A Song for Widcombe
Here is how the Song for Widcombe competition was launched in March 2009:
"Fancy yourself as a songwriter? Could you write a song that Widcombe folk could hold dear to their hearts for years to come? The Widcombe Association is sponsoring a competition to find a new and original song which could be performed at suitable occasions in Widcombe, for example Widcombe Rising or performances by the Widcombe Mummers. The winning song should ideally be adaptable to more than one musical genre so that it can be performed in the English Folk idiom (see notes below) or a more modern form if desired, but songs from all musical genres are welcome, so whether your interest is in folk, blues, jazz or the classics - get writing - your song might be what Widcombe is waiting for."
The response to the competition was overwhelming - after a slow start, 25 entries were received, which the judges whittled down to 11. (They were tasked with reducing the number to a round figure of 10, but this proved too difficult.) We then set about re-recording the songs that needed it, to give the best possible presentation to the judges at the Grand Final which was held in St Matthews Church, Widcombe on 21st October 2009. 
In the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Bath and Emily Catchpool, the Mayor's young citizen of the year 2009/10, the evening began with a performance by the Beechen Cliff School Folk Band under their director, Alison Nourse (pictured R). The boys played their own self-penned ‘Widcombe Suite'. An enthralled audience were held spell-bound by a wonderful musical evocation of the rustic beauties of Widcombe and gave the boys well-deserved and rapturous applause.
The judges: Steve Henwood, co-director of the Bath Fringe; jazz musician Roger Rolls; Chronicle Folk Correspondent Rosie Upton and Artistic Director of The Natural Theatre Company Ralph Oswick, gave their opinions after each song and then allocated marks. Most of the songs had been recorded in his home studio by Joe Bennett, Head of Music & Performing Arts at Bath Spa University, and the standard of performance and reproduction achieved was impressively high.
The winners were: ‘The Natural Place to Be' by Paul Feldwick: a rollicking tale of the joys available in Widcombe to those who ‘walk right over the Halfpenny Bridge'; ‘Widcombe Song' by Gwen Williamson: a delicate pastoral composition extolling Widcombe's peaceful surroundings; and in first place ‘Widcombe, You're a Jewel!' written by the MC and competition organiser himself, Paddy Doyle. (The judges, however, had been saved from any possible accusations of favouritism or partiality by the fact that all entries had been submitted to them anonymously and they were unaware of the identity of the writer until after they had made their judgements.) The song, about the delights of Widcombe, was reprised at the end of the evening to give people an opportunity to join in the chorus – something that the Widcombe Association hopes will happen again, and that many of the songs will live on to become a feature of Widcombe life. The Widcombe Mummers will give the song its first public airing in Widcombe on New Year's Day. To view the song, click here or hear an excerpt here. For more photos of the event, taken by Andrew Vickers, click here.
Other songs & finalists (in no particular order) were:
Widcombe Rising by Joe Bennett
Widcombe Awake! by Yvonne Whiteman & Philip Evry
In Widcombe by Deborah Sarjant
We've Widcombe in our Bones by Sally Harris
Widcombe - Always in my Heart by Laura James & John Diver
The Widcombe Song (W-I-D-C-O-M-B-E) by Paul Goddard
The Widcombe Mummers' Song by Dennis Silverwood
Widcombe Beholders by Peter Barrett & Ian Gilchrist
Words to all the songs in the final are available here (B&W version of the programme for the Grand Final)
All the songs featured in the final and the Beechen Cliff School Folk Band's ‘Widcombe Suite' will appear on a forthcoming CD to be sold in aid of Widcombe Rising 2010 street festival. If you would like to pre-order a copy, send a cheque for £10 (incl P&P) made out to 'The Widcombe Association' to Paddy Doyle, 86 Greenway Lane, BA2 4LN.