WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting the Peter Aston website and welcome to the October 2008 update - autumn is well and truly with us as we start our musical and other preparations for Advent and Christmas!  If you're visiting this site for the first time, a quick introduction - I'm Peter Aston, a Christian singer/songwriter based at Holtwood Methodist Church which is a welcoming, evangelical church in an idyllic location near Wimborne in rural Dorset, close to the south coast of England. My music ministry falls into three main areas - as a singer & guitarist (solo, duo or with a full band), as guitarist with the worship group at Holtwood and as guitarist with the Holtwood Mission Band in the wider area.

By way of a contrast I also write secular songs which, hopefully, also have a bit of a message and I'm the singer/guitarist/caller with traditional ceilidh band Cottage Industry, a solo singer/guitarist and a wandering minstrel/court chamberlain for medieval banquets.  When time permits, I also play guitar for the charity ceilidh band Dotty Crochets.  So, all in all, a fairly eclectric musical life! 

I'm currently writing and recording my new CD album "We Can All Be Free".  As ever, due to other commitments, progress has not been quite as swift as I would have liked although 6 tracks are pretty well finished and a fair bit of recording on the remaining tracks has been completed.  

HOT NEWS - George Hamilton IV will be returning to Holtwood on 5th December as part of his UK Christmas Tour.  The last few tickets are now available at £12 from (01258) 840844 or by e-mail.

Another project with which I'm involved is Wimborne Community Theatre (WCT).  Details of the 2006 production at Pamphill can be read here.  The Company presented "Enquire Within" at Allendale House, Wimborne in December 2007 and you'll soon be able to read a review here.  Subject to grants being received, the next major production will be in Summer 2009 in Wimborne town centre.  WCT also appeared at the Holtwood Fete on 5th July this year and presented an updated scene and songs from the 2004 Holt Forest production "By Hook or by Crook".  

Many new doors have opened for me over the past couple of years - and many new friends have been made.  If you're one of those that helped to open these doors, then thank you!    

TRIBUTE TO RAY SARGENT:- 

Writer, actor and musician Ray Sargent sadly passed away in March.  We lost Ray just as he was making plans to return to the stage later in the year.  I'll always remember Ray as a good mate who would do anyone a favour if he was able to and he was a good friend to Holtwood where he performed his acclaimed one-man show "Two Victorian Tales" .  Ray was also developing a project around the stories of the young soldiers which had been found in documents hidden in a time capsule behind a World War I memorial in the church.  He presented an early version of this project during the Wimborne Sting in the Tale Festival 2007 which was really well received.  Ray's passing has left a void that will be impossible to fill and he will certainly be missed both nationally and locally - the arts world will be the poorer for the loss of a great character and an exceptional talent.   Ray's Service of Thanksgiving was in Corfe Mullen where the church was overflowing - a tribute to the high esteem in which Ray was held by so many people.   A month later a ceilidh to celebrate Ray's life was held, again filled to the brim with friends and family, many of whom contributed a song or a dance.  It was an honour to take part and it's likely to become an annual event on the closest Friday to St. George's Day.  Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Julia and Laura.

Click on the navigation bar at the top of this page to explore the website.  A good place to start is the "Peter Aston" page which contains all the latest news of what I've been up to, plus links to the other updated pages and to associated websites.

The past two or three years have seen an increasing expansion to the activities of Cottage Industry Recording Studio and P.A. Hire - just click on the icon below the top banner for more information.

My CD "Name in the Sand" contains 12 of my Christian songs and was released at Christmas 2003.  You can hear snatches of some of these songs on this website as well as buying the CD. The album sold really well and raised a considerable amount towards the cost of our new hall for the church and community which was completed in 2006. Thank you to all who bought a copy - it really made a difference!  My CD EP 'Horton Tower...and other dreams' contains 4 of my secular songs, which can loosely be described as 'songs inspired by dreams '.   You can also buy a copy of this CD by e-mailing me.  "Name in the Sand" is now also available internationally to purchase securely on-line.  Just visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/peteraston   If you have already bought the CD I'd invite you to write a short review on the cdbaby site.  This will help to inform potential buyers - and will also help to "Spread the Word".

Please get in touch if I can help with worship or a concert at your church or in your community - or if you're looking for a fun ceilidh band for a social or family occasion.  Thanks again for visiting my website - and have fun browsing!

Peter