Friday, March 6th, 2026
Iran Vigil Held | Police Appeal In 30-year-old Unsolved Murder | Bath FC Seeks £96K Donations | We Are ONE 🎂
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🇮🇷 Portraits of young students in their prime, a smiling bride on her wedding day, and children as young as two and three-years-old are arranged on a table, ringed by burning candles.
They are just a few of the thousands killed by the Iranian regime in protests in Tehran and other cities and were the focus of a vigil held by Iranian students at the University of Bath on Thursday.
But the newly raging war in Iran - led by the US and Israel - is as big a source of grief - and hope - for the handful who attended.
“Of course we hate the government, they are murdering their own people in cold blood,” said one student. “Even in the past few days, we came to know they have been shooting anyone celebrating [Ayatollah] Khamenei’s killing…shooting from the street into people’s apartments indiscriminately.”
The attendees who spoke to us asked that we not name or photograph them. They are watching the US and Israeli bombing of their country with mixed emotions and a continuing fear of reprisals from their government.
“Even here we fear the regime,” one said. “Who knows who is going to inform on us, and then our relatives can be made to suffer.”
Iran is one of the world’s most repressive regimes. Before the US-led war began this week, it’s estimated nearly 7,000 Iranians protesting against corruption, inflation and restrictions imposed by religious police have been killed since December by their own government, including more than 150 children. (BBC Persian)
Iran ranks four places from the bottom in a global press freedom index, and Iranian journalists working for the BBC in London have been stalked and followed. Many face interrogation if they return home; others have had their parents, siblings, cousins and other extended family members picked up, questioned and sometimes tortured.
Iranians in Bath know too well the possible consequences for speaking up - many have faced warnings and threats at home.
One student described arriving in Bath just as fellow Iranian student and protestor Mahsa Amini died in 2022. She had removed her hijab in a protest in Tehran and died later in hospital. Iran’s government said she had suffered a heart attach, but witnesses said she was brutally beaten by police.
Her death sparked the largest mass protests in Iran for decades.
“When you come to Bath, the reality just hits you in the face,” he said. “It’s so easy to be tolerant. People can be praying in a mosque, and next door, people are dancing in a nightclub. I feel people don’t value this freedom enough in western countries.”
The historic decapitation of Iran’s leadership has not lessened the sense of vulnerability and terror the attendees felt — and there was little optimism that the American and Israeli assault on Iran means they will be free of the long reach of its theocracy soon.
“We welcome the killing of the dictator and other top officials. The Americans are doing a good job so far,” said one student. “But destroying the regime, that will take more than missiles.”
And there is no clear consensus as to what form of government would replace the regime.
The chief organiser of the vigil, standing in front of an Iranian flag with a lion and sun emblem - which pre-dates the 1979 Revolution when Iran’s ayatollahs took power - expresses support for the exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi, who lives in US, is the son of the western-backed monarch, the Shah, who ruled Iran before the Revolution.
Others are less convinced.
“Iran is big, it’s complicated, we have many different views,” said one young man.
The challenge of keeping in touch with relatives only adds to their growing sense of anguish. Iran has been under a government imposed blackout of internet and phone lines since the war began.
“Sometimes we can get through on an international call for one minute, maybe two,” said one student.
“A few people have Starlink,” said another, referring to Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, which is illegal to use in Iran. “Sometimes you can contact one of them and they’ll relay a message from my family. But it has been several weeks since I heard anything.”
Latest News
🍻The Bath branch of BrewDog is among the 38 bars to have closed immediately this week following the sale of the brand to a US company, reports the Bath Echo.
🚨 30 years ago - in 1996 - Melanie Hall, 25, was last seen at the Cadillacs nightclub in Bath. She never made it home. Her remains were found 13 years later and police have now issued a fresh appeal for information, reports the Bath Echo. The BBC programme Crimewatch showcased the appeal and a £20,000 reward for information, reports the BBCs Bea Swallow.
🥐 Baker Richard Bertinet says his cookery school may have to close following a 46% rent hike by the council, reports Somerset Live.
🚒 Avon Fire & Rescue will get the maximum rise of £5 per band D property this coming year, reports the Bath Echo. It needs more funding and 60 per cent of the people responding to the public consultation supported a £10 rise.
↪️ On Thursday, Bath’s fire crews moved out of the Bathwick Street building they’ve occupied for 90 years, reports the Bath Echo. Fire engines and emergency vehicles lined up outside the station and sounded their sirens before driving off one by one. The station will soon be demolished.
⚽️ Bath City FC is hoping to raise an additional £94,000 this month to keep the lights on at its Twerton Stadium. Donate here.
Weather
☁️ Awww, bring back the sun, please Mr. forecast.
📣 Bath’s biggest sporting event - the Bath Half - is next weekend! Here’s what you need to know:
🏃The Bath Half Marathon takes place Sunday, 15th March, 8am to 2pm. Roughly 12,000 people are expected to take part, running 13.1 miles. Started in 1982, it’s now one of the UK’s most prestigious half marathons.
💛 The Bath Half is also the largest charity fundraising event in the South West with runners raising more than £30 million for charities since 2000.
🏃 There’s a free family running event on Saturday, 14th March in Royal Victoria Park.
Under 11 boys race – 10.30am
Under 11 girls race – 10.45am
Under 14 girls race – 11.00am
Under 14 boys race – 11.15am
Family mile run – 11.30am
🫵🏽 Are you running? Do you have a fundraiser or a story to share? Please send it to us. Here’s the story of one Bath mum who’s trained for a great cause.
🚧 Road closures and parking suspensions will be in place throughout the day. You can view the full road closure map here.
🙋 Want to help out? The event relies on hundreds of volunteers each year. If you’d like to get involved, sign up here.
📌 Bath Bee Noticeboard
📌 Paper Porcelain Light Workshop
📍Bath Artists’ Studios, Comfortable Place BA1 3AJ
📅 Saturday 7 March ⏰ 10:30am–12:30pm
🎟 £35 - in aid of Bath Welcomes Refugees. 🎟️ Book here
🪐 Celebrate the 245th anniversary of Uranus’ discovery! 🔭🌟✨
📆Friday 13 March, 6.00pm to 8.00pm
📍Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street, BA1 2BL
🦋 One week to go before Curious Minds Festival kicks off!
✨ Highlights include:
📚 The Festival Read with Nussaibah Younis
🎭 An Evening With… Larry Lamb
🎶 Cerys Matthews on Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood
🎤 All Stars Poetry Night with Jasmine Gardosi, Tyrone Lewis and Anthony Anaxagorou
🎬 Movie at the Museum: A Knight’s Tale
🎟️ Book here. ⏳
🀄️ Print & Sip - Lino Workshop
📅 Fri March 13th, 5-8pm.
📍Roseberry Road Studios’ bar and gallery
🎟️ £15 - all materials included. Book here.
💬 Talk: Reading the Records of Enslavement
📆 2 April 2026 ⏰ 6:00pm - 8:00pm
📍Beckford’s Tower
🎫 Book here
🎨 Unapologetic - International Women’s exhibition
📅 7 - 15th March
🥂 Potluck picnic - Save Bath Artists’ Studios
📅 Tuesday 10th of March ⏰ 6pm - 8pm
📍 Bath Artists’ Studios, The Old Malthouse, Comfortable Place, Upper Bristol Road, Bath BA1 3AJ
🎟️ Book here
🎨 Motherland exhibition
📆 23rd–30th March ⏰ Open daily, 10am–5pm
📍Bath Artists’ Studios
✨ Private View (open to the public): 23 March, 7–9pm with a bar and live music. ✨
🎶 Check out Burdall’s Yard events here:
City & Region
🎾 Plans have been submitted for five padel courts next to railway line at Bathampton, reports the Bath Echo.
🌳 “Wanton destruction” of trees from a hillside on Ivy Avenue in Southdown has prompted the council to act to preserve the site, reports the Bath Echo.
🍎 Cider makers say they are hopeful a new parliamentary group will help their industry thrive, reports the BBC. Cider in the UK contributes £2.7bn to the economy, supporting more than 65,000 jobs. However, Sarah Dyke, MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, said cider makers currently face "a perfect storm" of rising energy and labour costs.
📚 Congratulations to all Year 6 children who’ve found out their secondary school allocation this week. The Council says 88% of children were awarded their first choice of school.
Crime
🐷 Vandals killed newts and damaged a pond and play area at Bath City Farm, reports the BBC.
🚨 A collection of coins was among items stolen from a property in Bath during a burglary on Thursday, reports Somerset Live.
🚓 Two people were arrested in Snow Hill last weekend, where police have been responding to drug-related anti-social behaviour, reports the Bath Echo.
Transport
🛑 Manvers Street in the centre of Bath will be closed for five nights in March, reports the Bath Echo. Works are expected over the next 18 months.
💥 Five cars were involved in a traffic incident on Lower Bristol Road this week which led to a driver being taken to hospital, reports the Bath Echo.
🚌 First Bus has applied for planning permission to extend capacity at its depot at Weston Island to support a fleet of 27 electric double-decker buses, reports the Bath Echo.
Sweet stuff 🍯
🇬🇧 The Bath Magazine retells the story of Bath native, Arnold Ridley, better known as Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army.
👶🏻 Three cousins were born within hours of each other at RUH.
💐 Dyrham Park’s roses helped inspire the art on a new series of rose-themed stamps, reports the BBC.
🎬 Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock TV series has debuted to some dubious reviews, but the Bristol and Somerset locations shine, reports the BBC.
🎩 Top posts from last week’s Bee:
❗️Bath's Reform boss explains why he wore an SS uniform.
🤔 Help Friends of Sydney Gardens raise money to renovate the LAST GEORGIAN SUPPER BOX - the precursor of modern–day restaurants. Sydney Gardens once had almost 50 Supper Boxes. Find out more here.
🎉 Comedy, festivals and gigs … regional events are listed here in Nearfield Magazine.