Veteran broadcaster Valerie Singleton OBE will join performer Mark Vernon Freestone at Frome Town Hall on Saturday 14th June from 7pm for ‘An Evening of Poetry’, a fundraising event supporting Friends of Easthill Field. Tickets cost £10, with all proceeds to go towards work to protect Easthill Field, a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority habitat adjacent to Rodden Nature Reserve. The Friends of Easthill Field group successfully campaigned against a housing development on the site in 2022 and continue to work towards official, permanent protection for the land.
Bharati Pardhy of Friends of Easthill Field said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Valerie Singleton and Mark Vernon Freestone to Frome – having attended one of their previous readings together, I can guarantee it will be a wonderful evening out. When you buy your ticket, you also support our work to protect a wonderful and important piece of land, home to a profusion of wildlife such as bats, hares, hedgehogs, adders, newts and numerous insect species including the Clifden Nonpareil moth, formerly thought extinct.
“The land at Easthill is unique, it has never been cultivated or fertilised and represents an optimal example of naturally sequestered carbon in a patchwork of interdependent habitats supporting a wide array of wildlife. The housing development was halted, but there is still work to do. We must turn a pause into a full stop and protect this vital natural and educational resource, for good. We can only continue the work with your help, so please book tickets, enjoy a lovely evening and help Friends of Easthill Field.”
Mark Freestone studied in South Africa before returning to the UK to pursue an acting career. This meant long spells as a records clerk, window cleaner, gardener and wine merchant, in between such roles as Hamlet, Mercutio, Iago, plus productions of Pinter, Hare, Dickens, Agatha Christie, and Bolt to name a few. He has also performed in musicals, film, television and stand-up comedy. All the way through these times, he has written and performed poetry both here and abroad. He and Valerie Singleton have performed together for many years.
Valerie Singleton OBE is a renowned television and radio presenter, best known as a regular presenter of Blue Peter from 1962 to 1972, as well as Radio 4’s PM and a number of radio and television projects on money matters. Prior to her broadcasting career she pursued a successful career as an actor.
Book tickets for ‘An Evening of Poetry’ at https://bit.ly/poetry-for-easthill-field.
