Music brings life to town

I did once write and ask the
question, “why is this town
being allowed to die”, while at
the same time offering some
ideas of how even in times of
‘depression’, for I believe we
have long passed the definition
of ‘recession’, that this town
could be made to look open for
business.
 

My idea was to dress or paint
scenes on empty shops to give
an illusion of full shop capacity.
 

I note that in the precinct,
decorative hoarding has been
erected. However, hoarding is
usually found in front of
empty/derelict buildings along
with building sites, though better
than empty shops, hoarding
is still hoarding.
 

This weekend, I found myself
in town on Sunday, I had forgotten
about the farmers market,
there were more stalls than
I had seen on the Thursday and
Saturday markets. To my surprise,
there in that history circle,
was something I had suggested
way back, live music, a
band of musicians in the form
of a dance/swing band. People
were stopping to listen, to at
least a couple of numbers,
there was even a couple dancing.
 

The disappointment was, the
acoustics of the day didn’t
allow the sound to travel far, so
those in the precinct or upper
high street didn’t know and
missed out.
 

While I was there, the area
around the band seemed full of
life and hope, unfortunately
the sun was missing, and the
clouds were grey to black, but
the people still gathered.
 

This part of town was open
for fun and business. Having
live music creates that party
feeling, people are more
relaxed and when they see
their friends and family they
tell them what a great day they
had in our town.
 

I’m sure many of those who
stood there watching the musicians
felt better for the band
being there, so I hope there is
more to come. Entertainment
on a market day is not a new
idea, it has however lightened
the hearts of those watching.
Let’s have more.
 

Derrick Sole, Colenzo
Drive, Andover