Active Magazine // Stamford & Rutland // May 2022

A local farmer is making an oat drink, an alternative to cow’s milk The phoenix has risen from the ashes; what Market Deeping model railway club is doing now A hat for every head; meet the Earland Brothers stalwarts of the local markets Lights, camera, action; we chat to TV chef Jack Williams I S S U E 1 1 3 | M AY 2 0 2 2

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E E R F

From little acorns mighty oaks grow Celebrating the Queen’s Green Canopy

w w w .t h e a c t i ve m a g . c o m

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RNS

Fairchilds HOLIDAY BARNS

Visit Fairchilds Barns -

two beautiful barn conversions situated on a family farm in the heart of Rutland.

Fairchild’s Barn and Big Drift Barn can be booked together to accommodate up to 16 guests, perfect for a group getaway.

www.visitourfarm.co.uk/bookings/ Fairchilds Lodge, Caldecott, Market Harborough LE16 8TE

E DI TO R ’ S L E T T E R Editor and Publisher Mary Bremner mary@theactivemag.com Deputy editor Kate Maxim kate@theactivemag.com Art editor Matt Tarrant Contributors Will Hetherington, Jeremy Smithson-Beswick, Advertisement Sales Director Lisa Chauhan lisa@theactivemag.com Production assistant Gary Curtis Accounts accounts@theactivemag.com Cover image: EA Janes/WTML Active magazine, Eventus Business Centre, Sunderland Road, Northfield Industrial Estate, Market Deeping, PE6 8FD If you have information about a club then please get in touch by emailing editor@theactivemag.com.

If you would like to stock Active magazine please email distribution@theactivemag.com.

Active magazine is published monthly 12 times per year.

ISSN 2059-8513 Published by Triangle Publishing Ltd Printed by Warner’s of Bourne

www.theactivemag.com

Disclaimer

Copyright (c) Triangle Publishing Ltd (TPL) 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or be stored in any retrieval system, of any nature, without prior permission from TPL. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of T L or its a liates. Disclaimer of Liability. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information contained in this publication at the time of going to press, TPL and its a liates assume no responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness of and, to the extent permitted by law, shall not be liable for any errors or omissions or any loss, damage or expense incurred by reliance on information or any statement contained in this publication.

Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of the advertising material which they submit and for ensuring the material complies with applicable laws.

T L and its a liates are are not responsible for any error, omission or inaccuracy in any advertisement and will not be liable for any damages arising from any use of products or services or any action or omissions taken in reliance on information or any statement contained in advertising material. Inclusion of any advertisement is not intended to endorse any view expressed, nor products or services offered nor the organisations sponsoring the advertisement.

‘And we have gone to the source of the trees and spoken to a local tree nursery owner’ THIS MONTH THE sap is certainly rising.

It’s the right time of year for it and of course with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee just around the corner thoughts turn to the Queen’s Green Canopy which is woodland being planted to celebrate her 70 years on the throne - quite a remarkable feat. The urghley estate is the first place in the country to announce the planting of a 70 acre wood in commemoration and there will be many more to follow.

But we have looked on a smaller scale as there are lots of individual trees being planted too. We talked to the villagers of Great Easton in Leicestershire about their plans. And we have gone to the source of the trees and spoken to a local tree nursery owner who is growing heritage trees including acorns from the Bowthorpe oak, Britain’s oldest and largest girthed oak tree which grows between Stamford and Bourne.

Many of you will remember the horrific vandalism that destroyed much of Market Deeping’s model railway club’s layouts. Well they are back with their first e hibition since this happened. And really en oyed meeting their president Colin Brown, chatting to him and seeing his own layouts; quite fascinating.

Summer is around the corner (hopefully) so thoughts turn to barbecues.

T chef Jack Williams offers some great tips in his new book. And then, as well as growing trees, we’ve been chatting to a local farmer who is making oat milk. And, of course, if you farm you need equipment, so en oyed finding out more about tractors and combines as well as lawnmowers from the John Deere dealership Ben Burgess that is opening a new branch imminently in Oakham.

It’s been a busy month but we had a chance to talk hats too with the Earland Brothers; many of you will recognise them from the local markets. As the saying goes: ‘If you want to get ahead, get a hat.’

Enjoy the issue Mary - Editor FIND US ONLINE

FACEBOOK theACTIVEmag

TWITTER @theACTIVEmag

INSTAGRAM theactivemaguk

WEBSITE theactivemag.com

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Casterton Road, Stamford £575,000 This extended four bedroom stone family home offers spacious downstairs living, with separate dining room, a good sized kitchen and utility room off.

The property provides easy access to the town centre, popular local schooling and transport links. The property is sold with no onward chain.

The property comprises- Entrance Hallway, two reception rooms with conservatory off one of these, kitchen, cloakroom, utility area. To the first floor you have Master bedroom with En-suite, airing cupboard, two further double bedrooms, a good sized single room and family bathroom with a corner bath.

There is parking to the rear of the property with ample parking for several cars. The garden is mainly laid to lawn with a small patio area and raised bedding plants.

Charlock Drive, Stamford £575,000 Situated at the end of a cul de sac this superb family home comes with its own detached annex, making it an ideal multi generational home or potential holiday let.

The accommodation comprises: - Entrance hall, well equipped dual aspect kitchen diner, utility room, wc, and large sitting room with feature fireplace.

To the first floor is a Master bedroom with en-suite shower room, three further bedroom and a recently refitted family bathroom.

The annex comprises of an entrance hall, shower room, bedroom, dressing area/study and bathroom, whilst to the the first floor is a large open plan living kitchen diner.

Both properties benefit from a large driveway, single garage, and well planted rear and side garden with summerhouse and shed.

This property should be viewed early to avoid disappointment, its versatility and accommodation is rare to find.

8/9 Star Lane, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1PH I 01780 754737 I www.sowdenwallis.co.uk I info@sowdenwallis.co.uk

I S S U E 113 / M AY 2022

ACTIVE LIFE 19 THE QUEEN’S GREEN CANOPY Plant a tree to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee

Contents 19

20 AVELAND TREE NURSERY

Meet the tree growers who are supplying little acorns

26 LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION TV chef Jack Williams sheds some insight

28 PLOUGH YOUR OWN FURROW Oat milk is being made locally by Wild & Furrow

32 BEN BURGESS

Oakham has a new agricultural machinery dealership

26

34 GET AHEAD, GET A HAT Meet the Earland Brothers

36 RISING FROM THE ASHES The Market Deeping model railway club is back

42 WILL’S WALKS

This month Will is at Wansford station enjoying the River Nene

ACTIVE BODY

32

48 BE A ROUND PEG IN A ROUND HOLE

Author Mark Simmonds explains how important it is to find the right fit in your career

ACTIVE KIDS 50 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS akham School made the final of the Rosslyn Park Sevens

ACTIVE SPORT 58 TEAM FOURMIDABLE

Four friends are planning to row across the Atlantic Ocean

42 May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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ActiveLife The Queen’s Green Canopy | Meet a TV chef | Oat milk anyone?

Get ahead, get a hat | A new business for Oakham | Will walks along the Nene Win tickets to Burghley’s Classic Ibiza night

Image: Paul Bason/Railway Modeller

E D I T E D B Y M A RY B R E M N E R

Rising from the ashes; what the Market Deeping model railway club did next p36 May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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WE CAN HELP YOU! Ideas, Inspiration and Individuality.

Oh, and more plants than you ever dreamed of...

KIBWORTH

Shop to visit, stocking Yarn and Fibre suitable for many crafts.

GARDEN CENTRE

Uppingham Yarns 30 North Street East Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9QL

9am - 5pm Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm Sunday

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Opening hours: Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm

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01572 823747

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www.wools.co.uk

BEFORE

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uppyarn@wools.co.uk

AFTER

Conservatory too hot in the summer and too cold in winter?

Classic have the answer to this problem and you do not even have to change the existing windows/ doors, although you can. Structurally very strong which means your new sun room meets full Building Regulation Approval.

visit our showroom

Unit 21B, Gwash Way, Ryhall Road, Stamford, Lincs PE9 1XP Open: Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm, Sat 9am-2pm

Tel: 01780 654321 Email: sales@classicstamford.co.uk www.classicstamford.co.uk

Active life

Community meals at the Eco Village THE ECO VILLAGE in Market arborough and the CSA at Stanford all have got together to provide pay for it forward meals for the local community via The Bean Project. Haricot beans grown at Stanford all are being supplied to caterers Two Old Goats who are based at the Eco Village They will cook nutritious meals for those in need in the community every Wednesday, paid for in advance by other customers.

There will be an option to either dine at The Eco Village on Wednesdays or to take away chilled or frozen meals to eat later.

Grant funding has meant that other customers can pay for it forward for an individual meal costing 3. 0, or 0 will feed a family of four. www.twooldgoats.co.uk www.eco-village.co.uk

Stroke support THERE IS SUPPORT for young and working age stroke survivors in Market Harborough, and for their families too, run by the Rotaract club which is supported by Rotary. Meetings take place on the first Saturday of the month between pm at the residents lounge, Sa on Close which has a disabled toilet and can be accessed from a wheelchair. riendly, rela ed meet ups take place that would benefit anyone who wants to learn more and connect with people who have had similar e periences and are going through the same thing. t doesn’t matter what stage of recovery, the meetings are for everyone. You are welcome to come and chat or just listen, and you’ll probably make new friends too. Meetings are supported by the charity Different Strokes. kfortnum@hotmail.co.uk or facebook www.facebook.com/pg/ Different-Strokes-Market-Harborough-406858359853204.

Phone Kat 07732 789997

Sustainable energy at The Mill THE BIRTH AND wellbeing centre run from The Mill at Duddington is going to become a sustainable venue as work has recently been completed to reinstate a working water wheel on site. The new mill wheel will generate over 30,000 kWh of energy a year which is enough to power up to eight homes. So the Mill will be supplying all of its own energy with surplus going back into the grid. www.themillwellbeing.co.uk

Shop Stamford team photo SHOP STAMFORD MEMBERS recently got together for a team photo on the town s Meadows. And the ne t date in the calendar is the Shop Stamford Saturday which is on April 30.

May 2022/ theactivemag.com

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Shepherd Huts - Glamping Northamptonshire Romantic Retreat - Lakeside Views - Walking Trails

Switch off your phone, take a break frome. everyday life and enjoy some quality tim Our rustic style Shepherd Huts offer a private lakeside retreat, surrounded by beautiful countryside you will feel relaxed as soon as you arrive. berryfieldsevents@gmail.com I 01780 784828

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Active life

C O M P E T IT IO N !

Win tickets to Classic Ibiza at Burghley House this summer

Images: David Evans

CLASSIC IBIZA, AN open-air orchestral celebration of White Isle-inspired house music, makes its much-awaited return to Burghley House on Saturday 30 July. The concert is due to sell-out so get your tickets now if you don’t want to miss the fun. Or enter our competition to win a pair of tickets. We have two pairs available, so four in total.

Classic Ibiza at Burghley House is proud to be partnering with East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). It is hoped that considerable funds will be raised on the evening for this extremely worthy cause. www.classicibiza.co.uk To enter the competition visit our website www.theactivemag.com/competition and follow the link.

Cycle for Cransley is back After a gap of two years this much needed fundraiser is back THE CRANSLEY HOSPICE Trust Cycle event is back as a live event again on June 26 and is one of the biggest annual fundraisers for the charity; and they couldn’t be more delighted to welcome everyone back. This year they are hoping to welcome more cyclists than ever to enjoy Kettering’s only cycling sportive.

Anyone with a bike can oin and it starts off from ettering rugby club, which is a few hundred metres from the hospice. Riders can choose from four routes which wind their way through Northamptonshire’s extremely pretty villages. Routes range from the family fun spin of 10 miles, to 25, 50 and 63 miles. There will be medals for every finisher and feed stations on the longer routes.

New for 2022 is the latest Cransley Hospice Trust cycle jersey which will be awarded to any participant who has raised over £250 in sponsorship. All money raised will help support and develop the specialist end of life care provided for people in north Northamptonshire by the Cransley Hospice and the Hospice at Home team.

The Cransley ospice Trust is passionate about being able to offer high quality end of life care to all who need it. Therefore to be able to do this the charity needs to raise the fundraising income from £1.4 million to million over the ne t five years, and they are determined to do it.

To register for the ride go to www.cransleyhospice.org.uk/event/ cycle-for-cransley-2022/

May 2022/ theactivemag.com

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STAMFORD MODEL RAILWAY SHOW

IS BACK!

Market Deeping Model Railway Club www.mdmrc.org Reg.Charity no. 1187779

Visit our luxurious salons with ample parking at 11 Hope’s Yard, Uppingham, Rutland. LE15 9QQ Phone: 01572 823370

THE PHOENIX RISES!

www.goodhairdaysuppingham.co.uk

1 Alexandra Road, Stamford, PE9 1QR. Phone: 01780 238280

With over 20 layouts, 15 traders, associations and demonstrations as well as being over two days, it’s our biggest exhibition ever.

We’d love you to be part of it and for us to be able to welcome you and thank our many donors in person after the vandalism in 2019.

www.goodhairdaysstamford.co.uk

Entrance £6 I U18 £3 I Family (max 5) £15 Or use the QR code to book tickets online SPONSORED BY

Sat & Sun 14 & 15 MAY 2022 10.00am - 4.30pm

STAMFORD WELLAND ACADEMY Green Lane Stamford PE9 1HE

Independent salons offering our clients a professional and friendly service. Advanced colouring and cutting techniques using the latest products and 35 years of dedicated experience.

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Tel: 01780 654321 Email: sales@classicstamford.co.uk www.classicstamford.co.uk

Active life

What’s on...

Great things to see and do in the region THE NATIONAL GARDEN Scheme is now going full steam ahead with gardens open at Hedgehog Hall, Tilton on the Hill on May 1 and Burrough on the Hill on May 8 with many more throughout the month.

Visit www.ngs.org.uk for more details.

THE LITTLE BYTHAM farm run, LB5K is back after two years’ absence on May 29. Enjoy the chance to run around an organic farm covering 5 or 10k and at the same time raise money for local charities, MindSpace and the Lincs and Notts Ambucopter. As the capacity is for 350 runners only it is recommended that you reserve your place asap. www.lb5k.org LYDDINGTON’S VILLAGE FETE, a quintessential English event, is being held on May 14 starting at 1.30pm on the village green. There’s fun and stalls and refreshments for everyone including music from the Gretton Silver Band.

Village Fête SATURDAY 14 MAY 1:30PM - 4:30PM ON THE GREEN

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KELMARSH HALL AND Gardens are now open again after a two year gap. And to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee they are holding a Street Party on June 2 from 12-4pm. There are only going to be 120 tickets available so you will need to book them asap. Tickets will be for entry to the house and gardens as well as a delicious buffet of street food served by Sweet Pea’s Tearoom. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ kelmarsh-hall-jubilee-street-party-event-tickets-315405966737 TICKETS ARE NOW on sale for the Fairfax & Favor Rockingham International Horse Trials which take place on May 20-22. After a two year gap it’s great to see it back for the tenth time at Rockingham which is celebrating 950 years of the castle’s heritage. As well as the eventing there will be plenty for everyone to enjoy, including trade stands, children’s entertainment and an artisan food fair.

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| For information contact Keith Ormrod keith.ormrod@gmail.com 07904 292719

BASIL BRUSH IS appearing at The Curve theatre in Leicester on May 7.

You can either enjoy a family show or a later show, Unleashed (you have been warned!) To book tickets visit www.curveonline.co.uk

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Active life

RECIPE

Blackberry, goats cheese and chorizo bruschetta Jack Williams recommends one of his favourite starters from his recently published book Back-yard BBQ and grilling. ‘Bruschetta is an antipasto from one of my favourite places in the world, Italy. Pronounced brusketta this is my take on the classic with a twist, no tomatoes here!’

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• 160g blackberries • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1tbsp honey • 1 tsp red wine vinegar • 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon • 1 loaf of small crusty rustic bread • 1 garlic clove • 100g chorizo sausage, sliced diagonally • 100g soft goat’s cheese • 100g rocket leaves

• Preheat the grill to high. Make the dressing by crushing eight blackberries in a bowl and stirring in 2 tbsps of the oil, red wine vinegar, honey and tarragon. Set aside.

• Place the chorizo slices on the grill, use tongs to rotate it every few minutes so they become golden brown on all sides.

Then set them over an indirect heat to keep warm.

• Slice the loaf diagonally into thick slices, barbecue on the griddle until light and

browned. Halve the remaining blackberries.

• Rub each slice of bread lightly with a cut of garlic, then drizzle with some good extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

• Spread the goat’s cheese over the grilled toast, then top with the grilled chorizo, rocket and halved blackberries. Spoon over the dressing to serve.

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Active life

Vegetable virgins Vegetables are very simple, and rewarding, to grow.

Start out simply and enjoy the fruits of your labours WHATEVER THE SIZE of your garden you can always grow some vegetables and now is the perfect time to get started.

If your garden is tiny, grow tomatoes in pots or grow bags and if you have plenty of room you can cultivate a whole bed just for vegetables.

Tomatoes are probably one of the easiest to grow for beginners. As long as they have plenty of water and you feed them well you should succeed. And, as said, they can be grown in pots in very small spaces, even hanging baskets.

Courgettes are also very rewarding to grow. They take up much more space as they get large, and like tomatoes, need protecting from the frost and cold wind but once they are established and starting to ower and produce courgettes you will find it hard to keep up with picking them they are prolific. eed them well and make sure they are in plenty of sunlight.

Both tomatoes and courgettes need plenty of water and feeding regularly.

Basically they just need nurturing and once you have got into the habit of doing this, seeing them grow is reward in itself and eating your own produce is truly satisfying.

Garlic is not quite so demanding and seems to need little upkeep to succeed.

Simply plant a clove of garlic and keep it well watered and weed free and by late summer you should be ready to harvest it. Simple!

GARDE NING

The bread and cheese tree Rowan Griffiths admires a hedgerow favourite

T

HE HAWTHORN IS one of my favourite trees. It’s also one of the most common in England, thanks to its use by the million when the traditional common and open field system of agriculture was replaced with private ownership during the Enclosures. This resulted in smaller sized holdings. A low growing and shrub-like tree, it made an excellent stock and person-proof barrier. Its dense structure and discouraging thorns, together with its ability to tolerate laying, helped create a perpetual and impenetrable living fence.

The hawthorn when left to its own devices will grow to around 15 to 20 feet in height in a tangle of thorny branches taking between 30 and 50 years to reach maturity.

The bright green leaves are lobed into three segments, rather resembling parsley. It blossoms in spring, hence one of its local names, the May tree. The owers are small, five petalled, creamy white in colour and tinged pink, appearing in sprays of at

clusters. In the autumn the tree produces a mass of small, dark red berries encasing a single large pip.

But why the bread and cheese tree?

This folk-name is probably an ironic metaphor for the leaves eaten as a famine food, for whilst edible they taste nothing like either bread or any cheese for that matter. Nonetheless when picked in April they have a pleasant taste and traditionally were added to salads. The berries too are edible and were most commonly used to make hawthorn jelly or a fruit leather.

The blossom can be infused in brandy and makes an excellent liqueur so long as you don’t lose your will to live when plucking the tiny owers. And if you can bear to wait a year for it to mature in a dark cupboard.

Medicinally, hawthorn is known as a restorative for the circulation and heart as well as containing high levels of vitamin B and C.

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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FRESH OAT DRINK

Made on our family farm www.wildandfurrow.com @wildandfurrow

Commercial Insurance for all businesses Email: info@hallsdale.co.uk

Image: Terry Morris WTML

The Queen’s Green Canopy

Plant a tree for the jubilee

T Image: John Smart WTML

HE QUEEN’S GREEN Canopy (QGC) is a tree planting initiative that has been created to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee which encourages people across the UK to ‘plant a tree for the jubilee.’ Each individual tree can be dedicated to the Queen by ‘pinning’ it on a virtual map with the name of the individual or group who planted it and the type of tree.

Thousands of trees have been planted already during the

planting season of October to March, when the roots are dormant, by individuals, schools, community groups and businesses. Many more will be planted from October through to the end of the year. They will bring innumerable benefits to wildlife, the climate and the environment: British oak trees support an estimated 2,300 species of wildlife and a mature tree can absorb up to 150kg of CO2 a year.

The Woodland Trust is providing over three million saplings available on a first come, first served basis through their Free Trees for Schools and Communities scheme.

Individuals and businesses can buy their own trees from their local garden nursery or source them from the nurseries recommended by the Woodland Trust as these are sourced and grown from seed collected in the UK and Ireland. This limits the risk of importing pests and diseases and helps develop resilient trees and woodlands.

The Woodland Trust is also working with the QGC and landowners to create up to 70 new 70 acre celebratory woods across the . The first 0 acre wood to be revealed is a site on the Burghley estate. www.queensgreencanopy.org www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Heritage oaks for the Queen’s jubilee Aveland Trees is a local tree nursery certified by the Woodland Trust. Kate met owner Hugh Dorrington to discover what he’s doing for the QGC

O

N THE OUTSKIRTS of Dunsby, a village north of Bourne, Hugh Dorrington and his son Joe run a specialist nursery growing native trees and shrubs for woodland and hedgerow planting schemes throughout the East Midlands. His customers are typically landowners and farmers who want to create broadleaved woodlands of oak, ash, elm, birch, lime and other native trees. The nursery also sells Heritage Oak saplings to the public grown from acorns collected from historically significant oak woods and individual trees.

I asked Hugh why the Woodland Trust chose his nursery as a preferred supplier.

‘We collect all our seed from local sources and the Woodland Trust like that. We’re one of only a few tree nurseries that collect their own seed from woods and hedgerows that we’ve often planted ourselves. Other seed is collected from the local countryside having got permission from the landowners. We grow the saplings here on the nursery and then sell them on for various planting schemes.

‘This way we all know what we’re getting, as the plants are so local and we’re able to locate disease resistant specimens. We’ve succeeded in growing ash that isn’t susceptible to ash dieback disease and elms resistant to Dutch elm disease. We grow about 150,000 plants per year.

‘For the Queen’s Green Canopy we are supplying oaks grown from acorns from the Bowthorpe oak near Bourne which is the oldest and largest girthed oak in Britain. We collected about 4,000 acorns in September 2020 and grew them over 2021. We potted them into a non-peat based compost made from coir in spring 2022. They will be ready to sell in late summer/autumn 2022. You can buy them through our website www.heritageoaks.co.uk. People can collect the oaks directly from Aveland Trees or we’ll send them out in the post. If you are visiting the Bowthorpe Oak you can also buy them there.’

Hugh showed me around the nursery pointing out the trays of young saplings and the sand pits with rows of small trees ready to line out in the fields. t s quite back breaking work, but it’s very satisfying,’ he told me. ‘Trees naturally adapt to bad weather so we don’t worry about them as we line them out in the field for growing on. t s us on the tractor and the planting machine that need to worry about the wind and rain!’

He showed me plants collected from seed from the Burghley estate. ‘These have a direct lineage to oaks planted

by Capability Brown and William Cecil. We’ve also got oak

‘‘For the Queen’s Green Canopy we are supplying oaks grown from acorns from the Bowthorpe oak near Bourne which is the oldest and largest girthed oak in Britain.’

20 May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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The Queen’s Green Canopy

trees grown from acorns from the legendary Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood and Maid Marion. This year we intend to collect acorns from New Forest oaks that were planted in Elizabethan times to provide timber for warships like the Marie Rose. We’re also invited to collect acorns from local estates so that they can plant their own oak trees back on their estate.’

I wondered if more and more people are planting hedgerows and woodlands to help with the climate crisis and for the environment and Hugh agreed.

Definitely. And the government is encouraging it by offering tree planting grants to reach their target of 30,000 hectares of new woodland each year.’

Hugh is just the person to approach for advice on planting woodlands and hedgerows. He graduated with an ecology degree but felt he couldn’t get a career in ecology and wildlife, which was his passion, so in his final year he studied forestry and then went to work for the Forestry Commission.

‘I wanted to be my own boss but the only way to do that in forestry was to start a tree nursery. The nursery’s been going over 40 years, since . riginally, was growing the trees in poly tunnels in the village, then I moved to this five acre site in 200 and we re e panding a bit more now as demand for trees is so high.’

Hugh walked me through Nursery Wood which he

planted in 200 . e spends time in the autumn and winter managing the woodland by selecting trees for thinning, coppicing and pollarding. This lets light into the wood which encourages the understory (the underlying vegetation . All the cut material is left in the wood to provide wildlife habitat and to build up the wood’s carbon reserves. Large logs from fallen hedgerow trees are also dragged into the wood to create the all important dead wood habitat. n spring and summer the woodland owers are growing and birds are nesting, so management work stops. This is the time to enjoy a quiet walk through the wood. It is also the time for rather noisier children’s Easter egg hunts and barbecues with family and friends. It’s a labour of love and also an ideal site to show landowners what a woodland can become over time. Hugh and his team don’t just grow the trees, they plan and plant woodlands for landowners too.

I had to know what his favourite tree is but I have to admit it was one I’d never heard of. ‘It’s a wild service tree which is a native tree found in a lot of ancient woodlands around this area reaching into Leicestershire and orthants. t s a very attractive tree which owers in May followed by berries and wonderful scarlet autumn leaves; it has everything, and you usually only see one or two in a woodland. You often only notice them when you see a carpet of scarlet leaves on the woodland oor in ctober.

And the best hedgerow plant Again there was no hesitation. ‘It has to be hawthorn. You can trim it once a year to make a dense, stock proof hedge. r you can let it grow into a small tree. Then it will be full of blossom in May and later the red berries will feed birds throughout the Winter.’

For more information visit www.avelandtrees.co.uk and to reserve a Bowthorpe oak visit www.heritageoaks.co.uk or www.bowthorpeparkfarm.co.uk

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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20/04/2022 20:56

Walk on the Wild Side One village takes their Jubilee celebration outdoors. Sue Peet finds out more

22 May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Walk on the wild side

C

OMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UK are busy with final preparations for the ueen s latinum Jubilee celebration. ut as the am ars are washed, cake recipes pored over and the bunting retrieved from the back of a dusty cupboard, one village on the Leicestershire and utland border is also preparing something a little different.

As well as community events over the Jubilee weekend itself beacon lighting, a street party and scarecrow competition residents of Great aston are planning a further celebration later in the month that will be as much about trees, wildlife habitats and pollinator plants as it will be about cake sales or tombola prizes. Think traditional village fete with an environmental twist.

The Walk on the Wild Side Celebration Day, which will take place on Sunday 2 June, is the culmination of a 0 month wildlife pro ect initiated by two local residents, Teresa Chapman and ob Mitchell. The idea came about as a way of encouraging people to connect with local outdoor spaces and engage in a conversation about making the changes needed to support wildlife and benefit the environment. And where better to start than on your own doorstep Great aston is situated within the footprint of the ancient ockingham orest. owever, like much of rural ritain, the area surrounding the village is now predominantly farmland, with trees mostly found in hedgerows, along watercourses or in woodland pockets remaining from the days of a more widely forested landscape.

Trees have traditionally been used as sources of food, fuel and building materials. More recently they have come into sharper focus as the reliable workhorses of environmental stability. ealthy woodlands function as e cient green engines for the cycle of carbon capture and o ygen production. Trees offer essential structural support to the soil through their root systems, while above ground they provide an e cellent micro habitat for a wide range of wildlife.

The value of trees to wildlife and the environment is becoming increasingly recognised. rganisations like the Woodland Trust have been the ag bearers for many years through their work to protect ancient woodland and encourage regeneration with the wide scale planting of tree species designed to promote biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis. owever, the decision to focus the ueen s latinum Jubilee around tree planting has raised the profile of trees to new heights.

The Walk on the Wild Side pro ect illustrates how even small communities can take action to support wildlife and help the environment. The pro ect s achievements in ust a few short months are impressive. With the backing of residents, local organisations, charitable trusts and businesses, this dynamic team raised the funds needed to purchase one hundred fruit trees. These included favourites such as apples, pears and plums but also lesser known species like quince and medlar.

The fruit trees, ranging in size, were distributed in a spring giveaway event with residents taking home their chosen trees to plant in gardens around the village. The location of each tree was recorded and pinned on the ueen s Green Canopy Map, thereby contributing to both a local orchard and a national forest. lans are also underway to plant a commemorative tree on the village recreation ground.

‘The Walk on the Wild Side project illustrates how even small communities can take action to support wildlife and help the environment.’

May 2022 / theactivemag.com 23

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Walk on the wild side

‘In the short time that it has been operational, Walk on the Wild Side has engaged with a wide swathe of the community and drawn deeply upon local skills and knowledge.’

The decision to focus on fruit trees was taken very much with wildlife in mind, as they provide blossom for pollinators in spring and fruit during summer and autumn.

Vikki and her daughter, Grace, were excited to receive their Apricot Bergeron tree and are looking forward to ‘being able to eat a fresh-picked apricot, in our own back garden!’

Vikki went on to say, ‘we feel incredibly lucky to have the Walk on the Wild Side project…highlighting the plight of the world immediately around us and what we can do to nurture it.’

In addition to the tree giveaway, the project has organised a number of wildlife and environmentallythemed activities. These have included heritage fruit tree grafting, photography and willow-weaving workshops, a peat-free compost project, creating pollinator planters and building a bug hotel at the village hall using reclaimed materials.

Although it is early days for the project, news of its activities can already be found online through a website that has been built and managed by 15-year-old Arthur, whose input has been greatly valued by the team. Certainly, encouraging people across all ages and interest groups has been fundamental to the project. In Bob’s words, ‘we’ve been tapping into a variety of different people in the community, getting them engaged by offering practical things to do.

Moreover, coming after months of pandemic restrictions, Walk on the Wild Side has also, says Teresa, been a way of bringing different people within our community together to enjoy participating in something positive.’

The Walk on the Wild Side Jubilee Celebration Day will take place at Great Easton Village Hall on Sunday 26 June, between 2:00 - 4:30pm. Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a Wildlife Walk around the village which will take in wildlife habitats, different species of trees and e amples of hedge laying as well as ridge and furrow fields all experienced without having to stray far beyond the village limits. An illustrative map will be available for the walk which is suitable for most walking levels.

Other activities will be like a traditional village fete including stalls, cake sales and ra es. All prizes will be related to an environmental theme (such as bird boxes or pollinator plants) and there will be opportunities to get hands-on with children’s planting activities and much more. In Teresa’s words, everyone is welcome to ‘have a walk around a beautiful village and enjoy some homemade cake.’

In the short time that it has been operational, Walk on the Wild Side has engaged with a wide swathe of the community and drawn deeply upon local skills and knowledge. It has involved families, engaged with young people, reached out to older residents and tapped into the skills of local photographers, bird-watchers and website designers. The Celebration Day fete will be an opportunity for residents to think about what the community can do next to promote a greener future.

And when the cake crumbs have been shaken out for the birds and the peat-free compost has been swept up from the hall oor, what ne t for the pro ect After the Celebration Day, the project team plans to take feedback from the community and consider its next steps. What began as an idea discussed over coffee between friends has become a community project gathering momentum. In the meantime, Teresa and Bob will be able to enjoy a few quiet moments to sit outside with a cup of tea and listen to the birds sing.

If you would like more information about the Walk on the Wild Side project you can visit the website at www.wotws.org If your business or organisation could provide a prize for one of the Celebratory Day’s activities, please contact Bob and Teresa on walkonthewildside22@yahoo.com

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20/04/2022 20:57

Jack Williams, foodie extraordinaire and TV chef has recently published his first book. Mary meets him

J

ACK WILLIAMS GREW up locally going to school in Bourne. He always loved food, wasn’t interested in taking A Levels so left to go to college where he studied hospitality and catering so learnt all about front of house work as well as cooking and theory and nutrition.

He drifted into working at the Ideal World shopping channel in Peterborough but little did he know that this was the start of his catering and media career and that it would turn out to take him in a full circle.

Jack started working as a home economist for the shopping channel. This involved buying all the food needed for the cooking shows, preparing it all and pre cooking bits so that the chef on camera had everything to hand. Jack learnt a lot this way ‘even if it was by osmosis just being around the chefs and production team.’

After a couple of years he decided it was time to leave Peterborough and explore a bit of the wide world, heading to Florida and landing a job at Epcot in Disney World. ‘I spent a year working there and learnt so much about service and front of house.

Americans, particularly Disney, are renowned for their service skills.’ He then returned to the Ideal World channel absorbing himself in learning all about live TV and food preparation.

‘Itchy feet got to me again and I decided I was going to head to Australia. d done five years at deal World with a gap in America so wanted to broaden my horizons. I was 25 with no commitments. I wanted to travel around the country but wanted to work as well.’

And Jack had some unique skills. He got in touch with a production company who, as it happened, were commissioning for a show on channel 7, Drive Through Australia. And they needed a home economist. So Jack got to travel around Australia being paid for the privilege. ‘We travelled in luxury. I was buying all the food, prepping it again and cooking it for the ‘here’s what I made earlier’ slots. I had no desire to be in front of the camera but was enjoying honing my finesse as a chef and was learning loads from the production team and from watching the presenter and his skills.’

This led to him being put forward to Australian Masterchef, one of the biggest shows on television in Australia at the time. ‘It was a big budget production and again I was the home economist; stocking the pantry, looking after the competitors, cooking some of the recipes before the competitors were given their tasks by the judges, that sort of thing.’

But all good things come to an end. His two year visa was up and because his work was temporary, working for different production companies, he was unable to get sponsorship to stay in Australia. So he headed home to the UK, found an agent and very quickly started

Image: Stuart Harper 2022

Lights, camera, action

working in TV production as a home economist and food stylist.

Ten years later, what Jack hasn’t worked on when it comes to TV cookery shows is probably not worth mentioning. You name it, he’s been on it including the really big daytime shows such as This Morning and Sunday Lunch. ‘The home economist and stylist does all the hard work, with very little praise and by now I had gained confidence and e perience so decided it was time to have a go at presenting myself.’

This started by being a hand model for top down videos which mainly appear on social media. And then he progressed to being fully on camera. He was also working with many well known high-end brands such as Miele where he would go to people’s homes and demonstrate how to use the equipment they had spent a fortune on. ‘I’ve met some very interesting people.’ Weber BBQs were another company, demonstrating in Harrods and many more well known brands, too numerous to mention.

And then three years ago Ideal Home got in touch again. This time they wanted Jack to be in front of the camera rather than behind the scenes. ‘Basically I was head hunted. I decided to give it a go, did quite well and am now their resident chef on screen five days a week.’

To have the confidence to cook is one thing, but to have the confidence to cook and talk at the same time is a skill. t s di cult, and then you have to be able to demonstrate a product and sell it as well, all the time listening to someone talking to you through an ear piece. ou have to make sure you don t get ustered or make mistakes and remember it’s live TV so the pressure is always on.

Presenting is a real skill and many chefs, however excellent their cooking skills just can’t do it, or don’t want to.’

‘I sort of fell into the media side of my work. You could say it chose me. A lot of it is down to chance and luck but I’m a great believer that you make your own luck. If you have the appetite for hard work and are up for the challenge, you’ll get there.’

Jack now obviously develops his own recipes and has recently published his first book ack yard and grilling. t s the go to for barbecue cooking, not just for recipes but advice as well. Internal core temperatures and cuts of meat, equipment needed, direct and indirect heat, gas vs charcoal and whatever else you can think of is all included in the book as well as delicious recipes, some of which you’d never even consider could be cooked on a barbecue.

Jack’s book, Back-yard BBQ and Grilling, is now available to buy from Walkers in Stamford and Oakham or online at www.idealworld.tv

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TV CHEF

'It’s the go-to for barbecue cooking, not just for recipes but advice as well.'

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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20/04/2022 20:58

Plough your own furrow Not everyone can, or wants to drink cow’s milk. Mary talks to a local farmer who is making an alternative

28 May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Active life

T

HERE ARE MANY alternatives to cow’s milk: almond, soya, coconut, to name a few. Many have high food miles, not necessarily being made, or with ingredients sourced in this country. But there are exceptions. Oats are a brilliant break crop popular with British arable farmers. They are grown in plentiful supply locally, so oat milk can surely be made on our doorstep too?

Yes, it can, and Leicestershire farmer Miles Marlow-Thomas and his family are doing just that. Miles has recently launched Wild & Furrow and is making oat milk (although it can’t be called a ‘milk’) on his family farm just outside Market Harborough.

But why would you drink oat milk anyway? What’s the matter with good old fashioned cow’s milk? Alternatives to dairy are very ‘fashionable’ at the moment. But there are pros and cons, as is always the case. Oat milk is lactose free, lower in saturated fat as well as obviously being vegan. t s high in fibre and can help lower cholesterol. It’s lower in protein than cow's milk and does not naturally contain as many nutrients (although Wild & Furrow oat milk has twice the amount of protein compared to some oat milk brands).

But if you have allergies, are vegan or just don’t like cow’s milk, oat milk is a great alternative. If you are concerned about food miles and the environmental impact of your shopping then something made on your doorstep is just perfect.

Miles was brought up on the arable farm and after school at Oakham and university headed to London as a commodity broker trading in coffee and cocoa. ecause was in the industry and based in London I quickly became aware of the trend for alternatives to milk, particularly almond and soya milk at the time,’ says Miles.

‘But as a farmer’s son with cousins who are dairy farmers and obviously very pro British agriculture I quickly realised that these alternatives weren’t sustainable, something which I think is really important. I came across oat milk, which got me thinking. We grow oats on the farm so why couldn’t we make it?’

Miles started doing some research and spoke to his family about his plans. ‘My brother and sister were really keen to explore this as it was an innovative farm business idea, but my parents were a little more sceptical.’ And then Covid struck. Miles moved back to the farm working as a trader remotely whilst still doing lots of research.

‘The plan was always for me to come back to the family farm one day but I wanted to return with a viable business. Family farms need diversification to survive and really thought we were on to something with the oat milk.’ Within six months Miles had resigned from his job and launched Wild & Furrow with his siblings. ‘As a farmer’s son I was determined I was not going to knock dairy farmers but celebrate all of British farming. We wanted to produce a premium product that could be sold alongside cow’s milk,

'As a farmer’s son I was determined I was not going to knock dairy farmers but celebrate all of British farming.'

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20/04/2022 21:00

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highlighting the benefits of a locally produced, sustainable, delicious product made using very low food miles.

And that is what he did. Miles oat milk is made of oats, water, rapeseed oil and salt with added phosphate which is an acidity regulator. ou basically stew and stir the oats to produce the milk. t is gently pasteurised so has a shorter shelf life than the mass produced long life versions. ou keep it in the fridge alongside your milk. Miles worked with a food scientist to perfect the recipe. is oat milk is creamier than many alternatives on the market so it works well in lattes or on porridge. nce he d perfected the recipe in the kitchen he then had to buy the equipment and set it all up on the farm.

This was the hard bit and the most risky, deciding on the equipment. was determined we were going to use glass bottles, again to make it more sustainable. We recycle the bottles and because we use glass, milk rounds have included us on their deliveries.

Dairy alternatives are not allowed to use the word milk when marketing their products, hence you will see alternative spellings.

Miles decided he would use the term oat drink simple and accurate.

So now he had the manufacturing sorted out they had two months of trials to perfect it he had to market his drink.

This is very much a family concern, says Miles. My sister annah is Director of Sales, my brother Angus and his wife Sally help with the marketing and social media. ven my parents are now onboard mum now drinks it in her coffee and am allowed to put that on record Miles and his sister have been true to themselves. We re not preachy and found that if we can get customers to try it, they will buy it. ecause it is a premium product and locally produced on a farm, farm shops, local caf s and eco shops have embraced it.

Demand is high and since launching in December 202 , making one batch a week, Miles has been selling out. We are now on milk rounds around Melton, Leicester and orthamptonshire with other

'I was determined we were going to use glass bottles, again to make it more sustainable. We recycle the bottles and because we use glass, milk rounds have included us on their deliveries.' rounds showing an interest as well. ve found that oat milk isn t replacing cow s milk in people s diets but is being bought to drink alongside it, which is ust what wanted and hoped would happen.

We are running alongside the dairy industry and supporting farming.

Wild urrow quickly built up a waiting list of people wanting to stock their oat drink so production has e panded and they are e tending deliveries to include Stamford, akham, Market arborough, Leicester and ppingham as well as farm shops stretching from Melton and many villages in between. And don t forget the coffee shops and caf s too, local baristas are loving it visit the website to find local stockists near you . And the team are now working on shake recipes chocolate and coffee are in the pipeline at the moment.

Covid and subsequent lockdowns have made people really appreciate what is grown and produced locally and it is great to see businesses such as Miles thriving and growing. Locally grown and manufactured, low food miles and a premium product. Just what we all want. www.wildandfurrow.com Instagram @wildandfurrow

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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20/04/2022 21:01

Green machines Oakham is to welcome a new tractor dealership shortly and they even have a royal warrant. Mary finds out more

B

EN BURGESS IS a very well-established agricultural business which many of you will have come across, and not just because you are farmers. Founded in 1931 in Norfolk by Ben Burgess and two others, it was the perfect time to start a business; British farming was in the depths of the post war agricultural depression and things, in theory, could only get better.

It was the time to persuade farmers to change from horse power to tractor power. And it worked, with lots of hard work and persistence the business grew steadily and the innovative founders kept introducing new equipment and models, including a combine harvester, expanding all the time. In 1964 the Ben Burgess company was approached by John Deere, an American corporation that manufactures agricultural and lawn care equipment, to be appointed as one of the first John Deere Dealers in the .

Over ninety years later the business now has seven branches covering East Anglia and Cambridgeshire and with its branch now opening in Oakham, will cover Rutland and Leicestershire too.

The £6.5 million Oakham branch, which is due to open soon, covers 4 1/2 acres and is situated next to McDonalds on Hackamore Way. The branch is going to be in Oakham as it sits in the middle of their dealer area with Stamford and Melton Mowbray on either side of it.

The new branch will boast lots of showroom space and a large parts and service department, plus much more. p to 3 staff will be based there with apprenticeship opportunities available as well. It

seems that when you start working for Ben Burgess you stay a long time. Apprenticeships are popular and a great way to be trained and to progress through the company. Maddie Green who is now the Oakham branch’s parts manager, won the John Deere Apprentice of the ear award in 202 . Staff also regularly attend recruitment days and have recently been along to Catmose College to drum up recruits.

‘We pride ourselves on service and back-up,’ says branch manager Robert Burdock who has been selling John Deeres for over 30 years, so he knows the brand inside out and backwards. ‘Arable farms lie to the east of us and livestock to the west, so we cover all sorts of

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Active life

farming from the small family farm of 0 acres, to the vast estates and arable farms of up to eight or nine thousand acres. en urgess is not ust about the large green tractor and combine harvester, far from it.

Grounds care is going to be a big part of our business, says obert. Grounds care consists of a variety of products to maintain residential gardens, estate grounds and sporting venues such as golf clubs and football pitches. John Deere produce e cellent ride on mowers, as do many of the other brands we stock. We have a variety of lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws and other garden equipment from brands such as Stihl, ayter, usqvarna and Timberwolf. We are perfectly situated for our Groundscare manager to support schools and sports grounds, large gardens and horticultural businesses. t s not ust agricultural and grounds care machinery on offer, they also supply machinery for construction. A selection of anmar e cavators, Avant wheeled loaders and ramer telehandlers are available for sale or hire. veryone is going to be very welcome at the new showroom. f

you need country clothing, they stock a large range of Alan Paine Clothing which is a great, affordable brand Le Chameau wellies and they also supply ull shotgun cartridges too. think it s best if you visit yourself, as there s ust too much to list here think omebase plus!

As obert said the company prides itself on the service it offers and the back up and has the motto of where service still counts. arming is stressful at times and dependent on the weather. So if your tractor or combine breaks in the middle of drilling or harvest it s imperative repairs are swift and delivery of parts rapid. en urgess can provide this fast and effective service. elationships are built up over many years, as well as loyalty to the brand. f we are unable to get a customer s combine or tractor going again within 24 hours, we can provide our customer with a machine until theirs is fi ed, says obert.

They also have a large hire eet available too. This is quite a large part of the business, as many farmers will hire an e tra tractor during their busy periods as it s sound business practice to do this, rather than spend hundreds of thousands on a machine that will only be used for a few months of the year. The same goes for a combine harvester which can cost over million vast figures John Deere is one of the most popular brands in the area because of its reliability and sophistication. All of their machines now include technical G S equipment which most farmers use. Good service and customer relationships have also played their part in John Deere s popularity, which is where en urgess comes in.

The company is already making itself known in the town. They sponsor the rugby club and utland in loom as well as working with the organisers of the utland show and there s even going to be a beer sponsored by them at the local beer festival. Look out for their open day which will be held in the ne t few months. f it s a tweed cap or a million pound piece of machinery you re looking for you will receive a very warm welcome.

Contact: 01572 492492 Visit: www.benburgess.co.uk

‘Arable farms lie to the east of us and livestock to the west, so we cover all sorts of farming from the small family farm of 50 acres, to the vast estates and arable farms of up to eight or nine thousand acres.’

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A hat for every head The Earland Brothers have sold hats on our local markets for years; Kate caught up with Richard in Oakham

I

WOULD HAZARD a guess that most of our readers have bought a hat, scarf or pair of gloves from Andrew or Richard Earland on one of our local markets at some point. If not, you will know someone who has.

Richard and Andrew established the business in 1986 having both left Brooksby Agricultural College. They didn’t have a farm to run at the time, although they do now. So they sold workwear at local markets, and one day ichard took off his own cap and left it out on the stall. A gentleman picked it up and asked to buy it and the rest, as they say, is history.

‘This was in the days before the internet,’ Richard told me, ‘so we went to the library to look through the business directories. We had to go all over the country to visit different factories to find out who made what and where, who offered the best quality. Then we got some hats together and they went so well we dropped workwear and concentrated on headwear. As we say there’s a hat for every head but tweed caps are our speciality.

‘In January we get tweed samples sent to us and we choose between them (which can lead to some interesting discussions!)

Then we have the caps made up into production samples. The delivery comes in July ready for the following winter. We used to choose our tweeds directly from Scotland but now the hat factories send us their tweeds. At one time everything was made in the UK; there used to be 20-30 factories making hats but now a lot is made abroad. We only use British tweed, that could be Harris tweed from Scotland, Merino tweed and Saxony cloth from Yorkshire and linen from Ireland for the summer caps.’

However they don’t just sell caps. There’s an array of hats of all styles, colours and sizes. Just as their customers come in all shapes and sizes, with usually more ladies than men.

‘We know most of our customers,’ Richard says. ‘I’ve stood on the same corner in Uppingham for thirty years seeing people come and go. Different generations of the same family. And many come back every year, particularly in the autumn when they buy their Christmas presents. People lose their hats, so they come back for another one. Or if they’re bald they want one for the summer and another for the winter. Or they see someone wearing a hat on the tv and they want one similar. Peaky Blinders did wonders for our business, but nothing lasts for ever. Fashions change. Wedding hats

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Active life

used to be huge, people don’t wear such large ones now.

'You have to be honest with people so we do say if a hat really doesn t suit them and we re very picky about the fit. ou have to get it right. Some people don t realise a hat isn t fitting well. t has to be tight enough to stay on but not so tight it’s uncomfortable. If you’re driving a sports car you don t want it to y off, do you ‘We’re very careful about the shape of our hats too: the caps have to have a nice deep back with straight sides, they need to be sewn up straight and the pattern has to match up. That’s why the production samples are very important.

We don t like cheap and cheerful products, you ve got to offer good quality at a reasonable price. We don’t sell cashmere but we do sell lambswool, all in a good price range.’

While I was talking to Richard it seemed as if the weather went through all four seasons in the space of an hour.

The trick is to gauge the weather which can be di cult when you’re in between seasons; one week we’ll have the childrens’ sunhats out, the next I have to get all the knitwear back out again. ou have to be e ible. prefer a good cold spell or a hot spell. t can

‘I’ve stood on the same corner in Uppingham for thirty years seeing people come and go. Different generations of the same family.'

be freezing on the stall, but you get used to it and you make sure you wrap up well.

‘I only ever used to work with my brother Andrew at shows but we’ve stopped doing them now. We have a website and we’ve cut down to six markets a week between us, so that’s Melton Mowbray on a Tuesday, Oakham on Wednesdays, Olney and Loughborough on a Thursday and Stamford and Uppingham on Fridays. I enjoy Olney and Uppingham best as they’re busy with a great cross section of society. Andrew likes Stamford for the same reason.

‘It’s a great business but you do have to get up at 4am and set up from scratch every day, in all weathers. But we’ll carry on for a few more years; it’s been a good life.’ www.earlandbrothers.co.uk

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THE PHOENIX HAS RISEN FROM THE ASHES After sport and fishing, model railways are the next most popular hobby in the UK. Mary finds out more from the president of Market Deeping’s model railway club, Colin Brown

Image: Paul Bason / Railway Modeller

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Active life

C

OLIN ATTENDED A technical grammar school in south London and started making Airfi aeroplanes. And in 1947, aged 14 he progressed to model locomotives, wagons and tracks and this has been his passion ever since. And what a passion to have. These intricate models take hours of painstaking work and really are quite a feat of skill and engineering, albeit on a small scale. One locomotive can take between two to three hundred hours’ work to complete and Colin has more than 40 engines in his house; along with many, many carriages and wagons. And then there’s all the buildings and tracks as well - all made by him.

It really is a labour of love and Colin is not the only person locally to have such a passion; indeed nationally and internationally there are many millions of people indulging in this hobby. And many, many of those people came to the aid of the Market Deeping club when in 20 their e hibition was vandalised at the Stamford Welland Academy. And now that I have seen these intricate models and the hours of work that goes into them it’s even more heartbreaking to think that this happened.

The Market Deeping model railway club was launched in 1976 when local enthusiasts got together to build layouts, models, locomotives and wagons and swap tips and tricks of the trade. Colin joined them 21 years ago and is now president and the oldest member at . Many of the models they build are e act replicas of historic engines such as the lying Scotsman and the Mallard. And many of the layouts are of old railway lines, stations and tracks.

Stamford station has been modelled by them along with many more iconic routes and buildings. The size of the models varies, as do the tracks but that seems to depend on personal taste and space available.

Colin always loved trains and they run in his blood as his grandfather worked on building both the lying Scotsman and the

'The Market Deeping model railway club was launched in 1976 when local enthusiasts got together to build layouts, models, locomotives and wagons and swap tips and tricks of the trade.'

Mallard, as well as many others. During his career Colin didn’t need to build his own layouts (although he did) as he had the run of the ritish railways anyway, having a first class pass to anywhere as he was rail operations manager for Esso and other companies moving freight by rail. So he made the most of that first class ticket and enjoyed unlimited travel.

Today the railways are still his oyster but on a smaller scale. In his very impressive garden shed he has his own model railway which is replicating the late 1930s and ‘40s on the North Eastern railway which became part of LNER in 1923 and British Rail in 1948. There is a station, Alston, which is in Cumbria and the enthead signal bo , the highest in ngland, is an e act model. The line was to be built from Alston via Nenthead in the 19th century, but this didn’t happen, hence the model. Whiskey, his black and white cat that he had as a child can be spotted on the vegetable patch and one of Colin’s friends, a lady in a blue and white spotted dress is waving whilst waiting at the station for the train to arrive. This work of art, as it really is that, took Colin 17 years to build. The streetlights are lit and the vegetables are growing while the coal man stokes the fires to keep the engines running. uite e traordinary and was very privileged to be shown it and see it in action.

20 for the club was definitely an annus horribulus and then, of

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Active life

'Rod Stewart sent them £10,000 and many more well known names got in touch.

The kindness of people from the famous to the unknown modest modeller was overwhelming.'

course, Covid scuppered everything with no meetings taking place for two years, (‘we did have long phone calls and a lot of Zoom’).

There were no exhibitions either. So the scars of 2019 have yet to be erased. But they will be soon as the phoenix is rising from the ashes with their 2022 exhibition which will be held on May 14-15, again at the Stamford Welland Academy.

‘I have never seen such destruction before,’ says Colin. ‘We sometimes get things stolen and the odd accident happens but the wanton vandalism was horrifying. Some of our members lost whole layouts which had taken them over 20 years to build.’

But out of something horrible, good has happened. So many people were horrified by what had happened that donations started coming into the club thick and fast. ‘My email crashed as it just couldn’t cope with the number of messages I was receiving.’ People from all over the world were sending donations, models and locomotives. Rod Stewart sent them £10,000 and many more well known names got in touch. The kindness of people from the famous to the unknown modest modeller was overwhelming. Colin is still sorting through many of the models they were sent, and loving every minute of it.

And because of these kind donations the club has recently been able to relocate to new premises and now has a clubhouse at Essendine. This means they have space to work on layouts and can store models and also have a kitchen and toilet as well; something they didn’t have before.

The club has over 40 members and always welcomes new ones.

Nearly every member has their own layout at home and all bring different skills with them. Some are very skilful welders, others can work on the intricate paintwork and others are expert modellers of the buildings rather than locomotives. All are happy to offer advice and impart their skills.

Do go along to the exhibition on May 14 and 15. There will be more than 20 fantastic layouts to admire and engines will be running. There will be demonstrations of different skills and the chance to chat to some of the members. There will also be traders there as well as refreshments. The phoeni has definitely risen from the ashes for this model railway club and long may it continue. www.mdmrc.org

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Active life

Put your best foot forward Kate finds out about the first Harborough District Walking Festival

T

HE FIRST HARBOROUGH District Walking Festival will run from 26-29 May with up to two guided walks per day in countryside around Market Harborough and Lutterworth. This is the brainchild of local walking guides James Carpenter and George Keeping who met through their shared passion for the countryside, walking and local history. They aim to share their knowledge of the area with locals and visitors alike and introduce them to places they may not have previously discovered.

‘Although there are many people who are happy to walk in the countryside there are lots who are unsure with cattle or worry about trespassing,’ James told me. ‘We’ll take people out and give them confidence. Also we ll e plain about the local wildlife, farming and the history of the villages. A number of our walks will take in the lovely villages of Hallaton, Gumley, The Langtons and Tugby to name just a few. And we have done our best to tie them in with local cafés and pubs. We all like to eat after a walk!’

James trained as a blue badge tourist guide in the early 1990s and has been leading guided walks in the Harborough district since then. He also leads the very popular ghost walks in Harborough and Lutterworth he s brimming with stories about different phenomena but he likes to tell them frankly and doesn’t rely on actors jumping out from behind gravestones. lue badge guides are first and foremost entertainers, James said, ‘but you do want to get the correct information across at the same time. I often have locals telling me they’d never heard of such and such a fact and they find the walks fascinating.

James’ father farmed part of the Althorp estate around Brampton Ash for 36 years and James joined the farm after agricultural college.

‘I love the countryside and wildlife,’ he said. ‘When I met George I discovered he does too and we hope to enhance the walks with our local knowledge.’

George originally trained as an archaeological conservator, stabilising and restoring objects from e cavations. Then he worked in museums and then in countryside management in Lincolnshire and

elsewhere, for 30 years. He has also written local books on the countryside, including one about Stamford. He told me: ‘When I moved to the Harborough area I was staggered at how beautiful it is.

I wanted to share that in some way and when I met James while we were both delivering wellbeing walks we came up with the idea of the walking festival.’

James had retired from work last year and had wanted to do more with his blue badge training. The council sponsored him to do a walks programme giving the history and heritage of both arborough and Lutterworth. This year the council is e panding its sponsorship to help fund the walking festival.

All of the seven festival walks will be countryside walks through ancient pastures and farmland, ne t to streams and through woodland spinneys. There will be a range of length and accessibility; si to seven miles ma imum, some with easy access without stiles.

One walk along the Brampton Valley Way up to the Waterloo Farm Leisure cafe, will be suitable for wheelchairs as it finishes before the tunnel. ach walk during the festival will cost e cept the Brampton Valley Way walk which is £5. If you buy a festival pass you can enjoy all the walks for £35, but it’s advisable to book early as places are limited. As there will be livestock en route, dogs are not allowed on the walks. For further information and to book online go to www.harboroughwalks.org.

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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W I L L’ S W A L K

Wansford Station, Water Newton and Sutton A tremendous walk with plenty of interest in the Nene Park Rural Estate.

By Will Hetherington

Images: Will Hetherington

Labrador paradise in the river Nene.

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Will’s Walk

Difficulty rating The route

The first thing you need to know is that Wansford Station is not in Wansford. t s a mile south east and off a different unction on the A . ou will know you are in the right place when you find the ene alley ailway headquarters, where there is ample parking along the roadside.

To start the walk cross the ene on the footbridge ad acent to the railway bridge and turn right at the bottom of the steps, following the sign for iver oute ene Way and keeping the river on your immediate right. n half a mile turn right on to the footbridge across the weir the river splits in two here and keep going with the southern branch of the river still on your right. ou will soon walk through a thin belt of trees and see the beautiful setting of Water ewton on the opposite bank. Walk until you get to the lock and then turn left and follow the path north east and you will soon cross the northern branch of the river. eep heading north east over the railway track there is a useful map of the ene ark ural state ust before the railway and then on to Station oad. ou will pass the Station Master s Garden on your left, and then stay on the tarmac for about 00 metres ACTIVE INFO until you pass a bench and a bin ne t to a gate and a Sutton Cross was a Saxon lane on your right. At the ne t gateway on the left wayside cross and was the turn left on to the bridleway. nhelpfully there is meeting place of the council of the no signpost here but the route is clearly marked on Nassaburgh Hundred. It was sited the map by the railway. Stay on the farm track for at the junction of Ermine Street a quarter of a mile until you get to the course of and two important local roads and there was a Roman fort in rmine Street, the old oman oad, and turn right the field opposite. here again there is no signpost but it s pretty obvious . These days it s a very pleasant grassy track which leads to the site of the Sutton Cross, where there is a plaque e plaining this was a Sa on meeting place.

The path also meets the road here but turn left immediately to take the footpath into the eastern edge of sleepy little Sutton.

Stay on the road into the village, passing the rather imposing and brand new Sutton Lodge as you do, and after the bridge over the dismantled railway turn left on to Lovers Lane ust before the church. At the bottom of the lane turn right at the signpost to Wansford Station circular route and follow the signs over the wetlands back to the car.

May 2022/ the activemag.com 43

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Essential information WHERE TO PARK At Wansford Station – please note not Wansford village.

Down by the lock and the mill at Water Newton.

DISTANCE AND TIME Four miles/an hour and a half.

HIGHLIGHTS The serenity of the mill, lock and church at Water Newton or sleepy little Sutton.

The sweeping river Nene, a Roman road, a Saxon meeting place and a steam railway. There’s even a Lovers Lane!

LOWLIGHTS One to be avoided after a lot of recent rain – parts of it are essentially flood plain.

REFRESHMENTS The Prince of Wales Feathers in Castor or a few options in Wansford.

DIFFICULTY RATING One paw. It’s pretty flat around here.

START/ FINISH ©Crown copyright 2022 Ordnance Survey. Media 023/22

THE POOCH PERSPECTIVE I didn’t see any livestock and there’s a great swimming area in the northern branch of the Nene just south of the railway.

For your own safety and navigation make sure you have an OS map with you when you go out walking. You won’t regret it.

Go through the gate and explore.

May 2022/ the activemag.com 45

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ActiveBody E D I T E D B Y K AT E M A X I M

The joys of running 350,000 people applied for one of 17,500 places in the London Marathon which takes place this autumn. Now you just have to start running.

Physiotherapist Sarah Babbs offers advice

S

OME OF THOSE taking part will have never run before, signing up to support a charity for a cause important to them, a New Year’s resolution, a fitness challenge or a bet with friends. And when they got their place will have started running recently with this goal in mind, to complete the London Marathon.

One of the most common ways to start running is through a programme which involves walking and running in ever changing ratios, culminating after nine weeks with the intention of being able to run five kilometres in 30 minutes a not too shabby time at all.

The Couch to 5k programme is probably the most popular of these, started in 1996 by Josh Clarke who started running after the breakdown of a relationship by just putting on some trainers and heading out of the door.

He found it quite unpleasant to start with until as (almost) always happens, it started feeling easier and more enjoyable. He then came up with a plan to make it easier for others, friends joined him, word spread and his Couch to 5k has now been used by tens of millions. The NHS version works via an app, has a narrator who talks you through each run, explaining when to walk and when to run. There are podcasts talking about benefits, techniques and offering plenty of encouragement.

The programme is based on three runs per week with the expectation of being able to walk comfortably for 30 minutes before starting. Each ‘run’ starts with a warm up walk and finishes with a cool down walk of five minutes each. The first session then involves running for 0 seconds and walking for 0, repeating this seven times done three times over the week. The second week has 0 second runs and two minute walks five times and so on. y week five there is a run of 20 minutes. You feel like a proper runner and you are! The ninth week has you running for the full 30 minutes and about 0 of those doing the programme can cover 5k in that time.

One thing we often see at Parkrun is people who are towards the middle and end of the programme enjoying running in a group and getting times for their running, often for the first time. find many wish they had started years earlier, love it and start entering races. ut some people are put off starting as

they often worry that running can cause injury. But most running injuries are caused by pushing the running beyond what the body can manage at that time. And what the body can manage can usually be altered by good planning, strengthening and the always important combination of good sleep and nutrition.

I do see runners in clinic, often for niggles which prevent them progressing with their regular recreational running and others for whom racing is a priority and frustration abounds when they feel they have to stop because of injury. We always go through the basics mentioned above and often once these are managed well, the running is better than it was before the injury. There’s always a silver lining.

So yesterday was the best time to start running, today is the next best time. See you at Parkrun soon or maybe even at the marathon start line.

To contact Sarah ring 07780 900201.

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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Be a round peg in a round hole Author Mark Simmonds explains how important it is to find the right fit in your career

I

F YOU WANT to give yourself the best possible chance of en oying a rewarding career, able to fulfil the loftiest of ambitions, it s important that you re able to choose a path where you are able to minimise bad stress as much as possible. ne way of doing this is to treat your ob in the same way you would treat a personal relationship. In other words, look for employment where there is close alignment between your own needs and values and those of the company you are working for. f there is misalignment between the two for too long, the pressure will mount and it will more than likely end in tears. Fit is everything. had ust started working for nilever, one of the largest companies in the world. ts household brands, like Dove, A e, nor, Magnum and Domestos are available in over 0 countries. nilever also has one of the most respected management trainee programmes for young people who want to forge a career in marketing. oined when was 2 , working for irds ye Wall s and was pretty proud of my achievement. My career was now neatly laid out in front of me and the future seemed bright.

Twelve months later found myself pacing up and down in the basement of the irds ye Wall s building liked a caged animal. was alone, surrounded only by freezers full of frozen peas, beef burgers and fish fingers and my own confused thoughts. was trying to work out why I was suddenly feeling so anxious and was incapable of completing the most basic of tasks at my desk upstairs. needed a bit of head space, away from people, to think clearly and

work out what on earth was going on in my frazzled mind. At the time, I was only a trainee, the lowest of the low. Admittedly, I had now been handed a little more responsibility and people in the team were relying on me to get things done, but I was still a relatively insignificant cog in the wheel.

When I was writing my book, Beat Stress at Work, many years later, used the Matchmaker framework to help me pinpoint what the root problem had been back then. This identifies a number of characteristics that define the D A of both the company and the individual. The goal is to try and ensure that there are as many matches as possible, because the more matches there are, the more aligned the needs of both parties will be. And the less likely that ‘bad’ stress will rear its ugly head. n the Matchmaker table for irds ye Wall s and me it was only team orientation where alignment existed between both parties. For really crucial pairings like focus on people development versus focus on task completion, bias toward introverts versus bias toward e troverts, the company and were misaligned. And over a period of time, this misalignment began to cause me more and more bad stress.

The cracks soon started to appear.

Like any relationship, the less you have in common with one another, the more pressure it will put on both of you to survive together let alone thrive together. Stress levels will start to rise.

Round pegs are meant for round holes.

Mark Simmonds runs a creativity agency called G S and is the author of Beat Stress at Work.

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ActiveBody

Armed with knowledge Julie Colan from Your Health Care Academy recommends businesses become much more clued up about their employees, menstruation and the menopause

T

HE MENOPAUSE CAN be a confusing and exhausting time. Without proper education and support women can feel so alone, particularly in the workplace. It’s not uncommon for women to leave their jobs when approaching and during their menopause because of lack of support and struggling with symptoms.

We all have days when we’re not able to perform at our best.

Heavy periods, brain fog, anxiety. Why should women have to feel that they need to push through when they re not firing on all cylinders, because of shame, fear or embarrassment? What would happen if we knew our employers fully understood our symptoms or that we were able to work e ibly What if companies could offer mental health days either as e i leave or paid leave when their employees were feeling below par?

The results could be a much happier workforce with reduced absenteeism and greater productivity knowing their company is at the forefront of women’s healthcare. How amazing would this be to seen as standard?

We deliver Menopause in the Workplace courses to businesses around the UK. We give women the education and support they need and deserve so they can understand what their menopause is and where they can get support if they need it.

So what exactly is menopause?

It is easier to think of menopause as being a three part cycle. Every woman will go through the menopause, with the exception of those who have had their ovaries removed before puberty. The first phase is perimenopause, followed by the menopause and then post menopause.

Perimenopause is the beginning of menopause. It usually starts in the late 30s or early 40s. It is the transition period from the fertile reproductive period to the non-fertile menopausal period. There are no clearly defined limits to perimenopause but it usually lasts for about four years (stretching to as many as 8-20 years in some).

Some symptoms of perimenopause (these are just a few and are not the same for all women) are irregular bleeding patterns, hot ashes, poor se drive, watery discharge, mood swings, brain fog, incontinence and sleep problems.

Menopause is the end of the monthly menstrual bleeding. It usually happens in the late 40s or early 50s. During the menopause the hormonal signallers which tell the uterus to shed its lining are in much shorter supply and oestrogen and progesterone levels drop rapidly and menstrual bleeding ends.

The menopause is defined as the end of one full year without menstrual bleeds and is actually a single point in time/a single day.

Treatment and support for menopause.

The main treatment for menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which replaces the hormones that are missing, particularly low oestrogen.

T is e tremely effective at relieving menopausal symptoms and is available in many forms such as tablets, skin patches, implants or gels and creams. It can help relieve symptoms like hot ashes, brain fog, oint pain, mood swings and vaginal dryness. HRT can also help prevent bone thinning which can lead to fractures (which is more common after menopause). Unfortunately many women’s menopause symptoms are confused with signs of depression.

Other treatments and lifestyle changes can be implemented depending on the symptoms experienced. Wearing light clothing, having cool showers or losing excess weight can all help to ease hot ashes. Avoiding triggers like alcohol or caffeine can also be helpful.

Doing meditation or yoga can be helpful for mood swings and easing stress. Talking therapies might also be useful. For vaginal dryness/atrophy oestrogen cream or pessaries can be prescribed.

Using vaginal lubricants is also useful if sex is uncomfortable.

Menstruation

Just as there is often a lack of information in the workplace about menopause and menstruation, our education system also does not address the menstrual cycle in terms of what is healthy and normal and what is not. This results in many girls and women suffering for years without receiving the correct medical care.

We offer menstruation courses which cover this and the conditions and disorders related to menstruation. We also offer mental health first aid courses. f your business or place of work would benefit from up to date and relevant information for your male and female employees or colleagues, contact bookings@yourhealthcareacademy.com. www.yourhealthcareacademy

May 2022 / theactivemag.com 49

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Active Kids Magnificent Sevens Oakham School has historically done remarkably well at competing in sevens’ tournaments. Jeremy Smithson-Beswick tells us more

O

AKHAM SCHOOL HAS a long-standing and proud reputation as a cradle of young rugby talent. In recent times its playing fields have given birth to the careers of many household names. Lewis Moody, Tom Croft, Hamish Watson and Alex Goode are amongst them, with those four alone accounting for over 180 international caps – so far.

Whilst there are many other strings to the school’s bow - as the alumni who are artists, actors and other members of the great and the good can testify - I’m delighted to say that the rugby talent isn’t drying up any day soon. Far from it, if the recent performances of the under 18s are any indicator.

A proof of that particular pudding lies in their recent achievements at what is one of England’s most prestigious competitions, irrespective of the age of the participants; the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens, now known as the Vase. One Tuesday morning this late March, a large part of Wimbledon Common was transformed into over twenty rugby pitches to accommodate almost two hundred hopeful schools bringing age groups from under 14s upwards to a five-day party with 10,000 players and a similar number of supporters. It’s the hardest of competitions to win and yes, this event is indeed a big deal.

Coming into the tournament, Oakham School’s senior side’s record was already almost certainly unique, having reached the semi finals of the last three gatherings but, after a two year gap due to Covid, the form book was somewhat unclear. Coaches Andy Rice, Ian ‘Dosser’ Smith and Glenn Gelderbloom would not have known what awaited them and also appreciated more than most that you need luck as well as skill to reach the final stages of a rugby-fest like this, with injuries and the rub of the green playing a big part in such an intensive schedule. It’s my job to tell you that they didn’t, as you might have thought from the above, win it. But they did reach the final in glorious style.

I spoke with Director of Rugby Andy Rice, who was no slouch as a player himself having been a scrum half for Saracens and Bath (and then Macclesfield, who somehow persuaded him to play on for another eight - doubtless painful - years after he’d tried to retire at 32). He told me: ‘A five day event like this is quite attritional. You have to throw yourself into every game from day one and sevens is a format where there’s no place to hide. Each boy has to be able to pass, tackle, kick and be fit. It’s an all round rugby skills game.’

They’d taken 50 lads in all and highlights came from all the teams, not just the eldest group. The under 14s were seemingly down and

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Active Kids

'You have to throw yourself into every game from day one and sevens is a format where there’s no place to hide. Each boy has to be able to pass, tackle, kick and be fit. It’s an all round rugby skills game.' out, trailing to Blundells by 19-0 at half time (the conventional wisdom has it that three converted tries and 21 points is all-but impregnable at sevens).

The touchline was packed with parents from both sides and during the break the opposing ones seemed to be confident in their side’s dominant position. In true Oakhamian spirit, the red and blacks pulled off a spectacular second period. They scored 2 points without response to quieten the rowdy lot on the other side of the field.

Meanwhile the under 18s were sailing through the group stage into the quarter finals where they beat ueen thelburgers 4 2 before the semi against Trinity, which they shaded 12-7. As aforementioned, the final against Stowe proved a bridge too far with the squad fatigued and players missing (including one who’d recently returned from playing for ngland in his age group, so was

a big loss). I’ve seen the photograph of them afterwards and the exhausted faces and sheer disappointment that shines through pays testament to the effort they d put in.

A tale of success like this might lead one to think that rugby at our leading public schools is all about pushing for victory and the prioritisation of elite players, but that’s far from the truth. As Andy told me: ‘First and foremost we are school teachers. Pastoral care takes priority and the first team, like everyone else, is performing a balancing act between their sports and their academic career.

They’re at a formative time of their lives. Yes, a few of them will end up playing professionally for their country or for leading clubs but, at the end of the day, we‘re a school, not a rugby academy.’

The goal is, if they have a love of the game, then whatever their ability they’ll go on to participate at whatever level suits them, ideally equipped to get the most out of the sport and the rugby family for the rest of their lives. As many of you will know from experience, that’s a gift that keeps on giving.

But let’s get back to celebrating excellence for a second. The Rosslyn Park tournament now has an indelible record book that shows akham School s last four campaigns resulting in semi final, semi final, semi final, final. believe there s not a school in ngland that wouldn’t swap its own record for theirs. Andy summed it up well. ‘They’ve done a remarkable thing. I don’t think they’ll really appreciate it until, in a few years time, they’re watching their own kids play’.

May 2022 / theactivemag.com

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24/03/2022 11:49:04

Active Kids

Stamford Girls’ success

The Touch Rugby A Team from Stamford High School have won the Plate Competition in the Peterborough Rugby Union Football Club (PRUFC) Girls’ Invitational Touch Rugby Festival. The Stamford High School touch rugby squad entered the tournament, along with teams from eight other schools from across the region, with over 200 students participating in all, across four age groups.

Copthill have been busy Copthill has had a very busy spring term of sport, enjoying all being back together and able to compete again, and even tour. There was netball success for the girls; hockey success with the boys becoming SA late Champions and eight children qualified for cross country national finals with a year 4 becoming a medal winner. Well done

Cricket league The Fred Trueman cricket league which was set up for state school participation has signed up 78 schools from Spalding to Luton for this summer. There will be over 900 children taking part at 400 venues; girls too.

Tree planting for the jubilee Oakham School pupils have been planting trees for the Queen’s Jubilee. Volunteers planted oak, striped maple and a Judas tree across the school’s campus. The School has also been looking back at when the Queen visited them in 1967 and 1984.

Funds for Ukranian refugees Oakham School has been fundraising for Ukrainian refugees and raised £750. The form 6 pupils sold doughnuts and pin badges raising money for the Red Cross.

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Jeremy Smithson-Beswick tells us what’s been going on in local sport this month

W

E START THIS month with football due to some outstanding achievements from many local teams, but most notably Harborough FC, Stamford Daniels and Uppingham Town.

Harborough have an almost unbelievable league record this season of 95 points from 35 games. That would normally be enough to put them way ahead of all rivals in any league in the country. They’re in no ordinary league however, with rivals Hinckley actually outdoing that spectacular record for much of the season and Harborough trailing them in second, the closest challengers to the top two being twenty points behind. ow fitting then that the ees finally clinched promotion with a home victory against that Hinckley side by 2-0 and went

top of the league too. Speaking to the Harborough Mail, boss Mitch Austin said: ‘It was brilliant. There is a real sense of pride.

We’ve all had the chance to sleep on it and looking back at the game, I thought we performed really, really well. Hopefully we capitalise on that and go and win the title. ow we must go and finish the ob. We need the icing on the cake’.

Stamford confirmed their place in the end of season play offs with a 2 0 away win at Daventry and followed that up with an identical result at Loughborough Dynamo, meaning they’ve won six in a row without their defence being breached ust the form you need at the sharp end of the season. Let’s hope Jonathon Margetts can maintain his personal form too. Eleven goals in eleven matches before unaccountably drawing a

blank against Loughborough – pull yer socks up son. ppingham Town are, for the first time in their history, champions of the Peterborough remier Division. That was confirmed by an away thrashing of Long Sutton by 6-0. Our congratulations and we trust that their well-organised defence will serve them well at the higher level during the next campaign.

The cricket season is ust beginning and there will be much to bring you next month about early form and whether it confirms or confounds the conventional wisdom about who’ll be challenging for the top spots in the campaign to come. Meanwhile, to continue our look at who’s likely to do well this term, Medbourne CC tell me they’re feeling bullish.

After a strong finish to what was a mi ed

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ActiveSport

Image: Matt Tarrant

Harry Bentley kicking the winning points for Stamford RUFC vs Bourne RFC in the Lincs Cup Semi-final

season they’ve retained all the squad and added a couple of new players. They start with a derby against Market Harborough and skipper George Clarke has been heartened by the commitment shown to pre-season training. ‘This team are capable of finishing in the top five minimum. can t wait for the season to start’ he said.

Regular readers know that we’ve been keenly following the fortunes of the newly formed Stamford women s rugby team. should also give a shout out, and due respect to, the

Deeping Devils who were the subject of a feature on these pages more years ago than care to remember and therefore have certain longevity bragging rights over the two newcomers, the other recently formed women’s side being Market Harborough.

Stamford and the Devils had their inaugural clash recently and hope it will be the first of many. t was a very close affair, Stamford prevailing by 29-15, a scoreline close enough to promise other well-matched contests in the future. t s great to see these future rivalries develop and trust both teams will

‘It’s great to see these future rivalries develop and I trust both teams will be part of the women’s league structure that the RFU is instituting next season.’ be part of the women’s league structure that the RFU is instituting next season.

None of our local clubs would survive without volunteers, so we should laud them when we can. Stamford featured prominently and had much to celebrate at the regional finals of the onda olunteer of the ear awards with the women’s set-up to the fore.

Jeremy Ford coaches both them and the under 12s and was cited for his injection of ‘energy, passion and time’. Caz Dolby joined Jeremy in his second nomination category nsung ero together with icki Miley. also love the fact that three other nominees, evin aige, mmy saacs and erri Mellor, were unable to attend the event as they were too busy fulfilling their duties at the club.

Lastly, a mea culpa. n my last column rambled on about local rugby sides facing relegation and possible promotions. This was in spite of the fact that myself had reported, in this very column a few months ago, that the RFU had announced there weren’t to be any this season. can only plead that the old memory’s not what it was. Apart from advancing age, put that down to lasting damage from being an enthusiastic participant of the game in the 70s, when many of us were frequently concussed, sometimes more than once in 80 minutes, and played on. Similarly, can vividly recall the otherwise eloquent and intelligent Lewis Moody, who unlike me played most of his rugby this century, delivering a speech without notes and then stopping midsentence for several seconds, apologising for losing his drift and offering the same explanation for sudden lapses of memory.

Although modesty dictates point out that’s almost the only similarity his glittering rugby career had to my own largely incompetent efforts, it is alas true that head injury assessments and return protocols were unheard of then. f your mate could pull you to your feet, then you were fit to play on, even if you didn’t know for which side - or even what direction to run in. Fortunately, we now live in more enlightened times.

That s it until ne t month if remember to write the column). ditor s note: ve heard it said that Jeremy always played rugby with exactly the same inability to know where he should be on the field, whether he was concussed or not.

May 2022/ theactivemag.com 55

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This month you are invited to sign up for the RAFA 100 and 50 mile charity rides on 11 June starting at Waltham on The Wolds. Gary Waterfall tells us more WALTHAM ON THE WOLDS START-FINISH WOOLSTHORPE

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T

he RAFA Rides 22 is in support of The Royal Air Forces Association, the welfare charity that supports the RAF Family of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Anyone can sign up using the QR Code on this page to join the ride or you can participate remotely or virtually. Last year the ride raised £125,000; let’s see if we can do better this year.

The 100 mile ride includes 5,700 feet of climb, and the 50 mile route has 2,500 feet. Starting at the village hall in Waltham, take care crossing the A607 before heading out on a great rural route.

Flow east until a right turn at Woolsthorpe and then head south into South Witham on an undulating road before turning left in South Witham to pass under the A1 to Castle Bytham, then turn right again.

So far it’s all been mostly downhill, but now there’s a steady overall climb as you pass through Clipsham, Stretton and Thistleton before turning left at Market Overton to Cottesmore. Turn right at the village and down the hill to Ashwell. Then to Langham for the first food stop at 33 miles.

At Langham, the 50 mile route traces back north. For the 100 mile route, expect a climb up to Knossington before another stretch mostly downhill past Preston until you turn left on to the A47 for a short stretch. Turn right at Glaston and then past Seaton to join the river valley turning right through Thorpe by Water. Then cross the river and up the hill to Gretton.

From here enjoy a really scenic ride north east through Harringworth and Wakerley before crossing the river again and into Barrowden for the 57 mile food stop. Out of Barrowden and over the A47 again before passing through South Luffenham, ilton and Wing and then ride along the southern shore of Rutland Water (with a small dog leg) into Empingham.

Ride north out of the village and follow the route to Cottesmore where you’ll join the original route shortly before the last food stop back at Langham at mile 85. Just 15 miles to go now – north to Whissendine before riding north past Stapleford Park to Sproxton and an uphill finish back to Waltham. nce back, en oy some live music, well deserved beer and free burger. https://www.strava.com/ routes/2942068096680211824 Or scan the QR code for more info.

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May 2022/ theactivemag.com

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ActiveSport

Team Fourmidable Fancy rowing the Atlantic Ocean?

Four friends are going to do just that

F

OUR TEAM MATES from Stamford rugby club have set themselves a formidable challenge, they are going to row the Atlantic, taking part in the Talisker whisky Atlantic challenge, the world’s toughest rowing competition. They will row over 3,000 miles, two hours on, two hours off, for more than 30 days starting at La Gomera in the Canaries and finishing in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.

The plan is to start in December 2023, finishing in January 2024 so they are very much in the planning stage at the moment. And first of all they need a boat and to learn to row!

The four: Austin Schwarz, Tom Dove, John Murphy and Tom Wire met through their love of rugby and playing for Stamford. Aus and Tom Wire are still playing first team rugby with the other two still

Use it or Lose it, keep your brain and body active

Second helpings, a group helping reduce food waste

Winter walks with Will

Meet superfood skincare expert Lisa Armitage We try out a ‘god pod’

Meet the founders of WildDog Events

Find out about social prescribing

Find out about girls’ and women’s cricket at Leicestershire CC

Are diamonds a girl’s best friend?

We find out more about gem stones

Bourne has a new running club Meet Tom Bourne, director of sport at Uppingham Community College ISSUE 91 | JANUARY 2020

Meet fly fishing guide Nick Dunn

Brentingby Gin, the local company foraging for botanicals ISSUE 92 | FEBRUARY 2020

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involved with the club as well. They are well aware of the challenges they will face, not least being able to pull together through some very tough times but are very confident they will come through it.

The four of them have different qualities and strengths. Aus is the team player and as Stamford’s coach he’s used to motivating the players and will help keep morale high. John Murphy is the analyst and will be in charge of navigating and keeping everyone focused and calm; patience is his virtue.

Tom Dove is the endurance athlete among them. He’s completed many an ultra endurance event so has the grit and determination to never give up and to keep the team with him. And Tom Wire is described as ‘the workhorse of the group.’ He will put his back into anything and will offer motivation as well.

The four of them have set their target and their charity, Caudwell Children, and are now looking for sponsors and partners so if you would like to find out more and offer support do get in touch. We are going to follow their progress, from training to mastering ocean going skills. teamfourmidable@outlook.com Instagram @fourmidable_atlantic_row

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May 2022 / theactivemag.com 58

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Volume 2 of Will’s Walks Another 21 rambles around Stamford and Rutland

You walked, rambled and meandered in your masses with our first Will’s Walks book, so Will has got his boots on again and found you 21 more walks to enjoy. Some are short and sweet for those busy days and others are lengthier and more arduous for when you want to spend longer exploring the area; and we’re sure you’ll enjoy them all.

The perfect present and only £8.95 plus P&P. For more details and to order your copies, visit www.theactivemag.com. Also available from many local shops and bookshops.

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