NEWS & EVENTS in our region

Calling all Dancing Queens to Take A Chance on the ABBA Sisters...

Princes Risborough Council, Brushwood Suite | Friday 5th May | 7:30pm - 11:00pm

This energetic, all singing, all dancing ABBA tribute act have an evening packed with the best known songs from the fabulous Swedish pop sensation in store for you and will round off the evening with a mixed 70s set. As well as iconic costumes, the duo act includes plenty of audience participation to get the party going in true ABBA Style.

The event organised by Princes Risborough Town Council runs from 7:30pm - 11:30pm with the first performance starting at 8:30pm. The Brushwood Suite’s dedicated licensed bar will be open between 7:30pm - 11:00pm.

A limited number of tickets are now on sale for this event. Each attendee will be served one free glass of bubbly or soft drink on arrival as part of their ticket. A valid ticket must be presented on entrance to this event and no tickets will be available on the door. This event is for 18’s and over only. All tickets for this event are unreserved seating.

Secure your ticket today for just £22.00 (including booking fee) from WeGotTickets to avoid disappointment. For the latest information, please go to www.princesrisboroughtowncouncil. gov.uk or search ‘Risborough Town Council’ on Facebook.

The 11th Chilterns Walking Festival returns between 20th May - 4th June ...

This years programme features over 60 walks and events throughout the Chilterns providing you the chance to enjoy the splendour of our local landscape at its springtime best. Here is a selection of them:

• Author and founder of Pause Global Danielle North will be joining Walk Works on their River & Woodland loop from Shiplake on 26th May and will offer a guided meditation from her new book ”Walking Meditations”.

• Birdsong and wildflowers of spring on 21st May: Walk through a range of landscapes with interesting birds and wildflowers and lovely views, taking in the Hartslock Nature Reserve and the Thames Path. At our lunch stop at Path Hill Farm we’ll light our own fire and brew a hot drink, learning how to catch a spark and make a flame.

• Sunrise & Sunset Walks: Enjoy the dawn chorus with an early-morning Skylark Walk on 25th May or watch the sun setting over the beautiful Bradenham Valley on a Bradenham Woods Sunset Walk on 24th May.

For details of all these walks and to view the full programme visit the Chilterns website www.chilternsaonb.org/walkingfest

This year the Abingdon Air & Country Show held at Abingdon Airfield, Dalton Barracks, Oxon. returns to a May slot, being held on Saturday 20th May. After the very sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II two days before last year’s show and the subsequent cancellation of the 2022 event, we are ready to go in 2023!

This year’s three-hour Flying Display is set to include, from WWII; the BBMF Lancaster, doing three passes, 80 years almost to the day since the Dambusters Raid, a Hawker Hurricane Mk I, not one but two P51 Mustangs ‘Miss Helen’ and ‘Contrary Mary’, a PBY-5A Catalina ‘Miss Pick Up’ and a late edition Yak-3UPW. From the not-too-distant past we have the return of the Rockwell OV10 Bronco from Belgium and, from the current RAF inventory, we have flypasts from a C17 Globemaster. We will also have aerobatics from a Pitts Special and the exciting Titan Display Team. On the ground, amongst up to 50 others, will be a Tutor from RAF Benson and hopefully a C130J Hercules, possibly one of the last chances to see this aircraft before it is retired by the RAF in June 2023. Again, helicopters will abound, both flying and on static, including a Gazelle 4-Ship, Wasps, a Scout, a Sioux, a couple of Sud Alouettes and an ex-Army Lynx, now in private ownership at North Weald Aerodrome in Essex, one of only two still flying and giving one of its earliest performances. The everpopular Classic Jets radio-controlled models will give one display before the main flying begins.

Ground attractions will include; the Solent Stars Motorcycle Display Team; Arena Demonstrations of Falconry, The Oxford Caledonian Pipes and Drums and of course the Stars; a Craft Marquee; Live Music; a Red Arrows simulator and a Spitfire simulator from 322 Sqn Royal Netherlands Air Force – a must see and have a go!; Re-enactors; Oxford Wildlife Rescue Owls; miniature Steam Engines; Classic and ex-Military vehicles of all types and sizes; upwards of 75 Trade Stalls; Rescue Husky Dogs; Amusements including Bouncy Castles of all sizes; Military Careers units; aircraft cockpits (the kids can sit in) and much more including food, drink and ice cream outlets.

Tickets are now available online at www.abingdonairandcountry.co.uk, please note there are no retail sales outlets this year. Car Parks, open at 7:30am, entry into the showground is from 10:00am.

Coronation Big Picnic in The Paddock | Sunday 7th May

11.30am - 3.30pm | Watlington

Supported by Watlington Parish Council and Watlington Primary School PTA, proceedings will kick off with a free show by Bertie Slippers at 11.30am followed by live jazz. There’s lots of fun activities planned along with a licensed bar, pizza, cream teas, face painting, crafts and games.

There will be ad hoc prizes announced on the day for best dressed and most patriotic outfits so please feel free to go all out with the Coronation themed clothing! Don’t forget a picnic, picnic blanket or something to sit on.

If you have any questions, feedback, would like to volunteer to help at this event or perhaps want to bake a cake to enter in the Great Coronation Bake Off please email watlingtonoxonpta@gmail.com

Chinnor Coronation Breakfast | Saturday 6th May

Open 9:30am - 2pm | Chinnor Village Centre

Enjoy a tasty coronation themed brekkie or cream tea whilst watching the Kings Coronation LIVE!

Family Fun Day

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Sunday 7th May

From 1pm | Chinnor Community Pavilion

Celebrate a full of fun for the whole family! This event will be spread across the Chinnor Community Pavilion, the Playing Fields and a Marquee sponsored by Chinnor Parish Council so there is plenty of indoor and outside space to enjoy all of the planned activities which include, arts & craft stalls, Craft Beer & Ciders, Food Vendors, a BBQ, CHildrens Entertainment, Live Music and and much more. *FREE ENTRY*

Princes Risborough Coronation Big Lunch | Sunday 7th May

12pm - 2pm | Risborough High Street

This is a free event where you are invited to bring your own picnic and join in the merriment of the occasion. There will be tables and chairs set up along the High Street but they cannot be reserved so therefore it’s a first-come, first-served basis. Bezerkaz Circus will also be there offering FREE circus workshops outside of the Library for all ages to enjoy!

The Kings got Soul | Sunday 7th May

2pm - 9pm | The Lamb Pub, Chalgrove

For all you LIVE Music lovers, this is the event for you. Taking place at The Lamb in Chalgrove, LoveXLove & HD Mucis Promotions presents “The Kings got Soul All Dayer”. It’s free entry and there will be live music and DJs throughout the day. Food also available. Free Entry.

Strawberry Pavlova from BBC Good Food

When you find a punnet of perfectly ripe strawberries, showcase them in this irresistible summer pavlova fit for a King...

Ingredients

For the Merginue

• 4 egg whites

• 250g caster sugar

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• 1 tsp cornflour

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

For the topping

• 500g strawberries, hulled and halved

• 200g redcurrants, stalks removed

• 3 tbsp icing sugar

• 350ml double cream

1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2

2. Whisk 4 egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in 250g caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue looks glossy

3. Whisk in 1 tsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp vanilla extract

4. Spread the meringue inside the circle, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle

5. Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven

6. When the meringue is cool, chop 100g of the hulled strawberries. Mix them with 100g of the redcurrants and 2 tbsp icing sugar

7. Place in a food processor, blitz until smooth, then push the fruit mixture through a sieve

8. Whip 350ml double cream with the remaining 1 tbsp icing sugar and spread it over the meringue. Put the remaining 400g hulled and halved strawberries and 100g redcurrants on the cream and finally pour the sauce over the whole lot

In our guide to transforming your garden from Mucky to Marvellous this month, we will be considering paving! .

It is all-important, in fact, it is crucial for the design of our gardens to have areas of hardstanding in the form of a patio, most probably paved. This will be somewhere to site your dining table, a path from the garage to the back door perhaps or a solid surface from your French doors into the wilderness that is your outdoor space.

When choosing your patio/hard standing, you need to consider your priorities; we are all different and want different things from our gardens. Generally, the division of priorities is colour, price and maintenance!

If minimum effort to maintain is your desire, your favoured choice would be a porcelain product. Porcelain is a fine ceramic material that is fired to make a dense and durable tile. As such the tiles clean well and do not stain easily. However, they are very hard to cut and require special methods to cut and lay, making them expensive to install. They come in many colours and even wood effects. The minimum cost to install would be a riven Indian sandstone. This material is much used; you will recognise it in the above photo. This mined stone comes in various colours from different regions for the most part in India (you can get UK-mined stone though this affects the price): grey, rainbow, autumn-mixed or mint fossil. It is porous and as such is liable to staining from a spilt drink or the build-up of algae in the pores which hold water and can turn into black spots. This can be avoided with regular sealing, though regular jet washing without sealing will exacerbate the problem.

Limestone also behaves very similarly to sandstone but can come in a darker grey colour. Granite is denser, reducing the staining potential and giving a modern look to the space. There are other choices but the above cover general products available for installation and sourcing at a reasonable cost. All these options are from a natural resource and are not therefore renewable. The Landscaping industry is working on alternatives for sustainable options, for the most part, construction has a high impact on the environment and your budget, and good design works to conserve both your finances and the environment with green spaces to offset and selective locations for your seating areas.

There are obviously other options for your hardstanding, for instance: gravel, bonded aggregate, asphalt, rubber surfaces, bespoke concrete or bonded resin.Good design will consider a product that will suit your budget, style and situation.