Granchester March 2013

VILLAGER The

Issue 1 - March 2013

and Town

Life

LOCAL NEWS • LOCAL PEOPLE • LOCAL SERVICES • LOCAL CHARITIES • LOCAL PRODUCTS

Bringing Local Business to local people in Bourn, Comberton, Granchester, Trumpington, Toft, Hardwick and all surrounding villages

ur Yo EE y FRco1 p

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VILLAGER

In this Issue

The

and Town

Issue 1 - March 2013

Life

LOCAL NEWS • LOCAL PEOPLE • LOCAL SERVICES • LOCAL CHARITIES • LOCAL PRODUCTS

10 Hi-Fi Lounge Here to Listen...

Bringing Local Business to local people in Bourn, Comberton, Granchester, Trumpington, Toft, Hardwick and all surrounding villages

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ur Yo EE y FRco1 p

Prize Crossword

Advertising Sales Nigel Frost - Tel: 01767 261122

£25 could be yours!

Email: nigel@villagermag.com

The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways....................................4 Additional Editorial Dean Dunham, Pippa Greenwood Tony Larkins, Christin Donnelly and Solange Hando

Time for a Spring Clean...........................................................6 Hidden Algarve..........................................................................9 How to Holiday for Less....................................................... 13 St. Patrick’s Day........................................................................ 14

Front Cover Photo:

Fun Quiz..................................................................................... 14

Jenifoto406

Seed Sowing on the Cheap................................................ 19 Children’s Page........................................................................ 20

Design and Artwork Design 9 - Tel 07762 969460

Animal Stories.......................................................................... 21 Seasonal Delights................................................................... 22

Publishers Villager Publications Ltd 24 Market Square

Puzzle Page............................................................................... 24 What’s On.................................................................................. 26 Get the Lowdown on Laptops........................................... 30

Potton, Beds SG19 2NP Tel: 01767 261122 Email: nigel@villagermag.com

VILLAGER The

and Town Life

Disclaimer

All adverts and editorial are printed in good faith, however, Villager Publications Ltd can not take any responsibility for the content of the adverts, the services provided by the advertisers or any statements given in the editorial. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored without the express permission of the publisher.

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The Reshaping of

Britain’s Railways

It must have happened to you – and it’s certainly happened to me – that you throw away something you think you don’t need any more and then some time later you find a use for it, and it’s too late.

It’s gone.

It happened to the whole country in the years 1963 to 1970, when we closed a third of our railway stations and something like 4,000 of our 18,000 miles of railway line.

The axe man always blamed for this carnage is Dr Richard Beeching, chairman of the British Railways Board from 1962 to 1965 and author of the report, ‘The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways’, published in March 1963, which started the slaughter. He died in 1985 but who was he? And was he entirely to blame?

A physicist by discipline, Beeching rose through the ranks of ICI to become an expert in production efficiency, working on the mass manufacture of new products including zips and terylene. In 1959, he was seconded to a committee of the British Transport Commission which was looking at ways of cutting the railway network’s losses. These had risen from £15.6m in 1956, just after the ambitious modernisation plan that started the replacement of steam by diesel and electric, to £42m in 1960.

Beeching was a great advocate of deep cuts in the network, clashing with committee chairman Sir Ivan Stedeford – a stance which earned him the favour of Transport Minister Ernest Marples.

Marples was an apostle of road transport – a fact entirely unconnected with his family firm’s roadbuilding contracts: he sold his shares when he took office, albeit with a clause allowing him to buy them back at the same price – and clearly, Beeching was the man for him. The good doctor was given the chair of the BRB (at a salary more than twice that of the Prime Minister’s) and in

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March 1963 came out with the required report which was duly rushed into action.

The following year Labour came to power on a promise to stop the bitterly unpopular programme – John Betjeman and the musical comedy stars Flanders & Swann were among its celebrity opponents – but, lured by the promise of easy savings, it reneged. Beeching himself returned to ICI in late 1965 after the summary rejection of a second report advising even deeper cuts; but Labour continued to implement the 1963 recommendations right up to 1970.

The promise was a cruel illusion. The 70,000 jobs, 2,600 country stations, 300,000 goods wagons, and 4,000 miles of branch line that disappeared saved nothing, and in 1970 British Rail lost not £42m but £100m.

Beeching may have been a production expert, but he had no understanding of logistics. Hideously unprofitable many lines may have been – 30% of them carried just 1% of all passengers between them, while 50% of all stations raised just 2% of overall ticket revenue – but they fed the main lines and had made them profitable. Freight carriage, too, dwindled as large factories lost the branch lines that connected their sidings to the network: the nation’s haulage industry, perforce, took to the roads.

The suspicion remains that Beeching’s recommendations were as much political as operational. Road was the coming thing, and not just because of Marples’s rumoured venality.

Powerful forces both in business and in the trade unions favoured road; and the railway, with its long record of failure (3,300 miles of branch line had already been closed in the 15 years before Beeching’s appointment), had no counterargument. Beeching did not even consider the huge efficiency savings available through slashing the horrendous over manning of the branch network: his brief was to cut, and cut he did. He later described his programme as “surgery, not mad chopping”: he was certainly not the kind of surgeon you would want operating on you.

We could do with those 4,000 miles of line now, as our roads strain and burst; and the moral of the Beeching story is – don’t ever chuck things out, because you never know when they might come in handy.

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TIME FOR A SPRING CLEAN

By Claudia Leaf

I had invited an old school friend around for coffee and was trying hard to make a good impression.

Suddenly a shaft of spring sunlight flooded my lounge, making me cringe with embarrassment.

With a growing sense of shame I watched as this unforgiving shaft of light slid across the room, showing up the grubby finger marks on the door, the ring marks on my glass table and a thick layer of dust on the mantelpiece.

When it finally landed at my friend’s feet, close to a dirty paw mark our dog had left on the carpet, I saw a look of alarm on her face.

“I’m so sorry, I’ve just noticed. Did I do that?”

I had a nanosecond to decide whether I should openly confess my domestic shortcomings or keep quiet.

“Oh, don’t worry”, I replied. “It’ll brush off when it’s dry.”

She left soon afterwards, still apologising. I took a deep breath and realised it was time for some spring cleaning.

An article in the Manufacturer and Builder magazine of 1872 (a “practical journal of industrial progress”) describes spring cleaning as “The season of general cleaning, when all the corners and closets are overturned and hidden things are brought to light”.

Whilst period dramas such as “Downton Abbey” have inspired a new generation to revive traditional kitchen skills, it’s questionable whether 21st century householders will be tempted to adopt the cleaning methods recommended by the magazine, which include black-leading grates, whitewashing walls and scalding bedsteads.

The Victorians may have excelled at spring cleaning but they certainly didn’t invent it. Some historians believe that the origins of this tradition date back to the ancient Persian New Year, the Iranian Norouz, which falls on the first day of spring. Iranians still practice “khooneh tekouni” – which literally translates as ‘shaking the house’ – at this time.

The Jewish feast of Passover is a religious festival that also hints at a possible origin for spring cleaning. During the holiday the faithful are instructed to refrain from eating any leavened foodstuffs (‘chametz’). The Bible commands that even tiny crumbs must be removed from the

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house and this results in a ritual hunt for crumbs by candlelight during the evening before the holiday begins.

Christianity has its own spring cleaning traditions.

In Greece, householders clean everything thoroughly either before or during the first week of Lent, as a physical manifestation of Lent’s message of spiritual cleansing and renewal.

For the ancient Chinese, the concept of New Year cleaning is associated with good fortune. They believed that people should sweep their floors and clean their houses to rid them of any negative influences that may have accumulated during the last twelve months. Householders then locked up the broom for a few days to prevent sweeping away any good luck that might have entered at the turn of the year.

When ancient cultures share such similar traditions it’s hard to say exactly when and where the idea of ‘spring cleaning’ originated. However, it’s obvious that the urge to clear away the cobwebs of winter and prepare for the summer months is hard-wired into human DNA. Personally I believe that our seasonal enthusiasm to get busy with a mop and broom is always motivated by the same thing: it’s that accusing beam of sunlight that shows us up in front of guests.

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Hidden Algarve

BY SOLANGE HANDO Long ago in the Algarve, says the legend, a Nordic princess pined for her frozen homeland until her husband, the King of the Moors, planted thousands of almond trees. The snow-white blossom soon brought a smile to her lips and to this day almost every house in the Algarve looks out to an almond tree.

In the lush rolling hills of the interior, the trees herald the first days of spring, flowering among vineyards, orange groves, fig and carob trees. Just a stone’s throw away from the coast, it’s a quiet land of orchards and meadows, meandering lanes and forests and red-roofed villages tucked in the greenery, their whitewashed houses topped by filigree chimney pots, in Moorish style, and rooftop terraces where laundry and fruit dry side by side.

Goats wander across the road and sometimes a donkey and cart rattle along the cobbled streets.

Up there, the cool wooded slopes of the Serra de Monchique are dotted with rivers and lakes, moors and dark forests where rosemary and oleander splash colour in the clearings. The fragrance of eucalyptus and pine follows you along the trails but you find swathes of chestnut and oak and ‘strawberry trees’ whose innocent-looking berries are eagerly collected to make the local firewater.

It’s a paradise for ramblers and birdwatchers hoping to spot goshawks and royal eagles. With a subtropical micro-climate, mountain and sea all in one, the Serra claims over 1000 species of plants but now and then a church bell chiming in the distance betrays the presence of an isolated village, perched on a terraced slope where vegetables and fruit compete for space.

The road to the top winds past the spa resort of Caldas de Monchique, once the site of Roman baths and the place where King Joao II came to take the waters in search of a cure, in the late 15th century. Now the emphasis is on beauty and well being, pampering and relaxation. In a deep wooded glen, quaint buildings gather around a shaded square and you are welcome to stroll in the park, quench your thirst and best of all, make a wish at the Fountain of Youth.

Beyond this charming watering place, you reach the rustic hill town of Monchique, once a prosperous weaving centre for wool and cloth, still famous today for a wide range of craft, linen, wicker baskets, tree sculptures, wooden spoons, dried flowers and scissor chairs, invented, some say, by the Romans and so-named because of the way they fold up. All sorts of goods spill out on the pavements but step inside and you may find the shopkeeper quietly nursing her baby while grandma is shelling peas for the family’s supper.

Then follow the lanes climbing up to the square and the whole town is at your feet, tumbling down the hillside among camellias, hydrangeas and fruit trees.

The panorama is superb but anyone with a head for heights and twisty roads will also enjoy the drive up to Foia, just five miles away and the highest point at nearly 3,000 feet. Standing on the summit, battling with the wind, you feel like the knights of yore surveying the wild rolling lands of the Algarve, from the verdant slopes of the Serra to the coastal plain and the Atlantic glistening like silver on the horizon.

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Hifi Lounge

Here to listen…

Based near the village of Dunton, in the heart of rural Central Bedfordshire is an unparalleled Hifi business offering something very different from that of its competitors.

Set in a beautiful converted granary building and with spectacular countryside views, Hifi lounge is certainly an eye opener. With ample parking and easy access from the A1, it is the nicest and most convenient way to shop for that extra special piece of audio equipment.

The ethos behind Hifi Lounge is to only stock a reasonably small portfolio of brands, but brands that Husband and wife team Paul and Wendy

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Clark are passionate about, thus creating a shared enthusiasm with their clients and a genuine passion about the brands they supply.

Hifi Lounge has lovingly created a listening environment within their showroom, where they have emulated an atmosphere like you would have at home. Paul and Wendy never wanted to create a retail shop with just demo rooms. “We believe when demoing Hifi, you should have the opportunity to hear the equipment as close as you would at home. We understand that all rooms are different but hopefully we have fulfilled our original goal as best we can”.

When purchasing something as important as quality hi-fi equipment, you need time, demonstrations and most importantly, a member of staff on hand when required to answer those all important questions about the latest goings on in the world of Hi-Fi. There are no pressured sales here, you can stay as long as you want, listen to whatever you like and never feel rushed.

Hifi Lounge have never tried to portray a business that will stock every brand on the market to suit every budget and taste, on the contrary, but to

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specialise in a few key brands and offer a very friendly, personable service. They are almost trying to turn the clock back to a time when the customer always came first, to a time before retail parks and the internet. OK they can’t do anything about the dreaded MP3 but Hifi Lounge can guarantee that they will always return your call, answer your e-mails and will always be available to speak to you personally.

Brands you can expect to see at Hifi lounge include PMC Speakers, Naim, Rega, Bryston, Spendor and JVC to name but a few. They are all products that Paul has been a long-time advocate of, especially PMC and Bryston which he first encountered when working for another Hi-Fi retailer.

Commenting on the above Paul says “As a PMC and Bryston owner for the last few years it was an easy decision to offer these amazing brands to our customers, to be honest if it wasn’t for my love of both PMC and Bryston I don’t think there would be a Hifi lounge as together they re-ignited my passion for hifi and music in general and that inspired both my wife and I to start our own hifi Shop.

Having Naim on board was the icing on the cake though as Naim make fantastic equipment that just sounds so musical and involving, they offer a range that covers all bases and budgets that will appeal to most music lovers, whether that be an all in one unit, a streamer, a CD player or a big separates system, and better still, Naim sounds just beautiful with PMC speakers.

But at HiFi Lounge our real love is Vinyl, you can’t beat the convenience of streaming music but for really sitting down and enjoying your music we still feel that vinyl offers the most realistic and natural sound around and that is where Rega come in, offering a great range of turntables as well as speakers, amps, CD players etc., Rega always offer fantastic value for money as well as extremely musical equipment”.

Hifi Lounge will be running music evenings and events so visit the website regularly to see what they are planning next.

Should you be interested in streaming, vinyl, headphones or even the occasional movie, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

For more information or to experience what Hifi Lounge has to offer, please feel free to call us on 01767 448 121 or even better, come in and say hello.

Don’t forget to check our website regularly on www.hifilounge.co.uk.

HiFi Lounge, 4 The Granary Buildings, Millow Hall Farm, Millow, Dunton, Bedfordshire, SG18 8RH Tel: 01767 448 121 Website: www.hifilounge.co.uk To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

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Judy Lenton

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Cambridgeshire Foot Clinic

20 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 3AX. Tel: 01233 358 431 Mob: 07562 748 352 E: yvonne@yourfootclinic.co.uk

www.yourfootclinic.co.uk Also Bedfordshire Foot Clinic Tel: 01767 681 704

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How to Holiday for Less

in 2013

As winter draws to a close, conversations about where to go for summer holidays are on the increase and the difference between what we can afford and what we would ideally like often represents something of a discrepancy. However, there are steps which can be taken to bridge the gap and help us afford a summer holiday which may otherwise be financially out of reach.

Book Early or Book Late As far as saving money is concerned, there are two choices on the table and they are booking either late or early. Whether you book far ahead using low-cost airlines and advance bookings for accommodation or snag a last-minute bargain from a package holiday company, either of these approaches can work wonders for your budget.

The key is to decide which suits you best and to plan your holiday around that. Indecisiveness will cost you money, so take the time to make a clean decision on your strategy.

For advance accommodation bookings, websites such as holidaylettings.co.uk are fantastic and when booking flights, try skyscanner.net or travel.kelkoo.co.uk to track down the cheapest ones. If you’re flexible about both when and where to go and are just looking to find a great deal, then companies such as markwarner. co.uk, kuoni.co.uk and wandotravel.com all offer fantastic higher-end packages for less money when you book at the last minute.

Plan Your Budget While it’s a nice idea to lounge around in the luxury of a five-star hotel, your accommodation is really only a place to sleep and store your

luggage. This is a good example of how stripping some aspects down to the bare necessities can save you money. Do some research into the restaurants and other holiday expenditures in the area you’re visiting to track down ways to eat, sleep, drink and sightsee for less money rather than just turning up and paying for what you find.

Travel Light Airlines these days charge a great deal for excess baggage. This is especially true for the low-cost airlines and this represents another area where some advance planning can save you cash. Take some time to put together a packing list which will make the most efficient and effective use of space so you don’t have to take any extra or unnecessary items that will bump up your budget.

Be Prepared to Travel Out Of Season While summer may be a mere figment of our imagination here in the UK, other countries do see sunny weather in May and June as well as into September and October. July and August are peak seasons for UK holidaymakers so if you’re not bound by school holidays, travel either earlier or later in the year to avoid peak season and its associated costs.

Consider a House Exchange A house exchange is a great way to get some decent accommodation at a very minimal cost.

This is especially true if you have a family as exchanging a nice home in the UK can go a long way when travelling to countries where things are a bit more affordable. Websites such as homeexchange.com are trusted, reputable and have been running for a great deal of time.

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St Patrick’s Day

By Debbie Singh-Bhatti What are you doing on March 17th this year?

You probably don’t have a clue, but if you are of Irish descent chances are that you will be donning green attire and tucking into a plateful of bacon and cabbage! The date is St Patrick’s Day, commemorating the death of Ireland’s patron saint on 17th March 461.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a wealthy Christian family - his father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. He was kidnapped and held captive by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen, but eventually escaped; following which he received a vision and calling to return to Ireland to preach Christianity to its heathen population. So it is that St Patrick is credited with taking Christianity to Ireland.

Patrick used the three leaves of the native Irish shamrock to teach the doctrine of the Trinity.

Nowadays, the shamrock and green clothing are customarily worn on St Patrick’s Day. Traditionally, Irish families mark the day by attending church in

the morning and celebrating in the afternoon.

The festival includes public parades, processions, concerts, outdoor theatre and fireworks – all designed to celebrate all things Irish!

So, if you find yourself at a loose end on 17th March, why not look up your local Irish centre and join in the festivities?!

Fun Quiz - Days Of The Week 1. According to the popular nursery rhyme, if Monday’s child is fair of face, then what is Friday’s child?

2. Which literary character frees a captive who he names Friday and who becomes his companion?

3. Which annual health awareness day first took place on Ash Wednesday in 1984?

4. “Cyber Monday” is a term used in the UK to refer to the busiest internet shopping day of the year. Does this normally fall on the first, second or third Monday in December?

5. On which day of the week is Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the U.S.A.?

6. Which series of celebrations has a name that translates as “fat Tuesday”?

7. According to the famous poem, what happened to Solomon Grundy on a Thursday?

8. What is the only day of the week not mentioned in the lyrics of the Beatles song Lady Madonna?

9. What name is given to the Christian feast that falls one week before Easter?

10. What was the first UK number one hit single to feature a day of the week in the title?

Before

After

1. Loving and giving 2. Robinson Crusoe 3. No Smoking Day 4. First 5. Thursday 6. Mardi Gras 7. He took ill 8. Saturday 9. Palm Sunday 10. Sunday Girl (by Blondie)

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Seed Sowing on the Cheap

GARDENING

If you want your garden full of colour, interest, perfume and perhaps even tasty crops, there’s no doubt that the least expensive way to do it is to raise your plants from seed. But what can be done to ensure the results in the garden are just as impressive?

Start with a little self-restraint. It’s all too easy to buy enough seed to fill a tennis court when you have an average-sized garden. Make a list of what you actually need and put a limit on how many unplanned purchases you’ll allow yourself.

Think about sharing. Each packet of seed often contains tens or even hundreds of seeds, so why not agree to swap a few with friends and relatives. This will not only save you money, but will also maximise the range of plants you can grow without increasing your outlay.

Don’t be tempted to sow too many seeds at one time. By sowing little and often you’ll maximise flower time of annual flowers and cropping time for vegetables and herbs. It also means that if the conditions are not right for germination on one occasion, all is not lost.

You may not need to buy what you want. Collect seed from your garden or from gardens of friends and neighbours, making sure that the plants are healthy and that they’re ready and ripe or they won’t germinate. Seeds labelled as ‘F1’ will produce flowers whose seeds will not ‘come true’, meaning that the offspring will not be the same as the original plant and will often be less productive. Try to harvest the seed when the plants and the weather are dry, remove any bits of plant debris and allow them to dry off naturally, not becoming too warm or cold. If you

can’t sow the seeds immediately, make sure you store them, well labelled, in a cool, dry place.

A small heated or even un-heated propagator can help you reliably raise a far wider range of plants from seed. Choose one which is sturdily built and has proper ventilation in the clear plastic lid, otherwise seedlings may die on hot days.

We stock some of the lovely UK-made Stewart propagators at www.pippagreenwood.com.

Seeds do best if not sown too closely, and by sowing thinly you’ll also save yourself time and money. Wider spacing makes for less thinning out but if you do have to thin out a bit, remember that most seedlings will perform well if looked after properly.

Many herbaceous perennials can successfully be divided into several new plants. Indeed most herbaceous plants do better when occasionally divided as the plant does not become so congested and you can dispose of the grotty bits and plant the good sections into fresh soil.

Many plants are also easily propagated from cuttings, and over the next few weeks, you could get some great cuttings from summer favourites such as fuchsias for virtually no cost at all. They’ll be flowering later this year too.

Visit www.pippagreenwood.com and sign up for ‘Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood’ where you can choose from a fantastic selection of vegetables for planting AND receive an email each week telling you all you need to know to ensure great results – from just £29. You can also sign up for Pippa’s newsletter and receive a free ebook on organic gardening, and buy Nemaslug and other garden products.

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ANIMAL STORIES

The power of love In Bedfordshire there are still too many cats that, through no fault of their own, have been abandoned and are in the care of the RSPCA Bedfordshire North Branch. If you’re thinking about buying a cat, the RSPCA would like you to consider getting one from them if you can.

Grant is a fantastic example of the enormous difference a little bit of love and care can make.

Grant was a very nervous boy when he came into our care. His previous owner had neglected him as they had too many animals to look after. He was initially terrified and skulked behind furniture avoiding all contact with humans. He was thin, poorly and a desperately unhappy boy.

The RSPCA Bedfordshire North Branch has a small team of volunteers dedicated to caring for abandoned animals and preparing them for rehoming. Grant was lucky enough to be given a foster home by Linda, an experienced cat foster mum who has volunteered with us for the past six years.

Before

After

With time, patience and understanding Grant has been transformed into a handsome, laid back cat that oozes charisma. Now, the perfect ending for him would be to find a new home, so that he can finally relax. Linda can then work her magic on another cat in need – and there are many.

If you think you can give Grant a permanent, loving home please look on our website for information about how to adopt. It also shows a selection of cats (and other animals) in our care. We’re also looking for more volunteer foster carers who want to make a difference to an animal’s life.

ANIMAL STORIES is one of a series of articles brought to you by the RSPCA North Bedfordshire branch www.rspca-bedfordshirenorth.org.uk

Pet sitting in your own home, or boarding with us, your pets living as one of the family whilst you're away.

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SEASONAL DELIGHTS

LEMON CHICKEN WITH TABBOULEH

This is a great way to turn simple and very economical chicken portions into a delicious Mediterranean-style supper. If you have time, make the tabbouleh a few hours in advance to let the flavours fully develop.

Serves 4 Ready in 45 minutes INGREDIENTS 1 lemon, thinly sliced 4 large chicken thigh portions (or 8 small thigh portions) 4 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp clear honey, warmed 225g bulgar wheat (see tip) ½ cucumber, finely diced 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint 2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Preheat the oven to 190C, 375F, Gas 5. Push a lemon slice under the skin of each chicken thigh. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan 22

and fry the chicken over a medium-high heat until golden brown all over. Transfer to a shallow roasting tin and arrange the rest of the lemon slices around the chicken.

2 Mix together 1 tbsp of the lemon juice with the honey and pour over the chicken. Roast for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

3 Meanwhile, place the bulgar wheat into a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave for 30 minutes until grains are soft. Stir well and drain off any excess water.

4 Stir in the rest of the olive oil and lemon juice and season with plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the cucumber, spring onions, mint and coriander and mix well. Serve the hot roast chicken on the tabbouleh with any juices from the roasting tin poured over.

Tip Bulgar wheat is a type of wheat grain that has been parboiled, dried then finely crushed. It is similar to couscous but has more texture and bite. You’ll find it in most large supermarkets or health food shops.

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The Unforgettable Close Up and Cabaret Magic of Steve Dean Immerse yourselves and guests in the close up magic of Steve Dean or enjoy a Cabaret Show that includes mentalism and much more.

Have you ever witnessed unexplainable events or illusions so convincing that they leave you fascinated and completely spellbound?

This is Cabaret, close up mix and mingle and table magic at it’s very best.

Not only enter the unbelievable world of close up professional magic that is second to none, you can now see a cabaret show that will leave you gasping, your guests enthralled and audience participation that is not only professional but will cause laughter throughout and will be something to remember for a very long time.

This is ideal for any corporate or private event.

Steve is a master of his craft and a member of the prestigious Magic Circle. He has had many letters of thanks and testimonials from people from all walks of life. From a small dinner party to performing on a British Cruise Liner this sort of entertainment is second to none and will give your guests unusual and fantastic entertainment that they can get involved in and will talk about for months to come.

(Steve is a member of Equity with full public liability insurance).

Please phone or email for details

07719 261147 • 01767 260671 www.stevedeanmagic.co.uk email: stevedeanmagic@aol.com

Magic Tuition Now Available - Phone For Details To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

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CODEWORD

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

9 X 9 PUZZLE

How to play It’s simple! Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 box, contains the digits 1 through to 9 with no repetition.

Use your logic to solve the puzzle.

Watch out! Sudoku is highly addictive.

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Please Life when when responding responding to toadverts adverts Please mention mention The Villager and Town Life

Specialists in Childcare Solutions At AJJ Recruitment we specialise in offering the very best tailor-made, flexible, childcare solutions with qualified, experienced, caring staff.

If you need a nanny or maternity nanny, please call or email us to discuss your childcare needs.

We also provide emergency and event childcare.

Contact AJJ Recruitment on t 01480 811180 e info@ajj-recruitment.co.uk w www.ajj-recruitment.co.uk

The Cambridge Flower Shop 01223 366626 or 01223 725125 • Interflora Florist • Deliveries Locally, Nationally & Internationally • All your floral requirements Created with care by your local flower experts 18A Chesterton Road, Cambridge CB4 3AX and 8B High Street, Milton, Cambs CB24 6AJ

info@miltonflowershop.co.uk www.cambridgeflowershop.co.uk Quote Code VM13 for 10% off Local orders only

To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

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what’S ON?

IN MARCH

1 March Double Indemnity 8pm Corn Exchange, St Ives Tickets £5 Screen St Ives. (1944) Sultry Barbara Stanwyk lures naive insurance agent Fred MacMurray into a very dodgy deal that hinges on the death of her much older husband. Edward G. Robinson plays the claims adjustor who thinks he’s on to a suspicious case.

Web: www.screenstives.org.uk 2 March Craft Fair 9.30am-4pm St Ives Free Church Local people selling hand-made crafts at very reasonable prices. Held on the first Saturday of each month. For more details visit http://www.saintscrafters.blogspot.com 2 March Auction in Buckden Viewing 10-11am, Sale begins promptly at 11am.

Buckden Millennium Community Centre, Buckden In aid of St Mary’s Church Restoration Fund.

2 March Hardy Plant Society Talk 2pm The Wetherley Centre, Biggleswade Small charge for visitors A talk by Kevin Hughes on ‘Gardening with bulbs’. Kevin is a nurseryman and will be bringing plants for sale at the meeting. He is an accomplished speaker who lectures too many HPS groups. All welcome - small charge applies.

Tel: 01234 721720 Web: www.hpscambsandbeds.co.uk 2 March Scouts Fundraising Gig 7.30pm Priory Park Infant School, Almond Road, St Neots £5, Concessions £3 1st St Neots Scouts Fundraising Gig for Charity featuring Medication Time, Jasmine Rodgers and The Mark Gamble Band. Licensed Bar. Tel: Tony 01480 477430 for tickets 4 March Night Sky Observing Evening 7.30-9.30pm Visitors Centre, Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, Little Paxton St Neots Astronomy Association. There will be several telescopes set up looking at various Constellations, Planets and other Celestial Objects. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned veteran we have something to offer you. David Roberts 01480 212960 david@snaa.co.uk Web: www.snaa.co.uk 5 & 19 March Cromwell Video Camera Club 7pm for 7.30pm start Reading Room, High Street, Hemingford Grey Meetings held first and third Tuesday of the month.

5 March - AGM including election of Officers and Committee plus a show of films.

19 March Daphne Brown gives a talk on dirty water plus showing a film on the subject of dirty water.

General public welcome to come along for 7.30pm. Please give a donation towards clean water.

If you own a camcorder and like to make films come along, you will be most welcome.

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Entries into our What’s On sections are free. If you have an event you would like us to publicise please email the details to whatson@villagermag.com 6 March Little Paxton Gardening Club 8pm Little Paxton Village Hall Speaker Joe Sharman makes a return visit to talk about Hellebores and share his expert plant knowledge. Joe is an acknowledged plant collector and runs Monksilver nursery in Cottenham. A very seasonal talk. Plants will be for sale.

9 & 10 March Craft Fair 10am-4pm Wood Green Animal Shelter, Godmanchester Whatever the weather, you can visit the indoor arena and sample and buy from our wide range of arts, craft and gift stalls where you might find anything from jewellery, handicrafts, hand-made cards, photography, candles, aromatherapy products, through to ceramics and wood turning. Web: www.oakleighfairs.co.uk/ 10 March Pamper & Indulgence Evening Wyboston, Chawston & Colesden Village Hall An opportunity to relax and enjoy mini treatments.

Tel: Mrs Susie Woodman 01234 376098 to book a table or treatments Email: mail@wybostonvillagehall.com Web: www.wybostonvillagehall.com 13 March All About Bats 7.30pm Brampton Memorial Hall, Thrapston Road, Brampton Suggested donation Members £2.00, Non-members £2.50 Wildlife Trust – Huntingdonshire Local Group is pleased to welcome Antony Mould from the Cambridgeshire Bat Group. Tel: Phil 01487 822835 Web: www.wildlifetrust-huntsareagroup.org.uk 15 March An Evening of Mediumship with Bill Parkins Doors open 6.45pm, starts 7.30pm (no entrance after 7.25pm) Wyboston, Chawston & Colesden Village Hall Entrance £4.50 including refreshments Email: mail@wybostonvillagehall.com Web: www.wybostonvillagehall.com 16 March Pork Fayre at Flying Visits 7pm Corpus Christi College, Cambridge £70 per head for Canapés, 7 courses and paired wines Flying Visits – with 7 Top Chefs – Pork Fayre. Dine on 7 delicious pork courses. All funds raised will go to NSPCC. Tel: 01223 338024 email: catering@corpus.cam.ac.uk 16 March Musical Evening Queen Elizabeth School, Godmanchester 7.30pm £4 including wine and nibbles A musical evening with Jennifer Thompson and Friends.

16 March Quiz Night 7.30pm for 7.45pm start Offord Village Hall, Offord Cluny £5 per person Popular Quiz night. Teams up to 6 in number.

Nibbles are supplied but most teams bring a picnic and their own drink and glasses. Raffle.

Tel: Alan Griffiths 01480 811126 tickets and information Please mention The Villager and Town Life when responding to for adverts

what’S ON? IN MARCH

19 March Location Location 7.30pm Mandeville Hall, Kimbolton Kimbolton Flower Club. Sandra Meakin will be presenting ‘Location Location. Visitors welcome - admission £6.

21 March An Evening of Easter Music 7.30pm St James’ Church, Little Paxton With the singers of Tapestry. Refreshments.

22 February ‘Weave and Waffle’ drop-in day 3pm-5pm 7 Coulson Way, Alconbury, PE28 4WU £15 per person Have you always fancied having a go at weaving but don’t have a loom or perhaps you have a loom but don’t know what to do with it? Would you like to come and try your hand at weaving in the company of other people with a gentle tuition, lots of chat, tea and biscuits and with some fabulous hand-knitting yarns on hand so you can explore this ancient crafts tradition in a relaxed and fun environment. Booking advisable. Tel: Linda Parkhouse 01480 896866 for further information or to book 23 March “Cheap as Chips” Dog & Cat Microchipping Day Dogs 10am-1pm, Cats 1pm-3pm Wood Green Animal Shelter, Godmanchester £5 minimum donation Can you afford to lose your beloved friend? Having your pet microchipped greatly increases the chance of them being reunited with you in the event of them getting lost or stolen. Cash payments only. Not applicable to litters of puppies or kittens being sold on by breeders. Minimum age for chipping 8 weeks.

23 March Buckden Gardeners Spring Show 3pm Buckden Village Hall Adults 50p, children free All children attending will be given a FREE sunflower plant complete with growing instructions.

Exhibit your home grown spring flowers including your favourite daffodils, or turn your hand to baking, craft, wine making or photography. Teas raffle and some plants for sale. Full details including schedules are on their website.

Tel: Pam 01480 811680 or Lesley 01480 351547 Web: www.buckdengardeners.info

Good Friday 29 March Children’s Easter Workshop 10.30am-12 noon St James Church, Little Paxton Organised by the Churches of Diddington & The Paxtons.

Fun for children up to 11 years of age. Children under school age must be accompanied by an adult.

Tel: Annette Reed 01480 211048 for information 29, 30, 31 March & 1 April Easter Hunt Trail 10am-3pm RSPB The Lodge, Sandy Trail sheet £2. Admission £4 per vehicle Follow the Easter trail and spot all of the pictures hidden in the woodland with a crème egg to collect when you finish!

Tel: 01767 680541 Web: www.rspb.org.uk/thelodge 31 March & 1 April St Ives Antiques Fair 10am-4pm Burgess Hall, Westwood Road, St. Ives Adults £2, Concessions £1.50 Up to 50 expert antiques dealers offering a wide range of antiques, vintage and retro items at affordable prices.

Ample free parking, wheelchair access, hot and cold drinks and snacks.

Tel: 01480 896866 for further information

HIDATO Starting at 1 and finishing at 34, track your way from one hexagon to another (touching) hexagon, placing consecutive numbers into the empty shapes as you go. Some numbers are already given.

24 March Craft Fair 11.30am-4.30pm Hemingford Pavilion, Manor Road, Hemingford Grey Free admission In aid of Help for Heroes.

Tel: Ruth 01480 464266 Email: johnruth@talktalk.net 26 March Hemingford Grey Flower Club 10am Reading Room, High Street, Hemingford Grey £3 including refreshment Flower arranging demonstration by Anne Bell.

All welcome.

To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

©Puzzlepress.co.uk

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Ty Interiors Prize Crossword

1st Prize £25 Name:

Sponsored by Ty Interiors, The Olde Watermill Shopping Village, Faldo Road, Barton Le Clay, MK45 4RF

Complete the crossword, fill in your details below, cut out this section and send to the address below before 15th March 2013.

Prize Crossword, Villager Publications Ltd 24 Market Square, Potton, Beds SG19 2NP Tel:

Address:

Please enter me into the prize draw to be drawn at end of 3 months for £1000 off a fully fitted kitchen. T&C’s apply. (Please tick)

Across 1 Outermost (7) 5 Six sided objects (5) 8 Turn (5) 9 Woman’s holdall (7) 10 Media notice (13) 11 Relaxed (6) 12 Idiotic (6) 15 Exhibition (13) 18 Not quietest (7) 19 Very angry (5) 20 Perfume (5) 21 Meals (7) Down 1 Additional (5) 2 Robbers (7) 3 Amusement (13) 4 Racial group (6) 5 Deep thought (13) 6 Religious text (5) 7 Seen (7) 11 Hugs (7) 13 Not public (7) 14 Commented (6) 16 Small rodent (5) 17 Requirements (5)

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Pleasemention mentionThe TheVillager Villagerand andTown TownLife Life when responding adverts Please when responding toto adverts

We are looking for more delivery people in this area to deliver our magazine.

Please contact Nigel for more details

Tel: 01767 261122 Email: nigel@villagermag.com To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

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Get the lowdown on laptops

BY Alex Brown

Laptop computers can offer the power of a desktop with the flexibility and freedom to use them where you wish. There is an astonishing range of products available, ranging in price from a few hundred pounds up to two thousand. As with all technology purchases it’s essential to do your research first – work out what you need, what you’re willing to pay for, and what you can do without.

The cheapest option is a netbook. They are smaller and lighter than laptops, but don’t have the same range of features. They are perfect if you want to browse the internet and send emails while you’re out and about. The keyboard and larger screen can make them easier to use than a smartphone or tablet computer, such as an iPad. The next step up is a cheap laptop. These

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are suitable for everyday tasks such as word processing and web browsing, and are good for computer novices. They are portable, but may be bulky.

You may have to pay more if you need to store more data on the computer (such as movies) or use it for more demanding tasks (such as gaming or editing video). Sleek and light designs also come at a premium.

Use this guide to help you understand laptop lingo and work out which one is right for you: • Operating system – Windows is the bestselling operating system. Macs are easy to use and good for graphics and publishing, but can cost two or three times as much.

• Memory – this has a big influence on how fast the laptop will run. Aim for at least 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. • Storage – the hard drive is where programs, files, data and documents are stored. Look for 320 GB, or 500 GB if you want to store lots of videos, music or photographs.

• Processor – a dual core basic processor should come as standard. Processors are normally made by Intel or AMD. AMD is cheaper; Intel processors get more powerful as the model number increases.

• Battery life – most laptop batteries will last for five or six hours. More expensive models may go for longer, but invest in a spare if you are often out for the day.

• Screen size – a 15-inch display is fine for most users. Choose a larger screen for playing computer games or using design software.

• Weight – hold it in your hands if you can!

Remember, you’ll be carrying the laptop around, or sitting with it on your knee.

• Controls – Make sure the keyboard and trackpad are comfortable to use and consider getting a separate mouse.

• Drives – some laptops don’t include CD/DVD drives and you may need to buy an external one.

Please mention The Villager and Town Life when responding to adverts

Brian R Bulley C.M.B.H.I Horologist

ROOFING & SCAFFOLDING LTD 01223 207586 Fax: 01223 750203

Tel:

Established 1985

www.apexroofingandscaffolding.co.uk

Repairing: Antique & Modern Clocks

All clocks are collected & examined in my workshop and then you are contacted with cost for repair.

On agreement the clock will be repaired, Tested & Delivered.

If you decide not to go ahead with repair the clock will still be delivered free of charge. • Over 50 years Experience • Tel: Email:

07521 442 050

brian@brianbulley.co.uk

To advertise in The Villager and Townlife please call 01767 261 122

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