Welcome

Thanks for visiting the Peter Aston website and welcome to the March 2024 update.  The old adage is that if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb, but if it comes in like a lamb it goes out like a lion - so we'll see!  And, yes, it had to happen one day - after some 47 years our Ceilidh at Fordingbridge Folk Club on Saturday 23rd March will be the final appearance of Cottage Industry.  Thank you for your tremendous support over the past (almost) half century when we've played in every imaginable type of venue - from clubs, pubs and hotels to concert halls, festivals, 100's of village halls, grand palatial homes - and leaky barns!  We've even played on a schooner owned by an exiled Cuban gold miner with a crew of 10 Swedish girls!  Having said that, I won't be disappearing from the local music scene just yet so keep an eye on this website to see where I might be popping up!  

If you're visiting this site for the first time, a quick introduction - I'm Peter Aston, a Christian singer/songwriter and worship leader based at Holtwood Methodist Church which is a welcoming, evangelical church in an idyllic location near Wimborne, close to the south coast of England.  As a member of HMB I also play guitar, sing and help to lead services at churches in and around Dorset.

At Holtwood Methodist Church we're continuing to stream our 10.45 services and these are available, live or at anytime afterwards, on our Facebook page which is:-

www.facebook.com/holtwoodmethodistchurch/live 

As a member of the Stewards' Team for the Christchurch & Wimborne Methodist Circuit I help to support churches across East Dorset and the New Forest and have particular responsibility for assisting the congregations at Blandford, Colehill and Ringwood.  Some of the churches in our area are facing real challenges and, together, we'll be seeking new opportunities for worship in the coming months and years.

I'm delighted to present two programmes for Forest FM, based in East Dorset, which broadcasts on 92.3FM and 98.9FM.  'Forest Folk' is on air at 8.00 on Mondays, the programme streams at www.forestfm.co.uk and you can also listen-again from Tuesdays at www.mixcloud.com/ForestFolk/  And then on Friday evenings at 7.00 I present '33 and a Third' which is an hour of classic and rarely-heard album tracks from the past 60 odd years - and sometimes from before then!  Again this programme is streamed and is also available to listen-again on Mixcloud. 

Having 'retired' as the caller/guitarist/singer for the Cottage Industry ceilidh band, I'm continuing to appear as a solo singer/songwriter and a medieval wandering minstrel known as Master Peter of Fayrewood.  I appear at folk clubs, retirement homes and day centres and for charitable and other events, singing everything from war-time sing-along classics, through the 50's & 60's pop songs to traditional and original songs.

To find out more about what I get up to please click on the banner at the top of this page - hope to catch up with you somewhere down the road!

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