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Combining two different areas of the arts into one is a rare talent but something which piano teacher, Shirley Higton manages with ease. Her first love was the piano but in more recent years, she represents her creative music output in the form of painting and drawing.

A marina for Bridlington has long been the subject of debate, with some saying it would be a folly and others saying it would help re-energise the local economy. That particular song caused quite a stir after being picked up by the local press. As a consequence of the local publicity, Shirley found herself sitting on the comfortable sofas of the local tv news and she now has a strong association with the local media, particularly the Bridlington Free Press.

Shirley records her songs on modest equipment and has produced CDs to help promote local causes, such as the fight to save Bridlington Hospital and also to support local charities. One of her recent songs picked up on the cause of local people who were fearful they might be prosecuted for feeding the local duck population.

Her artwork is extremely varied and reflects some of the themes of her songs, be it Christmas, Halloween, Dick Turpin or controversy over the beaches around Fraisthorpe.Μύ Hence the main picture of a nudist worrying about what to wear to the Christmas party and finding a red sock appropriate attire. Using a variety of material, be it crayons, oils and even correction fluid, Shirley took up the drawing and painting bug whilst living in the south of England, having called a temporary halt to her piano teaching.

She's proud of her adopted town and enjoys performing work to raise a smile wherever she performs, be it the recently refurbished Bridlington Spa or working in Hull with young comedians. At Hull's recent Comedy Festival she was asked to write some songs for some old, but never filmed before Carry On scripts, something she's delighted to have been involved with.

You can hear examples of Shirley's work on her MySpace pages. There are some links at the top right hand side of the page.