Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | June 26, 2013 | 19

Wheelie bins are‘monstrosities’NEWS that wheelie bins will beintroduced in the Ely area thisautumn has sparked anger.

As reported by the News, EastCambridgeshire District Coun-cil bosses hope introducing anew wheelie bin service willincrease the district’s recyclingrate from 37 per cent to 50 percent but many residents fear thenew bins will cause more prob-lems than there currently are.

Some have even describedwheelie bins as “hideous” andsay they will refuse to havethem.

Shirley Bladen, of Ely’s BackHill, said: “Some people mightbe happy we’re getting wheeliebins but I certainly am not. Theyare hideous things and I don’twant them outside my door.

“The waste and recycling sys-tem we currently have worksfine. Yes there is always roomfor improvement when it comesto recycling but I don’t thinkwheelie bins are the answer. Infact, I think they’ll cause moreproblems.”

Ronald Daniels, from Had-denham, said: “Wheelie binsare big, cumbersome, unsightly

monstrosities which block thepavements all day when peopleat work can’t bring them in.

“Also, they take up too muchstorage space. I would have tolift them over my fence to getthem into my back garden fromthe alleyway at the back of theterrace, and try to find spacewhich I haven’t got.”

Residents in Cambridge havehad wheelie bins for some timeand the majority of householdshave three.

The wheelie bins will be in-troduced in East Cambs over a10-week period starting in Sep-

tember. For residentswhose homes are not

considered suitable,they will be offeredan alternative ser-vice.

Cllr Kevin Ellis,chairman of thecouncil’s waste and

environment sub-committee, said: “Our

new service will make re-cycling throughout East Cam-bridgeshire easier and more ef-ficient.

“While we understand thatsome residents are concernedabout the changes, we are con-vinced that the vast majoritysupport our plans to help recy-cle more of their waste.

“Anyone who needs assis-tance will be offered supportand throughout the summer,officers will be talking to peopleabout any concerns or ques-tions they have. Nobody will beexpected to wheel bins throughtheir house and they will not beissued where there is no spaceto store them off the street be-tween collections.”

jordan.day@cambridge-news.co.uk

� JORDAN DAY

ANGER: East Cambs residentsaren’t happy about wheelie bins

Ready Teddy GoTEDDY bears will be hauled tothe top of a church tower andride a zip wire back down aspart of a traditional summerfete in Littlebury.Sunday’s event which takesplace at the parish churchfrom 2pm to 4.30pm, will hosta range of activities. Includingtraditional cream teas, icecreams, cakes, Pimms andbeer, a bouncy castle andmusic from the HumphreyCrick Band.]

Hunt for treasureA TREASURE trail, bouncycastle and barbecue are onoffer in the picturesque villageof Meldreth.The event at Meldreth PrimarySchool will take place from10am-1pm on June 30.Call 07707 412089 for details.

Musical feastMUSIC of all genres will betaking over St George’s Churchin Little Thetford on Saturday.The church is hosting abumper music marathon.Running from 9am-7pm,there will be live musicfrom the Brigade Handbellsgroup to performances bylocal schoolchildren playinginstruments, as well as theHumpty band, hymn singingand organ music. Everyone iswelcome to attend the event.

» in brief

Email us at newsdesk@cambridge-news.co.uk or visit www.cambridge-news.

co.uk

Birdsong makes sweet music – but where are the tears?

I WAS expecting to fall to pieces;blubbering, shaky pieces that wouldneed picking up off the Arts Theatrefloor. Every page of Sebastian Faulks’Birdsong tears and claws at you; so,on stage, surely it’d be even moreharrowing?

Rachel Wagstaff’s version of theacclaimed novel – which spins aroundthe cold, distant Officer StephenWraysford as his present and pastcollide in a mesh of blood and mud– is touching, brilliantly staged andinches towards being quite wonderful,but it left me strangely dry-eyed…

It opens with smoke: tendrils ofmuskiness edged with sulphur thatreach out into the front rows as a bandof not-so-merry, drunken soldiersscatter about bawdily, jigging andsinging away their fears.

The story flits between the crush oftrench life, focusing on the suffocatingwork of the men who tunnel towardsthe German lines to lay explosives,and Stephen’s glinting memories ofFrance and its golden fields before theFirst World War.

Sarah Jayne Dunn plays IsabelleAzaire, the beautiful, fragile wife ofFrench textile factory owner Rene,host to a much younger Stephen whohas been sent by his guardian to assess

the factory. Inevitably, as sounds ofabuse from the Azaire’s bedroomfilter down the stairs night afternight, Stephen finds himself fallinguncontrollably for Isabelle, the desireto save her mingling with the desire tohave her.

These memories tumble to the forelike stones in a shaken jar of earth,and, instead of playing it straight (ActOne set in 1910 and Act Two set inwartime), Wagstaff interweaves thetwo. It’s impressive how, with just aflick of a light, an opening of a doorand a whirl of redistributed props,the cast step through the years by justturning round.

And the set is stunning. Strung withrickety ladders, jagged barbs of wireand hunks of dull metal that rise uptowards the rafters, it is simultaneouslyominous and comforting, making youfeel closed in and protected as dawnrises and falls against the back wall,casting shadows and silhouetting thecast.

It particularly comes to life at theshivering end of Act One as the Battleof the Somme looms and the menprepare to go over the top. The castlayer themselves across the stage,facing outwards, reading letters totheir loved ones in short, sharp,

wrenching bursts as the room fills withhaunting song and your skin pricklesinvoluntarily.

Such parts are harrowing, as areaching scenes in which sapper Jack(Tim Treloar) writes to his wife oftheir ill son, before hauling himself,dirt stained and sleep deprived, backunder the ground. But others, thatshould have your eyes spilling over,strangely leave you searching for aconnection.

Jonathan Smith, who plays Stephen,is suitably strong jawed and has ripplesof mania to him that make his needfor Isabelle, his disillusionment withwar and his inability to love his men,convincing – and he shines when theyswitch from present to past. However,his scenes with Dunn are often stilted;they plough into their lines too loudly,perhaps to conceal a lack of genuine

emotion, and grab at each otherrigidly.

There are moments of lightness– the incredible supporting castjoke and scratch at imaginary lice,Stephen fumbles mistakenly for anurse and Arthur Bostrom pops upas a rather camp acquaintance ofRene’s, inducing a smattering of“Ohs!” throughout the audience, and“It’s Crabtree from ‘Allo,’Allo!” – butperhaps it needs more, to contrastwith the horror and the loss.

Raw and more faithful to Faulks’original story than the recent BBCproduction, it will leave you shatteredand awed, but not heartbroken – asperhaps it should.

n Birdsong is at Cambridge ArtsTheatre until Saturday. Tickets£15-£30 from (01223) 503333 /

RAW: Sarah Jayne Dunn and Jonathan Smith in Birdsong

FIRST NIGHT: Ella Walker finds Rachel Wagstaff’stake on Sebastian Faulks’ wartime drama “inchestowards being quite wonderful” – but lacks thekiller blow to leave audiences a blubbering mess.