Delicious grill deal at M&S

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M&S are here to feed your BBQ obsession with their three for £12 grill deal of bangers, burgers and kebabs

Do you love BBQs? Are you searching to find new dishes to impress your friends and family? M&S are here to the rescue. With their new three for £12 grill deal, you can make both your friends and your taste buds happy!

Not only do M&S offer such a banging deal, but they also offer a new range of bangers, burgers and kebabs, which holds a vast range of flavours. Having a staycation, but fancy a trip to Asia? Try their Asian-style chicken wing kebabs. If Greece is more your style, indulge in their Greek-style pork skewers. Where you are at home or away, M&S grant the opportunity to experience all the flavours from your very own home with their new selection.

Vegan? Don’t fret! They have a very special treat for you! M&S have made sure that there is something for everyone and have officially introduced their iconic posh dogs as a vegan dish as well. Now everyone can enjoy the BBQ together with their new selection, with food requirements posing no threat.

Still craving more flavours after this? Well, M&S still have plenty to please you! Explore their range of sauces to spice up your meals. From Piri Piri Marinade to Buffalo Sauce, they have a number of different sauces perfect for marinating, dipping and drizzling your dishes with, making them even more delicious.

Has this taken your interest? Click here to find out more: Best Ever BBQ.

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Best wines for summer barbecues

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Discover the best barbecue wines for the summer. Round & About’s Magazine’s wine columnist Giles Luckett shares his red, white and rose recommendations

Hello. The great British Summer wouldn’t be the same without the great British barbecue. Sociable, affordable, and fun, they’re a great excuse for an alfresco glass of wine or two. But which ones? Barbecued food is one of the trickier food and wine matches. OK, it’s not as tricky as mutton vindaloo (Merlot, by the way. My fiery food-loving friend swears by it), but it presents challenges. The combination of fish, fowl, flavourings and flame all need to be considered. Traditionally bigger the better was the approach, but with chefs such as double Michelin star winner Tom Kerridge taking barbecuing seriously, here are some equally serious selections for your summer’s alfresco dining.

Let’s begin in a civilised fashion with a fizz. Well, two, actually – you can never have too much fizz, that’s my motto. The first is the Villa Maria Sparkling Cuvée Brut (Sainsbury’s on offer at £11 down from £14). I’ve been a big fan of Villa Maria’s wines since the late 1990s, but I’d not come across this until recently. A blend of mainly Chardonnay with some Pinot Noir, it offers New World joy with Old World complexity. Golden in colour and with a nose of apple crumble, the soft, textured palate offers melon, peaches, and pears and a touch of tropical fruit and honey. It’s a delightful solo sipper, but it has the weight and character to partner with seafood or white fish.

My second recommendation comes straight out of the Bonza Barbie Book! (Cliché Publications £9.99), it’s the Bleasdale Langhorne Creek Sparkling Shiraz (the Wine Society £12.95). Good sparkling Shiraz is one of the wine world’s great oddities. A hefty, moderately acidic, thick-skinned peppery grape should not make good fizz, but this is one of those so wrong its right wines. The Bleasdale has a lovely purple colour crowned by pink foam. The nose is a riot of crushed blackcurrants, with peppery mint notes in the background. For me, it was love at first sip, as raspberries, chocolate, and yeast offset the sweetly toned, spicy blackberry fruits. Good on its own, it’s amazing with honey mustard chicken.

And so on to the whiter side of life. Whites and barbecued food can be tricky. Too much new oak and your mouth can feel like you’ve smoked a Woodbine; too little body and it gets drowned out; too much acidity and it can taste harsh and sour. So, what to serve…?

Well, you can start with a white Rioja. White Rioja is one of the great unsung heroes of the wine world. Take the Cune Barrel Fermented Rioja (Waitrose £7.99 on offer down from £9.99 (still a bargain at £9.99)). This is at once creamy and luxurious yet clean and crisp. No, I’ve no idea how they manage it, I’m just glad they do. It offers masses of red apple, apricot and grape fruit with undertones of vanilla, honey and crushed nuts before a lemony finish sweeps in. This is a great glassful that will stand up to barbecued white meats or fish while being equally at home on its own.

Alternatively, why not try a Riesling? Something like the Trimbach 2019 (West End Wines £19.50). Despite its appearance, name, grape and historical-geographic alignment (best not open the Treaty of Versailles debate here) this is from Frances’ Alsace. Trimbach has been making wine since 1626, and I have to say they’ve really got the hang of it. Elegance, purity, and intensity are the watchwords here. The bouquet melds white berries, blossom, citrus, and a hint of honey, while the palate offers green apples and white currants before pears, grapefruit, and minerals come in at the finish. Medium-bodied, but with such dazzling persistence, this is sublime with fish, white meats, and green salads.

A pause for a rosé thought. I’ve always found rosé to be good with barbecued fish, seafood, and white meats, but most struggle to match smoky red meats. I’ve tried newer styles of rosé that put the emphasis on power and while they work to an extent, the lower acidity means something vital is lost. A wine that manages to match all grilled foods with effortless aplomb is the Muga Rosado (Waitrose £10.99). Pretty as a pink picture, this is an upfront style of rosé with juicy citrus mingling with red berries, apricots and cranberries.

My first red is the Gaia Red Blend 2019 (Vintage Roots £17.95), which is another clever conjuring trick of a wine. An intriguing blend of Argentinean Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, its inky blue-black colour and nose of super-ripe smoked black berries, cherries, coffee, and prunes give you an impression of all-out power. When you taste it, however, you find balance, harmony, and a lightness of touch. While the juicy Malbec black and blueberry tones lead the charge, there are fruits of the forest, mint, warm spices, and a lovely floral lift that make it feel poised and precise. I had this with steak – it was a perfect foil – but it would be just as good with roasted veg with garlic, grilled halloumi, or blackened peppers stuffed with couscous.

My next recommendation is a stone-cold classic – though serve it at room temperature for best results. It’s the Journey’s End V5 Cabernet Franc (Ocado £18). This was my first encounter with a South African Cabernet Franc. In fact, it was my first encounter with a varietal Cabernet Franc in years. Too often, I find the leafy blackcurrant tone rather green and sour. This had none of that. Very deeply coloured, on opening the nose offered cassis, peppers and black cherries with a lovely leafy herb note. Full-bodied yet fresh, it offers everything from brambles and cherries to smoky vanilla, graphite, star anise and plums. An hour open and exuberance turned to subtlety, and flavours of chocolate and strawberry came through. I had it with a heavily peppered steak, and it was excellent. The juiciness and the wine’s dry tannins complimented the food perfectly.

And finally, something for the adventurous amongst you. If you’re the sort of person who does quail piri piri or slaps a lobster on the grill (I’m free that evening, by the way) then the Au Bon Climat Santa Maria 2021 Pinot Noir (Berry Bros. & Rudd £31) is for you. This last vintage of the founder and Californian wine pioneer Jim Clendenen is a suitably fitting tribute to a man who did more for American Pinot and Chardonnay than anyone else. Gorgeous nose of red and black berries, roses, and cocktail cherries with a touch of menthol, the palate is tightly packed with strawberry, blackberry, black cherry and vanilla notes, that are lent further complexity by meaty tones, and a savoury edge. The bright acidity means it will happily partner fish, foul, or flesh, but make sure you give it a couple of hours open.

“The bright acidity means it will happily partner fish, foul, or flesh.”

Well, I’m off to fire up the grill – those unami mushroom burgers won’t burn, I mean cook, themselves.

Next time I’ll take a look at the wines of New Zealand – surprises are in store…

More soon,
Giles

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Create and Grow with Squire’s

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Have fun taking part in Create and Grow activities with your young ones at Squire’s Garden Centres this summer!

Looking for something fun to do with your children this summer? Squire’s Garden Centres has just the thing for you!

Running from Monday, 24th July to Friday, 25th August, Squire’s Garden Centres welcome you to participate in their fun Create and Grow activities. Whether you choose to ‘decorate a pair of pebble animals’ every Monday between 9.30am and 12.30pm, or simply have fun doing their worksheets, Squire’s Garden Centres have a variety of exciting things to do.

Chairman Sarah Squire says they are ‘delighted to welcome young visitors back’ and that their activities will take ‘just the right amount of time to keep little ones busy’. All centres, excluding Chertsey and Reigate, are participating in this wonderful event, so there is plenty of opportunity for you to take part.

If decorating a pebble takes your fancy, get along and book your place either in store or online. Your child can create a cool create for only £3, and with this comes a range of fun after, as they will now have a brand-new toy to play with.

With the painting itself taking around 20 minutes, Squire’s also offer a free, wildlife themed activity sheet every day. Once your child finishes crafting their pebble pet, they will be able to take part in a range of games and challenges. From the ‘Pond Word Search’ to the ‘Butterfly Maze’, your child will never find themselves short of fun things to do. Once completing the challenge, they will be rewarded with a sticker, and what child wants to miss out on that prizw?

If you begin to grow hungry after your hard work as an artist, feel free to grab a light bite to eat at the Centre’s Café Bar. The ‘Little Gardeners menu’ contains a range of delicious meals for your child to munch on.

Overall, it sounds like a great morning out with your kids and prevents the cries of boredom at home.

Want to find out more? Visit Squire’s Garden Centres.

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Grill seekers! Tom Kerridge barbecue recipes 

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We’re serving up two summer sizzlers from Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking, published by Bloomsbury with photographs © Cristian Barnett

Ultimate hot dog (serves four)

These hot dogs are based on everyone’s favourite Christmas side: pigs in blankets. Like Christmas trees, hot dogs are thought to originate in Germany, so I’ve added a bit of curry powder, German mustard and Bavarian cheese as a nod to that. Great to cook outside on a cold day!

Ingredients:

Barbecue burnt onions
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Pigs in blankets
• 4 jumbo sausages
• 2 heaped tsp mild curry powder
• 12 rashers of streaky bacon

German mustard mayo
• 100g thick mayonnaise
• 40g German mustard
• 3 tsp finely chopped shallot
• 10 cornichons, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp finely chopped dill
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

To assemble
• 4 long hot dog rolls
• 8 thick slices of smoked Bavarian cheese
• 8 large slices of dill pickle
• A bunch of spring onions, green part only, finely sliced

Method:

1. To cook the onions, place a cast-iron pan on the hot barbecue and add the oil. When it is hot, add the onions with a generous pinch of salt. Stir well and cook for about 20 minutes until softened, dark and caramelised.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sausages. Poke a metal skewer through the length of each sausage and lay the skewers on a tray. Season with the curry powder, trying to get an even coating all over the sausages. Wrap each one in bacon, using 3 rashers per sausage, and secure the bacon with a couple of cocktail sticks.
3. Lay the bacon-wrapped sausages on the hot barbecue and cook for about 10 minutes, turning every minute or two. While they are on the barbecue, mix the German mustard mayo ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste; set aside until needed.
4. Once the sausage are cooked through, lift them off the barbecue and place on a tray. Remove the cocktail sticks and metal skewers.
5. To build the hot dogs, slit the rolls open through the top and lay the cheese slices in them. Add the baconwrapped sausages and top with plenty of caramelised onions and the pickle slices.
6. Place the hot dogs on a sturdy baking tray on the barbecue, put the lid on and leave for a minute or two so that the cheese becomes all gooey and melted. Transfer the hot dogs to plate and spoon on the German mayo. Scatter over the spring onions for freshness and serve.

Tandoori fish skewers (makes eight)

Salmon has a high fat content so it stays lovely and moist when cooked over direct heat. It can also be eaten a bit pink in the middle, so you don’t need to worry about undercooking it either. Quick pickled red onions cut through the rich flavours, as well as adding amazing colour.

Ingredients:

• 8 skinless salmon fillets (about 125g)
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated
• 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
Juice of 1 lime
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• A little vegetable oil to brush
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pickled red onions
• 2 small red onions
• 125ml water
• 125ml white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar

To serve
• Naan bread or roti
• A handful of coriander leaves
• 1 long green chilli, finely sliced
• Lime halves
• Sweet chilli sauce

Method:

1. Prepare your pickled red onions an hour or so ahead. Slice the onions and place in a clean jar or bowl. Put the water, wine vinegar, fennel and cumin seeds, salt and sugar into a small pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved. Pour the hot pickling liquor over the onions and leave to cool slightly. Pop the lid on (or cover the bowl) and place in the fridge to pickle.
2. To prepare the salmon, cut each fillet into four equal-sized chunks. Place these in a bowl with the garlic, ginger and lime juice and mix well.
3. In another bowl, mix the yoghurt with the spices and some salt and pepper. Add this spiced yoghurt to the salmon and mix well again. Leave to marinate in a cool place for at least 20 minutes, or up to an hour. Meanwhile, if using wooden skewers soak eight of them in water to avoid scorching on the barbecue.
4. Once marinated, thread the salmon onto your skewers, putting four chunks onto each skewer.
5. Brush the hot barbecue grid lightly with a little oil then lay the skewers on it. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and lightly charred. Meanwhile, warm the naan or roti on the edge of the barbecue. Once cooked, transfer the skewers to a warm plate.
6. Serve the skewers on the warm naan or roti. Scatter over a little pickled red onion, some coriander and sliced green chilli. Serve with lime halves for squeezing over, and sweet chilli sauce on the side.

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The art of watering

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I have decided that watering is a very specialised subject and I feel I could run a 10-week course on the subject!

The challenges for getting water to the roots of plants this year and last is off the scale. I remember saying how important it was to harvest the rainwater as it is so precious and would love to know how many of you did that?

Soil improvement

Anyone who knows me knows that I champion soil improvement and liken it to the gut biome! My go to compost to improve fertility and water retention is wool and bracken compost. I have covered my garden in it this year and those of many clients. We are reaping the benefits.

Harvesting the rain

We complain about it in the winter but in the last two summers have prayed it will fall out of the sky! I have been like a mad woman filling up water bottles by the thousand and installing water butts everywhere as well as leaving out trugs and trays to put in thirsty plants. I am now watering my plants with harvested rainwater as another hosepipe ban looms!

Watering the garden

New planting will need watering. If you have improved the soil or mulched this will be possible. If it’s just dusty dry soil it will just run off. Mulch now to absorb the water you put on. Spray to wet the mulch and then allow as much water into the soil as you can. If you are not sure just scrape the surface or dig down with a trowel to see if it’s wet. Use spiked bottles or tubes to get the water to the roots, do not just spray the plants.

Watering the lawn

Do not waste water doing this! A sign of a good gardener is a ‘dead’ lawn in the summer. It will revitalise as soon as the rain comes, it’s not dead it’s summer dormant.

Pots

Someone once said to me ‘It doesn’t rain in pots’ so make sure you still water. If it’s hot and sunny you will need to water more than when it is cool and cloudy. Do the plants need it? Are they wilting because they are dry, waterlogged or damaged by pests? Is the pot heavy or light? Is it normal multi purpose compost or wool compost? Is it a desert plant or a tropical rainforest plant?

If in doubt stick your finger into the soil!

CGS Courses

Please ask for details as I am now meeting potential students for Autumn and Spring Courses as well as bespoke workshops. I can also come and teach you in your own garden and am happy to chat over a coffee at Ashdene. Consultancy gift vouchers available too.

Website: Cathie’s Gardening School.
Email: [email protected]

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Monty Panesar at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

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Former English Cricketer Monty Panesar, who’s remembered as one of our greatest modern spinners, will give a live interview at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford at 7.30pm on Thursday, 10th August.

Monty is a folk hero with England cricket fans. Known as much for his terrible fielding in his early days as for his world-beating left-arm spin, Monty became a household name and helped England to become the number one Test team on the planet.

Born in Luton, he played 50 test matches for his country, took 167 Test wickets, saved an Ashes Test with the bat alongside Jimmy Anderson, claimed Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test wicket, won a Test series in India, was friends with Shane Warne and captured the public’s imagination with his joyous celebrations.

In conversation with national broadcaster Matt Stadlen (BBC Two This week, BBC Two The Daily Politics, LBC presenter) the first England spinner to take a five-wicker haul at the WACA will take us behind the scenes of his record-breaking career. What was it like bowling at Tendulkar, Dravid and Gilchrist? How did he hit Muralitharan for six? How did he deal with the pressure of Ashes cricket? What was Sir Andrew Strauss like as a captain? How did the Barmy Army help him succeed? What was his greatest England victory? What’s his verdict on the summer’s Ashes?

Don’t miss this chance to come face to face with one of English sport’s best loved characters. Presented in association with Clive Conway Productions.

For more information and to book tickets, visit: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre or call 01483 44 00 00 (Monday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm).

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Egham Royal Show weekend in August

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The Egham Royal Show takes place on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th August at the showground in Whitehall Lane.

Last year for the first time, the show provided children’s rides free of charge. This was a huge success so again this year, these rides will be free – including go-karts.

Egham Royal Show has a reputation for offering something for everyone. As well as the traditional rare breeds animals and horticulture/crafts competitions, there will be live music, trade stands, a model marquee, dog show, flight simulator, vintage and classic car display, archery, Morris dancers and a community marquee with real ales. The main arena will feature a variety of entertainments including birds of prey and motor bike stunt riding. There is free parking on-site.

Entry costs £12 for adults and £10 for concessions. Children under 15 accompanied by an adult come in free of charge. Advance tickets can be bought via the Show website at a discount.

For more info please visit Egham Royal Show

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Teen science talent recognised with awards

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Tomorrow’s STEM talent has been honoured at the Oxfordshire High Sheriff Young Engineer Awards

Well done to everyone who took park in the recent High Sheriff Young Engineer Awards Abingdon & Witney College to recognise students who show great promise in the fields of engineering, resistant materials and design technology.

State schools across the county were invited to nominate students aged 12-18 across three age categories in the awards sponsored by Abingdon & Witney College, The Engineering Trust and Lucy Group Ltd, a long-standing Oxford company that engineers smart electrics for the built environment.

The judging panel comprised Richard Dick (executive chairman, Lucy Group), Sally Scott (High Sheriff of Oxfordshire), Andy Linfoot (engineering director, Lucy Electric) and Mark Vingoe (CEO, The Engineering Trust). Prizes included £400 for the winning student in each category and £1,000 for the students’ respective school or college. There were also runner-up prizes in each category, a Team Award and an overall High Sheriff Award.

Richard Dick, judge and founder of the Oxfordshire High Sheriff Young Engineer Awards, said: “The calibre of entries this year was excellent, so I applaud everyone who was nominated. The next generation of students who choose STEM careers will be instrumental in finding the scientific and engineering solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Seeing how these promising young engineers think – and turn concepts into reality – gives me every reason to believe that we will be in good hands.”

The winners

Year 12 & 13 award


Winner: Kye Gustafsson – Abingdon & Witney College
Kye is an avid CAD user who designed and made a working centrifugal pump. The judges were particularly impressed that he constructed the impeller, drive shaft, bracket and housing. He CNC milled the impeller blades, turned the drive shaft on a lathe and milled the keyway into it. He then fabricated a bracket from sheet metal and 3D printed the housing.

2nd place: Michael Vereker – King Alfred’s Academy
As an integral member of the tech team for school productions, Michael designed and produced load-bearing structures for many of the stage sets using CAD/CAM processes. He also worked alongside a professional lighting technician to programme the productions lights. Michael has a passion for DT and has completed work experience at the Veolla Nuclear Solutions HQ (Abingdon), where he also participated in a Solidworks CAD class.

Joint 3rd place: Emily Saunders – UTC Oxfordshire
Emily is studying for a BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering, A level product Design and A Level Maths. She was a volunteer at a nursing home, where the staff had a specific requirement for supporting one eldering gentleman with disabilities. Emily developed an aid that enabled the disabled resident to carry out everyday activities, such as writing and doing puzzles, from his wheelchair, while meeting other criteria of the brief: easy to use, deploy and store.

Joint 3rd place: Olivia Estevez – Wood Green School
Olivia likes to explore materials and product design and has developed two notable concepts. The first is a mug, inspired by Chindogu product design principles, that pushes the boundaries of function and form. The second is a landscape design for the redevelopment of wasteland at school, using natural materials to create architectural sculptures that connect different areas into one harmonious outdoor breakout space.

Year 10 & 11 Award

Winner: Tom Wigley – St Birinus
Tom designed and made a metal desk lamp. The judges noted his attention to detail in respect of both ergonomics and aesthetics. His design included the electric circuitry and wire harness, while he demonstrated considerable metalworking skills in fabricating and assembling the components. He also considered the practicality of putting his prototype into production. Tom is a founding member of the school’s Enginerring Club and has helped support Y7 students with slot car designs and construction.

2nd place: Lilly Broome – Burford School
Lilly has demonstrated extensive engineering design and production skills, using a variety of processes such as heat treatments, finishing, centre lathe work – including knurling and thread cutting – and the use of CAM and CNC machinery, enabling her to create products to an outstanding level of tolerance. Examples shown included an attractive red & black pivot desk lamp with an hourglass shaped hood.

Joint 3rd place: Jed Thorburn – Futures Institute
Jed’s projects have ranged from desigining and building a water turbine as part of a project linked to Intermediate Technology, designing a glider for an RAF competition, redesigining a school from scratch (a theoretical disaster recover competition from the international education organisation BIEA) and designing an app to encourage children to spend more time outdoors.

Joint 3rd place: Leon Conway – Burford School
Leon has demonstrated excellent design and production skills, utilising a wide variety of manufacturing processes – including cutting, wasting, routing, finishing, electronics and the use of CAM and CNC machinery – across various classes of material. He has created final products to a high level of tolerance, including a wooden guitar made from high quality sustainable materials.

Year 8 & 9 Award

Winner: Lucy Busson – Fitzharrys
Lucy’s research-driven approach to Design & Technology strongly appealed to the judges. In addition to freehand drawing skills, she uses CAD with great accuracy. She communicates her design ideas well and uses research to good effect when analysing a brief. She is methodical and practical, working with tools and machines with a high degree of precision. Lucy is also interested in materials and sustainability, exemplified by a bird feeder design project that supported her nomination.

2nd place: Olivia Taylor – Chipping Norton School
Olivia designed and made a decorative lamp using a range of materials, including wood, plastic and metal. This involved forming the plastic shade out of acrylic, using a commercial oven and a jig, cutting and shaping hardwoods using hand tools (including a tenon saw and chisel), and using electrical woodworking equipment such as a band facer and pillar drill. She also cut metal to size to form pivot points for the mechanism. Olivia finally decorated her product with a range of beads sourced from the Textiles department. 

Team Award

Winner: UTC Oxfordshire – Hannah Weston, Charlotte Turner, Maddie Pryce, Floyd Rayner, Thomas Bristow, Cambell Payne.

This team of year 12 students is taking part in the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) Industrial Cadets Gold Award, working with Abingdon-based aerospace company Reaction Engines, who have set them a challenge of recovering heat and converting that to energy. The UTC team consists of 50:50 males/female students and a mix between Engineering and Science students. 

The students attend fortnightly meetings with Reaction Engines, project managing themselves, and work as a close-knit team to engineer a waste heat to power solution. They attended a residential at Bath University as part of the programme, where they worked on the project alongside their mentors from Reaction Engines. The judges were influenced by the ambition and aptitude of the students, who are using industrial CAD packages (Fusion 360) and complex maths to model their concept before manufacturing the high-precision prototype using nanotubes and machining 0.8mm holes using CNC milling processes. 

High Sheriff Award

Winner: Kye Gustafsson – Abingdon & Witney College
The judges deemed Kye worthy of the overall High Sheriff Award due to the sheer professionalism of his end-to-end centrifugal pump design and build project (described above), including full supporting documentation. 



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Fi.Fest ready to rock Maidenhead

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The fifth Fi.Fest on Saturday, 8th July at Stroud Farm in Forest Green Road will star Scouting For Girls and The Feeling

Preparations are under way for Maidenhead’s biggest music festival. UK chart toppers The Feeling will play some of their best-known hits, including She’s So Lovely, Elvis Ain’t Dead, Heartbeat, Fill My Little World, Love It When You Call and Never Be Lonely alongside many others. About 5,000 people are expected to attend the event, which brings friends and families together for a brilliant day out for all ages.

Organisers Lee Page and Alex Kinloch say: “We can’t wait to welcome back our festival family, 2023 is set to be the biggest event yet. We have been planning this for nearly a year and can’t believe it will be all coming together in a couple of weeks’ time!

“We’re extremely grateful for the loyalty and support shown by Fi.Festers, who come back each year to enjoy a day of music and entertainment. We know that households are being squeezed by the cost of living and it means a lot to us that they make the effort to attend the festival.”

Barrioke will make a Fi.Fest debut, as he brings his smash hit UK tour to the main stage. Festival goers can get up on the main stage in front of 1000’s and sing with the ex EastEnders and Extras star.

Alongside the main stage, the festival has a dedicated kid zone with several free activities to keep younger Fi.Festers entertained and engaged, including dedicated kid stage shows, dinosaur show, crafts, inflatable theme park, circus skills and more.

New to 2023 is a “second stage”, where festival goers can listen and support local talent and discover new bands.

The festival is proud to have two amazing local charities Alexander Devine and Windsor Horse Rangers joining them at the festival with two pop up stalls and representatives looking to raise funds and spread awareness of their charity work.

Tickets are still available for the event online at Fi.Fest (fifest.co.uk). Festival goers are urged to buy tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. Prices go up just before the event and will come off sale once sold.

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Roses galore in our gardens

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Gardening expert Cathie Welch talks all things roses to mark Rose Awareness Week, June 19-25

As it’s rose awareness week I’ve been asked to write about roses. Well these are a plant that did not faulter in the heat or the cold, in fact they have thrived. There are many types of roses and it’s my job to educate and inspire so here goes…

Anyone who knows me will be aware that Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ named after the iconic garden designer is my favourite for scent, colour and sheer beauty! It comes from David Austin roses and can be a bush rose or a climber. I also adore ‘Munstead Wood’ for fragrance but this one is sadly no longer available. Instead opt for ‘Gabriel Oak’ or ‘Desdemona’ among others. These are all traditional or old fashioned rose types.

Roses for cutting need longer stems and a fabulous one is ‘Queen Elizabeth’ (pink) and ‘Alexander’ (orange). For a classic red rose choose ‘Fragrant Cloud’ one of many hybrid teas. These are all modern roses and there are many suppliers of these in garden centres and nurseries as well as online retailers. Plant fairs abound throughout summer and there is no better feeling than a car full of scented roses! There are also wild roses and single roses which are more bee friendly and even ground cover roses and those for the smallest patio. They really are a delight and worth their high maintenance reputation.

Cultivation

Roses are very hungry plants and need rich soil. They love a clay soil enriched with well rotted manure in full sun. Many of them are grafted onto rootstocks of wild roses so occasionally you get suckers which need to be cut off at ground level. Regular feeding is important in the form of compost and a high potash rose fertiliser. Ash from the woodburner is a traditional favourite. Pests and diseases can be a problem depending on variety but regular checking can catch them early. Try to be as organic as possible when selecting sprays. Dead head regularly after flowering to encourage more blooms.

Pruning

This is what sends everyone into a panic as it’s all dependant on the type of rose you are growing. Bush roses are usually Hybrid tea or floribuda so they have single large blooms or clusters. Hybrid teas are generally cut harder. Climbing roses are pruned similarly but usually spur pruned onto a framework during the winter months. Ramblers that flower once are pruned after flowering in the summer, taking out flowered shoots and tying in the new ones. Shrub roses often have hips and don’t need such drastic pruning, if they can be left then occasional renovation can work. Don’t be tempted to trim with hedgecutters unless a hedge!

CGS Courses

Please ask for details as I am running pruning courses throughout Spring and Autumn. Each plant has a different requirement and learning about pruning techniques is addictive! I can also come and teach you in your own garden.

Consultancy gift vouchers available too.

Website: Cathie’s Gardening School

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