Blog Page 39

The owner of Fairytale Farm, near Chipping Norton – the UK’s first turn-up-and-play farm park designed for children of all abilities – has reached a major milestone with the reopening of the Britain’s oldest amusement park, a project he has led on a voluntary basis since 2003.
The famous Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, which closed in 2006, will reopen on June 19 following a 12-year campaign to save the attraction.

Rating: ** By Colin Davison @IamColinDavison
One moment he’s urbane, self-possessed, unruffled by taunts; another he’s holding a claw hammer for a bit of DIY dentistry on his supposed closest confidante Iago.
What sort of man is Hugh Quarshie’s Othello?

The One Team programme, which was established by Cotswold District Council in 2009/10 to manage the changes required for the transformation of its operations, has resulted in savings of over £5m per year.
This figure was confirmed at the council’s cabinet meeting on Thursday when members reviewed the achievements of the change programme and approved its close down.

Pupils from Gloucestershire and Warwickshire primary schools got the chance to explore the fascinating world of chemistry at a special learning day held at Chipping Campden School on June 4.
Sixty eight to 10-year-olds from Mickleton, St James & Ebrington, St Catharine’s (Chipping Campden), St David’s (Moreton-in-Marsh) and Welford-on-Avon primary schools donned white lab coats and protective googles to take part in a series of workshops led by Dr Alison Rivett from the University of Bristol ChemLabS outreach team.

Loungers, the West Country-based restaurant/café/bar group has opened a new site in Cirencester, creating 25 jobs for local people.
Toro Lounge opened on Cricklade Street yesterday (Wednesday)following a £600,000 investment that has transformed the site into a retro home from home where dramatic art work will sit next to oversized vintage sofas.

Organisers of the 40th anniversary of the opening of Stratford Park Leisure Centre in Stroud say they are delighted the event last Saturday went so well.
Hundreds of visitors were treated to several demonstrations, including, cheerleading and a display by a body combat keep fit group.

Gloucestershire County Council has agreed the award of a contract to Gigaclear to provide ultra fast broadband to more than 6,000 homes and businesses across the Cotswolds.
Ultra fast download and upload speeds of up to 1Gbps will be delivered using Fibre to the Premises technology to 6,495 hard-to-reach homes and businesses in the Cotswolds under phase two of the Fastershire project.

Schoolchildren visiting WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre last week got up close to two of Britain’s weirdest and most endangered wetland creatures for the first time thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Pupils from Slimbridge School enjoyed their first glimpses of the lobster-like white-clawed crayfish, which hides under rocks and emerges to feast on snails and bugs, and the snake-like European eel, which migrates from the mysterious Sargasso Sea to the River Severn, even swimming out of the water and across land when necessary.

In just under two weeks’ time, Blenheim Palace Flower Show will burst into bloom to celebrate the very best of gardening in the UK.
The Queen of British baking, Mary Berry, will be opening the show when it returns to the grounds of the Oxfordshire stately home from June 19-21.

This Sunday (June 7), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is opening its gates at Greystones Farm nature reserve in Bourton-on-the-Water in partnership with Simon Weaver Organic Cheeses as part of the 10th annual Open Farm Sunday.
The Trust, along with partner Simon Weaver Organic, will be showing visitors its state-of-the-art robotic milker, which milks the herd and includes Gloucester cattle.

A community shop on the edge of the Cotswolds has played its part in Volunteers’ Week
Bretforton Community Shop has been involved in the annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.

‘People Hold On’ to what you’ve got and Keep Blockley a Village – that’s the message musician Matt Black and neighbours will be singing from the rooftops at a family disco.
Matt is campaigning to save his home village and he’s spreading the word the way he knows best – through music.

A former hardman whose life was turned around when he came to faith in Jesus will be sharing his story at a men’s breakfast event in the Cotswolds later this month.
Ian McDowall is part of the Tough Talk Team, a registered charity dedicated to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in an informal way.

Three Wolverine cubs born at the Cotswold Wildlife Park have emerged after spending approximately nine weeks hidden away in their den.
The rare cubs – called Sunshine, Liv and Gutt – are beginning to venture out and explore their new woodland enclosure under the watchful eye of parents Sarka and Sharapova.

This year’s Cotswold Show & Food Festival really is promising something for everyone with attractions ranging from rare breeds to traditional rural skills, horse whispering and high speed stunts.
The annual event, which has been voted Cotswolds Tourism Event of the Year 2015, takes place on Saturday and Sunday, July 4 and 5, at Cirencester Park.

A series of fun horse rides are being offered at Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park this summer with exclusive access to its private estate in the the heart of the Cotswolds.
Starting and finishing at the Cotswold Farm Park, riders can enjoy sun-spangled woodland trails, grass gallops, open hillsides and ride through the clear waters of the River Windrush.

A successful project that is inspiring young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle by taking up a physical activity or sport is continuing in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.
West Oxfordshire District Council has been awarded just over £10,700 for 2015/16 from the Lottery-backed Sportivate London 2012 legacy programme, set up to provide opportunities for more 11 to 25-year-olds to get into sport.

Cheltenham Dance Festival will this year be twice the size it was in 2014 as it returns to Cheltenham Town Hall for the 24th year from July 31 to August 9.
The festival is set to once again attract attendees from across the UK with an exciting and diverse programme, including an evening of Strictly Hot Gossip with former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips on Sunday, August 2.

A whole host of artists have been added to the line-up for this year’s The Big Feastival, which takes place at Alex James’s farm at Kingham from August 28-30.
Dig out your dancing shoes as warming up the Main Stage ahead of Paloma Faith on the Sunday will be indie-rockers The Feeling, with super-special guest Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Oxfordshire is the most innovative part of the UK, with Gloucestershire not far behind, a new study shows.