Highbridge Podcast Ep3 - Our Highbridge

The Highbridge Podcast

Intro 0:10
You're listening to the Highbridge podcast celebrating the people, places and history of the Highbridge area in such small

Mell 0:27
This season is funded by Seed which is a consortium of community organizations in Sedgemoor comprising of Bridgewater senior citizens forum Bridgewater Town Council, Community Council for Somerset homes in central Somerset film, and young Somerset, which is funded and supported by Arts Council England, creative people in places lottery funding, and the Arts Council, this edition, I spoke to the people that are behind 'Our Highbridge'. And I had the opportunity to chat with Nadja and Ruth and I started by asking Ruth, how did the project get started?

Ruth 1:01
I think I've always seen in Highbridge, lots of things go on. But not necessarily everyone knows about it. Also Highbridge suffers from social deprivation, one of the most deprived places in Somerset, and it just needs more love and care. So a year and a half ago, I message, Jackie and Kyla, the other two members of Our Highybridge and said, that's how we can talk about what we could do, cuz I know they're interested in that kind of thing as well. And we just chatted, and thought, you know, we could do some stuff, we could get some stuff going. And Nadjas my mom. So I know she's interested in that kind of stuff. And I've spoken to her quite enthusiastically about all my ideas and stuff. Last summer, we sort of went, Yeah, let's do it. Because now's the time, it's obviously it was over COVID It was really hard. But now's the time to do it. And we basically want to make Highbridge better. We don't have focus on one particular thing. We're particularly focused on everything about Hioghbridge, we want to make Highbridge a better place to live to make Highbridge a better place to work, and make it look like as loved that people care. And people feel good in Highbridge. We'd like the town to have more of a vibe about it. And just yeah, just feel good in Highbridge and everyone should feel good in the Highbridge.

Mell 2:31
So Nadya have you always lived in Highbridge or did you move into the area.

Nadja 2:37
I moved into the area originally into Bridgewater a very long time ago in 1976. And we as a family moved over to Highbridge in 1987. So I have been here quite a long time. I feel like a natural part of it. Now I know it takes a while for everyone to accept you. But I think I'm probably a person that lives in Highbridge and belongs to Highbridge now, so I was really enthusiastic about what we were saying.

Mell 3:01
So where were you before?

Nadja 3:02
Oh, I was in Kent

Mell 3:03
Okay, so coming into Highbridge. What was it like? What did you like what, what stood out for you in Highbridge?

Nadja 3:10
Well, I came from Bridgewater to Highbridge and Bridgwater is obviously a bigger town, more things going on. Highbridge was quite quiet. In actual fact, I quite like that about Highbridge. So we thought it was a small town. Little bit overshadowed by Burnham or that's a perception that we tend to have here, I think. So why not? Big it's up a bit. Why not kind of make people notice Highbridge and try to make it into a place where people would want to come to me, for me, I'm involved with Seed Sedgemoor because Seed has concentrated their energy. Bringing together lots of creatives to do things in Highbridge over this last year, it has also drawn my attention to the fact that you know someone needs to kind of bring it together a little bit. You know, there's a lovely community hub over that way over Morlands. There's a community all over this way in Southwell Gardens there is the church. So we've got already got all different sort of points of the compass if you like, and we just thought well, why couldn't it just keep on going on.

Ruth 4:14
So perhaps our Highbridge can be part of the interconnectedness of branches that reached out and bring everyone together, you know, so that we can all work together and all promote each other and just live happily ever after the project

Mell 4:27
The project of Our Highbridge was that was a conscious decision that it's a Facebook group

Ruth 4:34
Currently we only have the Facebook page, but we're building a website as well, which we hope to sort of promote business community groups, not be a Burnham on Sea.com But have that kind of keeping people updated on what's going on not necessarily news but with what's going on around the town. showcase some of people and places and just Just a little area on the web that you can drop into. Obviously, people don't go online. So we're conscious of that. And we want to develop ways of getting messages out that aren't necessarily online. So maybe more noticeboards, leaflet drops, that kind of thing so that people know what's going on and people can get involved in. Highbridge I think there are groups of people that don't get involved perhaps because they don't know what's going on all they feel like they're not the kind of person that gets involved and we want to make everything inclusive. And

Mell 5:36
So do you find that people interact with the website? Do you think you're more than just publicise other people?

Ruth 5:43
Ours is more more of a LIKE the page and then see what we post we share? I can't remember what we've shared recently, something to do with new drama boxes.

Nadja 5:53
That's right. Yeah.

Ruth 5:55
We shared that and a few people perhaps tagged their friends in it, say, Oh, look at this, you get that kind of thing. So at the moment, that's what that is. But that's not just what we do. That's a way of promoting our Highbridge and everything else that's going on. Because we do stuff that we want to do it's so broad you need a place to sort of start and spread out

Mell 6:22
What I always find interesting is Burnham on Sea and the Highbridge is also where one begins and one ends so there's this vaguaness they are all one but they have different names but it's all in one area. Is this a Highbridge event is this a Burnham on sea event?

Nadja 6:41
Absolutely. it would be lovely really if events belonged to both places Exactly. Why yes. But in another way, Highbridge needs its own identity because Burnham does have an identity. As Ruth said, at the very beginning, Burnham has a beach, you know, holidaymakers go there, what just what happened to Highbridge is still a town in its own right. And it was once upon a time when I talked to my friends who lived here all their lives. You know, they say it was actually the most thriving part. Burnham was just a little town where people went to the seaside, whereas Highbridge had the railway and the industry and things going on. Cinema, you know, these sorts of things. Yeah, we want to start projects, which build it back up again, into a place people want to come to, as I said earlier,

Mell 7:24
it's also interesting that you mentioned as well, like, you know, people passing through, and it's the fact, as you say, they only pass through because they think they're on the way somewhere else. And they don't realize there's actually something here and exactly, you could stop here instead. Or as well as

Ruth 7:39
Well. Yeah, yeah. Because Highbridge, like Highbridge, had, obviously originally a strong identity a lot of the houses were built for railway workers and industry. And then we had the cattle market, the Highbridge Sunday market. And they just sort of dissipated when even one of the platforms even went at the railway station originally, there's houses built now but there...