Medieval Jousting at Stonor Park

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Stonor Park are hosting the Knights of Royal England for a weekend of medieval jousting on the 29th – 30th June.

A truly memorable jousting tournament including horse riding events to test courage and skill as well as foot combat with Medieval weaponry.  Support the winners and heckle the losers – this is an event not to be missed.

There will also be falconry displays, archery and dancing dragons to add to the Medieval experience.

EARLY BIRD TIER1 TICKETS ARE CURRENTLY ON SALE AND PROVIDE A SAVING OF £3 PER TICKET.  BOOK NOW WHILE THEY ARE STILL AVAILABLE.

Pictures include those by the Knights of Royal England.

Get your tickets here

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Big lunch: The perfect ingredients

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Add a handful of community spirit, a sprinkling of food and a big dose of fun to create The Big Lunch on 1st and 2nd June

ll together now, “Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours…” – that’s got you humming away I’ll bet, but it’s very much the key idea behind The Big Lunch.

The scheme launched in 2009 by the Eden Project to bring people together celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and hopes to get even more involved in the simple act of fun and friendship through having lunch with your neighbours.

From that first event which began as one day for people to meet, greet, share, swap, sing, play and laugh, it grew to more than 9.3million people taking part in over 90,000 events all round the country in 2017.

More than just bringing communities together, The Big Lunch, this year on 1st and 2nd June, wants to improve the happiness and wellbeing of people by encouraging them to make positive changes where they live, working with each other and nature, towards a better future.

Whether that be with a few sandwiches in your front garden, a traditional street party or a big community bash, holding a Big Lunch is simple – the main ingredient is you and your neighbours.

The Eden Project has some top tips for planning your Big Lunch:

Choose a venue

Remember if you are planning a street party you’ll need to ask permission from your local council to have the road closed

Pick a date

Most lunches will be held the first weekend in June but you can choose one to suit you

Consider your invites

Think about who you want to ask

Plan the food

Keep it simple, don’t make too much work for yourself, perhaps make it a shared picnic, get everyone to bring a dish and contribute

Make some decorations

This can all be part of the fun of coming together, make bunting out of scraps of material, plastic bags and other bits and pieces

Play music

A simple idea is to get some background music going with a few radios on the same station or if you’re lucky enough to have a musician in your street make the most of it

Get local support

Don’t be afraid to ask local business for help with chairs or even prizes for a raffle and let your local media know too

Fundraise at your Big Lunch

Getting everyone together can be the ideal opportunity to help a cause close to your heart or a local asset such as a children’s play area

And after the event don’t forget to share your story…

There’s an opportunity to come together before that with The Big Lunch Community Walk from 17th to 31st May when a group of people will be visiting community projects in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

There may already be a lunch in your street or area but if not then “carpe diem” and start organising one today!

To find out how you can get involved in The Big Lunch, please visit Eden Project Communities

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Community shop

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Visit summer market ad find out what makes Hampstead Norreys Community Shop an award winner

Congratulations to the Hampstead Norreys Community Shop which has been named south east regional winner in the village shop/post office category of the Countryside Alliance Awards.

The awards dubbed the ‘rural Oscars’ are now in the 14th year and recognise the skills, produce, tradition, enterprise and the people behind the businesses.

All the regional winners in five categories – local food/drink; butcher; rural enterprise; pub and village shop/post office – will now attend the national final at the House of Lords in June to see who will be crowned the overall champion.

The community shop and café opened in 2011 and has become the hub of the village. As well as stocking a wide range of groceries at good prices there are a range of ‘made for Hampstead Norreys’ goods such as jam and marmalade and items that make good presents. And if they don’t have what you want, they’ll try to get it for you!

Speciality bread comes from Hetherton’s in Newbury, meat and fish from Vicars Game of Ashampstead as well as locally produced fruit, veg and free-range eggs.

This amazing community shop has also introduced Paypoint, has a prescription drop off and collection service and allows you to have parcels delivered there too.

And they say if there are other services you would like to see introduced just speak to the manager Mandy and they’ll do their best to help.

The courtyard café serves delicious foods for breakfast and lunch and if you have any specific dietary requirements let chef Jamie know  and he’ll do his best to help.

If you’ve not discovered this village treasure yet then make sure you visit the summer market on Saturday, 1st June. There’ll be more than 30 stalls including food and drink from Noi’s Thai Kitchen and Tutts Clump Cider, health and beauty, arts and crafts, homemade cakes, fashion and jewellery, live music and Armadillo Images in the orange tent.

Admission is free, there’s parking and toilet facilities.  
Pop along and see for yourself and find out what makes the community shop so worthy of its regional award.

Fingers crossed for the national final!

Find out more about the Countryside Alliance Awards

Photo: Manager Mandy and chef Jamie celebrate the community shop’s 8th birthday earlier this year

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Interiors: Really wild

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Animal motifs, themes & prints can add some real personality to your home. Liz Nicholls rounds up a flock of favourites… What are yours?

With style it really is a case of different strokes for different folks… and fans of the minimal, declutterd home aesthetic imight want to look away now.

For a few glorious seasons, animal print has spotted on fashion fans from head to toe… We love a bit of leopard print here at Round & About Towers (and not just the ladies!). The maximalist aesthetic has been a roaring success on the home front, too. A seismic shift away from the greige and modular home designs we might have seen everywhere in the Noughties and onwards, clashing prints, bold colours and tropical treats have earned their style stripes. Be assured: a few well-chosen animal and safari-themed pieces can add a lot of personality to any room, without being overwhelming. Here are some creature comfort suggestions as a starting point. Join me on Pinterest for more prints inspo @LizxNic

1. Vases, Melody Maison; 2.Lemur lampshade, Red Candy. 3.Print, £5, Abstract House. 4. Zebra & animal print cushion, £21, Gisela Graham. 5. Tea tray, Raj Tent Club. 6. & 9. Tigers wallpaper and Oiseau cushion, Santorus. 7. & 8. Contemporary fabrics and home accessories, visit www.sarahfortescue.com 10. Chair, Out There Interiors     

Enter our competition to win this ‘Arrivée’ Velvet Scatter Cushion from Santorvs

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National BBQ week

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Get the grill out it’s time for national barbecue week

You know it’s summer when you can smell the distant whiff of charcoal burning and hear the cry of “burgers are ready”.

But barbequing has come such a long way since its traditional image of a group – usually men – stood huddled around a grill trying to keep it alight and judge the fine line between serving up raw sausages and burning them to a cinder.

Last year it is estimated the UK held around a staggering 135million BBQs; hooded BBQs are the most popular, closely followed by flat grills with rotary grills and smokers increasing in popularity.

When it comes to what we cook on them now it seems that while the humble burger and sausage are still favourites, our tastes are more eclectic now to include swordfish and more ‘exotic’ vegetables.

There are some great tips and advice available and whoever you ask will tell how they do it and what’s best but a few good ‘rules’ to follow are:

Marinated food tastes and grills better, as well as the taste, food is protected against the high grill temperatures. The longer you can marinate for the better but place food in a sealed bag in the fridge to improve the flavour

Temperature-wise, try the hand test – hold you hand around 6 inches from the grill, if you can hold it in place for around 2-3 minutes, that’s ideal

Don’t grill too quickly or on too high a heat – this will burn meat on the outside and leave it undercooked inside. The way to cook? Sear high and then low and slow

Safety first always – make sure your BBQ is well away from a hedge, fence or shrubbery; use only proper BBQ lighter fuel; if using a gas BBQ and it fails to light immediately, turn it off, leave for a while and try again.

Whatever you decide to cook on your BBQ, enjoy it and keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

Find our ideas and inspiration for barbecue sides here

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Surrey County Show

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Celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Surrey County Show

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Surrey County Show and the fantastic family fun day out shows no signs of slowing down.

The annual show brings the country and rural life together in the heart of Guildford with animals, entertainment, rural crafts, food and drink and competitions to guarantee a day with something for everything.

Surrey County Show welcomes around 40,000 visitors to the 66-acre site at Stoke Park and this year they can expect the usual variety of attractions that makes it such a great day out.

At the centre of the show on bank holiday Monday (27th) are the animals and livestock that ensure this truly is a country show – cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses and donkeys will fill the fields.

Competitions will put beef bulls alongside dairy heifers with rare sheep breeds on show too. Two of what will be the most popular competitions promise to be the ‘Grumpiest pig’ and the fascinatingly named Pig most like its owner!

Horses, ponies and donkeys will be on parade in the equine rings and why not bring your dog along and for the chance to win a prize in the fun dog show – there’s a class for everyone as well as dog agility and terrier racing among others.

Younger children will be able to handle smaller animals at Miller’s Ark petting farm as well as enjoy entertainment from Punch and Judy, a sheep show and donkey rides.

Rural life is a major feature of Surrey County Show too with birds of prey, a milking parlour, Dorset Axeman, vintage tractors and a whole host of rural crafts.

Over in the Grand Arena, big beasts of a very different kind will star when the monster trucks – 7.5ton Big Pete and The Grim Reaper – leap 15ft into the air, crushing anything in their path and will pull a car in a monster tug-of-war.

The heavy horse musical drive and marching band will add to the colour and spectacle of the day with more theatrics coming tricks and stunts from the BMX show.

Guildford Fringe Theatre Company will perform all day and there’ll be Maypole and Morris dancing to entertain you too.

You’ll no doubt need some sustenance to help get you through the day and there are plenty of food and drink choices to keep you going. The Food Theatre will feature a British cheese talk and tasting while Crumbs Brewery will show how they brew beer from left-over bread.
Food and drink from all over the world will rub shoulders with local delicacies on offer at Surrey Farmers’ Market.

If you like to shop ‘til you drop there’s plenty to choose from with hundreds of stalls offering everything from clothing to gifts and homeware to furniture and even luxury cars!

Stoke Park is easy to reach by road or rail, with on-site and nearby parking, four Park and Ride sites and a special train station shuttle bus at £1 each way. Don’t miss it – with so much to see and do, the biggest challenge will be fitting it all in to one day!

Surrey County Show is on Monday, 27th May, from 8am to 6pm.

For tickets please visit Surrey County Show

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English wine week

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Raise a glass to English Wine Week

You may not be that familiar with English wines but there are more and more of them and they are becoming more popular.

Last year there was significant increase in wine production and sales and exports of wine have grown so there has never been a better time to celebrate English Wine Week which runs from today (25th May) until 2nd June.

There are more than 400 vineyards around England and Wales with several producing award-winning varieties, many of which can be enjoyed on visits to the vineyards.

These vineyards last year produced 15.6million bottles; 1.6million vines were planted amounting to 1,000 acres with another two million due to be planted this year. Most of the vines planted are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Bacchus.

English Wine Week aims to raise awareness of English wine across the country and many vineyards are open to the public in our region.
Why not visit one of these and try out the splendid wines they’re producing:

Surrey

Albury Vineyard, Guildford; Blackdown Ridge Estate, Haslemere; Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking; Godstone Vineyard, Godstone; Grange Estate Wines, Alresford; Greyfriars Vineyard, The Hog’s Back; High Clandon Estate Vineyard; Lakeside Vineyard, North Chiddingfold and Weyborne Vineyard, Haslemere

Oxfordshire

Bothy Vineyard, Frilford Heath; Brightwell Vineyard, Wallingford; Fairmile Vineyard, Henley; Fawley Vineyard, Henley and Hendred Vineyard, East Hendred

Berkshire

Alder Ridge Vineyard, Hungerford; Enborne Vineyards, Enborne; Stanlake Park Wine Estate, Twyford and Winding Wood Vineyard, Hungerford

Gloucestershire

Larkhill Vineyard, Tetbury; Poulton Hill Estate, Cirencester and Three Choirs Vineyards, Newent

Wiltshire

Southcott Vineyard Partnership, Pewsey

There’s an extra treat for wine lovers the following week too with English food and wine taking centre stage at Brightwell Vineyard near Wallingford on Saturday, 8th June.

Find out more about The Wine & Food Festival

 To find out about these and how you can get involved visit Alzheimer’s Society

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The English Wine & Food Festival

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Vineyard varieties: The English Wine & Food Festival in Wallingford will showcase wines from 11 local vineyards

Raise a glass to all the great wine being produced on your doorstep at the English Wine & Food Festival.

If you didn’t even know there were vineyards in the Thames and Chiltern region then this is a great opportunity to discover and taste it for yourself.

There are 11 local vineyards taking part in the event which will offer members of the public the opportunity to taste, compare and buy award-winning wines all in one location – Brightwell Vineyard in Wallingford.

You’ll get to meet winemakers, growers and a Master of Wine specialising in English wine as well as learning more about the grape varieties that do well in our unpredictable climate.

You may know classic grape varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but do you know your Bacchus from your Ortega?

The festival is a must for foodies as well as wine lovers with the chance to pair the wide range of crisp, fruity wines with the freshly made local dishes on offer.

The festival on Saturday, 8th June will include vineyard walks, wine sales and tastings, local vineyard information, artisan hot and cold food, local crafts and a pay bar.

The local vineyards taking part are:

Fairmile Vineyard, Henley

Brightwell Vineyard, Wallingford

Bothy Vineyard, Frilford Heath

Oaken Grove Vineyard, Marlow

Harrow & Hope Vineyard, Marlow

Stanlake Park Wine Estate

Winding Wood Vineyard, Hungerford

Chafor Wine Estate, Gawcott

Daws Hill Vineyard, Radnor

Hendred Vineyard, East Hendred

Wyfold Vineyard, Marlow.

Entry £2 adult, children free and wine tastings cost £10 for 10 wines or £8 if bought early. You can book your tickets here

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How to spend a day in

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Whether you’re a tourist or just curious about our capital, spending the day exploring London can be an amazing experience.

Danny Horwood, from urban scavenger hunt innovators Foxtrail London, shares his advice for what to include on your to-do list.

Much of London’s diverse landscape is made up of buildings that have made it through the Great Fire, the Blitz, and the many other threats since the city was founded more than 2,000 years ago.

A great place to start is London Wall, while mostly in ruins, is estimated to have been built in 190-225 AD and is widely considered the oldest building in London. London Wall is conveniently close to the major landmark Tower Hill, famous for its gruesome executions, and the even more iconic Tower of London, so you can pay a visit to the Crown Jewels, ravens, and Beefeaters while you’re exploring the area.

 

Modern London

Modern London is diverse, influential, and packed with culture, so there’s always plenty of new landmarks to discover – some are bizarre, like the world’s longest tunnel slide at the UK’s tallest sculpture, the Orbit, and some are impressive, like the Shard and it’s 244-meter-high observation deck.

While not the newest addition to London’s skyline, the London Eye has become an icon in its own right to rival Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, despite originally being designed as a temporary feature. With some of the best views in the city, it’s ideal for taking in all the sights of London at once and a great option for time-pressed tourists.

 

Don’t miss…

London is home to some of the world’s greatest eating, drinking, and shopping experiences, but there are so many more unique attractions to explore. Madame Tussauds, the London Dungeon, and Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station, for example, are world-famous must-sees. London’s most popular attraction, the British Museum, boasts one of the largest and most comprehensive displays of world history, if galleries are for you then the V&A museum of art and design has something weird and wonderful for everyone to enjoy, including fashion exhibitions.

If you’re only in London for a short while, it can feel a waste to spend it indoors. Simply strolling down the many famous streets of this old city, there is so much to see and discover including more major landmarks, hidden treasures, and other curiosities.

Why not take a guided tour to get the inside scoop on the rich history of the buildings around you, or take part in an organised scavenger hunt to interact with the city? Getting the family involved in a treasure trail is a great way to have fun, work as a team, and learn through experience.

  There’s so much to see and do in London, just get out and explore!

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Hero police dog

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Britain’s bravest police dog who was stabbed in the line of duty has visited Heathfield School with his handler to discuss the role of police animals, perseverance and resilience.

Britain’s bravest police dog who was stabbed in the line of duty has visited a school with his handler to discuss the role of police animals, perseverance and resilience.

Eight-year-old German Shepherd Finn was stabbed with a 10-inch blade when tackling a suspect in October 2016. His handler PC Dave Wardell has campaigned since then to make it an offence to harm or abuse an animal in the line of duty.

So called Finn’s Law became law in April this year.

The pair were at Heathfield School in Ascot on Thursday, 23rd May to chat to the pupils and to say an extra special thank you for the use of their stage to practise their act for Britain’s Got Talent.

Finn and PC Wardell wowed the judges even bringing a tear to the eye of Simon Cowell with their dog show/magic act – they will find out today (25th May) if they have made it to the finals.

Girls at Heathfield watched a video of the performance, heard about the incident in which Finn was stabbed and about PC Wardell’s attempt to get the law passed.

The duo were joined at the school by PC Wardell’s former colleague and officer Sebastian Ellis. They both spoke about facing adversity, the importance of resilience and perseverance, careers in the police force and how to become a dog handler.

The session was finished with a demonstration of how scent tracking works.

PC Wardell said it was lovely coming back and being able to say thank you for the use of the stage. He added: “I really enjoyed sharing my story with a younger audience that that found at the House of Parliament! It was a pleasure too, to take questions on dogs, my career and dealing with the Government.”

Headmistress Marina Gardiner Legge said: “Standing up to adversity, perseverance and resilience are important qualities we work to instil in our girls.

“PC Wardell had an extremely moving story to tell and we were delighted he, Sebastian and Finn were able to share it with us.”

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