hebdenbridge

Susan Calman

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ACMS #8 @ Edfringe13: Susan Calman
Photo by Isabelle on Flickr, CC-licensed.

After seeing Frisky & Mannish on Friday, Christine and I went to another comedy gig on Sunday. This time it was to see Susan Calman, a diminutive Scottish lesbian and stand-up comedian on her tour ‘Ladylike’, at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is something of a lesbian capital and so it was not surprising that the gig had sold out a few weeks ago.

I’m familiar with Susan Calman through her work on BBC Radio 4 – she is a regular guest on the weekly panel show The News Quiz, and has presented two series of her own show Susan Calman is Convicted. On TV, she’s appeared on Have I Got News For You and a few other programmes, mainly in Scotland. She’s been top of my list of stand-up comedians whom I have yet to see live so last night was a chance to fix this.

And I’m pleased to say it was really worth waiting for. Calman is a fantastic observational comedian, with all of her material drawn from her own life and experiences. It helps that she has an interesting story to tell – about her height, her sexuality, her career change and her three cats, each of whom has its own theme song.

Her tour continues into next year and whilst a number of dates are already sold out, hopefully there will be a gig near you with tickets still available. If you want to hear someone who is charming, inspirational and, most of all, hilariously funny, then find the time to go and see her when you can. Tour dates are on her web site.

Now, to make time to see Bethany Black and Chris Addison, who make up the rest of my list of comedians to see live.

A bank holiday visit to Hebden Bridge

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Hebden Old Bridge

As it was such a nice day on Good Friday, and we were both off work with it being a bank holiday, Christine and I paid a visit to Hebden Bridge. We’ve been there many times over the years, however, this was actually the first time we’d been in almost two years.

In June and July of 2012, the upper Calder Valley was badly affected by floods. Whilst it didn’t cause too many problems here in Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge was hit hard, with large parts of the town underwater. This included the main road through the town and the main shopping streets.

It’s taken the town quite a long time to get itself back together again, so we were pleased to see it looking rather resplendent when we visited last week. There were almost no empty shops; though some hadn’t re-opened following the floods, others had taken their place. And the town was bustling with people taking advantage of a day off work and some nice sunshine.

Hebden Bridge features on this year’s Tour de France route. The Tour de France has its ‘Grand Départ’ in different places across Europe each year, and Yorkshire won the bid for 2014, so the first two days of the course are in Yorkshire. Riders will pass through Hebden Bridge before tackling a long, sustained incline further down the Calder Valley at Cragg Vale. Hopefully the weather will be equally nice as it was when we visited, and the local economy will get a nice boost.

Speaking of which, there is large amount of disquiet in the town about a proposed Sainsbury’s supermarket opening nearby. What makes Hebden Bridge so special is that the vast majority of shops are independently run, including a number of clothing boutiques, delicatessens and craft shops. The worry is that a big supermarket like Sainsbury’s would adversely affect business in these small shops. Many shops had posters in their windows about it and there’s a web site encouraging people to object to the planning application.

Hebden Bridge Duck Race

Finally, as today is Easter Monday, there is the annual duck race, where hundreds of rubber ducks are dropped into the river. Each duck is sponsored, and there are prizes for the first ducks to cross the finish line. Again, the local community are strongly behind this with many shops having duck-themed displays in their windows.

Hebden Bridge is always a lovely place to visit and it’s a shame that we haven’t had chance to drop by recently. Apart from the looming potential of a new supermarket, I’m glad the town is doing well.

Chilly

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Brrr!

So yesterday was a bit cold, with a very strong wind blowing down the Calder Valley. Christine and I went up to Hebden Bridge for a bit of shopping, and to see Hugo at the Hebden Bridge Picture House.

The Picture House is one of two small independent cinemas in the area – the other being the Rex Cinema at Elland, which is geographically closer but a bit of an arse to get to by public transport. It’s a nice cinema, showing one film a day on weekday evenings and matinées at weekends, and usually the films are those that have been in mainstream cinemas some time previously, with very generous legroom. It’s also competitively priced with cheap refreshments, and serves an area otherwise not well served by cinemas – the nearest multiplexes at present are Bradford, Huddersfield or Burnley, which are some trek away.

Unfortunately the cinema isn’t in great nick – there’s quite a bit of work to be done to the building. As it’s owned by the local council, a recent council tax rise has been levied to pay for improvements. Its future is also potentially threatened by the opening of a multiplex cinema in Halifax in a few months time, which is a shame as it has a lot of character.

Hugo, incidentally, is a very good film if you haven’t already seen it.

Thankfully today’s been a little warmer and less windy.