RESIDENTS of Corsham are telling tales from their lives as part of a new StoryTown initiative.

They include the time when the Rolling Stones played in a back garden in the town, and someone who climbed a hill to witness the wartime bombing of Bath.

Cllr Nevill Farmer says the stories are among 26 interviews conducted by Red Forge Studios and the Corsham Institute as part of the town’s social history.

Cllr Farmer said: “They are fascinating stories from people who have come forward to tell us about their life.”

The tales are part of the

StoryTown programme led by Corsham Town Council and co-produced by Paper Nations with support from Arts Council

England and Bath Spa University.

Hundreds of people attended a series of StoryTown festival events over the weekend from Friday to Sunday.

The family-orientated festival included storytelling sessions for children, books, performances, exhibitions and creative writing workshops for all ages and abilities. There were also story slams, the chance to share

stories of Corsham, author Q&As and more.

The Corsham-wide Big Read was designed to get everyone engrossed in the same novel: The Hiding Places by Katherine Webb, set in nearby Slaughterford.

The StoryTown festival was also the launch pad for Corsham to become a Dare to Write? Community.

As part of this, free notebooks were given away at selected events and venues and a special launch party was held at Corsham Town Hall on Sunday.

The launch party celebrated daretowrite.org, an innovative online platform designed to encourage young people to explore and develop their creativity and imagination.