Hidden Heroes

20/02/2024

Our third Bath Current Hero is Clive “Flash” Gordon, who grew up on Thomas Street and now works at Southside Youth & Community Centre as a Music Youth Worker.
His love for music began at the age of 16 when he started to learn the bass guitar, and at 19 he moved to London to study for 3 years with bassist Joe Hubbard.
Flash spent some time in Australia before moving back to Bath in 1999, when he was given a start up grant from the council, which allowed him to buy equipment to set up a community studio project. This attracted an influx of young people from all walks of life, who wanted to learn about all aspects of music.
His dedication to young people and music was recognised by BANES and Flash was invited to run the Sound Knowledge Sessions in Odd Down, recording young rappers, before being offered a permanent job at The Riverside Centre as a Music Youth Worker in 2005.

Growing up in Bath when Flash did there was no one offering this sort of thing, he says “it’s not like Bristol. You had to really dig it out”. This was his motivation - to help the young people in Bath access a good grounding in all music without having to travel and give them a chance to see if they can do it. “There’s no prejudice, just pure encouragement and a push for them to enjoy it”.
A group of young people he mentored back in 2011 have now set up their own studio and record label, taking Flash’s vision and running with it. In his words “taking it to another level”. Flash wanted to give young people of Bath the opportunities in music that he never had.

07/02/2024

Our next Bath Current Hero is Arran Hodgson. Another Bath born and bred Hero, Arran grew up in Weston, but now calls Twerton home. He loves the area, and all it has to offer, including the Bath City Farm (where we held our celebration event!) and The Centurion Pub!
Since 2010 he has taught the Level 3 Photography course at Bath College, mentoring forty-five keen photographers as well as looking after the art students. He says it's a great job as he gets to work with people of all ages.
Arran is a real advocate for artists and has been involved with Fringe Arts Bath (FAB) since 2005 when it was known as the Bath Fringe and Visual Arts Festival.
It is a grassroots organisation that welcomes any and everyone to test their ideas. They give artists support throughout the year offering advice and/or equipment - whatever they need. The festival runs late May/early June and offers an open platform for those who are not only local but travel far and wide to curate their work. This year's festival will hopefully see artists from Singapore, Berlin and New York.
It is through Arran’s passion for visual arts that this festival is now recognised as an arts event in Bath.

01/02/2024

Our Bath Current Heroes have received their portraits - completed by local photographer, Adrian Wyatt.
So first up is the lovely Jessica McMahon!
Jessica McMahon is Bath born and bred and has always lived in Weston Village which she says is “her and her family's absolute heart”.
She become an apprentice at a salon on Chelsea Road at just 13 and opened her own salon on Bear Flat at 18 - making her the youngest business owner in Bath at the time.
Her salon welcomes people of all ages, from all walks of life and is the hub of the community which she loves. Her motto is “Everyone Deserves a Treat” meaning she doesn’t over charge and will offer the best deal she can for those in need.
All of her customers are regulars and she loves them all saying she's “the luckiest woman alive”.
As well as hairdressing, Jessica is also fully qualified in palliative care which provided her with an income during the pandemic when her salon had to close. Spending time with those during their last days changed her way of looking at things. She believes everyone deserves the best last days and send off and that death needs to be talked about more openly.
Between running her own business, being a carer and giving her free time to help out her elderly customers, it’s no wonder Jessica never finds the time to relax. It’s clear that she is a real linchpin of the community.

21/08/2023

It's here!
The Hidden Heroes Bristol Celebration event film is now live...
What a brilliant day we had - and amazing weather (especially considering every other day that week rained!!). A massive thanks to everyone who helped us, and to the community of Filton - you guys were amazing!

Hidden Heroes was National Lottery Heritage Funded Project which focused on two areas, South Bath, and North Bristol. Both linked by their aviation historie...

18/08/2023

And finally...
Meet our Heroes - Bristol: BESSIE TURNER
This is Bessie Turner, who ran Turners Bakery in Filton. We were lucky to be joined by some of Bessie's family on our celebration day!

17/08/2023

Meet our Heroes - Bristol: THELMA RYCZKO
Meet Thelma Ryczko - the hard working waitress at Filton (Pegasus) House...

26/05/2023

Meet our Heroes - Bristol: GEORGE YABSLEY
Meet the musically-talented George Yabsley, who was the conductor of The BAC Works Band...

18/05/2023

Meet our Heroes - Bristol: ADA SMART
Meet the hard-working Ada Smart, who was a munitions worker during WW1 in Filton...

11/05/2023

Meet our Heroes - Bristol: LIZ PEDLEY
Up first for Bristol, the brilliant Liz Pedley, who was an engineer on Concorde.

05/05/2023

It's our FINAL Spotlight On! - and it's the location of our Bristol event... Filton!