New English head

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Joseph Allen joins King Edward’s Witley in September as the new Head of English

A graduate of the University of Lancaster, Mr Allen has previously been Head of English at Reading Blue Coat School and St Swithun’s, Winchester, among other appointments in the maintained and independent sector.

The position at King Edward’s Witley will see Mr Allen assume teaching responsibilities for pupils studying for English as part of their GCSE, A-level and IB examinations, across a number of year groups.

Commenting on his upcoming position as Head of English, Mr Allen said, “I’m excited to be joining a school where English teaching already enjoys a position of strength, where I can play a pivotal role in driving the department further forward and make a genuine difference in terms of further stretching and challenging the most able pupils both in and out of the classroom.”

Mr Allen will be living on site at the school, joined by his wife, young son and Purdy the cat!

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Special say

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Are you parents to a child with SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) in Oxfordshire?

As a parent of a child with SEND, you might not consider yourself an expert but you have knowledge and experience to share.

You already know how stressful going into school to hear about your child’s progress can be. You already know how hard keeping up with the changing jargon in education can be. You already know it would be so much easier if you had someone at the meeting with you to take notes so you could be clear what was being said or what has been agreed. You already know how having the chance to talk things through beforehand with someone who is good at listening could make all the difference. You already know how it could help to have someone you feel understands by your side in the meeting to help you and everyone else there focus on what’s best for your child.

Perhaps you are at the stage when you feel able to use your knowledge and experience to support another parent in this way?

All you need is:
• Some spare time.
• To be a good listener and someone who sees things through.
• To be easily contactable.

This doesn’t require a regular commitment; you get to decide how much time you can offer. SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service) provides training to help you discover how much you already know and fill in the gaps. You won’t be thrown in at the deep end! All expenses are paid. Time to put all that hard earned knowledge to good use?

For details please call 01865 810516 or email [email protected]

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Michaelmas daisies

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Fill your garden with these beautiful Michaelmas Daisies flowers, says Cathie’s Garden Army, and have beautiful blooms in Autumn

Tall, short, pink, purple, white… I love Michaelmas Daisies and they provide much needed late summer colour throughout September and into October.

Cultivation
These beautiful daisies are fairly drought tolerant (once established) and need a well drained soil. They don’t need fertilising and, in fact, flower better in poor soils. Some cultivars clump up more than others and could do with being divided after flowering or in the spring every three or four years. It’s best to weed out the little lilac wild ones, which can come from the seed of cultivated varieties, as they can take over a border.

Name Changes!
Aster is (or was) the easy-to-learn scientific name for myself and my horticultural students; but, now it has been re-classified and we have to use the new name ‘Symphyotrichum’ These new names to get to grips with include: Symphyotrichum novi-belgii cultivars; Symphyotrichum novae-angliae cultivars; Symphyotrichum x frikartii ‘Monch’ – this is a species croSs, that has large lilac flowers and is my absolute favourite!

Why Michaelmas?
Michaelmas is a minor Christian festival celebrated on Saturday, 29th September when many Asters ( sorry, Symphyotrichum) are at their best. Often we call the late August bank holiday Michaelmas too.

Email [email protected]

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Sporting weekend

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As the seasons change, August Bank Holiday, signals the ending of the summer sporting tournaments and the beginning of the winter team games. If you are in need of a challenge, test yourself with our quiz relating to sporting events that are happening this weekend.

Alternatively, if you have a sports team, club or skill you want to shout about, why not let your community know, through our sports report?

[HDquiz quiz = “844”]

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Pitch in for Wychwood Forest Fair

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One word sums up Wychwood Forest Fair, on Sunday, 2nd September, and that’s the word ‘local’. They are looking for local talent, could you pitch in?

Wychwood forest fair

Everything, including food, farm produce, arts and crafts, the trade stands and even rural craftsmen and women: are all local, for the Wychwood Forest Fair, on Sunday, 2nd September, from 11am until 5pm in Lodge Farm, Ditchley, off the B4437,

Typical activities on the day include displays by the Wychwood Project, the Wychwood Barn Owl and Flora groups, and many other local conservation and community groups. A wide range of rural crafts, some of which allow you to ‘have a go’, are on display. The Wychwood Project second-hand book stall is a must for book-lovers.

As well as an arts and crafts tent, there is local Hatwells children’s Fun Fair,  local Morris dancing sides, Witney Town Band, a horse logging demonstration and fun family dog show and other entertainers. There are plenty of local food suppliers and farm produce, lots of refreshments, locally produced ice cream and a beer tent selling beer from the local Wychwood Brewery, based in Witney.

Finally, the Wychwood Forest Fair is looking for local volunteers. If you can give a couple of hours to help with any of the following it would be hugely appreciated:

  • Bar servers – you will need some experience for this.  One hour slots available throughout the day.
  • Grand draw ticket sellers – not a hard sell, people are usually very willing to buy.  Must be over 18 please.
  • Wychwood Project membership table – helping people to complete the membership form, talking enthusiastically about the project.
  • Marshall/s for the Breckon & Breckon marquee during set up – to ensures that all the stall holders know where their pitch is.

Full instructions for any volunteering role will be provided along with a voucher for a tea/coffee and cake from the Wychwood Project tea tent.

If you feel you can enjoy the day and spend a few hours helping, then call 07584 262437 or email: [email protected] or visit www.wychwoodproject.org

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Turning point

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September signifies a change of the seasons, woodland walks and cosy evenings in. These recipes should provide comfort & nourishment

Mussel linguine with saffron cream & samphire

Mussel linguine with saffron cream & samphire

This simple dish celebrates these tasty, vitamin-packed morsels in all their glory. The addition of samphire is delicious, if you can still get some – if not, cavolo nero or kale also work well. Once you get going it’s a bit of a whirlwind from pan to plate so get your ingredients prepped before turning on the hob. Take four large, firm tomatoes and score a cross into the base of each before placing in boiling water for a minute or two then use a slotted spoon to transfer to cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel off skins, remove seeds and membrane, chop and leave to one side. In a small bowl add 3tbsp of just-boiled water to a good pinch of saffron threads and leave until needed. Thinly slice four cloves of garlic, finely chop a handful of fresh parsley and zest one lemon, adding the juice from half. Measure 150ml white wine and 4tbsp of single cream and you’re ready! Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and cook pasta (to al dente). Meanwhile, heat 2tbsp olive oil in a pan with a lid and gently sauté your garlic, until golden; add your tomato, wine, saffron (with infused water) and season. Bring to a boil, letting the wine cook out a few minutes, then add 400g of fresh mussels and cook for about five minutes (with lid on) until open. Add lemon juice, zest, cream and samphire with a sprinkle of Aleppo chilli flakes and check seasoning, cooking for a few minutes before stirring into pasta, stirring. Serve with fresh parsley.

Rose veal schnitzel

Rose veal schnitzel

You can use pork or chicken for this schnitzel but I think rose veal works best for its sweet and tender flavour. Make breadcrumbs with day-old bread. Place your breadcrumbs in a shallow dish then whisk two eggs and place in a second shallow dish and place well-seasoned plain flour in a third. Cover your escalopes with greaseproof paper and beat to about 5mm thin. Coat each in flour then egg then crumb and refrigerate until required. Heat olive oil with a knob of butter in a frying pan to about 1.5cm deep and when a crumb dropped in sizzles and rises to the surface, cook each schnitzel for a minute or two on each side until they turn crisp and golden. Blot with kitchen paper and serve with fresh lemon.

Autumnal coleslaw

Autumnal coleslaw

The perfect accompaniment with a fresh, garlicky yoghurt dressing. Sometimes I like to serve this inside a brioche bun with schnitzel or pile high upon schnitzel and serve with sauté potatoes. Use a slicing blade on a food processor or chop the following finely and add to a large bowl one fennel bulb, six radishes, half a red onion, ¼ green cabbage and ¼ red cabbage then add a grated carrot. To make your dressing mix 250g natural yoghurt with two minced garlic cloves, 1tsp of Dijon mustard, ½ tsp each of celery salt and ground pepper and the juice of ½ a lemon. Adjust seasoning as you wish then stir in the coleslaw until well coated. Garnish with chopped toasted pecans.

Apple and marzipan pie

Apple and marzipan pie

The duo of apple and marzipan tastes divine. Heat your oven to 200°C. Peel and core two large (or three small Bramley) apples and roughly chop. Place in a saucepan with 80g of caster sugar, 30g unsalted butter and 3tbsp of water. Bring to a boil then lid the pan and gently cook, stirring occasionally until puréed. Leave to cool. Unroll a ready-made all-butter puff pastry sheet on to a lightly greased baking tray and slice 250g of natural, uncoloured marzipan. Lay the slices across the pastry leaving a 2cm border all around the edge then spoon over your cooled puree. Lightly beat two egg yolks and brush around the border. Unroll another piece of puff pastry and place it on top using your fingers or a fork to crimp and seal around the edges. Cut diagonal lines about 2cm apart from the centre towards the edges of the pie leaving a 2cm border using a sharp knife then brush with more egg mixture and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the pastry has risen and is crisp and golden. Best served warm with thick cream, ice cream or custard.

Recipes created by Katie Kingsley, food stylist and blogger at thetravellingpantry.com

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On the urban rhino trail

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The Tusk Rhino Trail is a London-wide art installation, created to raise awareness of the endangered African rhino. Land Rover talk about its sculpture, put up this Monday in Trafalgar Square.

A unique 1.2m-long rhino sculpture was towed into Trafalgar Square on Monday, in support of the Tusk Rhino Trail, to aid conservation projects for this precious, endangered, African, species. The initiative involves 21 sculptures donated and decorated by leading figures from the worlds of art and design installed at prominent locations across the capital.

Towing the sculpture into this particular location was a Land Rover Discovery SUV, as this motor manufacturer has been collaborating with Tusk, The Duke of Edinburgh’s charity, for more than 15 years to preserve the habitat of the rhinoceros, in remote African places.

This particular art installation uses specialist paint techniques from Land Rover’s state-of-the-art manufacturing process to achieve a highly durable liquid metal finish.

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, Land Rover, said: “I wanted to celebrate the magnificence of this unique creature, so my rhino is covered in a chrome finish. The idea being that because of the highly reflective nature of chrome it would be seen from a long distance, consequently creating awareness of the plight of this animal in Africa. The red painted horn signifies the absurdity of this beautiful animal being hunted for such a small part of its overall being.”

Traditionally chrome has been used on vehicles to communicate prestige. Land Rover has developed an innovative and sustainable process to create a modern interpretation of chrome using a paint coating called spray chrome.

Inspired by the dye treatments conservationists use to protect rhinos from ivory traders, the horn of the Land Rover sculpture has been painted red, highlighting the plight of this endangered creature. White ivory has huge value to poachers and one solution is to inject rhino horns with a dye, making them less appealing to hunters.

To raise awareness of the plight of the rhino, you will find 21 installations popping up all over London. culminating in the celebration of World Rhino Day on Saturday, 22nd September. Each of the 21 rhinos will then be sold to raise funds for Tusk projects across Africa at an event hosted by leading auction house Christie’s on Tuesday, 9th October.

To discover all 21 rhinos, visit Tusk Rhino Trail 2018  #TuskRhinoTrail

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Shining spa

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Michelle Miley checks into Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa, near Newbury.

Life can sometimes feel like such an obstacle course of practical demands that “me time” feels like a distant, pre-children dream. So, checking into the Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa (awarded a five-bubble rating by The Good Spa Guide) for an overnight break was a very surreal experience…

Amid a glorious patch of Berkshire countryside (Highclere Castle is a hop away), the four-star, family-owned Donnington Valley is a place that melts your cares away. First of all, the spa itself. I’d heard brilliant things about the Ultimate Vitamin Glow Facial, one of the signature Decléor treatments industry experts hail as a skin saviour. I was in brilliant hands, my face and neck cocooned in warm, fragrant face food. I can’t remember when I’ve felt more relaxed (though normally I’m embarrassed about my skin) and our faces felt miraculously “bouncy” and glowing, days later.

I almost felt as though some kind of “reset” button had been pressed, and the joy of a stay is that you can build on that, indulging all your senses and whims. So, after floating about with my friend in our fluffy white robes, we headed to the 18-metre swimming pool for a swim (well, a plop, being seven months pregnant!), a soak in the jacuzzi and some light steaming in the steam and sauna rooms.

Checking into our hotel room (a cosy dream of neutral tones, comfy bed and pillows fluffy enough to suit a princess), I tucked into the beautifully wrapped velvety truffles and switched on the giant TV, thinking ‘this is the life’! My date for the evening (my husband) arrived in time to join me for a view of the sunset over the golf course (distracting him from the fact I’d devoured all the complimentary orange marmalade and banana & butterscotch biscuits!). As I often wish men would realise, it’s the little things that make you feel really special, and the White Company smellies in the bathroom, and pre-dinner bubbles in our goodie bag, did just that.

Dinner in the 2-AA Rosette restaurant, in a private booth, did not disappoint. The restaurant has an extensive wine list, from a £16 carafe to £200 bottle; hubby had a dry, Aussie pinot that went beautifully with his crispy squid and I loved my smoked duck followed by hearty venison and marrowbone jus. The modern setting is romantic and luxey; high-beamed ceiling and brass chandeliers (special mention to the pink-and-gold koi carp wallpaper in the ladies!) As for dessert: roasted pineapple with coconut ice cream and a chocolate fondant won our hearts; 10 out of 10! The staff in both the spa and restaurant put their heart and soul into serving and it was perfect.

Big hint to anyone out there wanting to treat the one you love… For overnight spa packages, or treatments, visit www.donningtonvalley.co.uk

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Garden pride

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There are so many benefits of growing your own vegetables and fruit. Just getting out in the open air, doing a bit of gentle exercising as you tend to them and watching them grow, is good for your mental wellbeing. And, adding freshly picked produce from the garden really does make a delicious, healthy meals. Not to mention you can be completely sure that there is no added rubbish in ’em!

It has been a hot summer, which should have bought about a lot more produce than normal, so how has your garden grown? Tell us all about your prize tomatoes or knobbly carrots. Have you grown anything unusual this year? Will you be entering your produce into any garden shows? We would love to know, add a picture too. Go on boast about your home-grown food!

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Make believe

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Susannah Steel traverses rooftops and rainforests with prize-winning author Katherine Rundell to explore children’s literature and her inspiration

Children’s literature is that most imaginative, immersive, shape-shifting, character-building collection of written words. For many, it conjures images of wardrobes, wizarding schools and midnight gardens…

But what does it take to write? To create something so captivating, so fantastically unbelievable that your reader has no choice but to believe… So synonymous with them that they need only see a rabbit with a watch to know they’re in Wonderland?

Having lived in many countries, Katherine Rundell brings a wealth of experience and an original spirit of character and adventure to her books. Indeed, for her most recent novel, The Explorer (about four children whose plane crash-lands in the Amazon rainforest), she went on a research trip to South America. “I swam with pink wild river dolphins, captured tarantulas and fished for piranha, and then I put it all in the book,” she says.

This pursuit of authentic experience highlights the importance of storytelling in giving vicarious experience. Isy Mead, head of learning and participation at The Story Museum in Oxford agrees: “Children’s literature occupies a fundamental role in the formation of the imagination, as well as compassion, humour and perspective.” Katherine adds: “It’s true there are more alternatives to reading, but books still do something nothing else can – they give you another world you can know in an intimate, blood-deep, behind-the-eyes way.”

Whether writing about the African landscape, the strict corridors of a boarding school, Russian forests under inches of snow or the rooftops of Paris, Katherine brings a magical, poetic and vividly original flair to her characters. They include a refreshing collection of strong female protagonists. However, Katherine says, she did not set out to consciously redress this imbalance…

“They were the characters I had in my head; I loved them, and I wanted to see if I could make them fly. In fact my most recent book has a boy protagonist, Fred – but I fervently believe boys must be shown they can read books with girls in them as readily as girls read books with boys; it’s absurd that the old prejudice still has pincers in.”

Was writing always Katherine’s calling? “It was! I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be other things along the way – architect, archaeologist, acrobat, pilot… But writing was the one that stayed at the centre.”

I wonder whether Katherine has been influenced by past children’s classics and fairy tales and, if so, which? “I’m sure I must be – I loved the dream of finding Narnia, I loved Paddington’s kindness, I loved the dry wit of E Nesbit. I loved Cinderella; but the 500-year-old, pre-Disney versions, in which Cinderella murders the wicked stepmother by chopping off her head with the lid of a trunk!”

Katherine’s stories usually include a journey, physical or emotional. What is it about a “journey” that so appeals to readers? “We love transformation, whether it be of a person or a landscape,” she says. “And I do love a good packing scene!” And her stories are not without sadness…“My reckoning is life is as difficult as it is beautiful, and all books worth their salt will acknowledge this, one way or another.”

Her characters are often aided by strong friendships. I ask her; Is the loyalty of friendship something she’s keen to explore? “Yes! I think friendships in fiction, particularly boy-girl friendships, can get sidelined by romantic plots, and I was keen to look at what friendship is made of – at that particular blend of admiration, love, trust, exasperation, and shared jokes that can shape your entire childhood, if you’re lucky.”

As for Katherine’s other characters, Sophie (Rooftoppers) loves to climb, Feo (The Wolf Wilder) plays with wolves and Will runs barefoot in the African landscape (The Girl Savage). Does Katherine share any unusual hobbies with her characters? “I love to climb,” she replies. “I think climbing can be a superb way to see and know the world. I used to go clambering on the rooftops of my Oxford college [All Souls], for a sight of the gargoyles, and of the world spread out below.”

And, with Katherine’s ethereal, almost timeless application of language, her empathy with character and need for adventure, the future of the growing children’s lit genre seems to promise a vivid and enticing view. Nonetheless, as Katherine reminds us, there are growing obstacles too…“What worries me is poverty, and its effect on literacy,” she says. “Three quarters of a million children in the UK don’t own a single book, and I worry that, as more libraries close, we’ll create an apartheid, where some children are shut out from the world of books and the joy comes with them.”

After all, views of landscape, adventure and wonderlands were created without borders. Let’s make sure they need not be seen only by telescopes and keep the expanding horizons of children’s literature visible for all.

Visit www.bloomsbury.com/author/katherine-rundell

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