Test Valley Forum - Issue 151 March 2021 by Mark Tubb

Forum

ISSUE 150 MARCH 2021

TEST VALLEY

Life in your Community

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

BROUGHTON COMMUNITY SHOP

THE IDEAS OF MARCH

LOCAL INFORMATION

Delicious Easter Simnel Cake

Supporting the local community

By Lucia Foster-Found

Your A to Z of useful local info

STYLE ˙ INTERIORS ˙ HEALTH & BEAUTY ˙ INTERVIEWS ˙ FOOD & DRINK ˙ ENTERTAINMENT ˙ EVENTS

CHILBOLTON RE FOAL S

A first-class village house in a most picturesque Test Valley village. Five bedrooms, Three bathrooms, Fabulous Kitchen/ Dining & Living space, Drawing room, Study, Utility room. Attractive gardens to the front and rear of the property with far reaching views over the Test Valley. Ample car parking and double garage.

GUIDE PRICE £1,285,000

DAUNTSEY DROVE, CLOSE TO APPLESHAW RE O F AL S

A handsome new four-bedroom detached dwelling. This is an excellent example of a brick and rendered house with a very good standard of specification offering high quality fixtures and fittings. This property benefits from a light and open feel throughout. Offering ample parking, a car port and landscaped gardens.

GUIDE PRICE £785,000

www.myddeltonmajor.co.uk

Tel: 01264 316000

THE TEST VALLEY FORUM MARCH 2021

CONTENTS 02 Property Management

Buying, selling, letting? Find local estate agents and property management services

17 Motoring

18 Food & Drink

Eat out, stay in: food, drink and dining in Hampshire

04 Feature

The Ideas of March - By Lucia Foster-Found

06 Property Management

Buying, selling, letting? Find local estate agents and property management services

19 Home

Discover local events and days out in

Director of Advertising Steve Walker stevewalker@forumpublications.co.uk Director of Marketing Rob Harrison rob@forummedianddesign.co.uk Advertising Manager Mandy Head mandyhead@forumpublications.co.uk Design Manager James Curtis james@forumpublications.co.uk

Lucia Foster-Found www. luciafosterfound.com

Get in Touch

11 Education

Forum Publications Offices

Find local schools and educational experts

Unit 8A, Shelf House, New Farm Road, Alresford, SO24 9QH Tel: 01962 735137

15 Retail

Our regular retail feature, Unique, Bespoke, Eclectic and Local shopping

Editor Mark Tubb editor@forumpublications.co.uk

Contributors

Looking after your health and yourself!

Make your garden dream come true

Contacts

Accounts accounts@forumpublications.co.uk

08 Wellbeing

Trades, services, designers, All you need for your home

20 Garden

06 Lesiure & Entertainment

Local services to keep your vehicle running smoothly

www.forumpublications.co.uk

18 20

Test Valley Forum contains facts, views, opinions, statements, recommendations, advertisements and other content and links to external websites not owned or controlled by the magazine. Test Valley Forum takes reasonable efforts to include accurate, current information on its pages, but make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy, safety or value of the published items that are displayed. No liability or responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions in magazine content. Test Valley Forum magazine content does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or recommendations of its creators and any reliance upon its content is taken at the user’s sole risk. Adverts designed by Forum Publications remain the magazine's legal ownership. Readership figures calculated on an average national statistic of 2.5 readers per household © Forum Publications Ltd, 2021

FEATURE

The Ideas of March © LUCIA FOSTER-FOUND 2021

WWW.LUCIAFOSTERFOUND.COM

o glad to see the back of February; four short weeks that felt like months. Must be a lockdown thing, she thought. Or maybe the incessant barking from the neighbour’s dogs had made each day and most nights seem longer? The enormous wrinkly puppies acquired during the first lockdown, no doubt at great expense, had morphed into mahoosive, noisy adolescents. A Baskerville-ian baying erupted from next door. “Paperboy” she thought as she picked up her newspaper from the doormat. She sat with a coffee and read the horoscopes for some light relief. Apparently Himself’s sun was in Pisces and he should enjoy the little things of life. But what did that mean? Keep tropical fish? Whitebait for tea? Also, it mentioned the Ides of March; with the full moon in Mars they should avoid conflict and aggression. Given that they were avoiding absolutely everyone - aggressive, Italian or otherwise… Drivel. Honestly. She turned the page. Himself appeared and said. “So… I had this idea…” With an excited air he thrust a wristband into her hand, proudly displaying the one he was already wearing. “I came out of the first lockdown fatter and grimmer. I’m leaving this one fitter and trimmer!” Oh lord – a fitness tracker… She looked from it to him and asked “Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” “It’s wonderful!” he laughed “I’ve secretly been wearing it and already increased my step count.” All his thundering up and down stairs now made sense. “And the GPS will measure our walks in the forest with the dogs.” Good, that might actually help them find the car again.. He enthused. “You hardly know you’re wearing them, they’re so small.” Crikey - maybe these were his ‘little things’ from the horoscope? He went on ”And they’re waterproof, so we can swim in them.” Aah – the sun in Pisces! She put hers on and ran to the shed and back. Puffing, she studied the display with interest. Steps; fewer than it felt. Pulse; a good darts score. Bit concerning. Himself apparently had a (very valid) point and she pronounced herself a convert. Looking delighted, he kissed her on the cheek and trotted on the spot. The fitness tracker quickly became her conscience. She too thundered up and down the stairs and trotted on the spot. The sleep monitor, although informative, didn’t register the

nightmares though. The one where she went into a shop without her mask, then sprinted for the exit like a deranged goal scorer with her jumper pulled over her head, was particularly awful. In a sweat, she’d woken herself up from that and checked her pulse – only to find Himself already awake, muttering. “It’s those dogs again. Woofing. Milkman.” The next day, he announced “I’ve had a jolly idea! Let’s go for a run together.” Well, neither were what you’d call natural athletes. Quick sprint from the car to the house in a downpour, yes. Lurching along the road in lycra, no. “Best to build up to that sort of thing, darling. Brisker walks and more stints on the exercise bike first, I think.” She worried he might overdo it. She also worried she might too. But Himself was not listening. Not listening to her anyway; the neighbour’s dogs were at it again. Postman. “Actually, I’ve had an idea.” He announced. Another one? “‘Next Door’, he’s a jogger – I could ask him if he’d like some company.” Now she’d seen ‘Next Door’ out and about and she’d definitely have described what he did as running, not jogging. Surprisingly fast for such a big man. And looking very… what was the word…? ‘serious’ was the kindest one that came to mind. “And then I could bring up, you know, casually, the subject of the relentless barking …” he nodded to himself, looking pleased with the notion as he headed out of the door. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, darling.” She called after him. The words ‘conflict’ and ‘aggression’ resurfaced from the horoscope, as she visualised the scary man-mountain that was ‘Next Door’. Plus, the dogs looked like they snacked on paperboys, postmen, milkmen – and neighbours. The ‘Ides of March’ weren’t drivel. They were a typo. It should be the ‘Ideas of March’ – and frankly the ideas were getting out of hand.. Himself was not gone long. “P’raps you’re right.” He announced, washing his hands. “I’ll give it a few weeks and get fitter. Revisit the idea again next month.” “Why, what did ‘Next Door’ say?” Looking vaguely relieved, he shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to a mini mars bar. Between mouthfuls he said “Nothing. His dogs were in the garden. Lovely – nearly licked me to death. But barked so loudly he didn’t hear me knocking..”

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PROPERTY / COMMUNITY The changing face of Estate Agency As property professionals we have all had to adapt to the many recent changes brought about by the constantly altering legislation surrounding Covid-19. As the Government gradually reveals plans to ease businesses out of lockdown, the focus will turn to the new ‘face’ of Estate Agency post Covid-19. Covid-19 will have changed the way businesses, including property agencies, operate in the future, but they were changes that were already happening. For The Country House Company we had already embraced the exciting and innovative changes brought about by the technological revolution that facilitated the growth of property portals, digital and social media.

Kate Porter, Head of Sales Tel: 02392 633 026

substitute for human contact. We have developed safe and efficient methods of communicating during Covid-19 and will continue to do so.

As an independent company our focus has always been property and client lead rather than company lead. Not bound by the constraints of corporate policy, dictat or structure, means we are able to tailor our service to the needs of the client, and we can create different and targeted marketing campaigns for each individual property. One important focus for The Country House Company that will never change is our awareness that there is no long term satisfactory

As in all aspects of life, the survival of the fittest represents the survival of those who are adaptable, flexible and able to embrace and enjoy change for all the opportunities it presents. There are exciting times ahead for property and The Country House Company.

Sisters prosecuted after two fly-tips found in borough

Two sisters have been ordered to pay more than £1,500 by the courts after failing to explain how their waste ended up fly-tipped in two car parks. An investigation was launched by Test Valley Borough Council officers after waste was dumped at the Stoneymarsh car park along the A3057 last year. Another load of waste was also discovered at Cowdown Lane near Andover. The authority’s environmental service began looking in to the fly-tips and discovered the rubbish, full of cables and pipes and other waste. After sending them both a formal request to attend interview, neither responded for the separate fly-tips, which resulted in a day at Basingstoke Magistrates Court earlier this year. Carla Matthews was fined £1,100, ordered to

Kate Morton, Head of Lettings Tel: 02392 633 022

Our knowledgeable and professional use of digital technology and social media has enabled us to reach a huge yet targeted audience. Not only are we able to tailor campaigns to ensure we reach the London buyers but we are able to target specific demographics suitable for particular properties. The future will certainly see a reduced need for a high street presence for property companies and arguably no need for an office in London.

pay £286 compensation to TVBC for the cleanup costs, and a further £110 victim surcharge for failing to respond to a request for interview regarding the Stoneymarsh fly-tip. Chantell Matthews was fined £120, ordered to pay £39 in compensation and a £34 victim surcharge for the same offence regarding the waste on Cowdown Lane. Environmental portfolio holder, councillor Alison Johnston, said: “As we have said multiple times, we investigate every single report of fly-tipping that makes its way to us. Part of our process is that we need to speak to those involved in what we find. If a letter comes through your door with a formal request to interview, do not ignore it, otherwise you too could find yourself with a criminal record and a substantial sum to pay to go along with it. “Fly-tipping is very clearly a blight on our borough. This waste was left at one of our most popular car parks along the Test Way and is used regularly by visitors. Having huge bags full of cables, pipes and other rubbish dumped there shows a total lack of consideration for visitors using these important amenity spaces and is despicable behaviour.” Grace said “Made on the Chalk captures a growing market for goods made from natural ingredients that are locally produced. I

EQDC

wanted to create a company that makes and supplies items of quality that are sustainable, beautiful, useful; and empowers people though skill learning. The e-learning courses will be accessible to as many people as possible with discounted places for those on low incomes. I am thrilled to be awarded a Business Incentive Grant from Test Valley Borough Council to help support my new business”. Bourne Valley ward councillor, Phil North, said: “The grant schemes are a great opportunity for those wishing to set up new business initiatives in Test Valley and enable us to offer a wider range of services for our local community. I am delighted that Grace has been successful in her grant application and wish her every success in her new business venture.” The council’s £750 Business Incentive Grants are available to anyone looking to set up their own full-time business in Test Valley. Anyone who successfully applies for the grant will receive £750 if their business is still going strong six months later. These funds have become available to the community as a consequence of the council’s prudent investments, financial management and the use of the New Homes Bonus. Test Valley Borough Council Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover, SP10 3AJ Tel: 01264 368000

PROPERTY / ENTERTAINMENT

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WELLBEING Osteopaths love to help patients to sleep better

• •

If I can’t sleep I get up and make myself a nice relaxing herbal tea and read a book. I try not to lie in bed and stew about the fact that I can’t sleep. I try to eat as well as possible because brain function relies on it receiving the right nutrients which in turn improves sleep habits. If you’ve tried and tested these ideas and you or your children are still struggling to sleep, you may need some help. Do get in touch as Osteopaths have magic hands!

Our focus this month is sleep. Look out for our posts in social media and blogs on the website for more top tips, recipes and small changes that can make a big difference to your sleep patterns for the whole family. Nicola Rist, Osteopath Stockbridge Osteopathic Practice www.the-sop.com

This is why sleep matters and what you can do to be a super sleeper

Most people love sleep but many of us have been struggling with this favourite past time during the coronavirus pandemic, which makes it especially frustrating at a time when boosting immunity through sleep has never been more important. It is so exhausting, but hopefully this advice will help. Firstly, why is sleep so important? Osteopaths often ask patients about their sleep habits during consultations because we pride ourselves on looking at a person’s whole health rather than just their musculoskeletal injury. This is because COMMUNITY / RETAIL lifestyle factors have such an important role to play in the healing process. This is what makes osteopaths such fantastic practitioners! You might think that when you’re sleeping your body isn’t doing a lot, but it’s during this time that your body recovers and repairs from the Sustainable products made in Test Valley daily stresses and strains. You release hormones that strengthen your for eco muscles andliving build mass. Reduced hours of sleep have been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and diabetes. Without Test the Valley business called sleep your body can’t fight colds,Aflunew or even coronavirus as effectively. ‘Made on the Chalk’ products Sleep helps the brain function and reduces symptomsoffering of inflammation, to support a sustainable home depression and lethargy which all helps you to work with your life has beenquickly. awarded a Test Valley Borough practitioner to heal your injury more Council Business Incentive Grant of Sleep time should vary on average between 7-8 hours per night. This may £750. vary depending on your age. If we improve the quality and quantity of Dunning the business our sleep we will gain more deepGrace sleep time. Thelaunches hours before midnight this our autumn initially withand handmade are especially important to improve immune system boost our natural skincare products, and is rates of healing. expanding the product range to Here are my favourite sleep enhancing includepast ecotimes. household products • I try to eat my last big meal 3-4 hours before I gowool to bed. like rubber gloves, dusters and • I’ve invested in a good qualityhandmade mattress and bedding. After all, soap dishes. Handmade I spend a lot of time there. beeswax candles will be available in • I keep my bedroom cool. 2021, along with launching e-learning Grace Dunning, • I use a lavender pillow spray. workshops on soap and candle Made on the Chalk • I try to go to bed and wake upmaking. at exactly the same time each day. • I give myself half an hour to wind down before I go to bed. The story my behind the phone name ‘Made on the Chalk’ is one that captures • I leave mobile DOWNSTAIRS, otherwise I can’t stop the beauty of the Test valley from the chalk streams to the down land looking at it! and even Grace’s own chalk cob cottage. • I use a Lumie alarm clock to mimic natural light with a sunrise and sunset function. • I don’t have any caffeine in the afternoon or evening. Caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours. Someone who consumes 40 mgs of caffeine will have 20 mgs remaining in their system after 5 hours. • Meditation really helps me to switch off after a busy day once the kids have gone to bed. I try to do the Headspace App once per day

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• McTimoney Chiropractic • Sports Therapy • Allergy Testing • Hypnotherapy • Homeopathy • Counselling • Nutrition Chiros Clinic has close links to Andover Osteopathy, for more information contact Mark on 01264 580280

STOCKBRIDGE OSTEOPATHIC PRACTICE

Osteopathy and Cranial Osteopathy Emma Wightman, registered osteopath and antenatal teacher. A gentle, hands on approach for newborns through to adulthood and in pregnancy.

Also Massage Therapy Pilates, 1 to 1 and small group Homeopathy Naturopathy Online Bookings available for Osteopathy and Massage via the website

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Felling more isolated and anxious during lockdown? are you having trouble hearing TV or talking on the telephone?

WE ARE STILL OPEN

EDUCATION

I N D E P E N D E N T D AY & B O A R D I N G S C H O O L FO R B OYS & G I R L S AG E D 2 - 1 8

Embracing Ambition Behind a joyful atmosphere conceals a meticulous approach to the academic development and personal wellbeing of every child, ensuring our Nursery children are Reception ready with reading, writing, phonics and Mathematics above age-related expectations.

Embley Park, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 6ZE www.embley.org.uk

To find out more please contact 01794 512206 or email admissions@embley.org.uk

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Forever Undaunted creative www.stroud-kes.org.uk

EDUCATION

St Swithuns, Winchester 10,000 hours of purposeful practice or of unstructured dabbling. Which is most likely to make your child successful? Who will be more successful, the child who dedicates herself to at least 10,000 hours of purposeful practice on, let’s say, the piano from an early age or the child who dabbles with a range of instruments? Which is more likely to become a professional musician? It turns out that the answer is significantly more nuanced than I would have thought before reading Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Books like Bounce by Matthew Syed and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell have popularised the notion that at least 10,000 hours are required to become an elite musician or sportsperson. Epstein agrees that this is true in some fields, those he calls ‘kind’ learning environments. These are ones, such as chess or golf, where patterns repeat, feedback is immediate and clear, and similar challenges occur repeatedly. However, most domains are ‘wicked’. In these environments, feedback can be confusing and patterns are either non-existent or difficult to spot. It turns out that in these domains, varied experience is far more useful than a large amount of practice focused on one area. For many parents, it feels counterintuitive

to suggest that it is at best pointless and at worst harmful not to get their children ahead by starting them early on music, sport, Mandarin or whatever is the hobby of the moment. Contrary to popular belief, most top sports players were not ruthlessly channelled into one sport from an early age. Rather, they played a wide range of sports before specialising relatively late. And yet, most parents, understandably, imagine that concentrating on one activity will bring more success more quickly to their offspring. In school, we similarly assume that rapid progress is the best sort of progress and that getting lots of the answers right in class indicates successful learning. David Epstein tells us that actually we don’t want our pupils to get things right all the time. We want them to struggle to make connections for themselves rather than mindlessly following patterns. Alarmingly, research has shown that although a significant percentage of questions in class start out as making-connections problems, in some countries well-meaning teachers give so many hints that not one of these questions end up as making-connections problems. The educational culture in countries such as the US, and indeed the UK, is such that pupils don’t expect to struggle in class without the teacher intervening. Teachers whose pupils get questions right in class are highly ranked by their pupils. The pupils feel as though they are making good

progress. But when they came to take tests a few weeks or months later, they performed worse than pupils who had struggled more in class on the same topic. Why? Because, amazingly, struggling to generate an answer on your own, even a wrong one, enhances subsequent learning. What can we do as parents? Explain to our children why we are not going to help them with their homework, make them a healthy snack and encourage them to come to find us when they have solved the problem themselves. Will this work? There is a good chance if your child’s school encourages the same approach. What can we take away from Range, which I thoroughly recommend you read? That we shouldn’t worry whether our child is the first to master a skill, that we should encourage them to try a range of activities, that desirable difficulty is important in the classroom and that we accept that real, sustainable progress may look more like zigzagging than we had ever imagined.

Jane Gandee, Headmistress of St Swithun’s school

A leading independent day, weekly and full boarding school for girls aged 11-18

It’s who we are. Join us at one of our open events: Saturday 13 March (Online) Saturday 24 April (Strategies for success conference, for parents of Year 5 children) Saturday 12 June (Sixth form)

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A leading independent day school offering outstanding education for girls (4–11) with a co-ed nursery

Making a happy start to school Insider secrets from the experts at St Swithun’s Prep Thursday 25 March, 7pm

This online mini conference includes: 1. Thriving in preschool and reception 2. Practical tips to practise at home 3. Making the most of the outdoors 4. Promoting a healthy mind and a healthy body 5. Live Q&A session with experts from St Swithun’s preschool and reception Booking essential: vwww.stswithuns.com/happystart | 01962 835750

EDUCATION Stroud @Home Again! Following the news in January that schools were to close in yet another national lockdown, Stroud immediately jumped to it, offering in-school provision for critical worker and vulnerable children. All other pupils received remote home learning following a full teaching timetable. The Government’s decision to close all schools undoubtedly caused stress and anxiety to pupils and parents and this wasn’t how Stroud School had anticipated starting 2021. However, Stroud were very early adopters of a full remote curriculum for its pupils. As well as providing key worker in-school provision, the school launched a highly-successful Stroud@Home programme, blending Google Classroom with Zoom to effectively continue the curriculum, deliver online face-to-face lessons and provide the critically important social interaction that children need: the lines of communication between

Building confidence - Embley Park

the school and the parents remained open, even though the school was physically closed. Stroud is lucky to have a huge IT infrastructure across both its school and that of its senior school, King Edward VI School, Southampton, so it can quickly adapt and upskill its pupils, parents and staff with the IT skills needed to ensure both lockdowns were a success. Stroud School was deeply disappointed to close the school again in January but took the opportunity to make this experience a positive one for its children: one that maintains as much academic rigour as possible whilst ensuring each child’s wellbeing remains at the forefront of their minds. Stroud School is still taking new applications and has a new online virtual tour – please call on 01794 513231, email registrar@stroud-kes. org.uk or visit www.stroud-kes.org.uk.

my confidence and also reminded me to live by the values I endorse at school. It can be hard to know where to start when helping young people gain and then build confidence. There are some key learning points which I think make a real difference: If you don’t try you’ll never know Give things a go and grasping opportunity are two key pieces of my advice to young people. If there is something new to try and you’re toying with the idea, just give it a go: what is the worst that can happen?! Hard work and preparation When you have had a go at something and you like it....what next? Don’t be afraid to tell your child that being good at something doesn’t just happen: it takes hard work and preparation. Matthew Syed’s book ‘Bounce’ is a great example of this and he has written some great confidence building books for children too.

Growing up, it can feel like confidence is something you are born with. However, there are ways in which parents can help their children build confidence writes Sheina Wright, Embley’s Head of Prep. A couple of years ago I was on a school residential with a group of Year 8 pupils at a water sports activity centre. There were all manner of water related activities to choose from. I had made a surprise visit for the day from school and had not planned on joining them in their activities, but to surprise them. As I merrily, glided around the water on the safety boat, the plan was to stop and chat to as many of them as possible while they windsurfed or sailed their Hobie Cats. Then one of the girls called out: “Come and join us, remember your growth mindset Miss Wright, mistake making is part of learning!” So despite being inappropriately dressed I joined the team on the hobiecat and loved every moment. I was a little soggy on the train home, but ‘giving it a go’ made me happy and built

Talk and question Nurture your child’s ability to have an initial and developed opinion at home. Then challenge that opinion: is it informed? Philosophical conversations can and should happen from a young age, which is something we promote through our Philosophy for Children curriculum at Embley. Embrace difference Pursue interests that may not be everyone’s cup of tea or might be community based. Meeting new people and being in different contexts can really help develop confidence and social skills, whether that be the local hockey club or Scouts. In a world where children have had limited opportunities to be with their peers and try new things over the last year, I for one cannot wait for a world of confidence building opportunities to be available for our young people once again. To speak to our Admissions team or arrange a visit to Embley, please call 01794 512206 or email admissions@embley.org.uk

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Tel: 01794 502495 Facebook: @BroughtonVillageShop www.broughton.shop Broughton Community Shop, Village Hall, High Street, Broughton, SO20 8AX

We are interested in acquiring antique furntiture and treen such as tables, cabinets, chest of drawers, mirrors, stools, boxes and trays

Phone: 07717 705111 or 07973 416839 Email: info@cassondrinkwater.co.uk Our stock is sold at: Salisbury Antique Centre 94 Wilton Road, Salisbury, SP2 7JJ

EDUCATION / COMMUNITY Godolphin’s Wiltshire Digital Drive 2021 Godolphin School is delighted to announce a new partnership with Wiltshire Digital Drive, a company distributing much-needed refurbished computers to the community. With so many children struggling to access online learning due to lack of resources, the Godolphin community is keen to do all it can to support this initiative. If you have any unwanted devices - laptops, tablets, desktop computers, Chromebooks etc, Wiltshire Digital Drive will refurbish them and distribute them to those in need. The refurbishment includes a safe and secure wiping of the device, giving you the peace of mind to donate with confidence. Godolphin is now an official drop-off location and will be able to accept your donations at the Main School Reception on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10.30am and 11.30 am.

#donateyourdigital info@wiltshiredigitaldrive.org www.godolphin.org

Opportunity for Businesses to Support Young

Council sets out budget strategy in wake of pandemic

Get Inspired Test Valley, a free inspiring careers fairs for young people aged 11-16, has gone virtual for 2021! It will be streamed into schools on Thursday 29th April 2021. Businesses are being given the opportunity to be part of the virtual event created and run by EBP South (Inc. Basingstoke Consortium) that enables young people from secondary schools across Test Valley and the surrounding areas to find out about the local careers available to them.

Test Valley borough council chiefs have set their budget strategy for 2021/22, after outlining their plans to navigate the financial challenges brought about by coronavirus. At a cabinet meeting last night, councillors addressed the loss of income due to the pandemic, primarily from car parking, planning application and leisure centre fees, combined with increased costs, which means the authority is expected to be £6.3m worse off in 2020/21. But thanks to various government grants and savings, the total deficit for the year is £1.4m. To deal with this gap, the council’s cabinet agreed to dip into reserves to cover the deficit once final figures are revealed in May. The cabinet also recognised that Covid-19 is going to have a profound impact on Test Valley’s budget for 2021/22. The government is assuming that the authority will put up council tax up by £5 next year to help pay for that and has already built that into its assessment of councils’ spending power. In order to close the budget gap for next year, the cabinet has decided to make a further draw on reserves coupled with a much more modest council tax increase of £2.50.

Get Inspired are established yearly events run by EBP South for over 10 years. The events have grown from a single event in Test Valley to now several events across Hampshire including Test Valley and attracting 1000’s of young people. Jacquie Jones, EBP South Project Manager, said ‘I am delighted Get Inspired Test Valley will continue to take place in 2021. It is essential that this generation are able to be inspired by businesses and can learn about the different careers available to them and start to plan their future pathway. ‘Get Inspired has never been more important as 2020 has been such a difficult year for young people with missing out on months of schooling, extra-curricular events and opportunities being cancelled.’ It has been traditionally an in person interactive careers fair but this year the experienced Project Team has redeveloped the programme to create Get Inspired Goes Virtual. In 2021 Get Inspired Goes Virtual will take place for schools and businesses in and round the Test Valley areas. It is a two-part event with a LIVE 60-minute sessions that are streamed into classes and online inspiring careers fair available for young people to access for two weeks. Businesses can support the event by designing and delivering a LIVE activity related to the company/ sector, join the live panel for the Q&A session and/or exhibit on the virtual inspirational careers fair. This is an exciting opportunity for local businesses to be a part of. It enables them give back to their community, support young people and help to inspire the future workforce. To sign up visit: www.ebpsouth.co.uk

Head of Community Engagement at Godolphin, Olivia Sparkhall says “We’re so pleased that the Godolphin community will be able to help those in need of a device receive the equipment they need. Everyone deserves to be able to access the online learning that is now being provided for children. This desire to help lies at the very heart of Godolphin’s community engagement values.”

Finance portfolio holder, councillor Maureen Flood, said: “The past year has been incredibly challenging for everyone including the council, but we are fortunate that we have been able to continue providing our core services throughout the pandemic. It is crucial that we continue to protect those services but acknowledge that there will be difficult times ahead and we will face various financial pressures for a great deal of time to come. “Thanks to our reserves and support from central government we have been able cushion the blow for this year. Reserves do not offer an unlimited resource and we are only able to spend that money once, but there has never been a more important time for us to dip into those funds. “In 2021/22, Test Valley residents will pay an average of £148.91 for the year, covering a range of services including bin collections, housing and homelessness, planning, licensing, economic development and leisure, as well as the delivery of major projects such as the redevelopment of Andover and Romsey town centres. After the increase, Test Valley’s council tax will remain one of the lowest in Hampshire. The authority recently announced that its council tax support scheme to help those on low incomes would remain unchanged.

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Easter Simnel Cake Simnel cakes have been known since at least medieval times. Simnel cake is a light fruitcake formerly eaten during the pre-Easter period , a traditional cake for Easter Sunday. Simnel cakes are often associated with Mothering Sunday, also known as Simnel-Sunday. Equipment

An 8 inch round deep (removable bottom) cake tin. Line it with a cake liner.

For the Marzipan

190g icing sugar 190g gorund almonds 4 tsp lemon juice icing sugar for dusting Apricot Jam for top of the cake

For the Cake Mixture 190g self raising flower 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 3 eggs 165g butter 165g light brown sugar 50g sultanas 150g currants

30g glace cherries 50g mixed glace peel icing sugar butter for the cake tin

Method

Create your marzipan by seiving the icing sugar into a bowl, add almonds and stir to combine. Add the lemon juice until the mixture starts to clump together. Knead until you have a ball of marizpan paste. Take some of the paste and roll it into a circle, place the baking tin ontop of the paste and cut out a circle. Set aside the remaining marzipan for later. Pre-heat the oven 150C. Measure out the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat throughoughly until blended thoroughly. Use half the mixture in the cake tin. Top with a layer of marzipan mixture, spoon the remaining cake mix on the top. Bake inthe oven for 2hrs (approx) until golden brown, cover the top of the cake whilst cooking if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the tin once cooked, leave to cool for 10 minutes before trying to remove from the tin. Once cooled completely warm the jam and brush the top of the cake, roll out another circle of marizpan to cover the top of the cake and crimp the edges. Roll the remaining marzipan mix into 11 even sized balls and place around the edge of the cake. Finally grill carefully until lightly browned, one to two minutes, or use a blow torch.

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COMMUNITY Call for Hampshire arts organisation to lead community project in Andover

Town Mills riverside park (artist impression)

Test Valley Borough Council is looking to recruit a Hampshire-based arts organisation to lead a project that will review existing artwork in Andover and propose a concept for future public art. The successful organisation will be asked to help the local authority creatively engage with residents and stakeholders to learn more about people’s views of current artwork

The Test Way

The Test Way is a 44-mile longdistance walking route that will take you from its dramatic start, high on the chalk downs at Inkpen, to follow much of the course of the River Test to Eling where its tidal waters flow into Southampton Water. Without doubt, the Test is one of Hampshire’s finest chalk streams, world famous for its superb trout fishing. The Way has been divided into eight sections, each providing a really good day out. Choose between water meadows or tidal marshes, riverbank picnics or cosy pubs, steep hills with exhilarating views or cool, peaceful woodland. The route passes through some of the most picturesque villages in Hampshire, strewn with listed buildings, historic churches and

in the town and then use feedback from these public consultations to propose ideas for two new public art commissions. The intended location for the forthcoming works will be in the area surrounding Town Mills which is currently being transformed into a new riverside park. The redevelopment has been progressing rapidly over the past few months, and in the coming weeks new walkways will be constructed in the area to provide an attractive route for walkers and cyclists and a new riverside park and pocket park will be created to help showcase the river and wildlife in the area. The parks will be full of trees and luscious greenery and will provide a fresh new space for people to relax, picnic, play and enjoy. To enhance the beautiful new location in the centre of town, the council has aspirations to position one of the new pieces of public artwork near to the Wilko building, which faces the river. The location of the second piece will be inside the riverside park, with a view to the design making a functional as well as aesthetical contribution to the new landscape. Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Phil North, said “The Town Mills redevelopment is really coming together and will mark the first step towards the total transformation of Andover town centre, houses. There are many places such as Romsey, Stockbridge and Totton where you can stop along the way for refreshment, visit antiques shops, sample local crafts and foods or even to stay for a night or two. We have listed a selection of refreshments in the more rural parts at the end of each section. The crystal-clear waters of the little streams, or bournes, are ideal for watercress growers, and the numerous water meadows and tidal marshes are thick with wildlife, flora and fauna. As the route criss-crosses backwards and forwards over the river, you may spot some of the many rare birds and plants that can be found here, such as kingfishers, marsh harriers and little grebe, green-winged orchids and butterbur.

following the launch of the masterplan for Andover last year. Our goal for this project is to create a space that can be enjoyed by all and encouraging the community to help develop two new pieces of artwork for the park is such a fantastic way to bring people together and let them be a part of the future of Andover. This will be a wonderful asset for the town that residents, visitors and people of all ages will be able to enjoy for years to come.” The community art project will be entirely funded by developer contributions and supports the council’s ambitions for Public Art in the Test Valley to involve, inspire and intrigue. To find out more about the project, the requirements and how to apply, visit: https:// www.testvalley.gov.uk/communityandleisure/ artsandculture/publicart/public-artcommissions Applications must be submitted by 12noon Tuesday 16 February 2021 and emailed to fperkins@testvalley.gov.uk. The redevelopment of the area surrounding Town Mills is a joint project between Test Valley Borough Council, Hampshire County Council and Andover Vision and has received more than half a million pounds in funding from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). History In addition to the local fare, the Test Way is steeped in history. There is a host of historically important buildings and places to visit along its route dating from the Bronze Age period to the recent past. Near Stockbridge is Danebury, a large Iron Age hill fort from the 6th C BC, and whose ramparts and ditches are still clearly visible today. Just south of St Mary Bourne, the path crosses the line of the Harrow Way, one of the great prehistoric trackways and a medieval pilgrim’s route, and at Wherwell the route crosses a section of Roman road that stretched from Winchester to Cirencester. In Harewood Forest, King Edgar is said to have killed Earl Ethelwold of Wherwell, who had counselled him against marrying Elfrida, whom he then married. When Edgar saw her beauty, he killed the earl and married her. Later she had his son, Edward, murdered in order to secure the throne for her son Ethelred. In remorse, she founded the nunnery at Wherwell in 986 AD. This was later demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. This is a mere taster of the interesting historical places that are situated along the Test Way, for more information visit: www.hants.gov.uk/ thingstodo/countryside/walking/testway

Reasons to remortgage  Remortgaging is the process of getting a new mortgage on your existing home either  with your current or new lender.

More often than not, the main reason to remortgage is to lower your monthly repayments and save yourself some money, but it’s not the only one. 1. To switch to a fixed rate product: if you currently have a variable rate product and feel that interest rates will rise in the next few years, then remortgaging to a fixed rate product is something to consider. 2. More payment flexibility: your current mortgage may not allow you to make overpayments or underpayments. If you feel this kind of flexibility would be useful then remortgaging to a more flexible product may be advantageous. 3. Better mortgage terms: when you first took out your current mortgage you may recently become self-employed or had a poor credit score leading to you being offered a more expensive product. If your financial circumstances have improved, remortgaging could get you a mortgage with lower monthly payments.

4. Accessing equity: if your property has increased in value, or your mortgage has decreased, you can release some of the equity by remortgaging. You may want to remortgage to release equity to carry out home improvements which could increase the value of your property, especially if it is an extension or loft conversion. If you’d like to talk to a qualified mortgage adviser about your options, contact us today. Telephone and mortgage appointments are available. Andover branch; 35 High Street, Andover, SP10 1LJ. Call: 01264 361455 Email: andover@newbury.co.uk

Cliff Osborne, Andover Senior Branch Manager

YOUR MORTGAGE IS SECURED ON YOUR HOME. THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Newbury Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register number 206077). English Law applies and we will communicate with you in English. We are participants of the Financial Ombudsman Service. We have a complaints procedure which we will provide on request. Most complaints that we cannot resolve can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 8261

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