy.”
The programme of seminars was started with Bill Wilson, of Ylem Ltd, talking about ‘Intelligent IT’, followed by Penny Ward, of Blackspot Broadband/Project Computer Ltd, speaking on ‘Internet and Wi-Fi Security’, and then Kevin Redpath, of Connecting Somerset, on behalf of WestLabb Ltd, spoke on the subject ‘Winning on the Web’.
Minehead’s JobCentre Plus manager Gillian Knight talked of ‘A New Direction’, while ‘The Smoking Ban’ was the subject for West Somerset Council environmental health manager Ian Timms, and Brenda Clare, from Wyndham House, Minehead, explained why ‘Life Begins at 80’.
Kevin Chambers, of the Shaw Trust, gave a run-down on the ‘Shaw Trust Employment Services’, and the programme concluded with Aron Cody-Boutcher, of Somerset Consulting, on ‘A Layman’s Guide to Understanding Website Promotion’.
The West Somerset Business Fair 2007 was sponsored by Connecting Somerset, NatWest Bank, Minehead Jobcentre, Ylem Ltd, DJ Miles and Co Ltd, Minehead Marquees, and Finishing Touches.

• Our photographs show: TOP - Seven-months-old Freddie Hirst with mum Julie Hirst enjoying the West Somerset Community College band’s opening performance. MIDDLE – The laptop computer prize being presented to Graham Colls (third from left) by the Mayor of Minehead, Councillor Ann Foxhuntley, watched by (left to right) business network chairman Sandra Wilson, and Westlabb directors Bob Druit and Iain Joyce. Bottom – The business fair scene inside the Queens Hall. Photos submitted.

Business fair places are still available

MEMBERS of the West Somerset Community College band will be performing at the opening of the West Somerset Business Fair.
The fair will be held in the Queens Hall, Minehead, from 11 am to 6 pm on Wednesday, February 28.
It will be the district’s largest business networking event of the year.
Special offers are available to any exhibitor who wants to book one of the remaining stands, details of which are available oin application.
The West Somerset Business Network, which is organising the fair, has also arranged free parking permits for exhibitors and visitors.
Network chairman Sandra Wilson said there were still some places available for exhibitors and people who wanted to hold seminars at the event.
A free prize draw will also be held on the day.
The fair provides an opportuinity for business owners and managers to showcase themselves to each other and find out more about the range of products and services available locally.
Face-to-face marketing is recognised as the most effective method of gaining new orders and contracts.
The business fair offers a wide range of marketing opportunities for those taking part, including:

• A choice of 2m or 3m display stand spaces


• Half-an-hour seminar slots


• A rolling PowerPoint screen presentation


• The display of company pull-up banners


• A business village for exchange of business cards


• An exhibitor directory

The cost of taking part ranges from £25 to £195, and exhibitors will receive breakfast and lunch.
There will be a pre-event training session for exhibitors, and the business fair package also includes a pre-opening networking hour on the day.
All the trading businesses and networking activities will be concentrated on the ground floor..
More information and booking details are available from business fair administrator Lesley Marriner on 01398 322000 or email lesley.marriner@ylem.com.

PLEASE NOTE THE CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER WAS WRONGLY STATED IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF THE NEWSPAPER. THE NUMBER GIVEN HERE IS CORRECT.