Day 1
Round & About
Uplift your spirits with Vayu Yoga
Round & About
Forget your cares and de-stress in the calm inviting studio space of the new Vayu Yoga in Guildford
December is a non-stop whirl of activity, going here and there, school and work functions to attend and all amid the joy/chaos that Christmas brings so never is there a greater need for some ‘time out’ to take a breather for yourself.
Step into Vayu Yoga above Black Sheep Coffee in North Street, Guildford, and you’ll be stepping into a haven of all that is tranquil. Peace exudes and you’ll feel a lifetime away from the crazy world outside.
The clean, warm, inviting interior will have you letting out an instant sigh of relief as you absorb the unique experience that awaits, inviting you to feel the benefits of moving your body and calming your mind.
The only independent yoga studio in Guildford, Vayu Yoga is run by Lucy Butler, a yoga teacher and Reiki master. Lucy wants to share her passion and love for yoga through her calm and welcoming studio space ‘where you can breathe deeply and energise your morning or release into your evening’.
Vayu Yoga embodies three core principles – philosophy, community and your wellbeing. The philosophy is to curate sessions in which you can experience the rich variety yoga has to offer. Community is at the heart of Vayu Yoga with the emphasis on offering an accessible approach to yoga for everyone from beginners to those more experienced. Your wellbeing and self awareness will increase through the practice with a calm mind and healthy body helping to add to the feeling of overall contentment.
Lucy says: “We’ve created a beautiful environment with the best teachers in the area, where you will receive individual attention and guidance. We offer an experience, a step away from the stresses and strains of daily life, where you can focus on an hour of ‘you’ time from beginners to advanced practitioners.
“We also offer a range of intimate workshops for a longer immersive experience. A luxurious experience like no other studio, a clean beautifully scented space where you can relax and enjoy our tranquil atmosphere.”
A range of classes is available including hot vinyasa, Hatha, mindful flow, and the popular candlelight restorative as well as the relaxing Yin. One-to-one private sessions and small groups sessions, can also be enjoyed, alongside Reiki.
To find out more and book your class click here
Win!
Lucy is offering five Round & About readers the chance to join a free taster class. To enter click here.
The Cat’s Whiskers, meet Sir Monty
Round & About
British shorthair cat Sir Monty Esq is the subject of a new online business in Bagshot. Kristy Goncalves tells us more and invites us to read his blog The Regal Whisker Chronicles
Meet Sir Monty Esquire, a British shorthair of impeccable lineage who together with his devoted cat parents Kristy and Andre, is bringing his adventures to life.
His whimsical blog aims to entertain, inspire and uplift while helping to better the lives of his fellow animals through support for the RSPCA, which holds a special place in our hearts.
Monty started becoming ill four years ago and ever since we have been back and forth to the vets trying to get his health back on track. If we had known that vet bills could be so expensive and accumulate so quickly, we would have had better insurance cover and so with this experience behind us, the idea of the business took shape.
Originally we wanted to launch our own charity that could help people who found themselves in our position, whether it be financial or just offering good advice. We soon found starting a charity was far more complicated than we envisioned, and that maybe that wouldn’t be our starting point.
We then decided to open an online store featuring a blog of Monty’s journey and his daily escapades. This way we can still help other pet owners by sharing our experience, but also give a proportion of the proceeds from sales of the apparel and merchandise to the RSPCA. Let Monty explain…
“Our store boasts unique AI generated designs based on yours truly and curated primarily by my cat parents into stylish and one of a kind items for your delight. With every subscription, every like, and every share of our blog or purchase from our store, a portion of our proceeds will be donated to the RSPCA. Together, we aspire to make a meaningful impact, ensuring that animals, both regal and humble, receive the care and protection they deserve.”
We will be selling merchandise and apparel such as hoodies, T-shirts, hats, phone cases, tote bags, calenders, cards, posters, mugs and later on we will venture into selling pet toys, treats, pet clothes etc
Win!
We would like to offer Round & About readers the chance to win a hoodie, 2024 calendar and a mug with Sir Monty featured on the designs. To be in with a chance simply enter via our app. Find out more.
Subscribe to the blog to receive a 15 per cent discount on purchases from the online store, simply quote code Round&About.
To find out more about Sir Monty Esq and shop the merchandise to support the RSPCA, click here.
Breathe your way through with yoga
Round & About
Stacey Black, founder of Wandering Wild Yoga, East Meon, has tips for staying relaxed over the festive period and tells us more about her new yoga walks and classes
As a busy mum of three, I understand how making space for self-care is hard especially over the festive season. But spending just 10 minutes a day practising these three simple techniques could make all the difference.
Gratitude Journal: Start your day by jotting down three things you are grateful for.
Mindful Breathing: Sit in a comfortable position with your spine long, close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Start to observe your breath, watching the subtle movements as you inhale and exhale, notice the qualities of your breath, does your breath feel slow or quick, does it feel smooth or jagged, notice how the ribs expand on the inhale and contract back with the exhale.
After a few rounds, gently start to deepen and lengthen your breath, engaging your diaphragm and using your lungs more fully. Sit for a few minutes breathing this way, letting your exhale be slightly longer than your inhale, this helps calm the body and nervous system.
Yoga Pose: Legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani): Lying with your legs up the wall makes a difference to your mental and physical health. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system by slowing the breath and letting the body know it is safe to relax. It also relieves aching muscles and joints whilst also supporting your lymphatic and glymphatic system.
Set a timer between 5 and 20 minutes. To go into the posture, sit sideways on to the wall, manoeuvre yourself around so that your back is on the floor and your legs are up the wall. Once in position focus on your breath, take slow deep breath (as detailed above). When you are ready to come out cuddle your knees to your chest and roll on to one side.
Please note: this posture is not suitable during pregnancy, if you suffer from glaucoma or have untreated high blood pressure.
Make yoga a New Year resolution
Yoga is a transformational practice and benefits the mind, body and spirit. My journey began with a local yoga class, it was then I decided that I wanted to share this ancient practice with others.
I have now been teaching for 12 years and offer a range of classes including hatha yoga, chair yoga, restorative yoga, Mindful Wanders (outdoor yoga combined with mindful walking) and sound baths. My plan for 2024 is to focus on Yoga for Cancer with holistic yoga programmes for individuals and groups.
For more information about my classes please click here.
Wandering Wild Yoga is offering a free taster session for two people in 2024. To win this experience click here.
Win! Yoga Session in East Meon
Round & About
Only entries from within our circulation areas will be accepted
Please don’t enter if you are not in a Round & About Magazine postcode region
One entry per householder. You must supply a name, address and telephone number
or your entry will not be accepted
Win a free taster session for two people with Wandering Wild Yoga 2024.
Start your new year with a relaxing yoga session with Wandering Wild Yoga.
We’ve teamed up with Stacey Black, founder of Wandering Wild Yoga, East Meon to give Round & About readers the chance to win a taster session.
To enter our prize draw, fill in the form below before 12pm on Friday 22nd December 2023.
Win! Yoga taster class in Guildford
Round & About
Only entries from within our circulation areas will be accepted
Please don’t enter if you are not in a Round & About Magazine postcode region
One entry per householder. You must supply a name, address and telephone number
or your entry will not be accepted
Win a free taster class at Vayu Yoga
We are offering five Round & About readers the chance to join a free taster class with Vayu Yoga in Guildford
To enter our prize draw, fill in the form below before 12pm on Friday 22nd December 2023.
A Shed load of festive fun
Round & About
Enjoy the magic of Christmas with friends and family this December in Bordon
Visit The Shed this December for a Shed load of festive fun! Bring your friends and family and enjoy the magic of Christmas and embrace the holiday spirit with our enchanting festivities. From seasonal arts and crafts to live music, a dazzling Christmas market, and cosy drive-in cinema screenings, The Shed has got it all!
Christmas markets
From Friday 15th to Sunday 17th December, The Shed’s seasonal Christmas Market is back for its third year, and this year it’s even bigger than ever. With traders opening for the Friday afternoon and across the weekend, there’ll be hot food and drinks as well as local crafts and gifts available for everyone.
Music will be from local choirs, entertainment from the Phoenix Players and Shed favourite Stephanie Belle, plus much more.
Friday 15th, 4 to 8pm – It’s a chilled evening with lots of grown up things to delight.
Saturday 16th, 12 to 8pm – A family-orientated day with loads of fun, a nativity farm with real animals including special donkey story-time sessions throughout the day.
Sunday 17th, 10 to 2pm – An ideal day out for all the family with lots of great stalls and festive music.
On Saturday 16th don’t miss the chance to ride the reindeer bucking bronco, don your Christmas hat, put down the mulled wine and see how long you can hold on for!
Festive films
‘Tis the Season for Magical Movie Nights at Ticket Cinema. Get ready to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with a heart-warming selection of Christmas classics including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, Polar Express and Home Alone 2 under the starry night sky. Join them throughout December for a cinematic celebration of the Christmas spirit, with screenings twice a day on the 20th, 21st and 22nd you’ll have lots of opportunities to catch your favourite holiday films. Don’t miss out on this chance to make enduring traditions and create unforgettable moments with the family.
Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company is looking forward to welcoming you to these Christmas events this December, as well as providing a central community hub where people of all ages can meet up to enjoy activities across the festive period.
1st December 7-9pm: Christmas Wreath Workshop
15th December 4-8pm: Christmas Market
16th December 12-8pm: Christmas Market
17th December 10am-2pm: Christmas Market
20th December 3:30-5:30pm: How the Grinch Stole Christmas @ Ticket Cinema
20th December 7-9pm: Elf @ Ticket Cinema
21st December 3:30-5:30pm: Home Alone 2 @ Ticket Cinema
21st December 7-9pm: Last Christmas @ Ticket Cinema
22nd December 3:30-5:30pm: The Polar Express @ Ticket Cinema
22nd December 7-9pm: The Holiday @ Ticket Cinema
Surrey Wildlife Trust: The Big Give
Round & About
All donations to the Trust’s campaign to support conservation grazing will be matched by The Big Give from 28th November to 5th December
Surrey Wildlife Trust’s fundraising appeal to help its team of four-footed conservation heroes preserve and protect precious habitats has received a big boost as match funding platform The Big Give has promised to match any donations received from members of the public – effectively doubling the impact your money can have on local wildlife.
All donations made between 28th November and 5th December will be matched by The Big Give as part of its Christmas Challenge, and the campaign has received backing of £9,800 thanks to Kia UK and a further £5,000 from The Reed Foundation.
SWT is urgently asking for donations to help maintain and extend conservation grazing using herds of Belted Galloway cows and specially-bred cross breed sheep in the county. This is an effective way to keep chalk grasslands and heathlands buzzing with life as the climate and nature crisis bites, and supports a huge number of species including Nightjars, Dartford Warblers, Silver-studded Blue butterflies, Sand Lizards and a multitude of pollinating bees and beetles as well as plant life including orchid species and Cut-leaved Germander.
But the Trust is being hit by increasing costs for overwintering, feed and veterinary care. Additional funding is urgently needed to recruit more volunteers to help look after the herd.
SWT also wants to increase the use of ‘no fence’ grazing, which uses specialized GPS collars, controlled using an app. This makes costly fencing unnecessary and enables herds to be moved to new grazing territory safely, quickly and easily.
Surrey Wildlife Trust’s farm and livestock manager James Stoyles says: “Our unique landscapes bring huge benefits to thousands of visitors and residents, but they need sensitive management to stay in good shape for people and nature. Our conservation grazers are the best possible team for the job – but they need help to keep carrying out their vital mission.
“Thanks to the wonderful generosity of our supporters, we’re already 30 per cent of the way towards meeting out overall fundraising target of £50,000. It’s great that The Big Give has offered us this opportunity, but to get over the line we’ll need help from everyone who can afford to make a donation, however small. Every penny we raise will contribute to a healthier, more biodiverse and more beautiful Surrey.”
The fundraising campaign has four main aims:
Expanding ‘no fence’ grazing in Surrey. Equipping more conservation grazing cattle with GPS collars will reduce the need for physical fences (thus reducing the costs of installation and maintenance) and allow more targeted grazing.
Increasing awareness of conservation grazing and engage with local communities to ensure that people, dogs and grazing animals can safely enjoy local reserves.
Increasing the Trust’s conservation grazing team capacity by recruiting and training more volunteer ‘lookerers’. To ensure the day-to-day welfare of the grazing herds, SWT aims to have 15-20 weekend volunteer lookerers.
Breeding a flock of cross-breed sheep (combining traditional Wiltshire Horn and Boreray breeds) with wool-shedding qualities, resulting in improved welfare and low cost. These animals could be a vital resource for land managers and conservationists across the county and beyond.
If you are able to support the appeal, please donate through https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002RXpaHAAT to maximise your impact.
Bond: the man, the myth
Round & About
In his first column, author and journalist Michael Smith reveals how much truth there is to 007 James Bond and the inspiration for the legendary secret agent
James Bond is undoubtedly the world’s most famous spy. The 14 Bond books, written by Ian Fleming between 1953 and his death in 1964 ‒ and an astonishing 27 films ‒ have created a lasting legend.
MI6 always insists that 007 is nothing like a real secret agent, or more precisely an “intelligence officer”, the official job title for our spies. There are no “Double O” agents here, they say. No-one with a “licence to kill”. But they do admit that Bond “created a powerful brand for MI6”. Sir Alex Younger, a former C, the real-life equivalent of Fleming’s “M”, has admitted that many of the British secret service’s global counterparts “envy the sheer global recognition of our acronym”.
Despite the denials, a remarkable new biography of Fleming himself demonstrates that an awful lot of the stuff that 007 gets up to did happen during the period that inspired the Bond books and Fleming was better placed than most to know how MI6 operated.
Academics have long been a bit sniffy about Fleming’s wartime career in naval intelligence, but as more and more files have emerged from the archives it has become very clear how central he was. As the key lieutenant to Admiral John Godfrey, the director of naval intelligence, Fleming was his main liaison with MI6, in frequent contact with the then “C”, Stewart Menzies, with the codebreakers at Bletchley Park and with the Special Operations Executive, which operated behind enemy lines and was very much “licensed to kill”.
As someone who has written extensively on both MI6 and Bletchley Park, one of the closest links between Fleming’s wartime work and Bond’s adventures comes in From Russia With Love when Bond is tasked to track down a Russian Spektor cipher machine. His frequent trips to Bletchley Park during the war, where Alan Turing was initially struggling to break the German naval Enigma machine, led Fleming to devise a daring plan to seize one from on board a German warship in the Channel. Operation Ruthless was to be led by a ‘tough bachelor, able to swim’, with Fleming writing his own name alongside that role.
The many fascinating examples of storylines in the Bond books based on Fleming’s personal experience working with MI6 are far too numerous to fit into a small article like this. It would take an entire book to do them justice. Fortunately, we now have one. Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare is a fascinating book and a pretty good last-minute Christmas present.
Michael Smith’s latest book The Real Special Relationship: The True Story of How the British and US Secret Services Work Together is out now in paperback.
Care is not just for Christmas
Round & About
Almost 1.5 million people feel more lonely at Christmas than any other time, do what you can to make this one full of love and joy
Christmas is a time of great joy and celebration but for many, especially the elderly, it can be an unwelcome time bringing sadness and loneliness.
It’s important to stay connected with any older friends or relatives, invite them to family get togethers and events, how about an uplifting carol concert or a trip to the panto? A simple outing to a garden centre for example with a seasonal display may make all the difference. Some may be content to enjoy just staying in the warmth and comfort of their own home so always make sure your attentions are welcome, they may not want to join in the excesses of the season.
If there isn’t time to pop round in person, pick up the phone, a tech savvy elderly person may benefit from a video call, just seeing a friendly face can make all the difference. Perhaps set up a rota among yourselves to vary the calls and keep in touch.
Help with the shopping, many grandparents will love the opportunity to spoil their young relations at this time of year, they may need help to seek out suitable gifts. Offer to go shopping with them, many will enjoy having some company on their visit to the supermarket, involve them in your shopping visit, if they’re coming to you for the festive season ask them what they would like to eat too.
Consider their mobility too, icy surfaces and wet conditions can make getting out and about tricky and make elderly people more susceptible to falls. Check their home and access to it is safe to walk on, make sure they have any extra walking aids if necessary and if you’re not able to get them out and about, try a ‘dial-a-ride’ service or other community transport scheme.
You may need some extra support at this hectic time of year. There are plenty of companies and agencies who can provide a helping hand. Perhaps you just need someone to pay your relative a visit, as little or as often can be arranged? A live-in carer will help in the home, offering round-the-clock care for them and peace of mind for you. Respite care offers short-term support. Christmas has many demands on time and if you’re going away this may be an option.
Help make this Christmas a little more joyful for an older person.
