Richmond Hill Area Guide

It's official Bad Influence celebrate four decades of blues-rock firepower with a very special 40th Anniversary Tour! From their formation in 1986 by the powerhouse duo Val Cowell (vocals & rhythm guitar) and Richard Hayes (lead & slide guitar), this band has carved out a lasting legacy on the British blues scene and beyond. Across countless gigs from legendary appearances at the iconic The Marquee Club in London to festival stages nationwide Bad Influence have earned a reputation for fiery guitar work, soulful vocals and a rock-tinted blues swagger that gets under your skin. Expect a night packed with the best of their original songs and classic covers infused with their unmistakable style. Powerful vocals, searing guitar solos, tight rhythm grooves all delivered by a band that's paid its dues and still has the passion that lit up their very first show. This anniversary tour is more than just nostalgia. It's a celebration of the survival, strength and spirit of a band that helped keep British blues alive for 40 years and theyre still hungry to rock. Get your tickets now and catch the legacy live.

Join us for a Peer Feedback/Crit Session, offering artists the opportunity to share their work with other artists for feedback. You and your fellow artists are invited to lead the session together. The sessions are intended to be encouraging and constructive to help you with your creative practice. These peer sessions are open to artists based in the Borough of Richmond. This session will be in the Coach House and will last 2 hours. Every session requires artists to bring their work to discuss. Please complete the questionnaire to say whether you would like to bring work to the session. We may not be able to accommodate everyone and will let you know ahead of the session if you have been selected to bring work.

Do you want to find a local choir to join near you? The Richmond Rock Choir is led by local vocal coach Rebecca Thompson. The choir will be performing locally again soon so it's a chance for you to join in, sing and perform without pressure and under the supportive guidance of Rebecca. Rock Choir members have performed at Wembley Stadium for the record breaking Saracens versus Harlequins rugby league game in 2012, on top of the BT tower and many more iconic venues across the country. We attend weekly rehearsals where you learn pop, rock, Motown and every now and again a 'pop gospel' song. Like the sound of that? You can book a FREE taster session for yourself (and a maybe a friend!) to experience the easy going atmosphere and expert vocal tuition. Go to https://www.rockchoir.com/join to book you own FREE singing session to get a taste of singing in the choir. Here is a quote about our choir - 'Why I love Rock Choir: I've had lupus for over 16 years. I get to forget that once a week and I feel like I've achieved something in life now, as I've had to give everything else up because of it.' - Sheryl (Rock Choir member) Rock Choir is a winner of the Red Ribbon 'Big Heart' Award [https://rockchoir.com/awards-achievements/]. and holds 1 former and 2 current Guinness World Records. The choir is also credited with single handedly starting the contemporary choir movement.

Get ready for a special night at the Crawdaddy Club with the mighty Blue Bishops on May 15th at the Turks Head. These guys are one of the UK's finest blues and rock bands and known for putting on a powerful live show that grips you from the first note. Radio 2's Paul Jones once summed their studio work up as Superb and over the years theyve built a brilliant reputation on the live circuit across the UK and Europe with a rolling line up of top musicians and friends whove played with legendary acts. There's a lovely bit of Crawdaddy history here too. The Blue Bishops were the first band to take the stage when Mike Rivers reopened the club back in 2012, kicking off a whole new chapter in the music legacy were proud to carry on. If you love rootsy rock and blues with real soul that makes you tap your feet and smile wide this is one night you wont want to miss. Tickets are on sale so grab yours and come make some great music memories with us.

Our May gig at the patchworks in the cabbage Patch pub in Twickenham is going to be a banger, support comes from "Undici" a very skilled bunch who are creating a bit of a buzz on the music seen after recently getting into the finals of the Musos awards and working with "Hot Vox" on "Warchild". next up for support is The Masterplan lots of feel good tunes you will want to sing along with and lots of fun and we start the night off with a young band from the "Powerjambands.com" stable giving them a chance to play to a proper gig crowd (Thats YOU if you buy a ticket)

Lying by the Thames to the west of London, between Richmond, Twickenham and Isleworth, is the ancient estate of Twickenham Park created by Richard of Cornwall, brother of Henry III. It was here that Syon Abbey was founded by Henry V. Later, Twickenham Park was a hub of political, social and intellectual activity. Francis Bacon wrote many of his massively influential essays here, and wanted Twickenham Park to be a place for the discovery of things from the light of nature. Instead, it became home to the colourful Lucy Harington, Countess of Bedford: patron of the arts and gardener la mode. In the eighteenth century, Twickenham attracted the mercantile, intellectual and political class. Thomas Vernon planted the first English weeping willow. Nearby, Alexander Pope decorated his grotto, Henrietta Howard built her mansion and garden at Marble Hill and Horace Walpole created Strawberry Hill in the Gothic style. The nineteenth century saw a succession of wealthy owners who made gardens in the latest style, including the Earl of Kilmorey who built an Egyptian mausoleum for his young lover, Priscilla. This talk will discuss the gardens of Twickenham Park and some of the characters that produced them. Andrew George is a Professor of Immunology who has spent most of his career teaching and researching at Imperial College London. He has also been Deputy Vice Chancellor at Brunel University London. He currently is chair of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and the Health Innovation Network for South London. He coaches senior leaders in both the private and public sector. He was awarded an MBE for his contribution to research ethics in 2017. He has lived in Richmond and St Margarets for 33 years, and had a deep interest in the place where he lives. He has published two booklets on the Earl of Kilmorey and his mausoleum and a book on the Gardens and People of Twickenham Park.