IAN Ronson, secretary of Horwich Arts Council, wants to form a town dramatic society.

The town already has a thriving operatic and dramatic society -- Horwich RMI AODS -- which stages musicals, but Ian believes there is room for a drama group.

He said that in the 1950s and 1960s, Horwich was a vibrant "happening" town with several dramatic societies such as the Mechanics Institute, the Wesleyan Chapel and Ingersoll Rand and De Havilland.

"This was possibly as a result of the lead taken by the Horwich Arts Council in 1949 to bring the arts and culture to the people of Horwich," Ian said.

He added that not long ago the Horwich Arts Festival was a prestigious event for singers and musicians throughout the North-west, with entrants competing for medals and a rosebowl for the "best in the show" at the end.

But since then, interest in most of the events has declined. Exceptions are the Instrumental and Piano Festival, the Poetry Section and, until last year, the Speech and Drama.

Next year the Horwich Arts Council will celebrate its Golden Jubilee and Ian thinks this might be the appropriate time to form a Horwich Dramatic Society which could be around to usher in the Millennium.

If anyone is interest in the project, they can contact Ian on 01204 697975.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.