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GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S BIGGEST LOCAL MAGAZINE JULY 2022
LAST CHANCE TO WIN £1,000 FOR YOUR CHARITY – DETAILS INSIDE!
The Local
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Cotswolds: 30,000 copies Cheltenham: 43,000 copies Gloucester: 50,000 copies North Gloucestershire: 20,000 copies Stroud District: 40,000 copies
Inside this month ... Delicious Dish TLA Charity Giveaway Holidays & Travel Mirror Mirror on the Wall Looking Good, Feeling Great Sudoku Distributors Required Parenting & Guardianship What’s On Quick Crossword Motoring Money Matters Homes & Gardens In the Garden Wildlife Matters Interior Design Word Search TLA Sport Index, Competitions, Solutions
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July’s winning cover photo: Sophie Harris
Welcome to July Summer is well and truly here, and what better way to celebrate than with a picnic in the sunshine? Our July Delicious Dish is a tasty picnic pie, which can easily be adapted for vegetarians. And don’t forget your sunscream – Val Starr shares her advice for staying safe in the sun in her Mirror Mirror on the Wall article. Café René’s Rhythm & Blues festival is back for its 20th year this month with a whole week of live music, a real ale and cider festival and the famous ‘René BBQ’. For more details, see their advert inside, plus lots of other summer events in our What’s On section. It’s your last chance to enter our Charity Giveaway as entries close at the end of July. Your nomination could win £1,000 for your favourite local charity, club or not-for-profit organisation. Full details of the giveaway can be found inside or online.
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Delicious Dish with Helen Kingscott
Picnic pie If you’re heading on a picnic this summer, why not swap your sandwiches for this tasty pie?! You can easily make it vegetarian by subbing the bacon for another of your favourite vegetables. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients: 2 x 375g packs puff pastry 1 bunch spring onions 8-10 rashers streaky bacon 3 red peppers 6 large eggs
Method: 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C/gas mark 6). 2 Slice the peppers into strips, brush with a little oil and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3 Trim then chop the spring onions and fry in a little butter until soft, set aside on a plate. 4 Fry the bacon until crisp then cut into small pieces. 5 Unroll one pack of puff pastry and use to line a greased fluted flan tin 18-20cm/3-4 cm deep. 6 Scatter the red peppers, spring onion and bacon over the pastry then break the 6 eggs carefully on the top.
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Season with salt and pepper. 7 Use the other pack of puff pastry to make a lid, trim the edges then brush with a little milk. 8 Make two holes in the top then bake for around 45 minutes. Leave to cool then pop in the fridge. 9 Before you head off on your picnic, slice the pie into portions. If you’re enjoying this dish at home, serve with a light salad.
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We’re giving away
£5,000!
to five local charities or not-for-profit organisations Lots of people are feeling the pinch at the moment, including our local charities and not-for-profit organisations. With costs rising and donations from the public understandably slowing down, The Local Answer have decided to support the local community with a giveaway. We’ll be donating a grand total of £5,000 to be split between five Gloucestershire-based charities or not-for-profit organisations – and the lucky winners of our draw will get to choose which ones! So, whether you have a personal involvement
or just like to support a specific local charity, club, society, group, trust or association – provided it is, essentially, a non-profit making enterprise – you could help boost their funds by £1,000! Entries for the giveaway are on our website and the more times your charity or club’s name is submitted, the higher their chance of being drawn. So make sure you share this giveaway with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to give your organisation the best chance of becoming a winner!
August 2022
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ANSWER Your charity, club or society One thousand pounds 01234
102030
£ 1,000 TLA
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MEDICAL CHARITY ANIMAL CHARITY AGED CHARITY ARTS, CULTURE & HERITAGE SPORT & RECREATION CHARITY LIBRARY SCHOOL FOOD BANK VILLAGE HALL EDUCATION CHARITY HOSPICE DISABILITY CHARITY VISUAL OR HEARING IMPAIRMENT CHARITY SPORTS CLUB YOUTH CHARITY RESCUE SERVICES CHARITY TRUST BROWNIE GROUP SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PLAYGROUP ENVIRONMENTAL SCOUT GROUP CHARITY
It’s easy to enter our draw... For your chance to choose one of the five organisations that will benefit from this prize, please visit our website and enter online.
www.thelocalanswer.co.uk/competitions.aspx Closing date: Sunday 31st July 2022. In addition to our usual competition rules, by entering you agree to have your name and photograph featured in our September 2022 issue and online should you win. Only one entry per household accepted. The organisation must be based in Gloucestershire. The winner will be chosen at random (via a random number generator), but the more times an organisation’s name is submitted, the higher the chance it has of being drawn. Good luck! The list above is not an exhaustive list of charities or not-for-profit organisations – it is a guide for the types of organisations that can be nominated.
Holidays & Travel with Al Hidden
A wonderful Wye walk An hour after setting out, the Wye rolls past as we follow its gently curving bank towards Welsh Bicknor. On the map, its course between Goodrich and Symonds Yat’s crag looks for all the world like a bored child’s random doodling. In reality, its serpentine route is a masterclass of incised meandering. Can you remember how the Wye was always the example of this during school geography lessons? If one thing’s certain, it’s that this breathtaking fluvial landscape delivers a rewarding 8.2-mile (13 km) circular walk. A bonus is that it starts and finishes close to historic Goodrich Castle – one of England’s finest medieval strongholds.
Rewarding in winter or summer Soon after leaving Goodrich and descending steeply to the Wye, we turn right at Kerne Bridge. Then we follow the river downstream through stands of woodland and onto broad flood meadows overlooked by the Regency style Courtfield Manse. Whether on a misty morning or at summer’s scorching height, rewards await around every bend. As does the picnic lunch
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we enjoy beside the small, but attractive, St Margaret’s Church with its subtly toned ashlar walls.
Explore in Harry and Hermione’s footsteps Later, by then heading in a south-westerly direction, the route passes two filming locations for ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’: first, the riverside meadows below Symonds Yat; later, climbing back to Goodrich, Coppett Hill where Hermione tells Harry they’re in the Forest of Dean! Before that, we’ll pause to ponder a poignant riverside
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memorial commemorating the crash, on 7th June 1942, of a Halifax bomber. The aircraft came down, with the loss of all 11 on board, including electronics wizard Alan Dower Blumlein, while testing pioneering H2S airborne radar. ‘If you have to die,’ say the words of his widow inscribed on the miniature obelisk, ‘this is a beautiful place.’ And it is…
One of the loveliest Wye walks This walk has everything needed for a revitalising day out. Look forward to shady woodland, broad meadows, easy riverside walking, satisfying climbs and descents, industrial archaeology (the former wireworks near Welsh Bicknor) and heart-wrenching aviation history. And, of course, there’s that Harry Potter connection, as well as the magnificent view down to Kerne Bridge as you return to Goodrich. Less than an hour’s drive from Gloucester, what is arguably one of the Wye’s loveliest walking routes is sure to leave you spellbound. Page
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Mirror Mirror on the Wall with Val Starr
Skin S.O.S July really should be S.O.S – save our skin – month. Summer has arrived and many of us cannot wait to enjoy the sun and get a tan; understandably we all look a little healthier with sunkissed skin. Sadly, there really is no such thing as a safe tan – ask any dermatologist and they will tell you the sun and ultra violet ray damage are the main factors in ageing our skin. Skin cancers are on the rise, especially with the older population who lived during the time of no real sun protection. Our precious skin is the largest organ of the body and often reflects what is going on within us. When we are dehydrated our skin appears dull and tired, so it is essential to drink preferably eight glasses of ‘liquid’ a day – alcohol does not count! I certainly don’t want to put a downer on those who insist on tanning, but we are fortunate to have a wonderful variety of fake tanning products available now so you can look great without damaging your skin!
Cannes This year’s film festival saw virtually all the A-list celebrities
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sporting pale skin – with previous film festivals tanned skin was the look. How times have changed! It is now popular to just enjoy the skin you have with no need to change it.
Tan accelerator These products should ideally be applied a few weeks before you are going to be exposed to the sun and are growing in popularity with users saying it helps to promote a lasting tan. It is, however, important to remember they do not offer any sun protection, so it is essential you still apply a high factor sun screen, preferably with a five-star rating. Be sure to use one with protection against both UVB and UVA rays, as the latter are the ones that cause the most damage to our skin.
Hands Our hands are particularly vulnerable to early signs of ageing, as they are exposed to the elements all year round. The three main issues are sun spots, texture change and volume change, owing to loss of body fat.
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Hands really should be treated as delicately as the face. Liberty of London offers a 20-minute Laser and Light Facial and Hands session, which costs £85 for twenty minutes. The treatment uses light energy to break up pigment and help fade sun and age spots, and stimulate collagen and elastin production on the back of your hands. If you’re not able to travel to London, why not check out nailsinc.com? For just £5, the Thirsty Hands Moisturising Hand Mask will smooth and rejuvenate your hands back to their best. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Hands is another affordable product which soothes and repairs the skin. It’s a non-oily, non-sticky and fast absorbing cream that sinks in quickly, and is good for sensitive skin and soothing redness. Available from Boots for just £7.50. Let’s pledge to make this a summer where we do not burn our precious skin, but instead protect it from the sun. We only have one skin, so enjoy yourself but stay safe. Page
Looking Good, Feeling Great with Will Mbanga
Sustainable fitness and wellness Having spent a few hours gardening in the lovely weather recently, I was surprised at how stiff and sore I was in ‘places I forgot I had muscles’ a few days later. Our ancestors lived far healthier (certainly harder) lives than us – working the land, in factories, raiding or defending themselves from raiders, eating naturally grown, seasonal foods in a sustainable way, walking predominantly, while carrying whatever goods or tools they required. Fast forward to the present where we live in a world in which technology and ‘progress’ has resulted in humanity becoming a rapidly devolving species across our physical, mental-emotional and socialbehavioural spheres. The advent of everything from mobility scooters to photoshopping images, genetic modification of foods to enhance their nutritional value to jobs and recreational pursuits that force us into sedentary lifestyles have all added to the problem. Sometimes, stripping back to basic components is the best way to get more fulfilment and health benefits in your life. It always amazes me how people can get motivated to achieve ‘one-offs’ – fitting into a party outfit; making weight for lower insurance premiums; getting a ‘beach body’ for a holiday; passing a test or exam – but life is a marathon, not a sprint and we would be better served focusing on maintaining and sustaining good health and fitness all year round, rather than ‘emergency’ top-ups. The Local Answer
Being ‘fit for life’ is not a onetime thing – it’s a commitment to ensuring you maintain a good balance of physical and mental-emotional skills through a sustainable commitment to self-care, exercise, nutrition and improvement.
We can be functionally fit at all stages of life Note, I called them skills. These health and wellness components are things we can improve, as well as sustain over a lifetime. While we can’t all be fitness cover models (not many of us want to!) we can all be functionally fit at whatever age and stage of our lives we are, thereby reducing the risks of morbidity and improving overall quality of life in an increasingly stress-filled world. Here’s a simple home-based daily exercise program that can help keep you supple, fit and healthy no matter what age or stage of life you are at: • 30 minutes of aerobic activity (intensity and exercises based on your goal/fitness level) • 3 x 10 push-ups
These can be standard, on your knees or standing at 45° pushing against a wall • 3 x 10 squats Thighs parallel to the floor, hold for 4 seconds, then rise • 3 x 10 good mornings or deadlifts • 3 x 20 core exercises Alternate each day between two abdominal exercises and one lower back exercise, and vice versa All of us are at different stages of life – we have different goals, fitness levels, physical abilities, emotional needs and genetic potential, but we all have the same access to information. There are experts and businesses locally and online doing programs from toddler and mum fitness to elderly fitness classes and everything between. Do your homework, experiment and challenge yourself a little, find what resonates with you and then commit to being fit for life. Who knows, if you keep it up, you could be hula hooping at 80!
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Go on Safari with Dave Dave and Darcy Go on Safari Dave and Darcy are off on safa ri to see the animals of Africa. On their trip they make lots of new friends, from giraffes to lions, as well as a baby elephant that is in trouble! Pr e-orde r Will they be able open to help?
now! *
Dave and Darcy Go to the Beach Dave and Darcy are going to the beach for their summer holidays and a week filled with fun . Follow them on their adventures as they make friends and memories by the sea - but watch out for that naughty seagull!
Dave and Darcy Go to the Show Dave and Darcy dress up smart to go to the local village pony show. They face many challenges throughout the day including big jumps and tricky dressage routines! How will they do in the competitions? Will they win any rosettes?
Dave and Darcy Have a Birthday Party It’s Dave’s birthday and the whole gang have come to celeb rate with hi m and Darcy! There will be lots of fun games and lots of yu mmy cake . Make su re you don’t miss the party!
Dave and Darcy Save Ch ristmas Santa’s reindeer are all poorly so there is nobody to fly the sleigh and deliver presents. Join Dave and Darcy as they whizz around the world and help to save Christmas!
Follow Dave’s adventures @loiskingscottauthor
and Darcy this su m me r! PLUS! The brand new Dave and Darcy Colouring and Activity Book will be coming out this su mmer as well! You can pre order this alongside the Safari story via my website . • More than 30 pages of colouring in • Fun and educational activities • Ideally suited for children ages 2-7 Pre -order now to receive a discount on the single book , the new bundle of five books and the colou ring book! *Any
orders that include the Safari storybook or the Colouring and Activity book will be posted out later in the summer. Once I have an official publication date, I will email all customers to let you know when you can expect to receive your orders. All other orders will continue to be posted as stated on my website. If you have any questions, please email lois@loiskingscottauthor.com
Fun , engaging stories for ages3 -7 10% of profit donated to Cotswold RDA Activities and resources on my website Wholesale and school discounts available Please email lois@loiskingscottauthor.com
Sign up to my newsletter via my website to be the first to know when new stories and new Dave and Darcy products are released!
Shop online at www.loiskingscottauthor.com /shop
Sudoku Fill the grids so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9.
Helping Families find the right help We help families find high quality nannies, domestic help and child care professionals Mother’s Help • Nannies • Housekeepers, Cleaners • Maternity Nurses • Babysitters One-off, short-term or long-term support Full-time, part-time, live-in or live-out A bespoke, personal and attentive service Initial consultation to fully understand your requirements All candidates thoroughly vetted, including relevant DBS and reference checks
Helping Nannies find the right job Nanny jobs in Gloucestershire We have a wide range of nanny jobs in Gloucestershire available, so if you are a childcare professional in this area then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. For more information please contact Laura:
gloucestershire@mums-the-word.co.uk mums-the-word.co.uk • 07775 309183
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Parenting & Guardianship with Roberta Smart
Who am I anyway? Living within a family unit is the default setting; a basic expectation of most people as they grow up. Many of us will naturally meet a partner, start a family together, raise children, work, pay bills and keep walking the treadmill of normality until something monumental happens to shift us into a state of shock. It may be bereavement, a divorce, a natural disaster or other outside influence which feels like it rudely awakens us from our passive slumber and we find ourselves asking, ‘Who am I now?’ This can happen to us at any age and when it does it should not be ignored. Big life events are certainly traumatic and difficult, but within them often lies a new path; a new way forward if only we can find it. If you, dear reader, have found yourself shaken out of your routine of parenting and caring for your family, and are facing a state of self enquiry, I would like to welcome you with open arms and invite you to walk a little way with me
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along a new path: the path of you.
Rest and look after yourself
future into excitement for what lies ahead, you will create pure magic in your life, almost accidentally. One day you will be sharing these magic tips with your own children as they navigate changes in the future – so why not become an expert right now?
Taking time to rest is massively important, when quite possibly your every nerve and fibre is urging you to ‘stay busy’ so you do not have to face the changes which Find joy in the everyday The most important part of are encompassing you. Please, find rest; in walks in the fresh self discovery amidst chaos is air, gardening, napping in the to find small fragments of joy afternoon, wandering in new in the everyday. Learn to places alone and discovering treasure quietness rather than things you had never noticed fear it, acknowledge your own before. Remember a rested skills which you previously took for granted and even parent is a happy parent! Nourish yourself, learn to navigate your way to turning cook a new signature dish, try things you used to do because foods you have never tried you ‘had to’, into blessed before, eat alone in a activities which bring you joy. When all is said and done, restaurant, all the time feeling into your own emotions, fears, you are amazing, you are valuable and you are so excitement and newness. Remember, anxiety and needed, no matter how you excitement are exactly the struggle or find life difficult. same sensation, simply You, in and of yourself, are a created for different reasons. gift to the world, and now may So if you can find ways to just be your time to present transform your fear of the yourself wholeheartedly. To advertise call Page
Whatʼs On The Local Answer Event Listings are compiled and presented in good faith with the kind support of many contributors. We recommend you use the contact details provided to check event information updates prior to planning your visit. 1-3 JULY LINTON FESTIVAL Celebrating 20 years of great music and beer! Proceeds to local charities. Headliners include The Counterfeit Stones, Walter Trout and One Night of Queen plus many more amazing international bands/artists. Tickets from £22. Camping available. Full lineup on website www.lintonfestival.org 2 JULY SUMMER FÊTE Enjoy an afternoon of entertainment with tombolas, stalls, games, refreshments and more. Open 2pm4pm in Holy Trinity Church grounds, Longlevens, GL2 0AJ. Come and enjoy some family fun! WINCHCOMBE PARISH SUMMER FÊTE St Peter’s Church, Winchcombe will host the Parish Summer Fête from 125pm on Saturday 2nd July. Very much a community event with activities for all ages. For more details, email: fete@winchcombeparish.org.uk 2-3 JULY THE COTSWOLD SHOW & FOOD FESTIVAL Running over two days, the show takes place in 100 acres in the heart of Cirencester Park. Family activities, World of Dogs, Festival of Food, shopping, tradestands and much more. £12 (under 12s free). For more details, visit www.cotswoldshow.co.uk 3 JULY VALE WILDLIFE HOSPITAL OPEN DAY Join us for our annual open day and fun dog show, and help us raise funds
so that we can continue to support local wildlife. 11am-4pm. £3.50 early bird tickets or £5 on the day. Under 5s free. For more information please visit www.valewildlife.org.uk. Vale Wildlife Hospital, Beckford, GL20 7AN. 9 JULY LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE Saturday 9th July at Blackfriars Priory, GL1 2HN. 12.30-4.30pm. FREE entry. Lifestyle event: therapies, jewellery, baking, homeware, sweets, art, barista-coffee, roti shack, face painting/henna tattoo, fashion… Life-coaching workshop, mediumship demonstration and much more! Supporting Charlies, Gloucester. PRESTBURY FESTIVAL The village known for its food, fun, entertainment and ghosts! Festival opens at 12 noon with stalls until 5pm. Live entertainment from 7-9pm. Free entry. Licensed bar, food stalls, BBQ, live music, children’s entertainment, fun rides, plant sale, dog show and much more. Prestbury Playing Field, New Barn Close, GL52 3LP. SUMMER CELEBRATION – CAS OPEN DAY The biggest event in our calendar is our popular on-site open day. We open our doors at 12 noon and the Shelter will be transformed into a funpacked day out for all the family – including your dog! BBQ, ice cream, local stallholders, agility and fun dog show, dog photography, family entertainment and much more. For more details, please visit
www.gawa.org.uk. Cheltenham Animal Shelter, Gardner’s Lane, Cheltenham GL51 9JW. 10 JULY VINTAGE & ARTISAN FAIR We have a fabulous collection of stands including clothing, jewellery, furniture, garden items and crafts. 10am-4pm. Free parking around Cirencester. Corn Hall Cirencester, 26 Market Place, GL7 2NY. 16 JULY STROUD COUNTRY SHOW We can't wait to welcome you back to the Stroud Country Show. After an enforced break, the communities of the Stroud Valleys can once again look forward to that afternoon of family fun, discovery, and celebration that has been a local summer fixture enjoyed and anticipated for generations. For more information, please visit www.stroudshow.co.uk Stratford Park, Stroud, GL5 4AJ. GREENING TETBURY @ THE MARKET PLACE Greening Tetbury is delighted that Paint the Town Green will be returning to Tetbury for the month of July! We’ll be in the Market Place every Saturday in July from 11am-3pm. Come and say hello – there will be quizzes for adults and children, updates on Greening Tetbury’s projects and friendly faces to chat to about green lifestyles. There will also be a Green Bike Ride in collaboration with The Wild Carrot. For more details, please visit www.greeningtetbury.org
Promote your 2022 events! Promote your 2022 events in the county’s most widely-distributed magazine and reach up to 400,000* potential visitors! Advertise in print and receive a FREE equivalent listing on our website!
Event listing prices (per month) 40-word** listing: £30+VAT 65-word listing: £45+VAT 90-word listing: £55+VAT
Include a 3cm deep image with any of these options for an extra £30+VAT
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To promote your event, please email info@thelocalanswer.co.uk *Figure based on 2.2 readers per magazine with a total monthly circulation across Gloucestershire of 180,000 magazines. **The name and date of the event are included in the word limit (you can also include a description, timings, ticket prices, contact details, website address, etc.).
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17 JULY RUN THE RAINBOW Don’t miss Longfield Community Hospice’s colourful event at Cotswold Airport! Come prepared for a fun family-friendly 5K route with powdered paint, foam and inflatables! The perfect summer day out. To sign up visit longfield.org.uk/event/run-therainbow and use promo code ANSWER20 for 20% discount. 22 JULY KEEPING BAD COMPANY The producers of UK Pink Floyd Experience present “Keeping Bad Company”. Celebrating Bad Company and Paul Rodgers, this two-hour show includes hits from Bad Company’s multi-million selling albums. Come to the show and you’ll be... Keeping Bad Company! 7.30pm. £20. 01242 258002. The Bacon Theatre, Hatherley Road, GL51 6EP. keepingbadcompany.com 22-24 JULY TEWKESBURY LIVE – FREE MUSIC FESTIVAL All pubs and venues in Tewkesbury Town Centre will host live music all weekend! Starting Friday evening and ending Sunday late afternoon. Cover bands, original artists and something for everyone. Family activities in The
bringing back the Rhythm & Blues festival for its 20th year – an incredible week of great food and drinks, good times, and of course the very best in Rhythm & Blues music that the UK has to offer. Supporting the James Hopkins Trust. FREE ENTRY! 31 Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1TP. For times, bands, etc. visit www.caferene.co.uk 29-31 JULY SUMMER JAM 2022: THE LAKEFEST WARMUP After a two-year break, The Brewery Quarter is delighted to share the great news that its popular free music festival, Summer Jam is returning. This year’s event will be three jampacked days of live music and DJs, including Lakefest’s firm favourites, such as The Roving Crows, Erica, The Brethren and many more! For more details visit thebreweryquarter.com BEER AND BLUES FESTIVAL Grab your harmonicas and shine your shoes. The Beer and Blues Festival returns to Gloucester Brewery. Three days of incredible blues music with plenty of awesome acts, 20+ craft beers, street food and an incredible waterside location. Free entry. For more information, please visit www.gloucesterbrewery.co.uk
Watson Hall and Town Hall on Saturday and Sunday. All free entry. Bands and activities will be announced shortly. For more information about the festival, please email: events@tewkesburytowncouncil.gov.uk 22-31 JULY GUITING MUSIC FESTIVAL Bringing a host of top names from the classical and jazz world to the beautiful village of Guiting Power in the Cotswolds. Including a fundraising concert for humanitarian relief in Ukraine on Friday 29th July. Full details of performances and tickets: www.guitingfestival.org 23-24 JULY GLOUCESTER QUAYS FREE FOOD FESTIVAL The most popular food festival in the South West is back to cook up a storm at the Quays. If you love cooking or simply watching talented TV chefs show you how it’s done – this is a ‘must save’ date for your diary! With live cookery sessions, 150 stalls, a pop-up bar and lots more, this is an unmissable foodie weekend! For more details visit www.gloucesterquays.co.uk 25-31 JULY CAFÉ RENÉ BLUES FESTIVAL Café René is very excited to be
Shipton Golf Course A 9 hole pay & play course in the heart of the Cotswolds
Everyonewelcome! Open 7.30am ’til dusk weekdays & 7am ’til dusk weekends Friendly 9 hole golf course Hot food and snacks available all day
PAY & PLAY – NO NEED TO BOOK!
Bacon roll and hot drink after your round until Only £4 with this advertisement! Valid 31/7/22 Available for corporate days, birthdays and special occasions
Tel: 01242 890237 www.shiptongolf.co.uk
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shiptongolf@tiscali.co.uk
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Shipton Golf Course Nr Frogmill, Shipton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 4HT
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Dig them Rhythm & B
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www.caferene.co.uk
R é f a Le Puben
é
31 Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1TP
C
Monday 25th to Sunday 31st July 2022
& Restaurant
Steak & Grillhouse
Check our website and thecaferene for up to date information on bands, times and everything else!
Blues at Café René FREE ENTRY!
Great Music
Café René is very excited to be bringing back the Rhythm & Blues festival for its 20th year! After two decades of the biggest recurring live music event in Gloucester, we’re still dedicated to bringing you an incredible week of great food and drinks, good times, and of course the very best in Rhythm & Blues music that the UK has to offer. Running this year from Monday the 25th to Sunday the 31st of July, Café René will be hosting a full seven days of live music, with the weekend seeing three days of openair performances on our famous Green Stage, with an outdoor bar, real ale & cider festival, and our famous charcoal ‘René BBQ’. There will be numerous performances throughout the week and, while some headline acts are still to be announced, the entertainers include Big Joe Bone, James Oliver Band, Melvin Hancox Band, Alice Armstrong Band, Will Killeen Band, The Black and Blues
The TheAchievers Achievers
Band, Texas Tick Fever, Trevor Babajack Steger and The Achievers who will headline Sunday’s finalé. Café René is in the heart of Gloucester, situated within Greyfriars with the outdoor stage in a natural amphitheatre – perfect for performances, making it the ideal place for this prestigious summer event in our wonderful city.
STILL A FREE ENTRY FESTIVAL
Each year the festival is free for all to enjoy, and is one of the last free entry Blues Festivals in the country. Throughout the week Café René raise money through various
fundraising activities. They have raised thousands of pounds across the two decades with numerous charities benefiting and this year all funds raised will support the James Hopkins Trust. They’re always keen to better their fundraising efforts year on year so please do bring some shekels for the charity buckets and help support them again.
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Motoring with Toby Aiken
A modern classic? A little while back, I tested the most recent iteration of the Morgan Plus Four with a new and improved engine-gearbox combo, along with a few other additions that I can’t make up my mind whether I’m in favour of or not. From the outside, it still looks like the traditional Morgan that to a large extent it is, but inside there are a few additions that, while subtly hidden, are still notably different from previous models.
Three new ‘mod cons’ We’re talking about three ‘mod cons’ that realistically have been near-standard on most other cars for decades. Yes, this Plus Four had air conditioning, remote central locking and… Bluetooth! Now in reality, I don’t mind these additions. Once you’ve accepted that a Morgan now comes with power steering, you’ve accepted that you can have a sports car that looks and feels traditional, while embracing the modern convenThe Local Answer
iences we have come to know and love. And as I write this, I am more inclined to think I am accepting of these new additions. Although in fairness, the Bluetooth is not the slick interface that supports Apple CarPlay… this is more Bluetooth circa 2007 that simply transmits data rather than supports two-way interaction and control, but it’s a step up from the old version anyway. The air con is also more than fine. Let’s face it, the weather in England means we will not always be able to drop the roof when it’s warm out, and the amount of air circulation you get from a Morgan window is minimal, so air con makes sense. As does the central locking. None of them detract from the driving experience, and oh my word is that an experience.
The handling is immense The V6 Roadster was always a temptation over and above the Plus Four. The latter has a To advertise call
two litre 4-cylinder powerplant, whereas the Roadster benefited from a 3.7 litre V6. Now, the Plus Four, while still powered by a two litre unit, gets its power from a BMW-sourced turbo engine, coupled with a fantastic 6-speed manual gearbox. And the handling is just immense.
A two-seater rocket With more than 250 horsepower and a 0-62 time of a smidge over 5 seconds, this two-seater rocket is the best combination of power and handling that I’ve experienced from the Malvern manufacturer. It still gives the most smiles per mile of nearly any small two-seater and I remain well and truly in love with it. Add to this the gorgeous paint job and styling additions and it was a real wrench to give this back at the end of the week. I know it’s a pipe dream, but this has convinced me that one day I want to own a Morgan. Although probably not this one, with its £85k+ price tag! Page
Money Matters with Roger Downes of Andorran
Crypto – bust? It seemed to coincide with the onset of the pandemic just over two years ago. I started to receive lots of enquiries about the tax treatment of money earned from gains in trading cryptocurrencies. Some thought it was outside the tax net, but they were sadly wrong. Answering the questions was tricky, as HMRC were caught unaware and were very slow to understand what was happening and come up with a taxation solution.
Delivering massive gains for investors Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin and ethereum, became all the rage a couple of years ago, and started delivering massive gains for investors and, logically, a huge new taxation stream for the Treasury. There are reportedly well over 10,000 different cryptocurrencies available, although the two market leaders account for over 50% of the value and number of transactions. Last year, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. One of America’s largest and well-known banks decided to allow customers to include bitcoin in their investment portfolios. Everything was set for cryptocurrency dealings. By the time the market peaked in November 2021, cryptocurrencies reached a combined value of $2.8 trillion, a mind-blowing sum. Quite where would it go from there? You’d be a dinosaur if you didn’t join in.
Values can go down as well as up But as most investors know, values can go down as well as up. Cryptocurrency was no exception. A massive downward spiral began last November, with over 50% wiped off values in the following six months. Panic set in and the doom-mongers started questioning whether cryptocurrencies were for the longterm. Who knows the answer to that question? Not me, that’s for sure. But I’ll watch it with interest and prepare for the questions that are bound to follow on the tax treatment of crypto losses! Page
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In the Garden with Julia Smith
Your kitchen garden Summer is really here now and the garden should be a colourful, scented haven, filled with birds, bees and butterflies. Our gardens need to support wildlife, but not only the pretty species – creepy crawlies are so important for our eco-systems. Summer prune wall-trained apples by cutting out the thin, whippy branches that have grown this year back to four or five buds to encourage fruiting spurs.
Snip cuttings of your garden herbs Take cuttings of lavender, rosemary and sage. Pot them up and place in a shaded part of the greenhouse or a shady cold-frame. Take several of each – if they all take you’ll have plants to give to friends, neighbours or school plant stalls! Keep cutting your mint so it doesn’t get leggy and pinch out the tips of basil, lemon balm and oregano. You can use the prunings to flavour your summer cooking. Peg down the little runners from your strawberry plants to make them root and, once rooted, they can be severed
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from the parent and transplanted. If you leave runners on it reduces the vigour in the plant. Iris are such beautiful plants. Now is the time of year to lift and divide large clumps of bearded iris after they have flowered. Use a sharp knife to cut through thick sections of root. Divide into smaller pieces, leaving a couple of fans of leaves on each piece. Trim these leaves by half and replant the rhizome just below the soil level, facing south if possible so that the sun can bake it. If you have grown early potatoes they should be ready
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to lift now. Continue sowing ‘cut and come again’ varieties of lettuce in small batches, but keep them out of the hot sun and keep moist but not soaking. If you notice little metallic beetles on your rosemary you should pick them off and destroy them, as they can do lots of damage to the plant if they are in large numbers.
Prune early summer flowering shrubs Now is a good time to prune early summer flowering shrubs like Philadelphus, Deutzia, Wiegela and Rubus as they have finished flowering. If you cut out about one in three of the thickest old branches at the base, new shoots will take their place and keep the plant floriferous. As with all shrubs after pruning, lightly fork in some pelleted chicken manure or balanced fertiliser like Gromore around the base, water well and mulch with some compost or well-rotted manure to give the plant a real boost. Don’t bring the mulch up to touch the stems or they may rot. Page
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Wildlife Matters with Dorothy Glen
Insects matter Butterfly Conservation, the charity dedicated to protecting British butterflies and moths, have recently released their Red List of threatened butterfly species – with half our remaining species now on the list. Sadly, butterflies are just one example of our decreasing numbers of insects. Remember the hundreds of windscreen fly splats you’d get on a motorway journey 20-odd years ago? And now – hardly any. This may be good news for windscreens, but it’s bad news for the eco system. Consider how many food chains begin with insects, not to mention our need for pollinators. Habitat changes, pesticides, pollution and global warming are to blame.
The Large Blue is no longer Critically Endangered Thankfully it’s not all bad news. Thanks to a successful reintroduction programme, the Large Blue butterfly, which went extinct in Britain in 1979, has moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened on the Red List (although it is still endangered globally). Hearing the demise of the Large Blue made extinction a real concept for me as a child – something more tangible than dinosaurs and dodos. This left an impression, so last year I was hugely excited to visit Dane-
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Image: Adam Gor via butterfly-conservation.org
way Banks nature reserve, owned by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The reserve is now home to the largest global population of Large Blues and has been a huge success for the reintroduction programme. We were lucky to spot one of these elusive butterflies, and I joyfully followed it for a while as it danced through the undergrowth. So much effort has gone into giving this tiny insect its home back in our country.
It relies entirely on one species of red ant The Large Blue has pretty niche requirements for its life cycle. Caterpillars initially feed on wild thyme, before dropping to the ground where ants mistake them for ant grubs. The Large Blue relies entirely on one species of red ant, which then carries the caterpillars to their nest. The caterpillars feed on the real ant grubs until they are ready to turn
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into chrysalises and then emerge as butterflies. You can see them at Daneway Banks (if you’re lucky!) in June and July.
Encourage insects to your garden wherever possible But it’s not all about nature reserves. Closer to home, do encourage insects to your garden where possible: avoid artificial grass and garden chemicals; take part in no-mow May (or better still, leave a patch of grass longer all year round); grow native plants, which better feed our insects and birds; make a small wildlife pond; build an insect house – we have an article on our website with instructions for how to make one (look in the Wildlife Matters section in News, Articles & Reviews). Even just allowing a small area to be a little bit wild can make a big difference, and you can enjoy having a garden full of life.
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Interior Design with Gill Greenwell
Room to grow We are all travelling again this summer, and I am just back from visiting my daughter in the USA. She has been planning a nursery and it got me thinking about décor ideas for children’s rooms. Whether you’re preparing for a new arrival, creating a space for your growing child or decorating a spare room for visiting grandchildren, follow my tips.
The essentials A baby’s room should do what it says on the tin – a cot, a changing table, a chest of drawers and a comfortable chair is a good start. It doesn’t have to be new; my daughter had most of her furniture donated by friends. Kids’ rooms need to be both practical and imaginative, so create a room that will grow with them, with space for play and plenty of storage for toys and books. Soft, practical flooring is a must; a Berber style rug works well.
Choose your palette Pastels or bright? Patterns or plain? My advice is don’t go too cute otherwise you’ll be constantly redecorating – little ducklings won’t necessarily appeal to an older child! Classic stripes work well in children’s rooms. Ferm Living have a great selection of wallpapers in bold colours, or pick a soft neutral wall colour for a calm stylish look. Look for vintage chests of drawers and wardrobes on eBay or in charity shops and paint them to match. Also search out colourful wicker baskets for toy storage.
Have some fun Now’s the time to be playful and indulge your fantastical side. Most furniture brands have a children’s range with interesting, imaginative pieces. Little ones will love Habitat’s crocodile shaped bookcase, and I particularly like the White Company’s rattan elephant bookcase. Make a toy box by painting a fun motif on a plain blanket box. My sister found some old children’s chairs in a charity shop and painted them white with Beatrix Potter themed motifs as a gift for my daughters. Now they are ready to be handed down to the next generation.
What’s on the walls? Image: Charnwood’s Child
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It’s a tradition in my family for someone to make a birth To advertise call
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sampler with the baby’s name for the nursery wall. Alphabet wall hangings are colourful and educational too. Wood and Whistles has a lovely range of wooden animal shaped wall hooks. For something original check out the papier-mâché animal heads at Edit 58 or, if you’re feeling artistic, create a themed wall mural. Check out Annie Sloan’s website for inspiration.
The little extras You can find so many adorable decorations for children’s rooms. Skandiborn has a great range of coloured wooden toys; display them on a specially designed wall hung shelf. Finally, no children’s nursery is complete without a mobile. The website Not-Another-Bill has lots of unusual shapes and colours, and they can even be personalised. Now you can make your child’s space both special and stylish. Page
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Sport with Roger Jackson
WANT TO SHARE YOUR SPORTING STORY ON OUR WEBSITE? Please email full details to sport@thelocalanswer.co.uk
Howard Jones is quick learner Howard Jones started playing golf regularly pretty late in life, but as with most things he has taken on over the years he has proved to be a good learner. The now 60-year-old didn’t have his first golf lesson until he was past 50, and joined his first golf club just six years ago, but is now captain of the men’s section at Naunton Downs, the delightful club set in the heart of the Cotswolds. That’s a pretty meteoric rise, but one that matches his professional life where he worked in the city – he retired several years ago – and his earlier sporting life when he was a pretty decent rugby player, playing alongside England and British Lions legend Brian Moore while at university in Nottingham. Rugby was a very big part of his life when he was younger, but it’s fair to say that golf is a big part of his life today, especially since he took on the captaincy at the end of March. And while he admits there are “difficult aspects” to being a captain, it’s certainly a role that he is relishing. “One of the upsides is that you get to know people at the club across the whole age spectrum,” he said. “I’m trying to engage with our younger members. We have a lot of younger members and they all have big enthusiasm. “I’m trying to encourage these young men to participate more – I say men because I’m men’s captain, but it can equally apply to ladies. “I want to get them involved in club matches, competitions. Golf should be inclusive for everybody whether you’re eight or 80.” And Jones seems to be getting his message across.
Howard Jones
“We recently had a club match and eight of the 12 players were under 30,” he continued. “That doesn’t happen very often. “We’ve just set up a men’s committee for the first time and we have good representation from younger members which I think is very good, we’re a very, very inclusive club.” It was Jones who introduced a Bucks v Stags match for over40s and under-40s during his time as vice-captain last year and he continued: “Integration at golf clubs is very important. “I respect traditionalists but you’ve got to have one eye on the future and try things. “We’re not trying to re-invent the wheel, it’s just a realisation that younger members are very important to a golf club.” Naunton Downs was bought by racehorse trainer Ben Pauling and his wife Sophie a couple of years ago and Jones is, as you’d expect, a big supporter of the 18-hole club. “On a summer’s evening, it’s a stunning place,” he said. “There’s a serenity about it. “It’s a challenging course but it’s a very nice walk. It’s a beautiful course, open spaces,
big skies, I feel at ease there. And in the winter the course drains very well so it’s hardly ever closed, it’s a very peaceful place to be.” And even though Jones, who left London seven years ago to live in Cheltenham, clearly enjoys everything that Naunton Downs has to offer, he doesn’t regret not playing the sport more when he was younger. “I’m like a lot of people, I was a very, very casual golfer, I played three or four times a year with my buddies,” he said. “I hacked around a golf course, I never took it seriously.” These days his handicap is just under 10 but he insists he still doesn’t take it seriously. “I’m not competitive, for me it’s all about enjoyment,” he said. x“The reality is that golf is a difficult game to play and the later you come into it the more difficult it is.” Jones spent a year at Brickhampton Court before moving to Naunton Downs – he was a regular on the Churchdown club’s 9-hole course and at their driving range. He worked hard at his game, just as he had worked hard as a rugby player many years before. “I was a no. 9,” he said. “My last game was for Rosslyn Park Vets when I was 41. “I really enjoyed the camaraderie that came with rugby, I don’t think there’s any sport like it. “That team we had at Nottingham University was really good, we reached the English Universities final and quite a few of the players went on to play for top clubs.” He also coached rugby at youth level and refereed after he’d hung up his boots – “If you’re an opinionated no 9. you make quite a good ref,” he laughed.
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