15 minute read
NEWS
Stamford has a new Poet Laureate
ROB ELLKS HAS recently been announced as Stamford’s new Poet Laureate. ‘In these trying and unusual times, poetry is a wonderful medium for engaging our mind in a positive fashion and thus support our mental wellbeing,’ he says. More poetry can be found on the Stamford Poetry facebook page.
No Maize Maze
DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic the Wistow maize will sadly not be open this year as they cannot safely maintain social distancing because of the widths of the paths. The maize design of 2018 is apt at the moment as it celebrates the 70th anniversary of the NHS. Next year they hope to be back up and running.
New sustainable fashion house opens
STAMFORD-BASED HANNAH SOPHIA
specialises in luxury sustainable clothing that can be worn throughout a woman’s life from youth, pregnancy, post-birth and beyond. All products are hand-crafted and ethically made in the UK and are designed to last. www.hannahsophiaengland.com
On Her Majesty’s Service
ACTIVE MAGAZINE’S CYCLING
contributor, Gary Waterfall, has been commissioned by The Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, Mr Toby Dennis, to be one of his Deputy Lieutenants to assist him in his role as Her Majesty The Queen’s personal representative in Lincolnshire; this follows the Queen’s non-disapproval of the appointment.
The role of lord lieutenant dates back to the 1540s where the incumbent had responsibility for raising the local county militias on behalf of the Sovereign. No stranger to serving the Monarchy, Gary takes on the role on retirement from a 34-year career in The Royal Air Force where he was a Red Arrow, Harrier display pilot and led the final ship
DESPITE BEING CLOSED, Stamford Arts Centre currently offers a uniTue window exhibition of original paintings for the enjoyment of all passers-by.
Exhibited in the Arts Café windows, each painting is a 20cm x 20cm original artwork by Stamford based artist Jane Hindmarch. Jane uses oil or acrylic paint on primed wooden board, and in each piece captures a particular seasonal highlight be it carpets of mauve bluebells,
Stamford Arts Centre exhibition
formation of the Harrier into its retirement. He was also the deputy command for the Air Security during the 2012 London Olympics, to name a few of his achievements. As is tradition, Gary will discharge his duties wearing his Royal Air Force service dress in the rank of Air Vice-Marshal. “It is an honour to be chosen to serve my home county of Lincolnshire as a Deputy /ieutenant. I can think of no finer way to continue to serve Her Majesty now my regular service has finished. I look forward to supporting the Lord Lieutenant wherever I can over the coming years.”
And he’ll also still be providing us with cycle routes too; he’s a busy man.
vivid yellow rapeseed fields or swathes of pink campions.
Paintings costs £80 each. Jane is supporting other artists in the #ArtistsSupportPledge where 20% of sales during the lockdown period go towards buying artwork from another artist.
The exhibition is also available to view online on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter, or emailed directly from the artist. www.janehindmarchart.com
We’re still here!
The government shut us all down on March 23, but some enterprising businesses very quickly adapted so that they were able to keep trading, supporting their local communities at the same time
W E ARE ALL having to adapt to the new normal, but none more so than our local businesses, all keen to get back to work and meet their customers again. From social distancing and hand hygiene measures to off ering more services online they want to reduce anxiety while customers shop and encourage people to spend locally. We’ve caught up with some of them to see how they are adapting and surviving the Covid pandemic. They have shown themselves to be an enterprising, determined lot.
Simon Lewington from Natural Structures in Tur Langton is keen to get back to work building stunning new properties and extensions using natural materials particularly oak, stone and glass. “All our manufacturing can be done within government guidelines but we need to obtain the materials in the fi rst place which was a problem for a while. Merchants are now mostly all open and providing resources so fi ngers crossed that things lift to allow the economy to get going again even if it’s only a small graduated start to begin with.”
Susie Archer from Arch Label Agency in Stamford is hoping to open the shop on June 1 with social distancing measures in place. Hand sanitiser will be available. “In the meantime,” she says, “we have loaded every item in the shop onto our website and I am posting on social media every day so we have been able to keep trading. I visit the shop frequently to get orders out. Customers are encouraged to pay over the phone and are welcome to collect from the shop at an arranged time and date. We have traditionally changed the window every Thursday - Covid-19 or no Covid-19 – that is something which will never change!
“It is important to support independents and small businesses; it’s going to be tricky coming out of lockdown but it is essential that customers feel safe and welcome and we will do our utmost to ensure that.”
A more personalised approach to customer service will be evident and Susie is happy to offer a by appointment only service to customers who would feel more comfortable with such an arrangement.
Stephen Wilkinson from Wilkinson Goldsmiths in Market Harborough has always sprayed door handles and surfaces anyway for basic hygiene purposes but following the easing of lockdown he’ll have a dedicated ultra-sonic tank with disinfectant to soak each piece of jewellery customers try on, or touch, so there should be no chance of cross contamination.
He’s been doing some remodelling work for customers during lockdown but his diamond and gems suppliers shut down very quickly so he couldn’t get hold of stones or precious metals. Fortunately no one has recently contacted him regarding engagement rings! He will follow the advice from the National Association of Goldsmiths to make sure he complies with all the guidelines and best practice. In the meantime he’s been having some quality time with his son who starts school in September. Apparently his garden is looking good and his car is very clean!
Julie Smith from The Hatton Arms in Gretton remembers her last customers leaving at 11.30pm on March 20, the doors closing for the foreseeable future and wondering what were she and her husband Neil to do now? Six weeks later, all the housework’s done, the dog is getting bored of walks and they’d like to see someone other than each other, so providing takeaways was the sensible option.
Fish and Chip Fridays and Monthly Curry nights have always been popular with their customers so on the menu are beer battered cod or halloumi with chips, homemade tartar sauce and mushy or garden peas on Fridays and a choice of three homemade curries, served with basmati rice and naan on Saturdays. The price is £9.50 for both the curry and fish and chips. Alongside the meals they’ve decided to raise money for the NHS by selling cakes and biscuits.
Bookings and payment are taken over the phone to make it all contactless and then pickup is timed in fiveminute slots so they can keep within social distancing rules. According to Julie “it’s been a lovely way to stay connected to the village and with customers, old and new.”
Farndon Fields Farm Shop in Market Harborough is still open as usual, it never shut. Their team is working hard serving customers in the farm shop with social distancing and safetymeasures in place. The farm shop is well stocked with fresh local produce, meat, milk, bread and much more. They even have locally milled flour for all those bakers. Nicola Stokes says, “we are very proud of the wide variety of locally sourced produce we stock and the support we have had from our suppliers. By shopping local you really make a difference to your community which is especially important at this time.”
They are also taking orders over the phone and offering home delivery or car park collection for anyone who needs it.
Tessa Angell from One Way Out Escape Rooms in Oakham is opening her doors again to family members from the same household. Open every day players can choose one of four rooms including Gas Alert, Framed, Puzzle Room and The Lost Traveller. Participants have an hour to solve the clues and escape. Full hygiene precautions are taken, but for people who don’t yet want to leave home Tessa will bring The Lost Traveller to your door. Up to four people can solve the clues to unlock each pocket of the rucksack to find the local traveller it belongs to. She charges £50 per rucksack and you can choose the easy or hard option.
The cost for the escape rooms are £40 for 2 people; £50 for 3; £60 for 4; £80 for 8 and 00 for 0 but she has a half price offer running for six weeks after reopening, using the code LAL.
Colin Chalkley from Dog & Field in Harringworth knows how blessed we are in this area with plenty of open space to enjoy the fresh air. He says, even if you’re social distancing it’s still a good time to explore what’s on your doorstep and support small businesses. Dog & Field caters for your beloved canine friends stocking an extensive range of wet, dry and frozen dog foods as well as treats, supplements and training accessories. Their nutritionists are always ready to give advice regarding your pet’s specific needs.
Colin explains that, “as well as adopting the government guidelines on safe distancing rules within our shop we understand there are many people, either vulnerable or self-isolating, who still require dog food. With that in mind we’re offering a free delivery service spanning a 10-mile radius stretching from Corby to Oakham, Uppingham to Stamford and everywhere in between. We’re offering delivery slots to suit the customer with prepayment and a doorstep drop off service.
Dog & Field is currently operating under the temporary opening times of Monday-Friday 9:00 – 13:00. During these times feel free to pop in or alternatively you can call ahead and arrange a collection time with pre-payment over the phone or contactless payment on collection.
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AWARD WINNING STUDIO
Before the lock down, Murano Silver in Stamford was solely a bricks and mortar business. Molly Clegg, owner of the business didn’t think a website would benefit her as they sell so many one off pieces so initially the new measures totally wiped out trade She quickly resolved this by beginning to sell through their social media platforms. ´We have increased the amount of posts we share to Instagram and )acebookµ says 0olly, ´and we don’t charge postage for any items sent out. We can also include gift wrapping and a card so if you’re buying something as a gift, we can send it directly to the recipient.µ
They have also brought forward the launch of their in-house brand ‘Connie Bear.’ Originally scheduled to launch in late springearly summer, the lockdown gave 0olly some extra time to finish making the designs and building the website, so that is now online too.
Next door to Murano Silver is Iris and Violet who have only just turned a year old, so having to close their doors and stop trading was really daunting. A transactional website had been in the pipeline for a long time but getting through a full year of trading first was always their main focus. Lockdown gave them time to get this up and running and it has been really successful. They’ve been delivering orders to customers within 6tamford but also sending out parcels all over the country. It has also allowed time to source some new exciting brands which will be in the shop and online over the next few months.
Coming out of lockdown and with society settling into a different kind of normality when the shop reopens, changes have been made to make the shop safe for employees and customers. Hand sanitising units are in place which customers will be asked to use upon entering the shop and there will also be arrows on the floor directing customers around the store. A Perspex screen has been installed on the shop counter and there will be a limit on the number of people in the shop as well as enhanced cleaning procedures in the store and regular steaming of garments. They look forward to seeing you all soon.
6pring 00 has not allowed the many antique and interior fairs and restoration demonstrations The Rug Studio in Stamford had planned. But this has not stopped them from continuing the many restoration projects they had in hand plus virtual consultations for clients’ redecorating projects, or Tuotes for restoration jobs.
The good weather has meant fantastic opportunities for cleaning the rugs and the sunshine helps to insure against the hatching of moth eggs, so there’s been lots of positives.
Online they have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes with a renewed presence on Pinterest, (tsy and 9interior which all helps to direct people to their website which continues to be updated each week. Their email circulars show great examples of work already completed by the studio be it fitting of rugs on stairs and half landings, restoration projects they’ve solved and sales projects they’ve carried out to find the right rug for their customers.
To subscribe, look at the website and follow them on social media. (veryone needs a rug, as they certainly cheer up a room
Simon and Julie Tee from Stamford-based Bamboo Feet have also been working hard selling online. They have a huge stock of springsummer socks and underwear for men and women as well as leggings, cami tops and tshirts – all made of super soft bamboo. Normally found on Stamford market on )ridays and 6aturdays, up and down the country at vegan markets and events like the Bird )air at (gleton, they can’t wait to see their customers face to face again.
Websites www.archlabelagency.com
www.bamboofeet.co.uk www.dogandfield.co.uk
www.farndonfields.co.uk/telephone-orders
www.thehattonarms.com
www.irisandviolet.shop
@murano_silver (instagram) and www.conniebear.shop
www. natural-structures.co.uk
www.onewayoutescape.com
www.therugstudio.co.uk
www.wilkinsongoldsmiths.co.uk
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