Thursday, November 26, is a night that the city of Bath will simply never forget.

When it was first announced that Nicolas Cage was to turn on the city's lights, I'm sure there were many who thought it was a 'wind up' or something that would actually never happen in reality.

But there we were, in our thousands last week, to see the reality come true as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood kicked off Bath's Christmas celebrations in style.

It wasn't just the fact that Nicolas Cage switc

hed on the lights that made it so magical, it was the way he treated his adopted home town - and the way it treated him back.

Even though there were upwards of 10,000 people struggling to get a view of the proceedings, the atmosphere, humour and spirit amongst this huge crowd was simply fantastic.

Even the rain, which had been Bath's constant companion last week, had a night off because nothing was going to ruin the night Hollywood came to our city.

As for Nicolas Cage, there are many things we could say to compliment him but what struck me most was that he came over as a real gentleman. He didn't rush through proceedings as if he had something more important to do; he made time to talk to people and sign autographs. And when he spoke it was with a sincerity that belied the traditional view of his profession.

He was, in truth, an even better man than we had dared imagined and he made the night a special one for everyone that came into direct or indirect contact with him.

As far as the city goes, it was also a gift in publicity terms. The incredulity about the fact that the city had secured Nicolas Cage to turn on its lights was spread throughout the national and indeed international media but just as importantly was the fact that many of the media outlets picked up on what the star actually said.

The phrase that most hit me was when Mr Cage described Bath as "the most beautiful city in the world". This is a man, remember, who has filmed and lived in some spectacular cities across the globe and yet none of them compares to the city of Bath in his eyes.

This is a quote which must be used in every bit of literature that Bath tourism chiefs send out in future because the value of this cannot be understated.

So, we hope you enjoy our special picture supplement to mark this remarkable evening and we hope also that Nicolas Cage realises that his simple actions last week have made him many, many friends in our community.

He truly has become an honorary Bathonian.

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I was of course delighted to see that Street Theatre's production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest received two airings in the Gazette last week, once with an appreciative review from Ken Edmonds - thank you - and again as a somewhat fatuous piece of work by Laura Linham regarding the attendance of Nicolas Cage at the Saturday evening's performance.

Laura quotes Strode Theatre manager Liz Leyshon as having remarked that she "...felt quite sorry for the actors on the stage - it can be quite unnerving being in front of a couple of hundred people at the best of times, let alone when one of them is an Oscar-winning actor."

If Liz was embarrassed by this misquote (and she was) then I was incandescent with rage.

My cast presented themselves to their audience because they have the confidence, the ability and the will to tell a story on stage, regardless of who might be in the audience.

I was of course delighted that Mr Cage came along to see the show, but just as delighted that the other 600 came, too. Amateurs we might be, but that just means we don't get paid.

We strive for the highest possible performance standards because we believe our audience deserves nothing less.

Actors who go wobbly at the knees at the prospect of a high profile personality being in the audience wouldn't even have got past the audition stage.

Peter Wintle Director One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Please note that the views expressed here are the personal ones of the director and do not necessarily reflect those of the Street Theatre committee.
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As chairman of the Bath Whingeing Festival I must say I am very disappointed by the recent lack of action among my members.

I haven't seen this week's Chronicle letters page yet, which may change my opinion, but so far there has been a woeful lack of moaning about the whole Nicolas Cage/Christmas lights affair. Why, some hitherto very active whingers have even been heard to say that the event went very well and the lights look attractive. This is just not good enough!

There must be some comments you could make about the inefficient event management, the lack of public transport or how much shorter Mr Cage looks in real life? Are there not a few non-functioning light bulbs up there that you could carp on about? Surely somebody who works in the High Street is being driven mad by Santa's orchestra playing Slade incessantly from the rooftops? If so, Whinge Central needs to hear from you now.

And for heaven's sake, show a united front. Either there are not enough local traders represented at the Christmas Market or we are fed up with seeing the same old faces. One or the other, please!

And while on the subject of the market, what happened to the gentleman who last year moaned that the carousel got in the way of innocent pedestrians? Where's he when you need him? Left the country in disgust I shouldn't wonder.

I was in Bath on Saturday and I must say the atmosphere was annoyingly jolly. I was served a reasonably priced mulled wine surprisingly quickly. My tasty bratwurst was politely delivered by a genuine German. Even when I tried to pick an argument with the driver of the number 13 he smilingly agreed the service had gone haywire. What's the matter with these people, don't they know it's Christmas?

This should be the peak period for whingers, so shape up everyone! Time for Disgusted of Lansdown to complain that the illuminations in Westgate Street look a bit rude or that the January sales have started already (both of which I have noted). Come on whingers, rally round. We really don't want to have to revert to those old chestnuts "cyclists on the pavements" or "political correctness gone mad", but if we have to we will, just to keep our banner flying.

I can only surmise that our regular team of whingers has been dazzled by the bright lights and the illusion that the recession has ended. Thank God for the impending rise in VAT. Now there's something that should really get you moaning!