The Crown, Church Enstone, December delights

Round & About

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Berkshire

You’re sure of a friendly welcome & fantastic food at The Crown in Church Enstone which has lots of December delights on the menu…

This year the news has been mainly doom gloom, debt and rising prices. But the good news is that nothing feels as though it’s in short supply at The Crown in Church Enstone.

From the moment you step inside the flagstone bar you feel your shoulders dropping, especially once you’ve cosied yourself up next to the roaring fire with a perfectly mixed cocktail in your hand.

There are many easy excuses you can make for making a night of it and booking into one of the five lavishly appointed rooms (from £130 a night on a B&B basis). For one thing, the hearty breakfast served up by the friendly team are legendary, with Cacklebean eggs (any way you like) given a starring role, as well as incredible local sausages and bacon. As this pretty Cotswold village is perfect walking territory, a breakfast like this is the perfect fuel for a stroll across the fields to Soho Farm House at Great Tew.

The Crown, a picture-perfect honey-hued pub dating back to the 17th century, is as charming and gorgeous as a tourist’s dream but it’s been lavished in modern luxury, with all mod cons and stunning details. It it now under the new ownership of Matt and Kate Beamish, who also run the two acclaimed dining pubs with rooms The Kingham Plough and The Hare at Milton-under-Wychwood.

As you’d expect from these gastro geniuses The Crown’s food offering is top-notch, featuring a monthly changing seasonal and locally sourced a la carte menu offering modern British dishes with innovate twists and re-imagined pub classics.

To whet your appetite, here are some of the December delights from the menu… How about a starter of oysters with apple and horseradish dressing (healthy and punchy) or else chicken liver parfait, cranberry, fig marmalade, with chef Mark’s brioche?

If you can tear yourself away from the very tempting rib-eye steak (with peppercorn, red wine or chimichurri sauce) other main course specials for this month include turkey pie with mash, greens and red wine jus or else, a rare vegetarian treat, beetroot wellington with chestnut puree, greens.

Pudding fans… The desserts are too tempting, so here’s a head start to mull over. French lemon tart with meringue; Christmas pudding with brandy sauce; chocolate tart with double cream; sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce & vanilla ice cream; Greek yoghurt with white chocolate ganache, passionfruit pulp; Baked Alaska; affogato with vanilla ice cream & espresso; Black bomber mature cheddar, house chutney, Membrillo & crackers; chocolate, vanilla, mint choc chip, or pistachio ice cream or mango, lemon or raspberry sorbet.

I’ll leave that conundrum with you.. Or maybe make a few return trips?

Please visit crowninnenstone.co.uk

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New look for Nature Discovery Centre

Karen Neville

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Berkshire

Nature Discovery Centre reopens after £125,000 revamp just in time for Christmas

Berkshire’s beloved Nature Discovery Centre has reopened after a £125,000 refurbishment. The revamp has created an open-plan layout for the popular cafe and shop, new educational table displays and a wildlife-themed children’s play corner.

The icing on the cake is a brand new ‘hide in the sky’ on the first floor of the centre in Thatcham. A viewing station overlooking the wildlife lake where visitors can use a telescope and binoculars to spy on all the wild goings-on below.

The café is also serving a new warming winter menu and new products in the shop. Including locally produced honey, Fairtrade chocolate, local art and jewellery and a host of Christmas cards, decorations and gifts. The renovations were commissioned by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). Which manages the site and funded by a grant of £125,000 from site owner West Berkshire Council.

Steve Johnson, NDC’s manager, said: “We’re so excited to show everyone all our new features. This is the biggest refurbishment we’ve had in years. It makes the whole centre a more welcoming, easy-to-use space for all our visitors.

“The NDC is now the perfect place to go for a family day out this winter. Take a bracing walk around our wildlife lake, come and have a hot pastry or panini, take a hot chocolate up to the hide in the sky, then pick up a few Christmas gifts while you’re here! Huge thanks to West Berkshire Council for the funding.”

Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter, Executive Member for Environment and Transformation at West Berkshire Council, said: “We’re delighted to help BBOWT deliver this important improvement to the Discovery Centre with a grant.

“Ensuring our residents can be closer to nature is an objective of the council’s Environment Strategy, which this investment achieves. The Nature Discovery Centre is a key educational and wellbeing asset. I would encourage all our residents to visit and enjoy.”

As well as improvements indoors, the centre team have also put up several new interpretation boards in the grounds, telling visitors about things to do around the site and upcoming events.

A host of new welcome signs also include an innovative three-dimensional wooden ‘Nature’ sign on an exterior wall which is filled with bits of wood and other natural materials, which solitary bees and other insects can nest in.

Inside, a new wall-mounted screen is showing specially commissioned drone footage and other videos of animals and plants around the site. So visitors can admire the diverse wildlife even on the rainiest days. The Wildlife Trust is confident that all the new features will encourage more people to visit the NDC and help teach all visitors young and old, about wonderful local wildlife.

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The Art of the Album Cover

Karen Neville

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Berkshire

Henley-based art publisher Hypergallery welcomes browsers and buyers to an exhibition of signed, limited-edition prints by music’s most extraordinary visual artists

A collection of exquisite limited edition prints and affordable works by a collection of talented artists who have worked with some of the most iconic musicians from the 20th Century will be on display at Hypergallery in Henley from November 26th.

Celebrating the Golden Years of rock music through the album cover art that put a face on it, visitors can view pieces featuring David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, T.Rex, Peter Gabriel, 10cc, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Beatles, Elton John, Genesis, Donovan, The Hollies, Cream, Pentangle.

The featured artists exhibiting include:

Vincent McEvoy was the art director of Polydor in the 1970s. As such, he had unique access to some of the biggest names in Rock, including The Who, Bob Marley and Eric Clapton. In recent years he has rekindled his passion for silkscreens, producing powerful pop-artworks based on some of the wonderful and iconic memorabilia that he accumulated throughout his career.

Karl Ferris is the man behind some of the most recognisable images of Jimi Hendrix. The originator of psychedelic and infrared photography worked closely with Hendrix on his image, styling and of course the photographs. With subjects including Cream, The Hollies, The Beatles and Donovan, Ferris was right at the epicentre of the psychedelic revolution.

Terry Pastor is a graphic artist who has worked for clients all across the world, creating iconic imagery with masterful flourishes of his airbrush. Pastor is best known for two images that jump-started the career of a young David Bowie, Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. He has revisited and ‘remastered‘ his original source material in the creation of his stunningly sympathetic editions.

Barry Godber was a friend of King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield and a regular visitor to the group‘s rehearsal room in the basement of the Fulham Palace Road Cafe. Using watercolours, Godber gazed into a shaving mirror and constructed one of the most fearful self-portraits ever to grace a record sleeve.

Hipgnosis created some of the most innovative and surreal record cover art of the 1960s, 70s and 80s for the biggest bands and musicians of the era including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and 10cc. For fifteen years Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and Peter Christopherson) thrived as one of the best known photo design companies and latterly movie makers, creating timeless rock iconography.

Alan Aldridge created imaginative designs and intoxicating colour-rich images that captured the dreams and hallucinations of a generation; in The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, on album covers for The Who, Cream and Elton John, and on the notorious Chelsea Girls poster for Andy Warhol.

Richard Evans began his rock’n’roll career as a shoe designer in the early 70s, putting multi-coloured platforms under the feet of Elton John, Roxy Music and The Osmonds. It was at this time that he met Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson and later worked at Hipgnosis with them as their graphic designer for several years. Eventually, he set up his own design studio, working with many big names in the music industry. Since 1976 he has worked closely with The Who, designing tour visuals, merchandise and, of course, album covers.

Sir Peter Blake was elected RA in 1981, awarded a CBE in 1983, and was knighted in 2002. His seminal art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is probably the world’s best-known album cover, but Peter’s connections with pop music led to many other ventures in album packaging, including The Who, Live Aid, Paul Weller, Oasis, Ian Dury, Eric Clapton and Brian Wilson.

Exhibition details:

Dates: 26th Nov 2022 – 23rd Dec 2022

Open: 11am-2pm by appointment

Location: Hypergallery, 47 Market Place, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2AA

Admission: free

If you would like to visit, just drop Hypergallery a line at [email protected] or call on 01491 637021 to ensure someone will be at the gallery to welcome you.

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The Flying Child earns lottery funding

Round & About

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Berkshire

Image: Girl in a Gilded Cage by Elise Macdonald.

Well done to Surrey-based community interest company The Flying Child has been awarded three years of funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, to support survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA).

Founded in 2020, the survivor-led Flying Child Project has reached more than 1,000 professionals to date, across the UK in education, social work, and healthcare settings.

The team have earned praise for improving understanding of trauma resulting from CSA and the confidence of professionals in supporting both children and adults in a trauma informed way. In a recent participant survey, 100 percent of attendees said they felt better equipped to manage a disclosure of CSA, with all likely to recommend the training to a colleague.

The new National Lottery funding will allow The Flying Child Project to continue their training, aiming to reach thousands more over the three-year period. It will also fund The Flying Child peer support and creative wellbeing groups for survivors of CSA in the local community.

The groups will consist of a 12-week therapist-led programme, co-facilitated by a lived experience support worker. In addition, creative groups for survivors will be offered, providing the opportunity to express trauma through art and writing, meet other survivors and build networks in a supportive space. Over the next three years The Flying Child aims to support 360 survivors of CSA with initial groups starting in the new year.

“As an organisation we normalise speaking about an ‘unspeakable’ subject and challenge the societal culture of silence.”

Sophie Olson, founder and managing director of The Flying Child, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means we have a fantastic opportunity to improve outcomes for both child victims and adult survivors of CSA. As an organisation we normalise speaking about an ‘unspeakable’ subject and challenge the societal culture of silence. Lived experience in training helps to break down barriers and dispel myths that lead to victims of abuse being overlooked, and their normal reactions to trauma being misunderstood. The current statistics estimate there are 11 million adult survivors of CSA in the UK, equating to 1 in 6, yet are a large, hidden, and marginalised group, with services often not adequately trauma informed of accessible.

CSA is a devasting form of abuse with long-lasting consequences on mental and physical health, and wellbeing. Peer support groups play a vital role in the community. Because CSA is considered a taboo subject, stigma and shame silences the majority with many believing they are the only one. This is something we aim to change. This grant will make a big difference to people’s lives.”

The Flying Child encourages the local community to engage on Twitter and Instagram @flying_project, and to become survivor ‘allies’ – helping to challenge the silence surrounding CSA. Sophie Olson’s story can be heard on the BBC Radio 4 documentary The Last Taboo. For more information about the training or peer support groups, please visit theflyingchild.com.

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Wildlife volunteers honoured at awards

Ellie Cox

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Berkshire

Thirteen unpaid but dedicated workers have been recognised by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) for decades of work they have put in at the charity’s nature reserves across the three counties

Previously BBOWT has presented one lifetime achievement award at its ceremony, but this year has chosen to award the title to six volunteers.

Richard and Julie Birch have been active and influential members of BBOWT’s Chilterns volunteer group for 20 years. Mr Birch used his marketing and business experience to grow the group while his wife took over management of the newsletter and moved it online. Richard said: “As active conservation work becomes less of a pleasure, there are so many other activities to keep one occupied, making a useful contribution and seeing one’s BBOWT friends – like organising events, meeting and greeting and doing publicity.”

Ched George has been a volunteer at BBOWT since 2014, when he helped the Trust to acquire its Yoesden Bank nature reserve, a 13-hectare site of precious chalk grassland in the Chiltern Hills. He took the role of volunteer warden and helped organise regular conservation work parties and ecological surveys.

Richard Herbert as been volunteering with BBOWT since 1984. For most of that time he has been a core member of the Sunday work party at Bowdown Woods reserve near Newbury, led guided walks around the site and given countless talks to local groups and societies.

David Litchfield has dedicated 15 years to volunteering at BBOWT’s Warburg Nature Reserve near Henley. As well as helping with practical conservation work such as scything and teaching other volunteers a host of skills including tool maintenance. Mr Litchfield has also run ecological surveys on the site and passed on his wealth of knowledge to others.

Outstanding Contribution (Individuals)

Gustav Clark has been an enthusiastic and hard-working volunteer with the West Berkshire Living Landscape team. He has also championed the new online Volunteer Hub where BBOWT and volunteers share news, photos and campaigns.

John Lerpiniere is awarded for his exceptional long-term commitment and contribution to the Trust’s conservation work in Berkshire. He works for the Reserves and Ecology teams, and participates in external volunteer groups on several receivers and is also a volunteer stock watcher.

John Parker has volunteered at Greenham and Crookham commons since 2000. He also volunteers with several other BBOWT groups, occasionally up to five days a week, offering his practical conservation skills as well as his organisational acumen and extra help planning tasks.

David Richardson has been a member of Finemere Wood volunteer work party since 2016. He has taught many volunteers how to scythe and has raised funds to buy more scythes by using his skills as a wood turner to turn felled trees from the reserve into bowls and chopping boards for sale.

Dave Stevens welcomes and engages visitors to College Lake with a ready smile. Dave has also been integral in welcoming new volunteers and will often take them for a tour of the site and stay with them until they feel comfortable.

Phil Townsend has been volunteering for the Trust since 2005 and has been involved with the Reserves Surveying Programme since 2007. During this time, he has helped with butterfly transects, bird surveys, and the dragonfly count at College Lake.

Roger Walton helps provide a rewarding experience for visitors to College Lake through the seasons and helps to make resources for visitor trails.

Outstanding Contribution (Groups)

College Lake Wildlife Garden Group have been going for 30 years. The group is self-led with minimal staff input and come up with ideas and plans to ensure the garden is an inspiration to visitors, demonstrating that anyone can create more nature everywhere, from a few pots in the garden is an inspiration to visitors, demonstrating that anyone can create more nature everywhere, from a few pots in the garden to beautiful nectar-rich borders and bug hotels.

The Greenham and Crookham Common Volunteers (GCCV) were recognised for 25 years of conservation and maintenance work. Working closely with staff, the group is reliable, autonomous and very knowledge about the reserve, its history and ways to assist in its management.

The Oxfordshire Field Team is made up of six volunteers, all retired, racking up 83 years of volunteering for BBOWT between them. The group go out twice a week in all weathers and help with all kinds of tasks to look after BBOWT reveres and the animals that graze them.

Warburg Nature Reserve Volunteer Team includes stockwatchers who help look after livestock that graze the reserve, two work parties which carry out practical habitat management and infrastructure maintenance, and volunteers who make charcoal from by-products of coppicing. The team also volunteer at Hartslock and Cholsey Marsh reserves when needed.

The West Berks Badger bTB Vaccination Team was established in 2021 when they responded to a plea for help with baiting badger traps as part of BBOWT’s successful badger vaccination programme. This involves unsociable hours, long commutes, and assisting with vaccinations at sunrise. Their work has been essential in carrying out this year’s vaccinations.

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Women’s walking football fun Fleet fundraiser

Ellie Cox

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Berkshire

We’re all focused on football with the World Cup.. but closer to home, the Fleet of Foot team recently enjoyed a charity match in aid of Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice

Eleven women’s walking football teams from a 60-mile radius were invited to take part, including Bracknell, Great Wakering, Cheshunt, Arsenal, Portsmouth, and X Saints.

The home side, Fleet of Foot, entered two teams into the competition, and for some players it was their first experience of taking part in a tournament.

Some 26 games were played in total with match officials being supplied by the Fleet of Foot men’s walking football team.

“High quality football was enjoyed by players and spectators alike”

Ann Goddard tells us: “High quality football was enjoyed by players and spectators alike, with tough competition and a great team spirit being displayed by everyone. Congratulations to the overall winners, Bracknell Blues and the runners up, X Saints who just lost out to penalties in the final.”

Following the tournament, there was a buffet and prize giving where the teams socialised together and celebrated their efforts.

As well as enjoying the tournament, the players collectively raised £671.50 for Phyllis Tuckwell, making the event even more worthwhile.

Fleet of Foot women’s walking football was well supported by Everyone Active for this event at Hart.

Aimed primarily at the over-40s (but all ages are welcome), Fleet of Foot women’s walking football takes place on Thursdays, 7-8pm at Hart Everyone Active in Emerald Avenue, Fleet GU51 5HS. For more information or to arrange a free taster session, please email Sue on [email protected].

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Let us handle your care

Round & About

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Berkshire

CareHandle is an exciting new service supporting those exploring Care Homes for the first time

If you are over the threshold and paying privately you often explore care options alone which can be daunting and frustrating, especially when you need to focus on you or your loved one’s well-being.

Looking for care can be confusing, stressful and time-consuming, the team at Carehandle are on a mission to change this by offering advice, support and insight in a personal way.

We take care seekers through a 3-step process first to listen, understand and work through possible options. Next, we help Handle the search, find options and provide a free shortlist, we check availability, costs and quality. We are with you every step of the way to support better outcomes, we can book appointments and work with the provider for the best outcomes, a large number of those in care regret the initial decision so we can help to support and get it right first time.

Don’t handle it alone contact Carehandle.

E-mail: [email protected]

Call: 01242 384938

Visit: https://carehandle.co.uk/

Our mission also supports charities and by using our services we can help make a difference in local communities.

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Celebrate Christmas at The Lexicon

Karen Neville

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Berkshire

Enjoy festive fun activities for the whole family at Bracknell’s leading shopping centre

Shoppers at The Lexicon will be greeted by glittering lights, a 10-metre Christmas Tree and festive market stalls, as part of an array of festive activities for all the family from Saturday, 26th November to December 24th.

One of the borough’s spectacular forest giants, Will Wildwood will return to Princess Square, dressed for the festive season complete with festive forest foliage and frost-tipped sparkling lights to help raise money for Bracknell Foodbank. Every time someone uses the Winter Will Wildwood slide, The Lexicon will donate 20 pence to the foodbank up to a maximum of £5,000.

There’s a Snowflake Trail for families to follow around the town centre, using spectacular artwork created by local children with a chance to win a fabulous family prize from Cineworld and Gymfinity.

But, the star of the show is a magical virtual sleigh ride. Families will be transported across the world as they give Santa’s brand-new sleigh a trial flight before Christmas Eve.

Begin your journey by being transported into a virtual bay using a VR headset with a fully immersive experience including 360-degree views and matching movements. Hold on to your hats everyone, this could be a bumpy ride!

SEND sessions available.

For more information about Christmas at The Lexicon and to book tickets for the sleigh ride visit https://www.thelexiconbracknell.com/.

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Keep burglars in the dark

Karen Neville

Posted on

Berkshire

Thames Valley Police has some invaluable advice as the winter nights close in

Take steps to help avoid becoming a victim of burglary this winter with these tips from Thames Valley Police.

Make your home look occupied by using timer switches on lights and radios, which can also help conserve energy and save money.

Illuminate your front door with energy saving dusk to dawn lightbulbs that come on automatically.

Consider installing a video doorbell, house alarm or CCTV system.

Close and double lock all doors and windows when going out.

Always double lock doors and windows at night and when you go to bed.

Keep valuables and keys out of sight and away from doors, windows and letterboxes.

When not in use, store electronic car key fobs in a signal blocking pouch to help prevent them being scanned by thieves to open and steal your car.

If you have a key safe, ensure it’s not visible to people passing by, but anyone tampering with it can be seen.

Ensure laptops and electronic equipment are not on view.

Ensure your sheds and garages are locked and secure.

We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season, but please:

Don’t leave any presents on view or advertise them on social media.

Don’t leave packaging next to your bin.

Don’t advertise you’re away from home on social media. Ask a trusted friend or neighbour to keep an eye on your property.

Ensure you security mark and register your new presents and gifts online at www.immobilise.com

You can find further crime prevention advice at www.thamesvalley.police.uk

Please contact us if you have information relating to burglary in your neighbourhood. Report online, call us on 101 and always dial 999 in an emergency.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on free phone 0800 555 111.

Register for Thames Valley Alert at: www.thamesvalleyalert.co.uk to receive free crime updates and information from Thames Valley Police.

Consider joining a local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, visit www.ourwatch.org.uk

Follow us on social media for regular crime updates and find out what your local policing teams are up to: Facebook: TVP Bracknell & Wokingham and Twitter: @TVP_Wokingham

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What is solution-focused hypnotherapy

Ellie Cox

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Berkshire

Woodley-based hypnotherapist Sophie Price explains how this approach can help a frazzled mind

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a relatively modern approach, combining various forms of talking and brief therapies. With similarities to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) and other humanistic approaches, solution focused hypnotherapy combines the very best practice of other talking therapies with the added benefit of hypnosis.

The primary focus of this style of therapy is the importance of staying in the present. When we go over our problems in our mind, we’re reliving them and, because our brain can’t tell the difference between imagination and reality, we find ourselves right back there – in the problem. When we allow ourselves to focus on how we want things to be, instead of how we don’t want them to be, we’re giving our brain positive images which allows it to believe that we can achieve those things.

When we suffer with anxiety, depression, OCD, and other related issues, were spending too much time in the fight/flight part of our brain. This part of our brain is there for our survival and, while we absolutely need to have access to this mind, we don’t need to use it every day. When we just want to get to work without feeling angry in a traffic jam; or we just want to get a good night’s sleep without worrying about tomorrow’s meeting/appointment; or we just want to enjoy time with our children without feeling worried about the finances, we can sometimes find ourselves thinking of all the worst-case scenarios and therefore missing out on the present. The more anxious we are, the more we are encouraged to be anxious.

“The more anxious we are, the more we are encouraged to be anxious”

This is how hypnotherapy can help. It helps to create new neuropathways in the mind which can break old habits and help us to move forward with a new, positive attitude towards life.

The Importance of Sleep

One of the first things people recognise when they seek my help is that their sleep is affected by the issue they’re suffering with. Sleep deprivation will increase our anxiety and stress levels. It has been said that just a few minor reductions in your sleep pattern for just a week, can disrupt your blood sugar levels enough to classify you as a pre-diabetic. There are many, many health complications which can be brought on or worsened by a lack of sleep and we often find that when our mental health is suffering, we can’t get enough sleep.

The recommended 7-9 hours per night is something that we should all strive for – for the sake of our physical and mental health.

Hypnotherapy helps to regulate sleep and once your stress levels come down, your sleep will improve.

Please do get in touch to find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you.

www.sophiepricehypnotherapy.co.uk

[email protected]

07835 302 794

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