Thames Valley West: All together now…

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Whatever your age, taste or background there are a whole
host of festivals to get your musical juices flowing, writes Liz Nicholls

Festival season is upon us – which is great news for us here at Round & About Towers (we’re fans of a bash). Perhaps you are one of the supremely dedicated / lucky few to have bagged yourself a Glastonbury ticket..? Yes the Mother Of All Festivals is back at the end of June but if, like me, you’ll be enjoying it from the comfort of your sofa there are loads more to get fully immersed in…

“I’ve been going to festivals with my wife and festival buddy Josie since the early ’90s and made some halcyon trips to Glastonbury and Reading,” Rob de Bank, Bestival curator tells me. “I’ve slept in a collapsed tent partially underwater, canoed down a Glastonbury thoroughfare, got emotional watching Stevie Wonder and Elton John at Bestival and tried Fuji Rocks in Japan and Coachella in the American desert for a change… but the festival I’ll always come back to is our very own Camp Bestival. We created the show for our kids and their kids and future generations so it’s very close to our heart but it’s also so much fun. And the ultimate way to have some fantastic family time away from screens and technology. I can’t wait to see Chic, Annie Mac and The Human League here this year.” This summer’s dance-deluxe Camp Bestival at Dorset’s Lulworth Castle, 25th to 28th July, has a heroes and superheroes theme and also offers bangers in the form of Jess Glynne, Sister Sledge, Goldie and others including Omid Djalili and Mr Motivator. Visit www.campbestival.net

Multi-award-winning Lechlade Music Festival will rock the second May bank holiday, 24th-26th, with The Feeling, Rob Heron and his Tea Pad Orchestra and loads of free family fun such as storytelling, yoga and circus skills; www.lechladefestival.co.uk

The Beach Boys will star at this year’s Cornbury Festival in Great Tew near Chipping Norton, 5th-7th July. Also performing are The Specials, Keane, Echo & The Bunnymen, KT Tunstall, Beverley Knight and an amazing comedy line-up as well as family-friendly fun; www.cornburyfestival.com

Quirky beauty Boomtown returns to Matterley Estate in the South Downs from Wednesday 7th to Monday, 12th August, featuring a stonking line-up including Lauryn Hill, Prophets of Rage, The Streets, Chronixx, Chase & Status, Groove Armada, Slaves and Salt-N-Pepa to name just a few. District AREA 404 is the new home for techno, headlined by Carl Cox, Amelie Lens, Four Tet and more; www.boomtownfair.co.uk

Small is beautiful with local festivals, as ever. Folksy, rootsy and green, Wood in Ipsden, 17th-19th May, will feature Belshazzar’s Feast and lots of ways to celebrate nature; www.woodfestival.com. Raise a glass to Bottle Kids, From The Echo and The Skandal while raising spirits and funds for charity at Rokefest near Benson, 24th-26th May; www.rokefest.com. Hosted by Oxford Psychedelic Society, Oddball Festival at Oxford’s Isis Farmhouse on Saturday, 8th June stars Sun Ra Arkestra. Free with entry or for season ticket holders, Cogges Family Festival brings you craft, puppets, animal handling and Morris dancing on bank holiday Monday, 27th May; www.cogges.org.uk

Have a great time for great causes at BrightFest in Brightwell, OX10 0SQ, on Saturday, 8th June, with bands, family fun, a football contest, bar (well stocked by The Red Lion team) and food; www.brightfest.org.uk. And Rugfest is back, bigger than ever at Wallingford Rugby Club, 21st-23rd June, having joined forces with Wallingford Beer & Blues, with The Feeling, Freak Power, Galaxy Thief and The Echo; www.rugfest.org

Basil Brush is the special guest at Wychwood Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, 31st May to 2nd June; www.wychwoodfestival.com

Fantastic cover bands and tribute acts will entertain you at Witney Music Festival on 14th & 15th June with the annual two-week takeover in the town, 24th May to 9th June; www.witneymusicfestival.co.uk

Free family-friendly Riverside Festival in Charlbury, 20th & 21st July, has a pixies theme in honour of the Pixies band and the headliners for Saturday are local stars Kanadia; www.riversidefestival.charlbury.com

Indie royalty will reign at the biggest Truck Festival yet in Steventon, 25th-28th July. Wolf Alice, Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, Slaves, Nothing But Thieves, You Me At Six, Don Broco, Johnny Marr, Public Service Broadcasting and more will star; www.truckfestival.com

The same weekend, glorious WOMAD will celebrate the world’s many forms of music in Malmesbury, starring Ziggy Marley, Orbital, Salif, Keita, Anna Calvi and more; www.womad.co.uk 

Wallingford’s free Bunkfest will bring you music, dance and beer from 30th August until 1st September; www.bunkfest.co.uk

Towersey near Thame will honour the late folk singer and activist Roy Bailey with the help of Tom Robinson, 23rd-26th August. Newton Faulkner, Bruce Foxton’s From The Jam, The Selecter, Hothouse Flowers, Seth Lakeman, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Fisherman’s Friends and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will also star as well as many more; www.towerseyfestival.com

Busted, The Feeling, Dodgy, Toploader and Judge Jules will bring the ’90s vibe to Chilterns Live near Tring, HP23 5QY; www.chilterns-live.co.uk

The Big Feastival returns to rock Alex James’ Cotswolds farm, 23rd-25th August. This year’s foodie fun line-up includes Jess Glynne, Rudimental, Elbow, Jo Wiley, Prue Leith, Raymond Blanc and perennial star Justin Fletcher (AKA Mr Tumble) as well as munchies galore! www.thebigfeastival.com

Latitude at gorgeous Henham Park near Southwold, 18th to 21st July, offers Primal Scream, EverythingEverything, Underworld, George Ezra, Slaves, Lana Del Rey and more; www.latitudefestival.com. Giddy up for some Jockey Club Live musical highlights at UK racecourses, including Madness (24th July), Pete Tong & The Heritage Orchestra (31st July) and Jess Glynne (8th August); www.thejockeyclublive.co.uk

Wild wonderland Wilderness Festival returns to dazzle high society festivalgoers in Oxfordshire’s Cornbury Park, 1st-4th August. You’ll find banquets and feasting, plenty of celeb-spotting opportunities, lakeside hot tubs, yoga and intellectual and cultural brain food and lectures as well as Robyn, Groove Armada and Freya Ridings. Visit www.wildernessfestival.com

A new one-dayer, Over the Hill Festival will feature some of the best UK Americana and roots bands at Cogges Manor on 26th August; www.cogges.org.uk

Reading Festival rocks the August bank holiday weekend (23rd to 25th August). This year’s stars are The 1975, Foo Fighters, Blossoms, plus Fredo, Billie Eilish, Stefflon Don and Camelphat; visit www.readingfestival.com

Readipop will rock Caversham’s Christchurch Meadows, 12th-14th July, with Sleeper, The Brand New Heavies, The Orb, Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish, Musical Youth, Audio Bullys and local bands for great local causes; www.readipop.co.uk

A dazzling black-tie party in a stunning riverside location, Henley Festival, 10th to 14th July, has another great line-up this year including Boy George, Jessie J, Bjorn Again and Jo Wiley with her ’90s anthems as well as comedy from Ed Byrne, Andy Hamilton, Julian Clary and more;  www.henley-festival.co.uk

Pennfest in Bucks on 19th & 20th July will star Goldie, Suede, Peter Doherty, Fabio, Craig David and many more stars; www.pennfest.net

Supporting children’s charities, Chris Evans’ Car-Fest heads to Hampshire’s Laverstoke Park, RG25 3DR, from 23rd to 25th August; www.carfest.org

Enjoy your summer!

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Floral feast

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The blooming marvellous Chelsea Flower Show is a true horticultural highlight

here’s nothing more British than Chelsea Flower Show, with cutting-edge garden design and plants from all over the world, the show offers a glamorous, unique and memorable experience.

Whether your green fingers can make anything flourish or you only have to look at a plant to see it off, this event from 21st to 25th May, has so many aspects to enjoy and marvel at.

Internationally renowned designers and world-class exhibits vying to win RHS Gold medals and the coveted Best Show Garden will greet you round every corner with a few surprises too.

One garden that is sure to attract a great deal of attention this year is the RHS Back to Nature garden designed by The Duchess of Cambridge with Andree Davies and Adam White.

With the emphasis firmly on the family and inspired by childhood memories, the woodland garden offers a place to play, learn and discover and as part of the RHS’s partnership with NHS England is promoting the physical and emotional benefits of gardening and being outdoors. After the show, much of the planting and landscaping will be given to an NHS mental health trust.

Visitors to this garden – and there are sure to be many – can marvel at the centrepiece tree house with its swing hanging form the branches; a waterfall and stream to paddle in and a hollow log to learn balancing and climbing.

The garden is designed to be relaxing and calming as well as boasting plants for craft activities, food for wildlife and nectar for pollination.

Among the highlights (although I’m not sure how you pick) are a garden inspired by a rock formation on an Australian beach for show sponsor M&G Investments and Welcome to Yorkshire which consists of a towpath running alongside a canal lock.

Artisan Gardens are making a welcome return with smaller spaces offering thought-provoking designs that tell a story. Here you can wander around gardens raising awareness for donkeys to mark the 50th anniversary of The Donkey Sanctuary; The High Maintenance Garden for Motor Neurone Disease Association which reflects the limitations of some with the disease and the forgotten quarry garden among others.

Don’t let limited space put you off creating a garden you can be proud of, the Space to Grow gardens are a feature of Chelsea for the second year with the Kampo no Niha garden. Kampo is a system a Japanese herbal medicine with plants featured for their health benefits while The Facebook Garden takes you “Beyond the Screen”.

The Duchess of Cambridge at the announcement of the garden design in January Credit: RHS / Suzanne Plunkett

Garden designer Chris Beardshaw, winner of Best Show Garden 2018 for the Morgan Stanley Garden for the NSPCC, Credit: RHS / Luke McGregor

The Chelsea Flower Show is also heralding the health and wellbeing benefits of green spaces and gardening for people and the environment.

Designers have explored the positive powers of plants and looked at factors which affect mental and physical health, such as Kate Gould’s garden supported by Greenfingers Charity which has created an uplifting space for children and the Savills and David Harber Garden which is all about how good it can feel getting away from the hustle and bustle using plants, trees and grasses to show a sustainable woodland clearing in a city garden.

The centrepiece of the show is the Great Pavilion which houses specialist growers from across the UK and those who have travelled from overseas to attend.

More than 80 exhibitors will be featured with a first for the Great Pavilion this year in the shape of a fully-interactive and walk-through garden, created by Tom Dixon and sponsored by IKEA, showcasing sustainable, affordable and forward-thinking solutions to growing food at home and in the community.

Many of the exhibitors are celebrating significant anniversaries this year at Chelsea including the multi-award winning David Austin Roses which marks its 50th anniversary at the show; the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies celebrating 60 years and the leading orchid cultivator McBean’s Nursery, with more than 70 Gold awards to its name, which is celebrating its 140th year.

After you’ve walked round and feasted on all that – and that’s only a small fraction of what’s on offer – you’ll be in need of some sustenance and there’s no shortage of options there either, not least the Jardin Blanc, an innovative dining experience from award-winning Oxfordshire chef Raymond Blanc.

To complete your quintessentially British experience visit The Drawing Room courtesy of The Dorchester and enjoy a floral-inspired tea with pastries and warm scones alongside a glass of Champagne or pop into Wedgewood’s tea conservatory and taste the exotic Wonderlust Collection.

Night owls can also hang back after the crowds have dispersed and enjoy Chelsea Late with botanical-inspired cocktails and cool jazz to round off what will have been a sublime experience.

  For more information about these gardens and many more and to book tickets, please visit www.rhs.org.uk

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April flowers

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I absolutely love this time of year. The countryside is awash with daffodils, tulips are starting to flower and glorious summer days in the garden really are just around the corner.

Now is the perfect time to:

– Prune shrubs including buddlejas, hebes, mop head hydrangeas, hypericums and winter flowering honeysuckles. Always start by removing any branches which are dead, damaged, diseased or crossing other branches. Established shrubs can be hard pruned to control size

– Direct sow hardy annuals such as marigolds, nigella, poppies, ammi, cerinthe and nasturtiums for lots of summer colour. It’s also your last chance to sow sweet peas

– Beetroot, broad beans, brassicas, onions, parnsips, salad leaves and spinach can all be sown now. Sow little and often for harvesting throughout the year. If you can’t decide which cultivars to choose, opt for the ones with ‘AGM’ after the name.

– Plant second early potatoes by the middle of the month, and maincrops by the end

– Plant snowdrops ‘in the green’

– Protect plants from slugs and snails which are out in force now. There are several ways to control them: beer traps, mulching with grit, or simply by being vigilant and removing them. If you decide to use slug pellets go for the ones based onferrous phosphate rather than metaldehyde to protect wildlife. Apply sparingly

– Create a new lawn by seeding or turfing

– Green up existing lawns by scarifying, aerating, feeding and weeding

– Start mowing regularly

– Apply a general fertiliser such as Vitax Q4 to your borders to give both edible and ornamental plants a nutritional boost

– Protect fruit blossom from late frosts with horticultural fleece

Plants looking particularly good now include:

  • Brunnera macropylla (Siberian bugloss)
  • Chaenomeles × superba ‘Crimson and Gold’ (Japanese quince)
  • Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ (wallflower)
  • Euphorbia amygdaloides (wood spurge)
  • Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell)
  • Lamprocapnos spectabilis (bleeding heart)
  • Ribes sanguineum (flowering currant)

Why not visit some gardens for inspiration?

My top picks for April are

Rooksnest, Lambourn Woodlands, (April 10th)

The Old Rectory, Farnborough (April 14th)

Rookwood Farm House, Stockcross (April 28th)

Chenies Manor, Rickmansworth

Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury

  Call Hannah Fraser, Bloom Gardens on 07768 041929 or visit Bloom Gardens website

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Craft beer & music festival

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Craft beer makers are brewing up a treat at Reading’s South Street Arts Centre

Beer, music and food – exactly what you need to make the perfect festival!

So with all the right ingredients, the Craft Beer & Music Festival at South Street Arts Centre, Reading, is sure to be popular.

Back for its third year after enjoying success previously, it takes place today (19th April) and tomorrow (20th) featuring a fantastic selection of beer from local, national and international breweries.

Among the local breweries whose beers you can enjoy over the two days are Elusive Brewing who produce beer at a small site in Finchampstead; Wild Weather in Silchester who draw inspiration from new world hops; Double-Barrelled, based in Stadium Way, Reading, who brew a variety from dark stouts to tangy sours with ‘cheeky’ pales in between and West Berkshire Brewery in Yattendon who brew with a combination of “passion for beer, a respect for the local community and a disregard for convention”. Finchampstead also lays claim to Siren Craft Brew which aims to introduce exciting, full-flavoured and forward-thinking beers.

Breweries  from further across the country you can sample are Beatnikz Republic, a microbrewery based in Manchester; Magic Rock Brewing from Huddersfield and Little Earth Project in Sudbury, Suffolk.

You’ll also get the chance to meet the brewers as you enjoy fab music from quality DJs while munching on some delicious street food.
And this year, there’s an extra fourth session for you to enjoy too: Friday 12pm-5pm (child friendly) and 6pm-11pm and Saturday 12pm-5pm and 7pm-12am.

Tickets are on sale now for £15 including a branded glass, 50p goes towards Reading Soup charity, a grassroots funding project which supports community projects, charities and ideas in the Reading area.

To buy tickets, go to www.readingarts.com 

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Seesaw success

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After 78,871 bounces, Richard March and Michael Jones beat the non-stop seesaw record having gone up and down for 80 hours, 10 minutes and six seconds.

Richard, 38, from Sandhurst, and Michael, 36 from Ruscombe, celebrated in Twyford having beaten the previous record by 10 minutes.

The pair started at 11am on Saturday, 13th April and were cheered on in their efforts over the next four days by a constant stream of local residents who came to watch at the former Polehampton Boys’ School.

They emulated the achievement of Twyford Youth Club members David Turner and David Sutch who set the previous record 50 years ago, bouncing up and down 57,810 times in 80 hours.

Richard and Michael beat the record on a seesaw constructed by David T complete with seats from his own car.

Funds raised from the effort will go towards a new charity called Twyford Community Hub which plans to turn the former school into a library and central venue for local groups.

Richard, a project manager, said he was very tired but that it had not been as bad as he had imagined. He added: “I am amazed at the interest there has been in our attempt. It has had a global reach. A friend of mine told me he had seen it on television in Majorca.”

Microsoft consultant Michael was also overwhelmed by the interest shown, adding: “The lack of sleep has been the toughest part, but now I can go home and be with the family.”

  Pictured: Michael Jones, left, and Richard March celebrate exhausted after beating the record

Photo: Tony Phillips

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Green party: April recipes

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Watercress & cheese scones

Ahead of Alresford Watercress Festival on Sunday, 19th May, The Watercress Company has teamed up with chef Keri Astill Frew. Watercress, which grows in the flowing spring waters of Hampshire and Dorset, is one of the healthiest plants known to man and has been revered since ancient times. It contains more than 50 vital vitamins and minerals and, gram for gram, even contains more calcium than milk, more folate than banana, more vitamin C than oranges and more vitamin E than broccoli. Watercress has been scientifically proven to help prevent cancer and other diseases.

(Prep: 10 mins – Cooking: 15-20 mins – Makes: 9)

Ingredients:

• 100g watercress
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mustard powder (optional)
• A pinch of salt
• 50g butter, cubed
• 75g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 200ml buttermilk plus a little for brushing the tops
• A pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Method:

A tangy alternative to the traditional sweet scone, these are delicious with butter or perhaps topped with a cream cheese.

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas mark 7.

Reserve a few small sprigs of watercress (to decorate the tops) and finely chop the rest.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and mustard into a large bowl. Add the salt and butter; rub into dry ingredients with your fingers. Stir in watercress and two thirds of the cheese, mix well.

3. Make a well in the centre, add buttermilk and mix with a round bladed knife into soft dough.

4. Very lightly knead on a floured surface, then use a floured rolling pin to roll dough to a thickness of 2.5cm. Use a 6cm plain round cutter to press out circles of the dough, rerolling lightly, as necessary. The mix should make nine scones.

5. Place the scones on an oiled large baking sheet. Brush each with a little buttermilk (or milk), top with a sprig of watercress, then scatter the remaining cheese on. Dust with a pinch of cayenne if liked, then bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 mins or until golden on top. Leave to cool for five mins before serving warm.

Chocolate, orange & watercress brownies

…with chocolate ganache topping

Chocolate, orange and watercress may not seem the most obvious combination but by golly, it works! The sharp pepper of the watercress contrasts deliciously with the citrus flavours and bitterness of the chocolate to make a truly mouth-watering treat.

(Prep: 40 mins, Cooking: 40 mins, Makes: 16 squares)

Ingredients:

• 300g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 200g unsalted butter
• Zest of one orange
• 350g caster sugar
• Four large eggs
• 100g plain flour, sieved
• 50g cocoa powder, sieved
• 50g watercress, finely chopped

For the topping:

• 250g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 250ml double cream
• 1 tbsp Cointreau (optional)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line a square tin with greaseproof paper. Place 200g chocolate, all the butter and orange zest in a heatproof bowl and microwave, full power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring and repeating. Be careful the chocolate doesn’t get too hot and burn.

2. Use an electric whisk, or stand mixer with whisk attachment, to beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Leave the chocolate mix to cool for at least five minutes before stirring in, then mix in the flour and cocoa. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate and watercress, then pour into the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, using a skewer or knife to test it’s cooked. Remove and cool completely.

3. Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan, being careful it doesn’t boil over. Remove from heat, then stir in the chocolate, stirring until melted and mixed. Finally, stir in the Cointreau if using.

4. Allow the ganache to cool a bit, then pour on the brownies in the tin. Smooth using a palette knife or spatula, then leave for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

5. The brownies can be kept for three-to-five days in an airtight tin or frozen (up to three months).

• Visit www.thewatercresscompany.com for more recipes. For details about Alresford Watercress Festival visit www.watercressfestival.org

 Click here for more of our recipes

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Woking Lit Fest

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Book lovers’ paradise at the third Woking Literary Festival  

This year’s Woking Literary Festival has something for the entire family with author talks, pop–up bookshops and a masterclass for aspiring authors, literary lovers are in for a treat. 

The festival returns for a third year to The Lightbox gallery and museum with all events supporting the Art and Wellbeing programme at The Lightbox charity which provides creative workshops for those who would otherwise not have access to the arts and heritage services. 

The event runs from 18th to 29th April with something for younger family members to start with, the charming tale of The Bear and the Piano by David Lichfield, the book is complete with real piano sounds played by the bear. 

Among other highlights of the festival are poetry day on the 27th when spoken word performers and poets will take part in an open mic event featuring comic and published performance poet Robert Garnham. Children’s poet Joseph Coelho will deliver his fun interactive poetry experience. 

April 23rd is celebrating World Book Night and William Shakespeare’s birthday with a lunch-time talk by author Marie Phillips on her new book Oh, I Do Like To Be… a silly, modern update of A Comedy of Errors. The evening brings with mystery and drama at the Bestselling Women of Crime Panel featuring authors Amanda Robson, C L Taylor, Mel Sherratt and Katerina Diamond sharing the secrets behind their successes. 

Local history will be in the spotlight on the 24th with author and local historian Richard Langtree who has spent 15 years researching the life story of Woking’s benefactor William Hamilton.  

The Lightbox Thursday Late Opening returns on the 25th with a Joke in the Box Special while the following night it will be all about raising funds to boost the Art and Wellbeing programme  with the Lost in Literature quiz night – show off your literary knowledge, raise money for a good cause and the winning team gets to take home signed books from the featured authors. 

Recent best-selling writer A J Pearce will be talking about her debut novel Dear Mrs Bird and the complex research that went into it and revealing news on upcoming adventures in the forthcoming sequel. 

Historical fiction author Alison Weir is back for the third year in a row with the latest instalment of her Six Tudor Queens series, Anne of Kleve: Queen of Secrets and Alison will be happy to sign copies bought in The Lightbox shop. 

The festival will close with a Guardian Masterclass from publisher Scott Pack who will offer no-nonsense advice for budding writers to help get their work noticed by publishers, write an engaging synopsis and what to include in the all-important cover letter. 

  For more information about the Woking LIterary Festival and to book for any of the events visit www.thelightbox.org.uk or call 01483 737837. 

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