CITIES such as Worcester experience many defining moments down the ages times when the planets conspire to sweep away the old and usher in the new.

Many of us dislike and fear change and this facet of human nature was perfectly demonstrated during the Swan Theatre crisis of five years ago. A number of highly influential people in Worcestershire found their noses abruptly pushed out of joint when new kid-on-the-block Chris Jaeger was given a vote of confidence by Worcester City Council and got the go-ahead to run the ailing theatre at The Moors.

Mr Jaeger was the obvious solution to what was becoming a rather expensive and exclusive indulgence increasingly being funded by the taxpayer. Something had to give.

The Swan board fought a desperate rearguard action but the maths of the situation screamed it out loud - could the theatre be allowed to continue as a sort of private club for the Worcester cognoscenti, or should it become a people's palace of varieties?

There was only one possible solution and that was Chris Jaeger. This was the man who had brought about the miraculous recovery of Huntingdon Hall through a winning combination of bums-on-seats populist shows and acts that catered for more specialist tastes.

The high standard has been maintained this autumn and winter by one the best, most varied programmes of entertainment I have ever seen.

To think that a city such as Worcester could host artists as diverse as Rory Block to Tom Paxton plus the top names in British folk music is an amazing achievement.

Nevertheless, despite this bumper season, Mr Jaeger reports that ticket sales are not what they could or should be. Writing in this newspaper, he speculates that the gathering storm clouds of economic uncertainty may be having an effect on attendances.

All I would say is this. Chris Jaeger rescued entertainment in this city and deserves your support.

Yes, we may be a long way off from a use it or lose it' situation but it's occasionally worth thinking the unthinkable.