What disappointing news - after the excitement and hope raised at the afore mentioned Madness gig, it was revealed yesterday that Sedgemoor Council have NOT been awarded the Big Lottery grant they applied for to rejuvenate the town hall. And after the controversial story the Bridgwater Mercury ran this week about Julien Temple supposedly brandishing the town as a "Drug Murder, incest den, full of darkness," in a brief given to the band, it is little wonder that morale is low in the town.
The Mercury story:
http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1964448.mostviewed.storm_over_incest_and_drug_murders_claims.php
The story bring to the forefront some sensitive matters, but at least people are getting fired up bout it. There must be at least 50 comments tagged on to the end of the story (see link), of an evenly weighted bias. Some people think the Engine Room should be closed and the "outsiders" should move away. Others praise the work of Temple and the Engine Room. I hope that the context of the brief given to Madness is ironed out for the locals to make their own minds up about it and that the Mercury haven't just printed it out of context to sell a few more papers.
Instead of moaning about the 'bad' features of the town, these final blows should bring locals together to fight the system that is letting us down. There must be other pockets of money to be found and good old fashioned fund raising will undoubtedly bring people closer together for a better, brighter cause. I would be very surprised if ANY town in this country didn't have a few drug-related murders or the odd case of incestuous behaviour, so it shouldn't come as such a shock to hear about in a local rag. But, I guess to make the front page, and because it involves a world-renowned filmmaker, no one was going to let it lie without a few kicks.
Now everyone realizes the town deserves more, I hope something more creative will come out of these soured words.
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