Along The Thames - Maidenhead, Cookham & Bray Edition by Living Along theThames

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INANDAROUND MAIDENHEAD, COOKHAM and BRAY

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012

A Place to Celebrate Life Chiltern Woodland Burial ial Park is a stunning venue for funerals, erences memorial services, conferences and events. Set in 72 acres of mature woodland, the e beautiful ceremonial buildings offer a unique experience. perience. rking, We offer catering facilities, plenty of parking, ff, mobility buggies and highly trained staff, Chiltern Burial Park is truly a cemetery of our time. We give all of our families a minimum off m two hours for each funeral, the freedom to personalise each ceremony, ss complimentary refreshments and access to the woodland park 365 days a year. Within the beautiful woodlands, familiess can choose the perfect resting place for their ir loved one for the burial or, following cremation, ashes shes can be scattered or buried in the woodland. d and Graves and ashes plots may be selected purchased in advance, giving peace of mind to those planning for their own future. Our woodland burial park offers a unique ue ge and caring experience with a price range that makes the park accessible to all.

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Welcome Welcome to our first issue for 2012 - February/March. It’s hard to believe that in 5 months time the Olympics will be a reality. You will see some new additions to our writers this year, as we welcome Colin Baxter from Mayfair wines and Phil Walker, who will be discussing performance coaching. I hope you enjoy the new articles. We have a recipe from Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House Hotel along with details of the new cafe at Stubbings Nursery. Welcome to our new beauty writer, Sarah, the owner of O’Naturelle in Marlow. Looking for something to wear to a wedding, we feature everything but the bride in our fashion pages this issue, so look no further than visiting our independent fashion retailers in the local area. Scanappeal are celebrating their 25th birthday this year and tell us how they have helped the local community and how you can help with their fundraising in this their 25th year. See page 27. If you’d like to see copies of the magazine from the last twelve months, you can view them at www.issuu.com/ AlongtheThames, for both the Marlow and Maidenhead editions. If you’d like to add an event to our Out & About section please visit the website at www.AlongtheThames.co.uk. This is a free service open to all. We wish you all a Happy Easter, which is early this year from the 6th - 9th April and will occur just before our next edition. Until next time, Happy Reading..........

Contents 4. Interiors - Bedroom Design 6. Think like a burglar 8. Extending - developing the scheme 10. Interiors - More Space required 11. Property Investment - the right time, when exactly is that? 12. Readers Corner 14. Favourite Walks - Cliveden 15. Garden 16. Country Wise 22. Glass of red

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Serena Edwards ADVERTISING For all enquiries please call t: 01628 771419 f: 01628 421501 e: office@AlongTheThames.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS Harriet Subramanian, Michele Axisa, Alexander Parsons, Mike Beckley Christine Chalkin, Kasia Cole, Jill Coleby, David Rhys Price, Tony Silver, Sally Todd, Colin Baxter Emma Filtness, Vanessa Woolley, Niki Schäfer, Jacky & Mark Bloomfield, Sophie Ward Copyright © 2012 Along the Thames

28. Hair by Alexander 29. Beauty - Fresh faced 30. Fashion 34. C’est bon, le pre-nup and Lotto win, not part of the Family Assets 38. Sally’s Smalltalk 40. Travel Devon and Cornwall, a great place to “staycate” in 2012 42. Horoscopes

Along the Thames Magazine 1 Bell Street, Maidenhead Berks SL6 1BU t: 01628 771419 m: 07711 887107 e: office@AlongTheThames.co.uk www.AlongTheThames.co.uk FRONT COVER: Crocus in snow

45. Performance Coaching 46. Social Media: You Tube & Twitter 48. Pets 50. Motoring 52. Community 54. Out & About 56. Useful Numbers 57. Services

Along the Thames Magazine Marlow is the sister title to Along the Thames Maidenhead. - prints and distributes 16,200 copies bimonthly and hand delivers copies into ABC homes inandaround Marlow, Bourne End, Maidenhead, Cookham and Bray, as well as in bedrooms and reception rooms of hotels, golf clubs, coffee shops, hairdressers, libraries and local information centres. It has an estimated readership of 64,800

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The views expressed in Along the Thames magazine are not necessarily the views of the editor/publisher. While all reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy of our content, the publisher cannot accept liability for errors/ omissions relating to the editorial/advertising in this publication or for loss rising as a result. No part of the contents of this publication can be reproduced without the express permission of the authors and is protected by copyright.

Bedroom Design A bedroom is a sanctuary. We know this. We want to sleep there, relax there, lie in, chill out. We know it should be an idyll and a haven to escape to. So how is it then that this room becomes so un-haven like, so cluttered? With electronic gadgets charging, books waiting to be read and clothes hoping to be folded. Why is this the room that we leave until last to decorate? The room where we spend the most time - though admittedly with our eyes closed. Look & Feel Bedrooms are wonderful places to decorate. They can be filled with fabulous fabrics -cushions, rugs, curtains and carpets - and gorgeous pieces of furniture from necessary storage items to luxurious chaise longues. Bedrooms can be decadent or minimal, feminine or bold, they can be frilly and dainty or streamlined and sleek. And as the most personal room in the house they are the perfect place to reflect who you are as a person,or a couple. Colours Bedrooms do have some general rules of thumb though, especially if you want to stick with the traditional thinking of actually using the room as a place to sleep. If this is indeed your intention, then they are best kept muted and calm. Blue, mauve, mink, cream, oyster,mushroom, mouse, green - these colours will lull you to sleep or allow you to while away a lazy hour or two on a Sunday morning. If, on the other hand, you are looking for more pep in the bedroom, then the warmer colours, yellows or pinks could work for you. Reds 4

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and oranges might well be a little too strong for this room but then again, it all depends on how much pep you are looking for. Windows Window treatments come in all shapes and sizes and the bedroom can cater to them all. If you like to wake with the rising sun and feel the day coming into the room then voiles or muslins are the perfect answer. Let them billow in the breeze with an open window, light and airy with a hint of foreign romance. Alternatively, feel the comfort and warmth of wool curtains. Wool drapes beautifully and will give the room great depth. Hide away the light and stay in the dark as long as you can by adding appropriate interlining and lining. These give curtains weight and really add to the luxurious feel of the room. Alternatively, use contemporary blinds - Roman, Venetian or (with a hint of 80s retro) Austrian. Practical Considerations Like everything else in the world of interiors, there is an abundance of choice when it comes to bedroom furniture so it pays to think carefully about what you really need. Do you want function to be the only factor or does form play a role? Do you like your clothes to hang or fold? Work out how many pieces of clothing you want in your wardrobe. Bear in mind how you want it to feel underfoot in winter, and is it the same in the summer months? Ponder the lighting situation you require at 5:30am sneaking out for the first

train compared to the lights you need at 10pm. And what your partner might need at those times too. Think through three ‘normal’ days to help make buying decisions - an everyday in winter, one in summer and a holiday. The room will work differently for those three days but if it works for them, then any other eventuality should be covered. This helps with the design process - a practical, logical way of working out what is needed. What is wanted, however, is another matter altogether. That all depends on taste. Niki Schäfer ....dwell-being designs

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Think like a burglar Stand outside your property and imagine that you were trying to break in. Where would you start? Flowerpot on the front step? Remove that not-so-secret key that’s underneath. Downstairs loo with the window that is always left open? Buy an air freshener instead! Full height ladder stored at the side of the house? It’s like a written invitation. Security basics It doesn’t matter how expensive your alarm system is or how strong your door locks are, if you don’t employ the most basic security measures you are just asking for trouble. As you leave the house or are preparing to go to bed, get into a routine of thinking about each room in turn and whether the windows or doors are likely to have been opened that day. Around 20% of burglaries don’t involve any force – the intruder has simply walked in the unlocked door or climbed through the window. You should extend this mental check to your car and garage too; easily overlooked because they are out of sight once you are indoors. Remember too that more break-ins happen during daylight hours, so vigilance then is every bit as important as night time. Good locks = good security Each of your windows should have a key locking mechanism fitted – standard with most double glazed units these days, and the key should be stored nearby but not within reach or visibility of the window itself. If you have nothing like this at the moment, and can’t afford to upgrade your windows just yet, make it a priority to have locks fitted on all the downstairs windows at least. Doors should have a good locking system such as an automatic deadlock or a mortise deadlock. Check too that the frame is solid and the glass panel is laminated.

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Be flashy – but only with your security 80% of burglaries are spur of the moment so the only thing you should be showing off is your security measures. Don’t display your worldly goods to attract the opportunists in the first place. If you have an expensive bike keep it out of sight; don’t leave mobile phones on the windowsill; and don’t leave the empty box for your flashy new flatscreen TV standing by the bin for days. The same rules apply with your car. Don’t think that robbers don’t break in just to steal a handful of loose change. They do. Tell-tale signs When you are away from home, don’t leave the curtains drawn all day – nobody does that if they are in the house. Use inexpensive timer switches for table lamps and a radio to come on when it’s becoming dark, both downstairs and upstairs. And ask a friend or neighbour to move your post each day particularly where you have an outside box or you can easily see if the post is ‘on the mat’. These are all basic measures and will go a long way to ensure that your home and property stay safe.

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Developing the scheme Continuing our series on developing your home, we left off the last issue having thoroughly investigated how to get the most from and how best to utilise your home and how your consultant can best explore your options with you… The Consultant should now be working hard to develop your scheme whilst complying with any known Local Authority parameters or listed status which could affect your proposals. The scheme will unfold and you are likely to be faced with a number of options to choose preferences over. These are wholly dependant on the use you have for your property. For example, the spaces you desire with ease of movement around the house: light and airy open spaces instead of formally separated rooms, Do you wish to retain features in the

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property? Perhaps develop with a view to selling; in which case the property needs to retain wide appeal. Do you need quiet space for yourselves or to contain the sounds of older children? Your Consultant can talk you through the breadth of these choices together with the impact on the overall design, the finish of the building, the effect on your budget and the overall ‘feel’ of the building which can change in subtle ways. After these exhaustive but exciting discussions the final solution and plans can be edited and submitted by your consultant to your Local Planning Authority for approval. This process takes approximately eight weeks if you require full planning consent. Some smaller changes will fall under the ‘permitted development’ category and will be straightforward;

your consultant can indicate which route is appropriate. With good advice and sensible consultation with the planners the scheme should be successful. Whilst this planning application progresses it is a good opportunity to turn focused attention to the buildings finishing detail and structural content. The structural design will in part have been considered in the pre-planning stage, but the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the design will be the focus at this stage as your consultant designs the ‘construction’ detail. They will be looking at the information required for Local Authority ‘Building Control’, who are responsible for the safe and statutory enforcement of the regulations and processes of construction. Your consultant will be designing the many aspects of

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the construction, such as, foundations, drainage, thermal efficiency, structural design and fire safety. This is also the point they will introduce the detail provided by other professional consultants such as the ‘Structural Engineer’ or, for example, specialist service information for ‘Air Source’ heating. The detail of this phase can make a huge impact on the overall impression of the building. The skilful hand can, even in the most awkward of situations, give the light touch ‘feel’ to the building. In the next issue we shall cover the subject which many find can make or break the project. Hiring the right contractor and agreeing the content of the contract.

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MORE SPACE REQUIRED PLEASE! For some reason it’s at the beginning of the year that I find myself whining to my husband saying ‘We’ve run out of space, we’re going to have to move somewhere bigger!’ His response is typically what he considers to be a very helpful suggestion, and is along the lines that a clear-out of my side of the wardrobe might help the situation somewhat. So, inevitably a trip to a charity shop with my items of clothing that haven’t been worn since last Christmas, and my ceremonial, private discarding of a few of his clothes - those fashion faux pas he’s made when shopping alone, into the clothing recycling bin, frees up some valuable wardrobe space - but that’s just one room dealt with. As someone who has moved from a house with a loft and a garage to an apartment with limited storage, coupled with my ‘minimalist tendencies’ I had to quickly adapt and learn how to be clever with hidden storage. So, let’s start with the living room. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a room big enough to accommodate large inbuilt cupboards, you need to consider how to hide toys, board games, magazines etc. A large Ottoman upholstered in a similar fabric to your sofas, in place of a coffee table, is a useful storage solution. Lift the lid up and you’ll be amazed at what can be hidden inside this multi-functional piece of furniture. The same goes for chests which come in different shapes and sizes, the most interesting one I’ve seen lately, painted with a Union Jack design. Window seats with

concealed drawers in the bench are useful, and I love to see books in a living room so fill your bookcase(s) with not only books, but your ornamental pieces and photographs. A narrow bookcase put behind the back of a sofa can make an attractive design piece, and is more interesting on the eye than the sofa back itself. A well designed kitchen will hopefully provide you with adequate storage, even in a small space. Kitchen designers and your choice of units and worktops vary greatly in cost, but a good kitchen designer will use floor to ceiling for storage so that not even an inch is wasted. The very top shelves in the kitchen that you have to climb on a step ladder to get to can be invaluable for picnic baskets, and those large platters brought out once a year for family gatherings etc, for example. Equally, use wall space wisely for an inbuilt microwave, wine and spice racks, which will in turn free up your floor and worktop space. In the bathroom rolled up hand towels in attractive rattan baskets are very ‘hotel chic’, and a floor to ceiling heated towel rail is a superb investment. Both will help free up valuable airing cupboard space. Back to the bedroom, divan beds with pull out drawers provide storage for jewellery boxes, hairdryers and sewing kits etc which could otherwise ‘clutter’ the room. So, the next time you begin pondering ‘Time to move, run out of space’, perhaps one or two of my solutions will create a visibly clutter free, storage effective environment. Now, where’s the nearest local clothes recycling bin? Michele Axisa

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Property Investment The right time, when exactly is that? I spend a lot of time talking to potential investors about how to start their property portfolios. We talk about good locations, the right sort of property to buy, how to arrange finance, and prudent property management. However, there is one comment I have been repeatedly hearing recently.... “But is now the right time to buy?” It’s a question that many aspiring property investors ask themselves, and pretty much everyone else interested or involved. To be fair, it seems a valid point. If you commit to buy today, the commodity you are buying might be cheaper tomorrow. I can guarantee that on any given day of the week there will be a mainstream press article talking the property market down, while another source will be talking the market up. But consider the consequences of sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing. Procrastination or “Paralysis by Analysis” I recently met a lady who claims to be keen to invest. She has been watching her local market for over

three years. She has viewed various properties, and analysed finances in detail. But she has not yet made a purchase. She still has her investment fund completely intact, on deposit in the bank. Her argument for not proceeding is that she has “never been sure if it was the ‘right’ time to buy”. An alternative view is that, by this stage, she could have bought a property two or three years ago and be on track to buying property number two, or even number three. Time can be a thief in certain circumstances. It is entirely correct to practice good housekeeping when investing in property. But interest rates are low and have been for a while. Returns on savings are minimal. It can be argued that inflation is actually devaluing cash in the bank. Ask yourself the question. What did your first property cost... what is it’s value now? My personal case study is £35k to £225k. So let’s consider what we are looking to achieve by investing, and how long it takes to achieve these goals.

Future financial stability and independence. Investors buy rental property because they like to own tangible assets that provide an ongoing income and a pension for old age. There will always be demand for good rental property in the right locations. But it takes time to build a portfolio, typically ten years. If you adopt these principles the emphasis changes from “when” is right to buy... to “where” is right to buy and equally importantly ….. “how can I buy well” The “Right” Time To answer the initial question, the right time to buy is determined by circumstances personal to you. • Are you ready? - Do you genuinely want to own investment property. • Can you find a “deal”? – Good property in the right location, at the right price is available. So when is the right time?... If the answer to both these questions is yes.. the “right” time is now. Mike Beckley

For details of the next free Midas Property Schools in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire please contact Mike on 07961 825814 or mike.beckley@midasestates.com

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Be one of the first to read these latest titles The Games People Play by Sam Keery In this entertaining, quirky collection of essays the Belfast-born novelist Sam Keery delves into some of the oddities and mysteries of contemporary life – the transient nature of fame, the colour of whiskey, the decline of men’s boots in fashion, the allure of gold and the strange inefficiency of the QWERTY keyboard... In darker mode, he explores the nature of evil and the meaning of the Holocaust and the fraught relations between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and between the Province and the Mainland. Yet, whether light-hearted or sad, always in the background are the haunting memories of an idyllic childhood spent on the banks of the Lagan. Companionable and humane, Keery’s essays offer rich sustenance for both heart and mind. For your chance to win one of 3 copies of “The Games People Play ” by Sam Keery, please send your name and address to competition@AlongtheThames.co.uk by 9th March, 2011.. Twenty Five Kilos of Butter by John Piper The Zimmermanns and Schulzes are two ordinary Berlin families. M Maximillian i illi Zi Zimmermann runs a prosperous battery business, while Manfred Schulz is a highly respected languages teacher in the local grammar school. Both men have happy home lives – they have adoring, resourceful wives and intelligent, lively children. But the Zimmermanns and Schulzes live in extraordinary times. With the approach of the 1936 Olympic Games, the new government led by Adolf Hitler is determined to turn Germany into a powerful, militaristic state in which every citizen must play their part. In this increasingly terrifying environment, the Zimmermanns and Schulzes – instinctive opponents of the regime – struggle to maintain their happiness, dignity and integrity but find themselves inexorably drawn into the maelstrom of violence, persecution and war. It is the two youngest children of each family, Kurt and Clotilde, whose resourcefulness and innocence become beacons of hope as the inevitable cataclysm overtakes them. In this moving, richly detailed portrait of two families during a time of upheaval and war, author John Piper provides a powerful study of both the compromises and sacrifices of ordinary people living in times of stress and duress. Navegator by Geoffrey Illey Descended from a legendary Mallorcan navigator, Vasco Valseca is a gifted scientist, born with his ancestor’s instinctive skills. That inheritance inspires him to create Navegator a unique software program that can pinpoint the exact geographical location of any internet activity – email, virus or hacking. Navegator is hot property and only one copy exists. Valseca is unaware that his precious invention is the focus of furious international activity: while a high-powered US project team is working on a similar program in a bid to combat computer-based terrorism, more sinister forces will stop at nothing to acquire such a valuable asset for sale to the highest bidder, whoever that may be. BOOK GUILD

The books on this page are from Book Guild Publishing ion

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To order, please call 01202 665432 (weekdays only) or visit www.bookguild.co.uk to view our other titles

Winter Injuries

Check your woody plants for damaged or diseased stem damage. This seasons heavy rains, strong winds and extreme frosts can cause unsafe tree conditions; broken limbs, structural weakness and root disease are just a few of the issues that may be hiding in your treetops. Tree and shrubs with poor structure and heavy/long limbs are prone to breakage due to the added weight of ice and snow. Wood decay can also pre-dispose branches and lead to failure from ice/snow loads and strong winds. Evergreens that have a large surface area to hold snow are especially prone to breakage. Sudden drops in temperature, from a sunny day to a very low night time temperature can cause stem tissue to freeze plant cells, as a result frost cracks can appear. These frost cracks can actually start from a wound inflicted earlier in the trees development. Sometimes the crack may remain in the internal wood, but frost can cause the crack to expand and split the bark. Any newly planted tree, especially thin barked species, is a candidate for bark splitting if it is not cared for properly. A professional arborist should inspect your trees in late winter or spring for symptoms of winter injuries. Trees may be dormant but they should be checked for overwintering pests, dead wood, crossing/rubbing branches and structural weakness. No matter the size or scope of your tree or shrub care needs; we want to work with you to protect you landscape investment. Bartlett Tree Experts

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In the next of our series Kate Robinson takes us in the footsteps of Dukes, Earls and Viscounts.

During its 346 year history Cliveden has served as a country retreat for Earls, Dukes, a Prince of Wales and latterly the Astor family. Its 375 acres are now owned by the National Trust and the house is leased as an exclusive hotel. For parts of the winter the house and formal gardens close to NT visitors, but the vast woodlands are open year round from 10am and are a treat whatever the season. The Woodland car park is sign posted and can be found further along Cliveden Road past the main gates towards Taplow. There is a fee to enter, £4 per adult and £2 per child. Entrance is free for National Trust members. Dogs are welcome. There is a handy map in the car park illustrating three colour coded walks, differing in length from forty-five minutes to one and a half hours. Way markers are clearly visible for each walk. All walks start from the kissing gate to the left of the car park. The picnic area is situated here and a lovely surprise awaits the first time visitor. Giant carvings of woodland creatures sit near the path as it curves through the trees to a viewing platform. The Cliveden escarpment rises forty metres above the Thames offering views of Maidenhead, 14

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Cookham farmland and the hills of Cookham Dean. Far below catch a glimpse of leisure cruisers and canal boats chugging by tiny wooded Thames islands. Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat (1889), describes Cliveden Reach as “unbroken loveliness this is, perhaps, the sweetest stretch of all the river ...” For a closer look at the Thames the longer red route leads down steep steps to the river. The path tracks along the river bank. You can climb back up near the boat house (it’s quite a hike). The green route stays high and continues along the ridge making the most of the magnificent views. Glimpse Cliveden house through the trees, its Italianate architecture and terrace elevated high above the parterre and woodland. As the afternoon sun hits its façade it glows majestically against the green backdrop. The ridge walk ends at the Duke of Sutherland statue. There is another lovely view of the house and terraces framed by beech and fir trees. The path curves into the woods and meets Green Drive. Flanked by impressively tall oak and beech trees Green Drive stretches nearly the length of the estate. To the left the drive leads to the house and gardens and to the right through the

National Trust/Paul Watson

woodlands to the car park. It’s easy to imagine the genteel owners of Cliveden cantering along this grand avenue. Today the woodlands offer other challenges: a fitness trail and a nature trail. Watch out for the stunning blue bell carpet at the end of April. For a map of the woodland trails, information about opening times or admission to the garden and house, visit the National Trust website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden Kate Robinson.

Winter sights & scents With this cold frosty weather we don’t spend any time outside except perhaps to clear a few fallen branches and leaves, and chop some wood for the fire! It’s nice to appreciate the garden from inside for a change, and lighting plays an important part in bringing the garden to life in the winter. Paths, seating areas, specimen plants and features can all be bathed in a warm glow of light; throwing wonderful shadows on fences or walls to enhance our enjoyment birch trees through the cold winter months. Lights should be positioned carefully to avoid distracting wildlife - consider using low-intensity or solar lighting to reduce light pollution. Low-voltage kits are available at most DIY stores now but even hanging votives in the trees has a magical effect. And to stop you in your tracks on those brief winter visits to the garden, plant some winter winners for spectacular scent. Try lonicera fragrantissima / sarcococca / hamamelis ‘Diane’ or mahonia japonica. Then step back inside and start planning the rest of the year!

LONICERA FRAG

MAHONIA JAPONICA

HAMAMELIS DIANE

herons

SARCOCOCCA CONFUSA

By Marlow gardeners Jill Coleby & Vanessa Faulkner

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Country Wise This is the time of year when you start to notice the days getting longer. When you get up in the morning there is that tinge of light in the sky. Curtains once closed by mid afternoon now remain open until early evening. It’s hard to believe that the clocks go forward in a few short weeks. A sure sign that spring is just around the corner. Lengthening days have a big effect on the animals and plants of our countryside and towns. Spring is still a little way away, but for some of our resident birds, animals and plants time to get a head start on the migrants; for others it is time to prepare for the months of plenty that lie ahead. One day it can feel like winter is still upon us, the next as though summer is here. Significant amounts of snow could still fall in the next few months, but for our wildlife spring is in the air. It’s a time to think of things, other than survival. It’s all around you; you just need to know where to look. Herons start to breed at this time of year. Along with the Thrush, they are some of the earliest birds to breed. Pairs of herons return to traditional sites, normally a grove of mature trees. The nesting season sees these normally solitary birds gather together in heronries. Nests are near the top of the tree, enabling these large birds to land and take off easily. Burghfield gravel pit in West Berkshire has one of the largest heronries in the county. Plan your visit towards mid-March and you may just catch a glimpse of a dinosaur looking chick being fed. Later on, the growing chicks will have more feathers, looking less like their distant ancestors. Great Crested Grebes are now a common sight on our rivers and lakes. What you may not have seen before is their mating dance. You may be luck to see this unparalleled spectacle from the mid March through to late April. The best chance of seeing this is on a cold clear windless day. When you get a pair of willing birds, they will start face to face, and then shake their heads from side to side, often followed by bowing to each other. Head shaking and bowing is the most commonly seen of the dance moves. Less common is the climax of the pas de deux. Where the male and female Grebes dive and retrieve beaks full of waterweed. They swim towards

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each other and rise up out of the water. They end up almost completely out of the water facing each other. Great Crested Grebes are one of our favourite birds so we might be a bit biased, but it is a spectacular sight not often seen and if you can stand the long cold wait, it is very worth waiting for.

To be as “mad as a March hare” an idiomatic phrase normally used to describe a person or animal. It comes from the antics of real hares, and March is the start. Keep a good look out as you pass open farmland for you might catch sight of two or more Hares in a state of madness. They jump, spin and chase each other across the fields. These antics are how the term was coined. It is a fair bet that you are watching a female Hare followed by one or more suitors. She is testing them for their suitability for fatherhood. The boys are trying to make sure they are first inline. You can also see hares boxing. Not as you might expect two males, but a female testing the resolve of a potential mate, or trying to get rid of unwanted attentions. Trees need pollination to set seed. All our flowering trees need to flower before the leaves appear. Late March sees a feast of colour to brighten the first days of spring. Make a note when you see a Blackthorn which flowers at this time, with its cream white flowers. Later on in the year, you can return and pick Sloe berries, for your gin. Blackthorn or Cherry trees have flowers that are easy to spot. Less flashy trees

don’t have flowers that look like flowers. It is easy to forget that catkins are flowers too. Pussy willow found growing usually near water, is a great example of a tree that sets catkins. At this time of year, you can tell male and female trees apart, it is very difficult the rest of the year. How do you tell them apart? The male trees have yellow catkins because of the pollen, whilst the female trees have green catkins. Now you know. You can impress family and friends as long as you can get Pussy willow into the conversation.

Blackthorn If exotica are your thing, then we suggest you go looking for Butterbur. This thrives in damp, shady conditions, found at the edges of bogs, marshes, rivers and streams. March sees the pink flower spikes appear. The plant grows from an underground rhizome and this is how such plants can flower before producing leaves. As soon as it’s flowers die back the enormous leaves start to emerge. The plants medicinal properties have been know about since the 14th century and today it’s used in the treatment of headaches, asthma and allergies. If you are interested in how to use Butterbur, please contact a local herbalist. However the less risky option is to follow the example and use its leaves to wrap your butter. The butter wrapping

Spring Clean

Cowslips properties is said to be how the plant got its name. The warm days of March will see butterflies on the wing. Perhaps the earliest is the male Brimstone. A bright yellow flash heralds the newly hatched males. They normally patrol the woodland edges and hedgerows at this time of year. Peacock and Red Admiral butterflies provide a splash of red to the colour palette. Some will over winter as adults and are able to be on the wing early. On warm days they take to the sky looking to start the next generation. With relatively few spring plants about at this time of year, nectar is in short supply. It is always worth looking out for a patch of Dandelion, Primrose, Cowslip and Bugle. When the temperature is right, butterflies are drawn to these nectar rich plants. Now is a good time to be thinking about your own wildlife space. If you enjoy butterflies, it is also a good time to start preparing your garden for summer visitors. Butterflies need nectar rich plants. Plant Honesty, Sweet Rocket, and Wallflower for spring. For summer through to autumn plants such as Forget-me-nots, Hebe, Sedum, Buddleia, Michaelmas daisy and Lavender. Planted now, they will bring much needed food to your garden. You will be surprised at the variety of species you can attract.

Mark and Jacky Bloomfield Wildlife photographers

I love spring: the subtle change in temperature and the spring flowers. I love the smell in the air as the days begin to get longer and the birds chirp happily. This season makes us want to come out of hibernation, shake our fur and clear out the cave. After putting the Christmas decorations away in the loft in early January, I noticed the mess that was up there. Actually I had noticed that mess quite a few times in the past whilst putting Christmas decorations away but this time my New Year’s resolution was going to mean something. I was going to sort it out! There were curtains from three houses ago; children’s art work from nursery; baby clothes I couldn’t part with; my pony books from when I was young; Absent Husband’s university notes and an assortment of unidentified “stuff”. So I bravely donned old clothes and tied back my hair in a scarf (actually I didn’t but it is what the ladies on the TV do) and climbed up the ladder carrying several rubbish bags. It started out well. I bagged up the old curtains and art work. The pony books went in a box for the charity store. Then on a coffee break I began to flick through the art work. Tears welled in my eyes at the memory of certain pictures so crudely outlined by young hands. I’ll just keep one or two I told myself - for posterity… Then it was the pony books. I smiled as I remembered how horse mad I was and how much I loved “Jill’s Gymkhana”. In fact, I remember it being my favourite ever book at the time. I probably should just keep that one and maybe the sequel too. And come to think of it. One of the pairs of curtains was actually a lovely designer print – almost vintage now and it could be cut down and used again. Material is expensive these days. And as for the baby clothes: well – I kept them for a reason didn’t I? Still I had done at least a morning’s worth of work and already the loft looked neater. I just need to make space to pop these few things back and then I will sift through the unidentified stuff tomorrow. Vanessa Woolley ALONG THE THAMES

Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Allspice

Herb Crumble with Ratatouille & Goats’ Cheese

The combination of sweet potatoes and the taste of the stem ginger pieces and syrup make for a really pleasant and warming winter dish. 4-6 servings

This recipe can either be used as a side dish, or as a main vegetarian supper, as it contains so many vegetables. The herb crumble on the top of the dish also gives it that added ‘yum’ factor. 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS: 4 Tablespoons of vegetable oil 750 g Sweet potato peeled and cut into small chunks 50 g Butter 1 medium sized onion chopped 2 Cloves of garlic chopped 1 Green chilli de-seeded and chopped Teaspoon each of coriander and cumin seeds 2 Teaspoons of all spice powder. Juice of half a lemon 2 Pieces of stem ginger finely chopped 1 Tablespoon of syrup from the stem ginger Salt and pepper for seasoning 2 Teaspoons chopped fresh thyme and sprig of mint to garnish METHOD: 1. In a wok heat the oil and add the coriander and cumin seeds and fry for I minute. 2. Add the onions, garlic and chilli and fry for 5 minutes. Then add the diced potatoes, and cook for further 10 minutes until potato starts to become soft. Add the stem ginger pieces, lemon juice, ginger syrup, and Allspice. 3. Add the chopped thyme ,salt and pepper and cook for further 2 minutes. 4. Serve in bowl garnished with a sprig of mint.

I am a Maidenhead based cookery writer, and Internet Chef. I am passionate about all aspects of cooking, and through my’ spiced up’ recipes, I aim to bring the enjoyment and beneﬁts of spicy food, to a wider readership. David Rhys Price -The ‘Spicy Chef ’ 18

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FOR THE HERB CRUMBLE: 4 White bread slices, crust cut off 1 Tablespoon dry mixed herbs 1 Tablespoon each of chopped fresh, parsley, basil and METHOD: 1. Put bread into food processor and create bread crumbs 2. Mix the bread crumbs and herbs in a bowl INGREDIENTS: 6 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Onions halved and then cut into quarters 2 Medium sized aubergines cut into rounds 3 Medium sized courgettes sliced 1 Green and 1 red capsicum pepper chopped 3 Cloves of garlic crushed and chopped 1 400g Tin of Tomatoes Juice of 1 lemon 1 Medium sized green chilli de-seeded and chopped 2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped 4 Bay leaves (remove before serving) Sea Salt a ground black pepper 200g Feta cheese cut into bite size chunks METHOD : 1. Put half the olive oil in oven proof dish, and arrange the vegetables on the dish. 2. Add the basil, chilli, lemon juice, bay leaves, feta, salt and pepper and spoon over the reaming olive oil. 3. Sprinkle herb crumble over the vegetable mix, and drizzle a little olive oil over the crumble 4. Bake in oven on 180c for 45 minutes, until crumble is crisp. 5. Remove and serve immediately.

Storing fresh produce

Spring at Grovefield House

is a little more complicated than you might think. If you want to prevent spoilage, certain foods shouldn’t be stored together at all, while others that we commonly keep in the fridge should actually be left on the worktop. To keep your produce optimally fresh (and cut down on food waste), use this handy guide. Worktop Storage Tips There’s nothing as inviting as a big bowl of crisp apples on the kitchen counter. To keep those apples crisp and all worktop-stored produce fresh, store them out of direct sunlight, either directly on the worktop, in an uncovered bowl, or inside a perforated plastic bag. Store on the worktop: Apples (less than 7 days), Bananas, Tomatoes, Basil, Cucumbers, Aubergine, Garlic, Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Oranges, Papysa, Peppers, Pineapples, Pomegranates, Watermelon Store in a cool,dry place: Squash, Onions (away from potatoes), Potatoes, Pumpkins, sweet potato Ripen on counter and then store in fridge:: Avocados, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Kiwi Storage Tips for the fridge For produce that is best stored in the fridge remember the following: • Keep produce in perforated plastic bags in the produce drawer of the fridge. (To perforate bags, punch holes in the bag with a sharp object, spacing them about as far apart as the holes you see in supermarket apple bags.) • Keep fruits and vegetables separate, in different drawers, because ethylene can build up in the fridge, causing spoilage. • When storing herbs (and interestingly, asparagus, too), snip off the ends, store upright in a glass of water (like flowers in a vase) and cover with a plastic bag. Store in the fridge: Apples (more than 7 days), Apricots, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Figs, Artichokes, Asparagus, Blackberries, Blueberries, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Cherries, Corn, Grapes, Green beans, Green onions, Herbs (not basil), Lima beans, Leafy vegetables, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Okra, Peas, Plums, Radishes, Raspberries, Spinach, Sprouts, Strawberries, Courgetttes. Key: Store unwashed and in a single layer, Store unwashed and in a plastic bag, Store in paper, Ethylene producers (keep away from other fruits and vegetables)

Mother’s Day Lunch Sunday 18th March Traditional Sunday lunch including a gift for mum.

Three-courses: £24.95 Children 12 and under: £12.50

Easter Weekend Package Saturday, 7th - Sunday, 8th April Three-course dinner, a bottle of bubbly, full English breakfast and an Easter egg: £149.00 per room per night in a Classic Room

Easter Day Sunday Lunch Traditional Sunday lunch with egg hunt and a visit from the Easter bunny.

Three-courses: £24.95 Children 12 and under: £12.50 To make your booking

Tel: 01628 603131

Taplow Common Road, Burnham, Slough, Buckinghamshire SL1 8LR www.classiclodges.co.uk

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INGREDIENTS: 226g butter 3 tsp vanilla essence 1 tsp salt 80g sweetener 440g gluten free flour 90g chocolate chips 80g chopped walnuts Pre-heat the oven to 160째C 20 ALONG THE THAMES

METHOD: 1. Put the butter, sweetener, salt and vanilla essence into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy 2. Mix in the gluten free flour 3. Mix in the chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts 4. Wrap the cookie dough in cling film and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes 5. Portion the cookie dough into 25 - 30g pieces and roll in the palm of your hand to form a ball 6. Place on a baking tray lined with grease-proof paper and flatten lightly 7. Bake for approx. 13 -16 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown 8. Allow to cool on a wire rack

Pancakes

INGREDIENTS: 140g plain flour, 200ml whole milk, 2 eggs, 25g unsalted butter - melted, plus a little extra for greasing

Thyme

METHOD: • Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the milk and 100ml of water together. Break the eggs into the well and start whisking slowly. Add the milk and water in a steady stream, whisking constantly and gradually incorporating the flour as you do so. • Whisk until the batter is smooth and all the flour has been incorporated. Set the batter aside to rest for 30 mins, then whisk the melted butter into the batter. • Heat the pan over a medium heat. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour roughly 2 tbsp of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. You want to use just enough batter to make a delicate, lacy pancake. Cook the pancake for about 45 secs on one side until golden and then using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 secs until it freckles. • Slide the pancake out of the pan and either serve immediately or stack on a plate with baking parchment in between. Continue until all the batter is used up.

As a native of the Mediterranean region, thyme grown in this country needs to be in a sunny spot. Like many herbs it is easy to grow and is better in poorer, dryer soils as moist, nutrient rich conditions will cause it to lose its compact shape. Even given ideal conditions, thyme will start to be become woody after a few years and will produce fewer leaves. When the plant reaches that point it is best that it is divided and replanted. Thyme is both pretty and aromatic so is ideal at the front of a border, particularly where passers-by will brush against it. However its flowers do attract bees and butterflies so take care not to let it overhang the path too much. In general thyme is best in strong flavoured dishes, particularly anything with red meat. It is ideal in soups, casseroles and stocks as it is one of the few herbs in cooking which can be added early because it doesn’t lose its flavour when cooked for some time. Lemon thyme has a mild lemon flavour and is fine with chicken. Thyme from the garden can be used all year round although obviously there is little growth in the winter months so you have to take care not to over harvest it. If you have an excess in the summer, the herb can be both dried and frozen for out of season use. The fresh leaves are much more pungent than dried ones though so use it sparingly.

Bespoke Private Caterers As seasoned professionals we have a wealth of knowledge from within the industry.

Looking for something special? We evaluate your particular requirements and design a menu package to suit.

Seasons Catering Co. Ltd 4 Market Square, Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP7 0DQ food@seasons-catering.com

01494 727807

www.seasons-catering.com Delicious food inspired by the seasons ALONG THE THAMES

Glass of red

I was recently asked whether I drank more red wine than white wine. I have never counted, but I certainly drink more red in the winter months and more white throughout the summer. So what will I be drinking throughout the long and cold winter evenings of January and February? In the main it will be red wine as I often feel the need for hearty, fullbodied reds on a cold winter’s night. Pinot Noir and Gamay are perfect for Spring, Summer and Autumn, but they are just too light for my taste in the winter months. Below are some of the grapes that I prefer during winter, and the tastes that I associate with them: Grown throughout the

world, but most synonymous with Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes produce longliving wines that are packed with dark fruit flavours. Cabernet wines are full of blackcurrant, whilst it’s naturally high tannin level ensures that they age well, thus producing complex secondary aromas and tastes including cedar, tobacco, tar, and leather as they age. Merlot is associated with dark plums and is softer, rounder and arguably easier to drink than Cabernet Sauvignon. It is ideally suited to blending with Cabernet, adding body, softness, and rounding off the Cabernet which on its own can be a little austere. Syrah and Shiraz are one and the same, being known as Syrah in the Northern Hemisphere and Shiraz in the Southern. Again, dark fruits dominate including blackcurrant, but this time with the addition of white pepper for classic Syrah ( such as Cote Rotie or Hermitage, found in the Northern Rhone), or slightly warmer pepper and spice in the case of a good Shiraz from, say, Australia’s Barossa Valley. Again, capable of great ageing with complex secondary aromas.

Both Grenache and Tempranillo grapes are widely grown, but are probably most closely associated with the Northern Spanish regions of Rioja, Navarra and Ribera Del Duero. Tempranillo produces wines that show both black and red fruits, and is capable of producing long living wines, especially when aged in oak whilst Grenache provides flavours of soft red summer fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries, as well as sweet spice such as cinnamon. It is closely associated with Rioja but also provides the backbone of many southern French wines, including Cotes Du Rhone and Chateauneuf Du Pape. Malbec is most closely associated with Argentina, but in the past formed part of many Bordeaux blends - it still has a strong foothold in the southwest of France and is known as “the black wine of Cahors.” It tastes of black fruits like blackcurrants and to me has a slightly sour twist of apples on the finish. Carmenere from Chile, on the other hand, is softer and spicier than Malbec, with more red fruits than black - including ripe plums, cherries and spice. Whatever your personal preferences, a good glass of any of the above will provide a welcome relief to the chilly evenings ahead, and hopefully much pleasure, too! Colin Baxter

For Internet wine sales, wedding wines, wine tastings, and free local deliveries Contact Colin Baxter - 07775 871897 or visit our website. 22

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Wedding Showcase You’ve had the proposal, got the ring, chosen the date ~ now it’s onto the serious business of choosing g the venue for your y big g day. y

Crowne Plaza Marlow have dedicated Wedding Co-ordinators to create the perfect day to mark the start of the rest of your life together. We can accommodate your wedding, whatever the requirements, whether fully catered or self catered. The hotel is a unique venue with a banqueting suite for up to 300 dinner guests with its own self contained facilities including a bar and kitchen. The suite is located on the first floor and can be allocated exclusively for the wedding party. The hotel has long standing relationships with external caterers and is happy to recommend them.

Our new All Inclusive Wedding Package helps to keep costs down on your big day. The package includes: • Glass of sparkling wine on arrival • 3 course wedding breakfast • Sparkling wine toast • Half bottle of wine • Table flowers • Evening disco • Evening finger buffet • Accommodation for Bride & Groom • £4,999 for up to 60 guests. Crowne Plaza Marlow’s Wedding Showcase will not only give you a chance to look around this spectacular wedding venue, but will also give you the opportunity to meet our preferred suppliers – from cake makers to florists. For more information on weddings at Crowne Plaza Marlow, call 01628 496 860 and speak to one of our Dedicated Wedding Co-ordinators. Sunday 19th February 11am – 4pm - FREE Admission www.cpmarlow.co.uk

What's on

Spring 2012 at Jazz up your Valentine’s Weekend - Saturday, 11th February Get in the mood for Valentine’s night with a sumptuous 4 course meal in Glaze Restauraunt, with a jazz trio in agua café & bar. £40.00 per person*

Valentine’s Day - Tuesday, 14th February Sumptuous 4 course dinner in Glaze Restaurant, including glass of fizz on arrival - £40.00 per person*

Wedding Showcase - Sunday, 19th February 11am - 4pm FREE Admission Everything you need to plan your wedding, from cakes to dresses – all at the perfect wedding venue. With a special Crowne Plaza Carvery 1 - 3pm: £14.95 per person

Friday Club Nights - Bring it on! 2nd March - 29th June - 28th September Back by public demand, Club Nights at Crowne Plaza Marlow! 9pm – 2am FREE Admission. Over 25s.

Please call 01628 496 800 for more information or visit

www.cpmarlow.co.uk Crowne Plaza Marlow | Fieldhouse Lane | Marlow SL7 1GJ *Pre booking required.

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Advertising Feature

Stubbings Nursery and Café

The long established Stubbings Nursery has recently opened a new Café in the grounds of the Stubbings estate. The Stubbings estate was built in 1750 and as part of its long history was home to Queen Wilhelmina, of the Netherlands, for four years during WWII. During her stay it was rumoured that she was looking after a vast quantity of her country’s gold, sadly none of it is to be found around the estate today. The Café is located within the new glasshouse, which replaced the original Victorian greenhouse. The Café is light, open and warm with a very inviting atmosphere. You can sit and enjoy the view over the 18th Century walled garden while eating from a varied and reasonably priced menu. There are a variety of drinks and snacks to choose from, including hot and cold drinks, cakes, pastries and scones along with a wonderful lunchtime menu. Typically the lunch choices vary from sandwiches, baked potatoes and if you are looking for something a little larger, then try the trio of Cumberland sausages or home-made vegetable quiche. All the food is cooked on the premises and there are specials everyday, such as soup with warm bread and a pie of the day. Children are welcome and there is a menu especially for them with some old favourites such as sandwiches, sausages, fish fingers and beans on toast. There is a decked area for outside dining in the summer and in winter there is a marquee erected to shelter dog walkers coming over from Maidenhead Thicket and the 24

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surrounding areas, or simply those brave enough to sit outside. There is plenty of car parking and you are more than welcome to consume any food purchased on the premises while you browse through the nursery, which is known for stocking a wide range of mature trees, topiary, olive trees from Tuscany, shrubs, bedding plants and chickens. For those of you looking for a quiet place to hold a meeting the Café also offers free wifi. On March 7th the café will be hosting a Business Biscotti networking meeting between 9.30 and 11.30am, which is a great opportunity to come and see the Café, along with meeting business people from the local area. During March (24th and 25th) and May (5th – 7th) the grounds of the estate will be opening up to the public for viewing of the spring flowers in the herbaceous borders and in May the 60m wall will be densely covered with a beautiful blooming Wisteria. The gardens consist of a large lawn area with significant Cedars, a ha-ha and the vista to farmland beyond along with woodland walks providing access to 250 acres of the adjacent National Trust’s Maidenhead Thicket. The Café is open daily from 8.30am – 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday and 9.30am – 4pm on a Sunday. It is also available for private hire by contacting Stubbings directly. For more information on Stubbings Nursery, Café and open gardens please call 01628 825454 or visit www.stubbingsnursery.co.uk/

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Depression

Depression is a feeling of persistent sadness, involving feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. It involves not only mood but also feelings of being physically ill and of not being able to think clearly. It is one of the most common conditions in the UK, affecting at least one in five people during their lifetime. No one should fear depression; the vast majority of people affected will make a full recovery. Successful treatment can involve a variety of different approaches, including self-help, psychotherapy or medication. If you are affected by depression, you are not ‘just' sad or upset. You have an illness which means that intense feelings of persistent sadness, helpless and hopelessness are often accompanied by physical effects such as sleepiness, a loss of energy, or physical aches and pains. Sometimes people may not realize how depressed they are, if they have been feeling the same way for a long time, if they have been trying to cope with their depression by keeping themselves very busy, or if their depressive symptoms are more physical than emotional. • Tiredness and loss of energy • Persistent sadness • Loss of self confidence and self esteem • Difficulty concentrating • Not being able to enjoy things that are usually pleasurable or interesting • Undue feelings of guilt or worthlessness • Feelings of helplessness

Dr Shelagh Wright

and hopelessness • Self-harm • Sleeping problems difficulties in getting off to sleep or waking up much earlier than usual. • Avoiding other people, sometimes even your close friends • Finding it hard to function at work/college/school • Loss of appetite • Loss of sex drive and/ or sexual problems • Physical aches and pains • Thinking about suicide and death Generally if you experience 4 or more of these symptoms for more than 2 weeks then it may be necessary to seek help either by going to see your GP for a referral, or by referring yourself to a psychotherapist. Helpful things that you can do for yourself, even if you do seek help, is ensure that your daily routine includes: • time for adequate rest and sleep • eating a balanced diet • Doing some gentle exercise preferable in the fresh air e.g going for a walk • Having some time for yourself even if it merely means taking a long bath • Talking to people around you about how you feel.

DsysPsych

Systemic and Family Psychotherapist

Shelagh Wright

Doctor Shelagh

Need help with: • • • •

Eating Disorders Depression Anxiety Couple Issues

Dr Shelagh is now on MarlowFM every Tuesday 9.30am to 12pm on the Health Show

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• • • •

Relationship Issues Family Relationships Communication Difficulties Adolescent Issues Telephone: 01628 509041 Mobile:07956 495365 Email: info@drshelagh.com . Web: www.drshelagh.com Siena Court Broadway Maidenhead SL6 1NJ

Greenlight laser

Cilla with the HeartBeat wall

Why Wycombe Hospital has some of the best medical equipment in the country Local charity Scannappeal has been fundraising for our local hospitals for the last 25 years and currently every 10 minutes a patient benefits from their work. If you have been treated for cancer or heart disease during that time, you are among the 500,000 people who have a reason to help celebrate their silver jubilee in 2012. We found out more about the charity’s work. Why was Scannappeal set up? The charity was founded to raise funds to purchase a CT scanner for Wycombe Hospital. At the time virtually every scanner in the country was bought with charitable donations, unlike today where all CT and MRI scanners are funded by the NHS. What else has the charity purchased since 1987? Almost £10m has been raised in the last 25 years, initially for various scanners which were donated to Wycombe Hospital, including an MRI and gamma camera. Since then the charity has funded a range of lifesaving equipment for virtually every clinical speciality. Most of this is in use at Wycombe and Amersham Hospitals, principally to diagnose and treat cancer and heart disease. Why doesn’t the National Health Service provide this equipment? Scannappeal is not there to replace the work of the NHS. The charity’s Trustees ensure funds are spent on advanced medical equipment that would either not

normally be purchased by the NHS or to substantially improve what is provided. It has meant that local residents have benefited from facilities not routinely available elsewhere in the country. In recent years this has included a green light laser to treat prostate cancer and a dedicated keyhole surgery unit, which means less scarring and substantially improved recovery times from major operations. Wycombe Hospital is also the second largest centre in the country to offer an innovative diagnostic test that rapidly diagnoses the spread of breast cancer, using equipment funded by Scannappeal. What are the current appeals? At Wycombe Hospital the current appeal is for a 3D heart scanner which, once purchased, will mean Buckinghamshire will be the first county in the UK to have such an advanced scanner to treat heart disease. This will be followed by a new appeal to fund digital equipment for mobile breast screening units. This will substantially improve the diagnostic detection of early breast cancer, benefitting 23,000 local women each year aged from 4773. At Amersham Hospital, the focus is on providing state-of-the-art equipment for the Neurorehabilitation Unit to aid the recovery of people who have had a stroke or other brain injury. There are many individual items of equipment that can be sponsored, from £250 to £10,000.

How can I support Scannappeal in 2012? There are lots of ways you can help including: • If you are celebrating a special birthday or anniversary this year, why not ask for donations in lieu of presents? • Take part in a HOST25 event by asking 25 people around for coffee, tea, drinks or even a meal and make a small charge appropriate to your event • Get sponsored to undertake a ‘25’ or silver themed challenge. • Visit one of 25 gardens that will open for Scannappeal in 2012. The names of major supporters are included on a Scannappeal plaque, permanently displayed at one of the hospitals to acknowledge the support of individuals or organisations.

Where can I find out more? Contact Scannappeal on 01494 734161, email info.scannappeal@buckshealthcare.nhs.uk or visit the website at www.scannappeal.org.uk where there are lots of fundraising ideas for individuals and organisations.

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Alexander’s Hair Surgery Spring Cleaning

Alexander Parsons

has been in the hairdressing industry for 30 years and has worked for a variety of major local salons, including hair salon manager for the “Champneys Health Resort” group for twelve of those years. During his varied career, Alexander has taken care of clients from all over the world with many different professions and lifestyles. “I think that I have just about seen or heard it all! However, from time to time, there are a few surprises!” Alexander is currently employed by Stoke Park Salon in Stoke Poges (www..stokepark. com) and his unique take on all matters hairdressing makes him very popular with his clientele.

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So, we are now into the New Year, resolutions have been made and some probably broken by now. Some of mine certainly have! Quite a few of our clients, recently, have been telling us how their hair seems to be suddenly dull and limp and, they are not sure why. Well, just when you think that there couldn’t be anything else you can detox. Surprise! It’s time to remove all that mousse, hairspray and goodness knows what styling products which have been quietly building up over the past few weeks due to all those functions that you just had to attend. Thankfully, it’s a very simple process and just takes a few minutes and, in doing this can make such a big difference. Firstly, you need a specialist shampoo. (Preferably a professional one from a salon) They will be called; Detoxifying, Purifying, Deep Cleansing, Clarifying or Chelating (Kelating). They all function in the same way by removing product build up and impurities. Basically, a steam cleaner for hair. These types of shampoos are NOT meant to be used daily, only as prescribed by a professional. (Once a fortnight if you wash your hair daily or as the first shampoo as part of a conditioning treatment regime).

Depending on how horrid your hair feels and or looks, here’s how to use one. Step 1: Wet your hair (as you would anyway) with CLEAN water. Step 2: Squirt out a blob of shampoo about the size of a 50 pence. Step 3: Work the shampoo in your hands to loosen the product. Step 4: Apply to your hair and work into a lather. If the shampoo doesn’t lather, rinse and re-apply. Repeat this until you do get a lather. Step 5: Follow with you regular shampoo, treatment and conditioner. That’ it! Simple! Sometimes, that is all that is needed, but for severe product build up, Step 1: Shampoo with the deep cleanser and rinse. Step 2: Squeeze out the excess water and lightly towel blot. Step 3: Apply the deep cleanser again and leave on your hair for 5 minutes, then rinse and continue with your regular shampoo as before. Your hair may not feel too good after this process, but that’s a good thing because you now know what the condition is REALLY like and what needs to be done about it. This procedure is ideal to do when followed by a deep conditioning treatment to improve the hair’s structure.

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Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

Christmas is now well and truly behind us and for most, by this point, our resolutions are too. The spring is nearing and it’s almost time to come out of hibernation so what better time to clear out the old and invest in the new. With most of us juggling a career and busy home life and all the demands that these bring, it’s no wonder we don’t have the time, energy or the money to whittle down the thousands of beauty products available, to separate the gimmicks from the true beauty gems. Don’t despair, I have picked out some of my favourite all time products that every woman should have in her make-up bag. To give your skin the extra boost it needs and to help your foundation look flawless and stay on longer it’s important to use a primer before applying foundation and Laura Mercier have the primer of all primers! The award winning Laura Mercier Foundation Primer £28 is a lightweight creamy gel texture that primes the skin in the same way a painter would ‘prime’ a canvas. They do a range of primers to suit different skin types and requirements. Most contain Vitamin A, C and E which act as antioxidants, protecting the skin from harmful, ageing effects of the environment. You only need to use a pea size amount so this should last you at least a couple of months if you’re using it every day. If you are like me you will have tried hundreds of different foundations in the hope that you will eventually find ‘the one’. Well this might well be it, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation £34. This is one of the favourites of many top Make-up Artists and it’s no wonder because with its exclusive Micro-fil

technology and oil free formula, it provides great coverage whilst remaining light and silky in texture. If you’re into your eyeliner then MAC Fluidline £14 is brilliant! It’s a gel formula which gives you the precision and colour depth of a liquid liner but you can achieve a much silkier and softer finish. It’s easy to use, smudge-proof and lasts well. They do a range of shades to suit your mood so you can be as bold as you like! Lip gloss is always a favourite and Vinyl Gloss by Rimmel £4.99 claims to make your lips 80% shinier and 40% curvier but what I love about these is that they don’t taste horrendous, they are not too sticky and they give amazing colour all for a very reasonable price. So no excuse not to buy one in every colour! If you’re not a fan of lip gloss or you prefer a longer lasting colour then MAC Pro Longwear Lip Colour £16 is a must. They do a large range of colours and some come with a lip gloss to finish. These really do stand the test of time! My last ‘must have’ for your make-up bag is an eye shadow blender brush. With so many new bold eye shadows hitting the shelves it’s important that you can apply a blend of colours well. To help you do this use a MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush £22. They are great quality brushes and therefore last well so this is well worth the investment. Find your look with these beauty gems! Sarah Gwozdzicki...O’naturelle beauty

MAC Pro Longwear Lip Colour ALONG THE THAMES

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The wedding dress is without a doubt the most important thing on any woman’s wedding day, after the potential husband that is. It is the wedding dress that will be talked about long after the ceremony and most importantly it is the one thing that the bride has got to get absolutely right so that she can feel great on her special day. But what about the rest of us? The Mother, the sister, the friend… We know it’s someone else’s time to shine but we want too look our best and feel good too. It is a well known fact that it’s hard to dress for someone else’s wedding. There are rules upon rules that tell us what we shouldn’t be wearing but we must not forget that the wedding day should be a joyful occasion which brings people together and celebrates a new beginning.

As the new wedding season is upon us, it is time to start thinking about shopping for your outfit. Our simple four step plan will help you get your shopping experience under way and finish it all in time for the hen party!

Research

Budget It

Make a Decision

Shop

Speak to the bride and check the wedding theme. More and more ceremonies are less formal than they used to be. You might not need that classic, bank breaking, suit.

Set yourself a realistic budget for the dress, the shoes and the accessories you will need to complete the outfit

Once you know the details of the wedding, make your mind up about what kind of look you want to go for. Make a decision and stick to it. It will save you time while looking for your outfit. The perfect one for you is out there, you just need to find it!

This is the hard part, when you actually have to go out there and find what you are looking for but, if you plan ahead, pick the right shops, (searching the internet comes in handy these days) and arm yourself with a true friend who can offer helpful, objective, advise, then you are likely to succeed.

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Blue coat/dress By Linea Raffaelli at No. 25 of Bourne End Red/Black suit by Libra at No 25 of Bourne End Black/Stone suit by Zeila at No. 25 of Bourne End . Dress up your classic shift dress with funky accessories at Swish Boutique Marlow Available at No 25 of Bourne End This stunning jersey suit from Frank Lyman will make you stand out and be comfortable throughout the day at Swish Boutique Marlow Gold /Ivory printed dress with plain gold bolero by Jaego at No. 25 of Bourne End. Experiment with fabric. This linen safari suit is perfect for a high summer wedding at Swish Boutique 30 ALONG THEMarlow THAMES

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Dressy top teamed up with a classic pencil skirt make a great alternative to a traditional suit at Swish Boutique Marlow Classic shift dress available at No 25 of Bourne End Cerise suit by Linea Raffaelli at No. 25 of Bourne End.

Mother of the Bride It is an important day for you too so you have every right to look as glamorous as the bride. Classic shift dress with matching jacket or coat is still our favourite. It is a very smart and elegant look that photographs well. If you opt for neutral colours with discrete details you are likely to wear it again. To make this look softer choose a fabulous fascinator over a hat

How to Choose A Perfect Wedding Outfit 6

An Aunt You will also be photographed a lot and as a family member you are expected to look the part so no skimping on the outfit is allowed. It is important to liaise with the other family members so you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t clash with the Mother and you look original. Scouting for unusual, one off, designs pays off as you have more chance to look different. 7

The Sister You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to steal the day so you have to work closely with the bride and make sure she is happy with your choice. And if you are given cart blanch then use it wisely and choose something appropriate. You are likely to wear a bridesmaid dress anyway! 9

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A Friend You are the lucky one as the dress code for non family members is more relaxed so you can be a real winner here. Play with colour, shape and accessories. Make your outfit fun but keep it smart and relevant. ALONG THE THAMES

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Don’t be afraid to experiment with colour Fancy fascinators make a great alternative for a traditional hat Keep your outfit modern by adding fashionable accessories Get glam for the evening reception in a maxi or cocktail dress with some statement jewellery and great heels

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Wonderful Hats from a selection at No. 25 of Bourne End Handmade Fascinators made especially for you by Sara Crozier at No.25 of Bourne End Perspex mule with silver platform ,heels and large crystal at No.25 of Bourne End Navy leather shoes with matching bag , also in cream at No.25 of Bourne End ALONG THE THAMES

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Stunning Gold leather platform shoes and bag with leather 'rose' detail at No.25 of Bourne End Perspex mule with Diamante front trim at No.25 of Bourne End Add fashionable jewellery to complete the look - Swish Boutique Marlow

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beauty salon, Ambience Beauty is the perfect solution, with an â&#x20AC;&#x153;appointment onlyâ&#x20AC;? set up, and no passers by. Gill is keen to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tailorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; her treatments to suit her clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs and offers free skin care advice and consultations. She also offers the award winning Dermalogica product range in her Facial and Body Treatments, which are available for sale at the. Gift Vouchers are also available, which make a lovely gift for family and friends. As an Aromatherapist, Gill is keen to help treat the mind and body and alleviate both physical and emotional issues you may have. Aromatherapy clients are given a complimentary consultation and then receive a tailored therapy using a personalised blend of the highest quality essential oils. A combination of lymph drainage, pressure point and traditional massage techniques are used in this truly holistic treatment. Ambience Beauty is the perfect choice for those key beauty maintenance treatments including spray tanning, waxing and manicures. A number of Valentines/ Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Pampering Packages have been put together â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the perfect gift for a loved one â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or just the perfect treat to fight off the Winter Blues! Visit www.ambiencebeautyofmarlow.com for details of all the Treatments or call Gill Stone on 01628 486588.

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C’est Bon, Le Pre-Nup Although pre-nuptial agreements are persuasive rather than binding in the British courts, a recent ruling of the High Court on a French ‘pre-nup’ illustrates clearly the current approach of the courts. It involved a very wealthy French couple who married in France in 1994, having entered into a pre-nuptial agreement. They moved to London in 2007, at which time they were already discussing separation. They separated in February 2008 and informed their children the following July. The wife then commenced divorce proceedings in the UK. The couple’s decree nisi was granted in 2010, but has not yet been made absolute. The husband contested the commencement of divorce proceedings in the UK, arguing, unsuccessfully, that the divorce should be conducted under French law. Unusually, the value of the family assets was not in dispute, so when the financial settlement came to be dealt with, it was only the split of the assets that needed to be decided. The family assets amounted to approximately £15 million. The wife claimed that their assets should be shared equally, with a maintenance agreement for £40,000 per year for each of their children. The husband argued that the assets should be split according to the terms of the pre-nuptial agreement, with a smaller maintenance payment. The court ruled that the pre-nuptial agreement should bear weight and that the assets should be divided so as to give the wife a fund sufficient to provide maintenance of £100,000 per annum for life (£2.2 million), together with the assets she had introduced to the marriage and an additional sum (mainly for the purchase of a suitable property) of approximately £4 million.

Lotto win not part of the Family Assets A court ruling that a spouse’s lottery winnings were not ‘matrimonial property’ were not subject to the usual rule of equal division between the spouses when the marriage broke up received much publicity recently. The normal rule on divorce is that matrimonial property (assets built up during the marriage) is to be divided equally on divorce. Non-matrimonial property (normally assets brought into the marriage or inherited by one party during the marriage) is not subject to the equality principle. Although this case has been seized upon by some commentators to mean that if you win the lotto you can part from your spouse or civil partner and be sure of retaining your winnings, the reality is not so clear-cut. The case was decided by Mr Justice Mostyn. Neither party was legally represented, neither spoke English and the precedent case law stemmed from Australia. In 1999, the wife and a friend won £1 million in a lottery and this they divided equally. She apparently did not tell her husband about her good fortune, but did use the money to buy them a house. The couple’s marriage appears to have been in difficulty for some years before divorce proceedings were commenced, and they were divorced in 2006. The court hearing was to determine the financial settlement between them. Both have low-paying jobs and the husband is nearing retirement. On the basis of needs, the judge ordered the wife to pay her ex-husband £85,000. The facts in this case were highly unusual and it may well be that a different conclusion would be reached in different circumstances.

Contact Karen Newman for advice on any family law matter. 34

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Te m p l e G o l f C l u b Henley Road, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LH Membership options include: • Full and Weekday • Flexible 10 • Associate (preferred green fees with membership benefits) • Corporate • Intermediate (Ages 25 - 29) • Colt (19 - 24) • Junior (14 - 18) • Junior (10 - 14) • Starter Membership • Forces

Built on chalk Temple is an excellent autumn and winter golf venue with play to main greens in all but the very worst of ground conditions. Excellent value for money packages are available from now until 31st March but please book early to avoid disappointment especially for dates towards the end of March. With prices starting from as little as £30, you cannot afford not to visit Temple during the Winter season. For more details about membership, group packages or to book a round of golf, please contact us. T: 01628 824795 F: 01628 828119 E: enquiries@templegolfclub.co.uk W: www.templegolfclub.co.uk

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What is Jazzercise Burn up to 600 calories in one fun and powerfully effective 60-minute total body workout. Every Jazzercise group fitness class combines dance-based cardio with strength training and stretching to sculpt, tone and lengthen muscles for maximum fat burn. Choreographed to today’s hottest music, Jazzercise is a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing. Start dancing yourself fit and change the shape of your body today! What to expect of a Jazzercise Fitness class Each Jazzercise class is approximately 60 minutes in duration and is comprised of these components: • A warm-up segment of gentle rhythmic movements and jazz isolations for individual muscle groups. • An aerobic segment to increase cardiovascular fitness and burn extra calories. • An aerobic cool-down and stretching segment to allow the heart rate to begin to return to a normal rate. • A muscle-toning segment to concentrate on strengthening, then stretching the hips, thighs, derriere, abdomen, and upper torso. • A final cool-down to allow the heart rate to gradually return to normal. You will leave feeling relaxed, refreshed, and revitalized! Wear whatever is comfortable to you, allowing for freedom of movement (such as shorts and t-shirts or leotards). We recommend good aerobic shoes for support, to absorb shock and to prevent injury.

We Welcome All Fitness Levels! Established in 1969, Jazzercise is the nationally recognised leader in the aerobic fitness industry. We have developed a unique and long standing professional reputation which has set the standard for virtually every other aerobic dance program offered today. What sets Jazzercise apart substantially from many other programs is our unique commitment to customer care. Our fun, safe and effective class presentation motivates and cultivates exercise adherence and a loyal customer base comprised of all ages and fitness levels Our instructors are selected through a rigorous training program and maintain current CPR certifications. In addition, Jazzercise instructors are committed to an absolutely firstrate fitness experience for our customers and are required to use microphones and the best professional sound equipment. These attributes, along with our constantly evolving programs and cutting-edge classes combining the latest trends in fitness (kickboxing, pilates, and yoga) make Jazzercise a sought-after program by recreation specialists throughout the world. For your nearest class visit www.jazzmaidenhead.co.uk

What is the alternative? Alternative health is often understood as a way of life, or is it really? After the last edition of Along the Thames where I gave tips for the party season, I had some interesting questions regarding how to embark on a detox regime, how to supplement diets, or even how one could boost one’s immunity for the forthcoming harsh winter months. As a homeopath working according to Hahnemann’s holistic approach, the subsequent answers are all interlinked and could indeed cover the whole cycle of what is understood in modern medicine as “Being Healthy”. We have all heard, and often had first hand experience with, the old adage: “You are What You eat”. So is a drastic no carb, sugar free, low fat, calorie obsessed, no-sanswithout-nada punishing diet healthy? Well, if we are to go by recently published research, although fast weight loss can be achieved, the strain this causes on our body and on specific organs such as the kidneys or the heart can only leave us wondering, as Dr. R. Eckel from the American Heart Association highlighted in his work. Detoxing has been used as alternative medicine 36

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since Greek time with the idea of autointoxication and it is now commonly accepted that the body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile. Embarking on unproved detox diet could seriously disrupt such systems, which could well do more harm than good. On these premises, using our natural resources to enhance organ function with homeopathic remedies is a much more sensible approach. To name a few, Taraxacum could be a great pick me up for a dysfunctional liver and Dr. Schussler* tissue Salts can be of help to assist with the absorbability of vital salts and minerals. A course of vitamins can also work wonders although the world of food supplements is a minefield. My preference lies with wholesome, food-state products such as the Vit C available through the brilliant range Cytoplan. Now, the beauty of working with our body’s natural resources, as opposed to starving it from what it is believed to be the enemy, is that the benefits assessed

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in the consultancy room are multi levelled: mood, energy and even sleep pattern are affected. Your treatment plan should be individual, personally tailored by a qualified therapist, nevertheless simple steps can be taken at home. Drinking more fluid is a good catalyst to relieve the symptoms of water retention as the body will release more stored water if given it more abundantly. This natural phenomenon illustrates beautifully the homoepathic principle of treating like with like. So alternative health can indeed be a way of life and as final au revoir to the fad diets, I highly recommend famous alternative health therapist Susan Clark’s cook book “Vitality*”, a favourite in my household! Sophie Ward ‘ The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or constitute medical advice. If you are in any doubts or you have been diagnosed with a medical condition, always seek the advice of your medical practitioner. * The Twelve Tissue remedies of Schussler – Boericke & Dewey

* Vitality – Susan Clark

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The Deluded Dieter!

Sally’s Smalltalk 38

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Happy New Year! As I write this I am surrounded by a mass of diet books and slimming magazines along with recipe books and body mass index charts and pondering how many of you lovely people have vowed to make this year the year to lose weight, get fit or do something amazing. I have a big birthday looming this year and so for me the time has come to finally shift that couple of stone that have crept on over the last few years. I have joined the inevitable diet class once again and start on my very familiar journey that I appear to be destined to travel on, for what seems to be, the rest of my life. Sound familiar? If I am truthful I think the reason I struggle with the whole diet thing is that quite frankly I am deluded and I am fairly certain I am not alone! Here are a few things I have learnt through trial and mostly error. How many do you recognise? If when getting weighed for the first time I wear heavy clothes and fill my pockets with stones (children’s marbles are a good substitute). I am only cheating myself I know, but boy you should see the look on everyone’s faces when I’ve have lost a stone in my first week at fat fighters! It’s not big and it’s not funny, don’t do it. Holding my breath whist standing on the scales does not make me weigh any less, but I still do it. I can’t help it. Every week I stand there like a statue too scared to breathe less the scales miraculously tip out of favour. Sprinkling charcoal on my food does not get rid of the bad stuff from the food. The only way this might help my efforts is that it tastes so gross I don’t want to eat it. In fact I rather thought that burnt toast, which is as good as charcoal, was considered a cure for flatulence? I could be wrong. Chewing celery or other certain vegetables does not burn more calories than are contained within the food. But it may perhaps provide exercise for the jaw, although personally I find incessant talking takes care of this quite adequately. I am kidding myself when I get up in the night to go for a wee that this will mean I will have lost weight in the morning. Eating cake that I haven’t had to pay for does not mean it is also free from calories. And it’s no good eating it at warp speed; the calories do not reduce if you eat it quicker. Wine, sadly cannot be counted as part of my 5 a day. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, trust me I have

investigated this fully….several times. Pizza initially looks to be a good balance of all food groups with carbohydrates in the base, tomato paste, tomatoes and peppers providing the vegetables, pepperoni, chicken and spicy beef, not to mention lashings of cheese, cover the protein aspect. However on reflection I am pretty sure I don’t know anyone who has lost weight on a diet of pizza! Having said that I am willing to give it a go, just to prove a point of course. Shopping does not constitute as exercise! This is something I am well practiced at believe you me. It doesn’t matter how much I buy, I am still never out of breath, even though I purchase enough to single handily haul our country out of recession. I might add here that these are great excuses to give the husband when trying to shuffle all your bags of retail therapy through the front door unseen. You are quite obviously exercising in order to become more fit and healthy or you are doing your bit for the economy. Both at the same time to be frank near on deserves some sort of reward. Cake perhaps? Be sure not to use these excuses too often…. my husband has started to become suspicious. It may have something to do with the fact that I am neither getting any slimmer or fitter and the country still seems to be in a spot of bother. I aim to be good 80 per cent of the time and let the halo slip 20 per cent of the time. Sadly maths was never my strong point and I rather suspect I have this the wrong way round most of the time. Buying clothes a size smaller in the hope that I will slim into them is simply a pure waste of money. Just doesn’t happen, trust me. I bought a pair of size 10 jeans 3 years ago. I still can’t even get one leg in them so they ended up on eBay for £30 less than I paid for them. When following the caveman diet I need to understand that rock cakes are not an acceptable food source no matter how convincing it sounds, and that I should not question whether scientists are absolutely definitely sure that cavemen did not eat biscuits, drink coke or frequent fast food restaurants. So the time has come to be little bit more realistic and stop trying to kid myself. How about you? Are you a sensible slimmer or a deluded dieter like me? :o) If you would like to share your ideas with Sally, please contact us at and we will pass on all comments: office@AlongTheThames.co.uk

GET YOUR SEXY BACK! We all have areas of our body that need a little toning and the It Works Ultimate Body Applicator could be the solution. The Ultimate Body Applicator has recently arrived from the USA where it is hugely successful. Featured in the celebrity gift bags at the Oscar and Emmy Awards, the applicator is as close to magic as it gets! Made from a non-woven cloth wrap, infused with powerful, botanically based formula, it helps detoxify, tighten, tone and firm in a manner that produces lasting results without water loss. The applicators can be worn on the legs, arms, stomach, neck or anywhere you need to tone, hydrate and smooth for a more youthful look. They can also reduce the appearance of cellulite and improve elasticity. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect for anyone who has lost weight and wants to tone and tighten their skin, ideal for mums

who are keen to tone their tummies. Each applicator can easily be applied at home, with no mess and left in place for a minimum of 45 minutes and can remain on for up to 8 hours. Results are progressive as the product continues to work for 72 hours. To find out more, visit www.juliehoff.itworks.net or book an appointment for a Body Wrap at Curves Fitness for Women. As is true with any weight loss or body slimming product, you can reverse the results you see from the Ultimate Body Applicator with poor eating habits and lack of exercise so in order to help you get the most out of your Wrap, we are offering the first ten callers a Body Wrap AND one month trial at Curves for just ÂŁ45. Phone now on 01628 789300 to get your sexy back!

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Devon Cornwall and

St.Eustachius Church, Tavistock

Birch Tor, Devon ALONG THE THAMES

With another tough financial year ahead for many in the UK, planning a holiday may be at the back or forefront of your mind depending on your personality. Whether you are dreaming of escape or trying to scoop a summer holiday bargain the ‘staycation’ looks set to remain popular in 2012, especially if the balmy weather remains. Devon and Cornwall have long been a favourite location for family holidays, and there are a wide variety of places to stay depending on your budget and preferences. Self-catering holidays are often popular with families with young children and there are plenty of hotels, B&B’s, and guest houses to choose from. Cornwall caravan parks or perhaps a campsite in Devon may also fit the bill. Whichever county you choose you will be met with some of the most welcoming people and experience some truly beautiful countryside not to mention the wonderful beaches. Is it any wonder that the city dweller makes their way to Devon and Cornwall each and every year? The iconic beauty of Dartmoor in Devon will be a must see destination in 2012 for fans of the Michael Morpurgo classic “War Horse“ which has recently been released as a movie by Steven Spielberg. Dartmoor has long been famous for its wild beauty and windswept moors and it is popular with walkers, riders and nature lovers, who seek out the tranquillity and natural beauty of its wilderness, see www. visitdevon.co.uk and www.dartmoor.

co.uk for more information. The Two Bridges Hotel offers luxurious accommodation, including four-poster beds, roaring log fires and award winning food which can all be enjoyed with wonderful views over Dartmoor. It is an ideal base from where to start one of the many glorious walks across Dartmoor which will take you to iconic beauty spots such as Haytor. For more details of the range of short walks across Dartmoor please visit: http://www.dartmoor.co.uk/ what-to-do/dartmoor-walking. Other luxury hotels on Dartmoor include Gidleigh Park, where you can eat like a Hollywood star at the 2 Michelin starred restaurant run by one of the UK’s most renowned chefs, Michael Caines; www.gidleigh.com . Or why not try the favourite Devon luxury retreat for celebrities and enjoy the glamour and splendour of one of England’s most spectacular country house hotels, Bovey Castle www.boveycastle.com . Spielberg and some of his crew opted for Browns Hotel in Tavistock, a lovingly restored 17th century coaching inn which combines old English charm and character with log fires, beams and chic contemporary boutique design. The director and his family dined in style at the hotel’s award winning restaurant; www.brownsdevon. What better way to discover the delights of Dartmoor than by being on horseback and Shilstone Rocks Stud and Riding Centre at Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a must do. The stables specialise in breeding the famous Dartmoor

beautiful places to “staycate” in 2012 ponies and some of the ponies feature in the War Horse film alongside staff who acted as extras on the movie. Dartmoor ponies are especially suitable for children so the whole family can enjoy the experience of trekking over the inspiring countryside of Dartmoor. www. dartmoorstables.com/index.htm. For those wishing to stay at an authentic Dartmoor farm there is a wide range of accommodation available from five star luxury to more cosy self-catering cottages and caravan parks for those on a more modest budget. For a full range of Dartmoor accommodation please visit: www.dartmoor.co.uk. The Cornish coast boasts some of the most breath taking scenery in the UK, and the pace of its lifestyle lends itself beautifully to the most peaceful spots in the UK, but of course if a faster pace is what you are looking for you will not be disappointed as there are so many outdoor pursuits that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Cornwall is well-known for its coastline and surfing, but there are also castle ruins, stately homes and gardens, as well as fun parks for those who have had enough of sight-seeing. Holidaymakers can enjoy Cornwall’s wide range of accommodation options, but for those who relish a caravan holiday, you can enjoy and experience the natural scenery of many of the campsites in Cornwall which are peppered all over the county. If you choose to seek out Cornwall’s many pleasures it is a great base to tour around the county

and visit a huge amount of places of interest, you may choose The Eden Project, which is a collection of massive glass Bio-domes that have varying ecological interests in. It is worthwhile visiting the website in advance of your trip as throughout the year The Eden Project play host to a range of activities many of which are popular with children, plus there is a 15% discount if you book in advance go to www. edenproject.com . Or whilst in Cornwall you may want to put in a bit of surfing, or check out the many art and craft shops around this area, walking, cycling, fishing is all to be experienced, the perfect holiday is simply ‘horses for courses’, so just get on and plan ahead. The Internet is a great place to start visit www.cornwall.com to check out locations, amenities and activities in the area furthermore make sure you are getting value for money; a caravan holiday is certainly up there when it comes to what you get for your money. A spokesman for Wooda Farm Holiday Park in Cornwall said “our park is set in forty acres of parkland, and have our own fishing lake, there is plenty of space for children to run around and play safely, and our accommodation is second to none, you can enjoy an exciting, invigorating, stimulating, and totally intoxicating experience”. For further information visit: www.wooda.co.uk or you can check them out on Facebook to see what other campers have enjoyed during their recent visits. Harriet Subramanian

Lizard Peinsula, Cornish Coast

Harbour, Cornwall 41

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Horoscopes NAVIGATE YOUR WAY THROUGH THE COSMIC TIDES OF 2012

Would you like to know how you can get in touch with your personal power and be the very best version of yourself in 2012? I can help you to discover your purpose, achieve personal transformation and work towards achieving your dreams. I am also a trained life coach and a practitioner of Bach flower essence therapy and I offer a full motivational and transformational coaching programme. By using cosmic awareness you can plan your year ahead by tuning into productive planetary cycles. You can also gain the clarity and insight needed for optimal abundance and success. Overcome your fears and anxiety and replace them with assertiveness and self-confidence. Consultations are available in person, on the telephone or Skype. Gift vouchers are also available. Please contact me for more

Christine Chalklin

Inspirational Astrologer, Life Coach and Business Consultant, www.RestyleYourLife.co.uk christine@RestyleYourLife.co.uk

Telephone: 07813 483549

Aries

Gemini May 22 - June 22

Neptune reaches the highest point in your chart and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel like reaching for the stars! Your intention to merge love and beauty into your goals ensures that your faith will be rewarded. After the 14th Mercury enters Pisces and new ways of inspired communication develop. The full moon on the 8th illuminates the domestic area of your chart and challenges you to really think about your living arrangements. Mars in productive Virgo continues to fire you up to make positive changes and your endless enthusiasm ensures a successful outcome

Cancer June 23 - July 23

Neptune has arrived at a pivotal position in your chart; you will start to focus on how to expand your influence in the world. Wherever you travel now could begin to feel like home. The new moon in Pisces on the 21st brings a new start to projects aimed at further education. The new moon in pioneering Aries on the 22nd, challenges you to take another look at your professional life. Are you really getting what you want and do you feel appreciated? Communicative Mercury, retrograde after the 12th, brings innovative and inspiring ideas to the surface

Leo

March 21 - April 20

July 24 - August 23

Venus, the Goddess of love and beauty moves into your sign on the 8th. Your Passions and desires will now come to the forefront and demand that you take action. Neptune, now in a prominent position, ensures that you begin to direct your attention to more intuitive sources and follow your dreams. Your ruler, energetic Mars, is in retrograde motion all month and may bring a halt to certain projects. This may seem like a hindrance, but in truth you probably need to double check your plans. Mid month brings a spectacular alignment with transformational Pluto and new ideas are revealed..

Planetary forces combine all month to improve your finances and your career standing. Mars continues to work hard in Virgo and your well thought out strategies should pay off this month. The full moon in your sign on the 7th could bring some major surprises, be ready for action. A spectacular alignment of Venus and Jupiter on the 14th could illuminate some interesting developments in your professional life. With transformational Pluto and Mars also joining in, this is a great time to strengthen your reputation and make important and advantageous connections.

Taurus

Virgo

April 21 - May 21

August 24 - September 23

Neptune illuminates the social area of your chart. With Venus also there until the 8th you might seek new alliances with organisations based on your newfound spiritual interests. Many new people may now enter your life and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see that they will help lead you back to yourself. Venus, the goddess of love and your planetary ruler, moves into your sign on the 5th. Are you ready for a new romance, or just some quality time to concentrate on yourself and bring new pleasures into your life? The 14th could bring amorous surprises as Venus aligns positively with Mars.

Your work place could be a source of intense scrutiny this month. Try to stay under the radar and keep your focus. Communicative Mercury moves into Pisces on the 14th. This could bring some misunderstandings or confusion, but staying connected to your intuition brings results. Mars is retrograde in your sign all month supplying you with added energy to refocus and re-establish your personal goals. This is a fantastic time to identify your strengths and to take positive action to rectify situations that may have previously felt frustrating or repressive.

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Libra

September 24 - October 23

YThe Sun and communicative Mercury are travelling through a pivotal spot in your chart. Creative business projects can be furthered and because you will do well in negotiation, you should aim high and get the best deal. Neptune now urges you to listen to your inner voice. This could turn out to an amazingly lucky month for Librans. Bountiful Venus and expansive Jupiter are cuddling up in the financial area of your chart. Optimism and enthusiasm should be at their peak and any innovative projects started now could turn out to be very successful

THE COSMOS

Scorpio

October 24 - November 22

Mighty and benevolent Jupiter is forging ahead through your opposite sign of Taurus. Relationships come to the forefront and you may need to check that your needs are being met. You need emotional balance and an inner feeling of peace and you’ll be determined to get it. Expansive Jupiter and bountiful Venus are in your opposite sign of Taurus, bringing up your innermost feelings and desires. Refocusing and review become necessary now. It’s time to re-examine how you have been handling your assertiveness in relationships and with family

DURING FEBRUARY

Neptune, the planet of mystery and illusion leaves Aquarius on the 4th and “comes home” to its own sign of compassionate Pisces. This will be a 14 year stay and takes us up to 2026. Neptune is the God of the seas, and just like water, can be difficult to pin down. Pisces is also associated with the vastness of the sea and big questions around the world’s water and resources will arise. Neptune also rules spirituality and deep understanding, and during this time we could all find ways to channel our sensitivities to the greater good of all. Spiritual ideas and new forms of healing will affirm their validity and become more a part of everyday life. Venus, the love planet is in amorous Aries on Valentine’s Day, it should be especially passionate and romantic this year!

DURING

MARCH:

We are heading towards longer and warmer days, and with the spring equinox on Tuesday the 20th and a powerful new moon in Aries on the 22nd there is renewed strength and vitality available for all. Enjoyment and prosperity are also emphasised as benevolent Jupiter and harmonious Venus are both in sensual Taurus. Reconnecting with love, art, music and all things beautiful should be a priority to lift your sprits and help to access your potential. Impatience may cause concern as communicative Mercury marches through Aries, but this will all slow down as the retrograde motion begins on the 12th. It is always wise to look before you leap with Mercury retrograde, and don’t forget to check all communications and travel plans as the trickster always likes a laugh at our expense! . Swim with the cosmic tides rather than against them!

Sagittarius

Aquarius

Mystery planet Neptune touches the deepest sector of your chart this month. Although you might feel confused to start with, the more you touch base with your inner wisdom you’ll see that things can only get better. The new moon on the 21st brings surprises on the home front, stay flexible and enjoy. Sagittarians feel a wave of new energy at the start of this month. Three planets activate the most creative and fun loving part of your chart. Your popularity is on an upward trend and others will find you particularly attractive and friendly. Spread the joy and have a ball!

Neptune leaves your sign on the 3rd after a long 14 year stay. Clarity and insight return in abundance as you now focus on your new goals. Intuitive Neptune has taught you many things and with new values and a renewed sense of self you are ready to carve out a brilliant plan of action. All things around communication and learning are illuminated during March. Your ruler, the maverick planet Uranus, demands innovative and creative thinking on all levels. You’ll enjoy the challenge of tackling a variety of new subjects and making brilliant new connections.

November 23 - December 22

Capricorn December 23 - January 19

Finding new ways of communicating are your main focus this month. Neptune and Venus, both in sensitive and compassionate Pisces, bring an entirely new slant to the way that you get things done. Mars is busy working at broadening your horizons, exciting times ahead if you go with the flow. Three planets in the domestic sector of your chart herald a busy start to the month. Many issues concerning you home and family could come to head now. Stern Saturn, your ruling planet, is in Libra and helps you to find a more balanced way of coping with any difficulties.

January 20 - February 19

Pisces

February 20 - March 20

Neptune has come home and will be in your sign for the next 14 years. Neptune often dissolves all that it touches and this is the time to dispose of things in your life that you no longer appreciate or value. Mercury also enters Pisces on the 14th and you’ll find that you want more love and beauty than ever before. Expansive Jupiter and the love planet Venus light up a pivotal sector of your chart. During this cycle there should be a powerful mental connection with your creative self-expression. You should be very proud of your ideas and have no trouble expressing them smoothly. ALONG THE THAMES

The Three R’s:Recycle, Restore, Revamp Waste’ is a term that could be applied to discarded furniture found in skips and roadsides up and down the country. One social enterprise is working hard not only to transform these unwanted items in to desirable design conscious ‘must haves’, but also helping disadvantaged youth gain life and work skills. Out of the Dark, based in High Wycombe, Bucks, recycles, restores and revamps antique/retro furniture as a means to train, educate and employ young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Out of the Dark is the brainchild of Jay and Jade Blades, who are also the founders of an award winning youth charity Street Dreams. The social enterprise, while only been operating for 18 months, has already been recognised as a creative inititiave that can make a positive impact on the environment, society and eco friendly design. Jade says, ‘We are really proud of what we have achieved in the short period we have been going; our great team of 20 young people are now even taking on interior design jobs, and coming up with fresh ideas on how to use old unwanted items.’

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Travis, who has been involved since the start, has been learning all sorts of skills and has been also taking part in design seminars delivered by local designers. ‘I love creating something beautiful out of nothing’ he says, and adds that all that he has experienced at Out of the Dark has made him more confident about his own future and what he can achieve. Young people come are given an opportunity on this project if they have already taken part in the charity’s intensive self development programme. ‘We need young people to prove to us they are committed, and reliable, because this is a business and we have to uphold a quality of service and finish’ says co founder Jay, who comes from a similar background to the young people he trains. Apart from a series of events and workshops happening at their workshop, Out of the Dark will be showcasing their unique pieces at national events such as Hemingway’s Vintage Festival and The London Design Festival. Their next local event is being held in the Marlow Christ Church Hall, 3-10 March 2012; please see the website for further information: www.outofthedark.org.uk

RECYCLE

RESTORE

REVAMP

Performance Coaching in business. These days, you can get a Coach for almost every aspect of your life. You can have an Executive Coach, a Life Coach, or a Financial and Wealth Coach. You can seek out a Career Coach, Conflict Coach, or Sports Coach to help you. Then there are Educational Coaches, Style and Image Coaches and even Dating Coaches. So what is a “Performance Coach”? Should you have one? How do you decide? What would be the impact on your business results? Is it an investment worth considering in these tough times? Performance Coaching is the use of coaching in the business context, focused on the bottom-line impact. It is about Performance, Learning and Enjoyment. As we talk to other business people, we hear about coaching being used by organisations for a range of explicit or implied reasons. It may be that a company is down-sizing and uses Coaches to help their employees get through a potential or actual redundancy process. Perhaps a poorly-performing individual or team is offered a Coach to improve their performance, or a “high-flier” works with a Coach to help them to fly higher more quickly. Maybe the CEO employs a Coach to help him or her work through the strategic options for the business, possibly to act as a sounding board. Performance Coaching is unlocking the potential of people to maximise their own performance. It is more about the person being coached, about enabling them to achieve more, with more confidence and creativity, and with more self-direction. The key is that Performance Coaching is about the future potential of the coachee, not the past or present performance. A good

Performance Coach will use a range of tools and techniques to help those being coached to develop more awareness, responsibility and self-belief. Coaching has evolved over time and is still evolving. The origins can be traced back to several sources: sports coaching and sports psychology, psychology, sociology, therapeutic and counselling disciplines, organisation development and management theory. Each of the sources has influenced the development of certain tools, models and perspectives that can be used by a Performance Coach to address specific challenges and to devise innovative ways of helping those they coach to develop more awareness, responsibility and self-belief. A recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reported that over 80% of organisations using coaching used line managers as the coaches, and over 60% used external coaches. When asked about the effectiveness of this coaching, over 80% reported line manager coaching as “effective” or “very effective”, while more than 90% judged external

coaching to be effective using the same criteria. Coaching by line managers is widespread, but external coaching is being proved to be more effective. Research shows that good Performance Coaching gives people feedback on both their strengths and weaknesses, supports changes in attitudes and behaviour that can lead to more effective performance, and enables them to refocus and take a critical look at their approaches and style at work. It helps to promote individual selfawareness and self-direction, helping people to identify barriers that are preventing them from being more effective in their jobs. Importantly, it helps people commit to new performance goals and creates individual responsibility for performance and development. There are many studies showing the progressive people management practices lead to significantly improved bottom-line business results. In the next article, we will look at how to maximise the chances of success when using Performance Coaching. Philip Walker ALONG THE THAMES

You Tube and Twitter Last issue ended with “the Plan”, and why are we doing social media. Hopefully I put forward a good case for a plan and also the financial implications and time element. There are various forms of social media, some I have never used and I am sure there are some that I have never heard of, so I shall concentrate on the four core ones to start with. Facebook, You Tube, Twitter & LinkedIn are the ones most used currently and dependent on which sector you are in as to which one is best suited to you and your business. You Tube is now the second biggest search engine behind Google and is growing fast, so if you have a message and want it to be found then here is a good place to start. We have all seen these Viral Video funnies but there are also a lot of good business ones out there as well, so it is worth spending some time

searching You Tube for business subjects and looking at the results. The good thing is that you do not need to spend hundreds or thousands on a video, because it is accepted on You Tube that “homemade” is acceptable, but I would invest in a dedicated HD recorder and a decent Microphone, both of which will cost less than £100 each new, if you plan on doing regular videos. The difference in quality and the fact people can hear your message, are worth the money. Twitter is the other one of the four that can be used regardless if you are B2C or B2B and is the quickest by far. The ability to use those 140 characters to get a message out and from where ever you are is powerful if you use it correctly. This is where twitter can be seen as of little use and irritating as many people tweet all manner of rubbish, that

n t e o p e er S h f t if D e

p er sw

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is of no interest to anyone. My suggestion is to consider why you want to use Twitter and stick to it. Personally I use it to send out inspirational quotes and to inform people of upcoming events etc. make it useful to the person who may see it, would what you send be of interest to you if you were looking for a business like yours. Send tips and information about your industry so you attract the right kind of followers. So we have now planned and began to understand the financials and have looked at the 2 types above that can be adopted by any business, so next time it is Facebook for B2C (mainly) and LinkedIn for B2B. In the meantime dip your toes in this social media world, the costs are low but if done well the rewards are high Tony Silver

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A new year.. a new you The new year for many marks the time when thousands all over the country embark on resolutions to lose weight and get fit. However, an unlikely secret weapon is helping many to lose weight and get fit quicker, according to recent scientific research. Forget expensive gym memberships, pills, potions or yet another new “miracle” diet; canine behaviour specialist Jez Rose reveals that a dog may well be a dieters best friend. A study by Michigan State University in the USA showed that dog owners are fitter than people who do not have a dog because of the amount of walking they do. The study found that walkers who regularly exercise their dogs are 34% more likely to hit the recommended exercise target of at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week and therefore, lose weight faster. This is good news not just for humans needing to lose weight but for dogs, as canine obesity is on the rise, too. It would appear that there is some truth in the old adage that a dog looks like its owner as there appears to be a correlation in canine and owner weight gain.

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Professor David Leslie, an expert in diabetes at Barts and the London Hospital says: “People are more likely to over-feed their pet if they are overfeeding themselves. Likewise putting your pet on a diet could be a solid incentive to lose weight yourself”. The One Show’s resident vet, Joe Inglis, agrees: “Dogs are without doubt the best personal trainers in the world – there is nothing quite as persuasive as a dog standing by the door and holding his lead expectantly to get you out of the door for a walk or run! Obesity is a major issue in dogs as well as people so the shared benefits of long dog walks can work wonders for the long-term health and wellbeing of both you and your dog.” Depending on age and breed, dogs need an average of one hours exercise per day. If you don’t have a dog of your own, many dog owners would be delighted for their dog to receive further exercise so you could borrow theirs. Here’s how to lose weight by having fun training your dog at the same time: Go jogging with your dog, perhaps carrying a small weight in each hand, varying the speed of your jog by slowing down and then speeding up and occasionally

stopping to jog on the spot as you have your dog sit or perform a trick you have taught them – the more you stop and train your dog when out, the quicker they learn and varying your speed maintains their focus on you.. When you get to a safe open space, many dogs love to play chase games as it triggers natural hunting instincts or place a toy on the floor, jogging some distance away from it and then let the dog off its’ lead and race it to the toy. If you want to use the opportunity to brush up on your dog’s training then Dog Trainer Pro is a free app for iPhone available in the appstore, with simple to follow plans to train your dog; perfect for when out and about. It appears that the most effective way to lose weight is indeed the simplest: eat less and move more. Walking or going for a run with a dog is the perfect excuse to move more and has to be more fun than just eating broccoli for a month, surely?

For more information on dog training and behaviour www.JezRose.co.uk

2012 - A healthier Pack As we settle in to a mild new year, many of us will have promised a healthier eating and fitness plan for 2012 – one of the best ways to stick to this promised venture, is to bring the family dog with us – or rather, the best personal trainer you can have in 2012, 2013, 2014…… you get the picture! At The Real Dog Company our ethos is all about a joint natural, healthy lifestyle and this extends to eating, walking, and let us not forget , jogging, running and general exercise with your dog. Any owner and dog can enjoy a real bonding session through running, by motivating each other to run along your favourite path or field. No matter what the weather, your trusted personal training partner will always be ready to go, tails a-wagging to a healthier you in 2012! When running with your dog we have a few top tips: Please ensure that your dog is safe! A dog harness for running is essential if you would like your dog to be safe, controlled and comfortably attached to you. Think of huskies in a nice cosy harness rather than you pulling a dog along by a lead or a traditional control or “stop” harness - you want to make it safe, fun and enjoyable for you and your dog! Always ensure you have water along your route (like a good river drinking spot and that is not the pub!) or water to hand with you for both you and your dog. Please ensure you are safe! You can attach “hands free” to your dog with your own running

harness. This allows you to have freedom for running, safe in the knowledge that your dog is under full control, in sight and not dashing around you for rabbits or other dogs! Carry essentials as you would on a walk, such as bags for your dog’s toilet. Ensure that you build up in time, distance and frequency for you and your dog. Do not over train yourself or your dog! It is more fun for both of you to find a towpath or field “Along the Thames” than a busy

pavement and road – we live in a fantastic area – let’s get out into our countryside and enjoy it! The most important thing for both of you is to HAVE FUN! Encourage your dog to run with you, this will encourage you to run with your dog and keep you both motivated. Keep communicating and enjoy some wild running together outdoors. If you have any questions with regard to starting to run with your dog – please do give us a call or join one of regular group runs in Cookham!

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This year’s Tokyo Motor Show was dominated by green technologies and wacky concepts – but among the madness there were some important model launches. The show isn’t one of the biggest. Spread over four halls you can get around it easily in a day – unlike the blisterinducing mass of motors that is Europe’s biggest show in Frankfurt, Germany. However, as the Japanese makers’ home event, it is absolutely packed with innovation. I spent two days scouring the halls and soaking up the culture, but eventually these five emerged as my picks of the show.

Toyota GT 86 It’s about time Toyota got interesting again and the GT 86 certainly floats our boat. Rumoured to cost around £28,000 when it goes on sale in the UK, the rear-wheel drive car features a 2.0-litre 197bhp unit and will hit 60mph in seven seconds. It certainly looked good on the stand and was a welcome break from the green concepts doing the rounds everywhere else.

Subaru BRZ Subaru has been having a hard time of it in the UK of late, so the BRZ comes as a much-needed breath of fresh air. Jointly developed with Toyota, it’s the sister car to the GT 86, and in the company’s famous corporate blue it looked fantastic. The BRZ has slightly different body panels and interior to the Toyota. Just don’t mention the new, and very bland, Impreza also on display on the stand...

Nissan Juke Nismo The Juke has been crying out for a real sporty model and it looks like Nissan may finally answer our prayers thanks to its tuning arm Nismo. This is the first car that’s been given the Nismo treatment and although currently billed as a “concept” it’s highly likely we’ll see it on our roads soon. Exterior and interior tweaks will be matched with a breathed-on powerplant.

Mercedes F 125! We’re not big fans of concepts that don’t mean anything, but Mercedes was quick to point out the F 125! showcases the future design direction of the next S-Class. The concept featured fuel cell technology which would give it a range of 1,000km, a lightweight body construction, gullwing doors and a cloud-based infotainment system. But ignore all that, it’s the looks that are most likely to shape future luxury barges from the firm.

Hino eZ Cargo Tucked away in the corner of the truck section of the show was this fantastic delivery van. Not only does it look superb, but it showcases EV technology and a clean uncluttered design that would make Apple proud. A spokesman for Hino told us it has a range of 50kms, can charge in six hours and hit 70kph. Trials will take place next year before a decision is made whether to put it into production. We just hope the looks are carried over – it certainly beats a boring Transit.

By James Baggott, - editor of Car Dealer Magazine (CarDealerMag.co.uk) 50

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PEPPER

Policing matters Shed loads of opportunity Many of us have sheds or outhouses on our property but have you ever considered the value of what is in yours. By the time you add up the cost of a new lawn mower, leaf blower and all of the other tools in there it often comes to a substantial amount. Now consider what security you have on your shed. I have no doubt that with many of you it will be little more than a bolt and with some of you less than that. I would urge you all to consider getting a shed alarm fitted. They are readily available from most DIY outlets or garden centres and go a long way towards protecting your property. There is an even more important reason for securing your shed and that is the modern burglar. Unfortunately they no longer sneak around in a stripy top carrying a jemmy. It is far too easy to be arrested going to and from a burglary if you carry a tool so many burglars will use what they can find in your shed in order to break into your house. If you require any further information about protecting your property or your local neighbourhood team then you can visit us at www.thamesvalley.police.uk. Inspector Ray Wilks

YOUR LOCAL CHILDREN’S CHARITY The Pepper Foundation has today announced that it has signed-up to the new and innovative donation service, JustText Giving. This is a brand new, free service for charities, that has no set up or fundraising costs for charities, no network charges for people making donations and every penny donated goes to charity. Gift Aid can also be added to donations. From today, supporters of The Pepper Foundation can make donations of up to £10 by texting PEPP01 and either £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070 to make their donation. The text message is free and all of the donation will be passed to The Pepper Foundation. Tony Hill, Chairman of The Pepper Foundation said: “We care for 40 children in the Chiltern region and also support their families. These kids have severe life-limiting illnesses and the Pepper nurses are an incredibly important part of their support needs. With JustTextGiving we want to take texting – a skill that many of the children we support are incapable of but the rest of us take for granted – and use it in a positive way. So the next time you are texting BRB, TBH or LOL, why not text PEPP01 £5 instead and help change people’s lives and feel Gr8.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Thames Valley Police

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