Gloucestershire Echo, The

Riders Jump to the Challenge

NEXT SATURDAY UNTIL AUGUST 9, GATCOMBE PARK: World champion Zara Phillips will be on home turf if she competes at the Festival of British Eventing this year. The Queen's granddaughter lives at Gatcombe Park where the annual festival is held. The competition, at the home of the Princess Royal and family, incorporates the British Open, Intermediate and Novice Championships and features leading riders from the around the world.

Barking Mad

Ready, Set, Go! ; Summer Holiday Activities

Across Gloucestershire www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ crackerjack ARE the kids climbing the walls yet saying they are bored after two weeks off school? Help is at hand with activities taking place across the county in the coming week. If you've got 13 to 15-year- olds, wear them out tomorrow and Sunday by taking them for a cardio workout at the Teen Gym. Sessions are held at 10am and 2pm at Cotswold Leisure in Cirencester.

It's Steamy

Reviews

"Liam Howlett raced around the stage like a caged animal screaming obscenities as he launched into raging vocals that sent the crowd wild. Ravers tried to leap across barriers to get closer to their musical hero, people jumped frantically, punching the air and some fans got so excited they flung their drinks through the air spraying party people with beer." Emma Luther on The Prodigy at Global Gathering "In a short review there is room only to mention a few of the pieces that most appealed to...

Go Greenlight

TONIGHT, STROUD: The funky Greenlight Sessions continue tonight at a new venue and a return of popular band The Stone Saloon. With a whole rack of influences from The Stones to the Beatles, Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash, The Stone Saloon will perform their rocking sound at the Market Tavern.

Bravo for Opera!

TODAY AND TOMORROW, BIBURY: Opera Brava is performing two operas in the fabulous open-air setting of Bibury Court Hotel. The professional touring company presents Puccini's La Boheme today. Set in 1830s Paris, it tells the story of the tragic love affair of seamstress Mimi and poet Rodolfo. Amanda Buckland plays Musetta who appears to be a shallow woman who cares only for high society. But she says her character has a big heart. "It's the perfect opera," she adds. "The audience will laugh and...

Reggae Stars

Get Rhythm, When You Get the Blues ; Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festival

FEET will be tapping across Gloucester this weekend as the famous Rhythm and Blues Festival reaches its climax. Only three days remain of this year's event but there is still a feast of music to lap up. The Guildhall and at least 10 other venues around the city have hosted 35 bands and artists to perform the best of blues for free. National, international and local performers have been appearing, including Gloucestershire's very own Michael Roach who has been leading free workshops.

Remake Is Not Quite On Track

"MIND the gaps" in the logic and plausibility of Tony Scott's action-packed thriller, which plays out a deadly game of cat and mouse on the subway system beneath New York City. Adapted here by scriptwriter Brian Helgeland from John Godey's novel, The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 begins at a canter and barely pauses for breath between the slow-motion crashes and John Travolta's voracious scenery chewing.

Wanna Have Fun?

TOMORROW, TEWKESBURY: The Roses theatre has DJ Max Power hosting an Eighties tribute show packed with hits that will get you out of your seats and up on your feet. Pop Goes The Eighties is rammed with smash hits such as Cyndi Lauper's first solo hit for the ladies Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer and Michael Jackson's Thriller.

The Name Stuckist

GLOUCESTER STUCKISTS Opens today, Gloucester Guildhall 01452 503050 FOR anyone who believes that art is only proper art if it can be framed and hung on the wall, this exhibition is for you. Five Gloucestershire artists who are proud to hoist the banner for 'proper art' have joined under the banner of the Gloucester Stuckists. And they will be displaying their work - all properly framed and hung on the walls - at the Guildhall in Gloucester. The name Stuckists came about after artist Billy Chi...

Play On

Saucy Cabaret Is Just a Big Tease

TOMORROW, GLOUCESTER: Get out your basques and suspenders - burlesque dancers from the Velour Palace will be hotting up the Guildhall tomorrow. A Victorian-themed burlesque evening is planned in the ballroom, offering the wonders of Victorian London.

Reviews

"In particular, the cast seemed to enjoy tipping water over each other in true slapstick style - ironically just as the rain had stopped. An enjoyable outdoor performance." Joyce Matthews on The Taming of the Shrew at the Open Air Theatre Festival in Cheltenham "Miracle Theatre are a joy to watch - innovative and full of imagination, they turned Moliere's Tartuffe into a riot."

Nothing Tame About the Bard

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Tomorrow, Lodge Park, near Northleach 0844 2491895 IS there a better way to spend a summer evening than watching a classic Shakespeare play with a picnic in the beautiful grounds of Lodge Park?

Marvellous Mods

TODAY AND TOMORROW, CHELTENHAM: Mods who haven't seen the spectacular rock opera Quadrophenia yet only have today and tomorrow to catch the show. The Everyman has been inviting audiences to dress up in their suits and parkas for the shows at the Regent Street theatre. Set in London and Brighton at the height of the Mod era, Quadrophenia is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a hedonistic style conscious teenager searching for a place to belong and a girl to love. Stuck in a dead end job, he sets ...

Childish Folk

THURSDAY, TEWKESBURY: Live music, song and puppetry will keep the kids entertained during the school holidays. The Roses hosts Storybag 2 next week - a show designed to release children's imaginations. It invites them to explore various traditions and cultures from places like China, Poland, Africa and India. Puppetry and physical theatre are included to help narrate folk stories from differing locations in the world. The one-woman show is packed full of visual displays too and would make a g...

Flying High at Grand Festival

GLOUCESTER Festival goes out with a bang this weekend as a spectacular fireworks display brings two weeks of celebration almost to an end. But although the fireworks tomorrow at Gloucester Park are described as the finale, there is still the Jamaican Independence Day Kite Festival to look forward to on Sunday from 2pm to 8pm. Still to come tonight are two more events which bring music and dance to the city. An explosion of colour and dance lights up GL1 at 7.30pm when a 50-strong troupe of Na...

Four-Wheel Fantasy

MORE than a thousand beautiful Morgans from the last 100 years will line up together in Cheltenham this weekend to celebrate the historic company's centenary. Cheltenham racecourse is hosting the two-day celebration of The Morgan Motor Company tomorrow and Sunday. More than 3,000 bookings have already been taken and most of those people are bringing their cars.