Margrit Coates, one of the world’s leading animal healers, will be at the South West Equine Fair in Shepton Mallet next weekend to meet visitors and promote her new CD, Animal Angels.Margrit, who lives near Salisbury, commissioned renowned musician Stuart Jones to compose stunning melodies to help relax and calm animals.

The music is suitable for all animals, including dogs, cats and horses, although humans love it too. In studies conducted by Queens University Belfast, music has been shown to help influence animal behaviour. Certain types, such as rock, grunge and heavy metal, resulted in dogs becoming agitated and restless, while classical music was seen to produce soothing benefits, with animals becoming more sociable and relaxed. Why then do so many people keep the radio blaring at their yard while they muck out? My horses would hate it.

The music on Animal Angels has been specially composed to be calming and relaxing for both pets and their owners. A must-have buy for a soothing chill-out time together, it has been released in time for Christmas, but is perfect for animal-loving people to enjoy at any time of year. Margrit’s albums are believed to be the only ones especially composed for the enjoyment of pets, but which also have a cross-over in that they are also relaxing for their owners. The music does not contain any sounds known to be unpleasant for animals.

Margrit has written a pet column for the Daily Mail newspaper and her articles are regularly published in magazines, including Horse and Rider. Her work has also been featured on TV and radio.

Margrit is a lecturer in animal healing at Southampton University’s department of animal behaviour and is a partner in a clinic offering natural therapies for animals, including horses, dogs and cats. She is also the author of Healing for Horses, Hands-on Healing for Pets, and Horses Talking.

In a booklet accompanying her new CD, Margrit explains: “It’s not just humans who have angels to watch over them. Animals too have angels who connect with them. These may either take the form of other animals, or be angels of light (nature angels). They connect with us when we are with animals, to help us communicate with them.

“All animals are born with gifts of the angelic realms - light, purity, goodness and unconditional love. If humans reflect those qualities back to the animals, then they continue to shine and demonstrate how they can help us to find meaning in our lives.”

Animal Angels is the third album commissioned by Margrit especially for animals. Her first, Animal Healing, was featured on ITV’s This Morning in 2004, in its list of the top ten Christmas presents for pets.

Cajun music is the sound of the South West Louisiana bayous, full of infectious energy, boisterous accordions, fiddles and rhythm guitars, combining elements of the music of the French, German, Celtic, Spanish, Native American and African settlers and sung in the patois French of the Cajuns (or Arcadians).Meanwhile, the Cajuns’ black Creole neighbours developed their own faster paced, more syncopated French-language music, Zydeco.

This combines much the same disparate elements as Cajun music but leans towards blues, jazz and raw dance music as well as “jurer”, a religious style of African-Americans of Louisiana. Like Cajun music, the accordion figures prominently in Zydeco, but combined with guitar, electric bass, saxophone, drums, and a metal washboard - a “rubboard” or vest frottoir, which is worn like a tabard and helps give the music its chugging rhythm.

A Former Tewkesbury schoolboy has made his mind up and joined legendary pop band Bucks Fizz.Singer Paul Fordham, 29, says he is chuffed to be the newest member of the 1981 Eurovision pop band.

The chart-topping band, which won the song contest 26 years ago with Making Your Mind Up, still tours the world.

When they met Paul on a cruise ship they invited him to join them to take over from retiring band member Wayne Chinery. He starts his dream role in front of a home crowd at Cheltenham Town Hall next week.

Mr Fordham said: “I’m so chuffed. I loved Bucks Fizz when I was a kid. I grew up with the music. They made, along with Shakin’ Stevens, the music of my young life.”

He will be working alongside 53-year-old Bobby G, the only original member still in the band.

After leaving Tewkesbury School, Mr Fordham went on to graduate with a degree in musical theatre.

He then went on tour with Fame - The Musical and landed a job with a theatre company producing shows on a P &O cruise ship.