STUART Lovell is busy preparing for this weekend’s Bridport Charter Fair where he will be stewarding for the third time.
Having moved to Dorset from the New Forest, for his work as a Landscape Gardener, Stuart fell in love with the county.
Since moving to Bridport in 2000 Stuart has nurtured his love of live performance working backstage for Encore and Bow theatre companies and, for the past three years, as a steward at the Charter Fair.
Stuart took to the stage just once in an Encore production of 'Katherine Howard' which won three awards at the Llandrindod Wells Drama Festival.
With a 100 per cent success rate on the stage Stuart now gets his enjoyment watching from the wings and stage managing.
This year’s Charter Fair will take place in Bridport this Saturday, July 3rd.
WHAT first attracted you to Dorset?
My business actually brought me to Dorset. It’s a lovely area and you can’t get away from that fact, that’s what kept me here. Where I moved to in Dorset, was very similar to the area I was brought up in when I was young and before I moved to the area I was living just outside Southampton was becoming more and more built up. Down here you drop back about ten years, it’s a lovely area and there are no two ways about it.
WHO did you first get involved with the Bridport Charter Fair?
I had always attended the charter fair but it was only about three-years-ago I got involved with it. I was there first thing in the morning because a friend was doing a craft stall and Arthur Woodgate was there. I said ‘you could do with a bit more help’ and he said ‘next year I’ll give you a ring’, consequently I have been involved for the past three-years.
WHAT makes the charter fair special?
Just the atmosphere I think, especially in the last few years when it has been revitalised.
I always look forward to seeing more people get involved, especially the young people. The original charter was granted in 1253, I think Arthur Woodgate was there when it was originally created, so having been created 700-years-ago it would seem sensible to celebrate it as it is Bridport’s link to its heritage.
WHAT are you looking forward to this year?
I think all of the rights respecting community events that are taking place. I would love to see that work out successfully in its own right. It would be nice if that was the success I hope it will be, I’m sure it would make the town a better place.
WHO would be your three dream guests at a dinner party?
I would have loved to have conversed with the late Ronnie Barker, I think that he was such a tremendous all round entertainer. Kenneth Williams, I think you would only need to say hello to him to get him talking. The third guest would be Victoria Wood. She is a lady who is extraordinarily talented, Dinnerladies was a wonderful series, I’d love to meet her.
WHAT are the best shows you’ve worked on locally?
From Encore the most rewarding show I did was with the late Tony Anthony when we did 'Noises Off'. That was quite something to put on and a lot of people said we could not make the set, which we did and it worked. From a personal point of view that was quite something. I also enjoyed 'Little Shop of Horrors' where I operated the plant because it was a little unusual. I enjoyed both of them in particular I think.
WHAT was the last book you read, CD you listened to and film you watched?
At the moment I’m reading Alan Bennett's 'Untold Stories'. When you read Alan Bennett you can almost hear him saying the words. The last CD I listened to was probably Dire Straits, I listen to them on a fairly regular basis and Brothers In Arms is a particular favourite. I enjoy sixties and seventies music, Queen, Status Quo and things that aren’t particularly fashionable now. The last film I watched was An Education over in Lyme Regis.
WHICH three items would you put into Room 101?
People who speak on mobile phones all the time. Mobile phones are a wonderful thing but when you walk through the street and you see people shouting and waving their arms about, it’s terribly annoying. They have got a place and in some cases that is in the bin. The other two would be people who allow their dogs to foul the footpath and people who don’t show respect for others.
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