AniMalcolm magic! Family theatre

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Join animal-hating Malcolm on his trip to a farm and see how life changes at Wycombe Swan on Sunday, 17th February.

Malcolm doesn’t like animals even though his family love them. The house is full of pets which are of no interest to Malcolm who only wanted a laptop for his birthday.

A Year Six trip to a farm is the last thing he wants but during he learns a lot about animals and what it’s like to be an animal. Something amazing happens to him and he finds out how wild life as an animal can be.

AniMalcolm is a vibrant, energetic and funny musical, based on David Baddiel’s book. “AniMalcolm was my third book for children, and I think it’s my funniest,” says self-confessed animal-lover David, who has four cats and a guinea pig. “Animals are loveable, cute, sweet, friendly, and nice to cuddle, but they are also, always, funny. They are deadpan – their faces never really change… Which, if they’re falling off a sofa, or running into a plate-glass window, is definitely the funniest face to make.”

The production by Story Pocket Theatre combines physical theatre, puppetry and storytelling to bring the comic tale to the stage.

The show is suitable for children aged seven years and up and tickets cost £12, £10 concessions or £35 for a family.

    To book tickets for AniMalcolm at 2pm or 6pm call 01494 512000 or visit www.wycombeswan.co.uk

For the full tour, which also includes shows at Aylesbury Waterside in March, visit www.storypockettheatre.co.uk

We have a family ticket (four tickets) to give away too, to see the show at a venue of the winner’s choice!
Click here to enter before 12pm on 11th February 2019.

Only the be-gin-ning

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Two favourite worlds of beauty and booze combine to create Collagin.

Gin has become the drink over the past few years and Liz Beswick and Camilla Brown decided they wanted to “create a truly beautiful looking product with a taste that matched”.

The self-proclaimed “gintrepreneurs” formed Young in Spirit and set about the process to set up a company and create their own gin.

But their gin has one unique ingredient that can’t be found in any other on the market – collagen.

The idea came from their desire to combine their two favourite worlds of beauty and booze, and what they’ve come up with is a deliciously smooth and fragrant gin with added collagen, creating what Liz describes as a “surprise and delight product that gets people talking”.

“Collagen is a protein found naturally in our skin that keeps skin looking young. Consuming it can help stimulate collagen production again. But we are making alcohol at the end of the day so we are not going to make you look younger.

“People love the concept! Collagen in gin? Why not!” she quips.
In addition to the collagen, 11 botanicals combine with earthy liquorice and floral notes of orris root, balanced by the clean taste of juniper and the tang of orange.

But they didn’t stop there… A pink twist on the original gin was born in the form of the limited edition Collagin Rose – using the basic principles of a classic gin, with rose oil steam distilled from rose petals as well as pink grapefruit producing a subtle rose sweetness.

Together with the new wave of gins, new tonic waters have helped give gins a fresh lease of life, creating what Liz calls “an exciting drink right now with so many options for every drinker”.

Liz and Camilla were colleagues, having worked in marketing, and after lots of 6am meetings in car parks and working evenings and weekends at each other’s houses decided they would set their dream in motion.

Lots of Googling later and the pair, based in Chalgrove, began their search for the right distillery and then took some time to find the right type of collagen that wouldn’t affect the look, smell or taste of the gin.

They obviously hit on a winning formula as it received the backing of two investors when they appeared on Dragons’ Den in September.
Liz recalls the terrifying day which lasted from 6.30am to 5.30pm. She says: “When the lift doors opened it was very surreal seeing the Dragons sitting in their chairs, just how you see them on TV. We had a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment when we realised we were standing in front of them.”

But after standing before the panel making their pitch, which lasted just under two hours, they finally got their “dream result”.

And from that dream, there are now plans for more products and future events including Countryfile Live at Blenheim in August.

So how is Collagin best served? Liz’s advice – the original with pink grapefruit and light tonic water and the Rose with an unflavoured tonic and fresh rose petals or mint.

    Visit www.collagin.co.uk

Mind the gap: Goring boat club

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Goring Gap Boat Club is offering new opportunities for those who want to row their own sculls on this beautiful, quiet stretch of the Thames.

Our local community rowing club is soon to move to its new site and clubhouse, located off the A329 in Lower Basildon near Streatley and Goring.

Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the new clubhouse is next to Gatehampton railway bridge. The team at the helm are busily planning for rowing from the new site to start in early January.

Racking is also expected to be available at the start of this month; members will be able to rack their own singles at a cost of £250 per year and fees for annual membership are just £100 per year, meaning you can take advantage of racking and the pleasure of rowing on this beautiful stretch of river, between Goring Lock and Whitchurch Lock, for just £350 per year.

The club is already taking reservations from existing members and those who would like to join, on a first-come first-served basis. If you would be interested in discussing renting rack space in the new boathouse please email [email protected]

• Why not get on board this year to enjoy recreational rowing as a hobby?

  For more information please visit www.goringgapbc.org.uk

Murder mystery event in Goring

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Use your “little grey cells” to help solve a double murder at Goring Village Hall.

Hold the front page! A doctor and a councillor have been murdered in a sleepy Oxfordshire village by the River Thames.

But before you start frantically searching for details online, head to Goring Village Hall where all will be revealed later this month… if you can solve the crime.

This is the second murder mystery evening being hosted there after last year’s sold-out event. The mystery is set in the village of South Goresden where not a lot happens there and that’s the way the villagers like it. The most serious crime there previously was the re-arranging of Annie Short’s gnomes into compromising positions.
In a plot to rival Midsomer Murders, this year’s challenge for sleuths is to find out who murdered the respected Dr Alistair in front of fellow councillors at a parish council meeting and new councillor Mr Langley-Watts who has been beheaded by a wire stretched across the bridleway.
What dark secrets are the villagers hiding? Can you beat PC Mark Dixon to solve the crime first? The evening of fun, food, murder and mayhem includes a two-course meal – all for £20 per person. The bar opens at 7pm, with curtain up at 7.30pm and dinner in the interval.

Teams of five to eight are invited to use their ‘little grey cells’ to solve the mystery – smaller parties can be combined on the night. All funds raised will go towards the stage renovation projection to revamp the stage area.

  Buy your tickets from Inspirations or you can reserve by emailing [email protected] or calling 01491 871055.

Marlow Archaeology Society

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Marlow Archaeology Society unearths the secrets of Reading Abbey.

A manuscript, music and a human hand are just some of the subjects to be discussed by Marlow Archaeology Society as they look at the founding of Reading Abbey.

Founded in 1121 by King Henry I to be his burial church, it was built and designed for both monks and pilgrims.

Speakers John and Lindsay Mullaney will use their research to show how Reading Abbey was founded and how Henry set about acquiring a collection of saintly relics that would attract pilgrims to it and increase the economy of the abbey and the town.

Newly discovered evidence by Dr Brian Kemp, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries relating to the interior design of the abbey, gives a better understanding of where Henry was buried. Examples of music from the time which Dr Kemp’s research revealed were used on early anniversaries of Henry’s death in 1135, will also be used.

And a rare surviving manuscript reveals one of the ‘miracle stories’ about the town’s most famous relic, the ‘Hand of St James’ which possessed powerful healing properties, performing many miracles in the 12th century. Today the hand can be seen at the Roman Catholic Church in Marlow.

Reading Abbey has recently undergone a three-year conservation project, costing some £3.15million under the watchful eye of the restoration team, Friends of Reading Abbey.

Join the archaeology society at Liston Hall on Thursday, 24th January at 8pm to hear all these secrets and more. Members £3, visitors £4.50, pay at the door.

For more details go to www.marlowarchaeology.org

Hal Cruttenden: Middle ground

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

One of Britain’s top comedians, Hal Cruttenden brings his stand-up show to Maidenhead’s Norden Farm this month.

Keen to involve his family in the planning as well as being one of the subjects within the act, he asked his teenage daughters what he should call the tour. Hence “Chubster”, which also gives a clue as to other subjects – his battle with weight! Now Hal’s back on the 5:2 diet and onstage in a hilarious show that not only touches on his usual moans about being a middle-aged, middle class father of fat-shaming teenagers but also introduces us to new problems like his struggles with IQ tests, political zealots and the trauma of supporting the England rugby team.

So, who were the people who inspired Hal in his career that has often seen him nominated for awards? It seems those middle-class doubts needed satisfying as he says his inspirations were people like Eddie Izzard: “He convinced me that you could do stand-up successfully and be middle-class. I thought it was so impressive and it taught me that it was more the joke than the person telling it. I just so love Bill Connolly’s charisma, I just want to sit down and listen to him. Comedians like Frankie Boyle and Kevin Bridges, I think for me it is more a case of jealousy rather than inspiration.”

Having given his family the chance to name the show, do they also get a chance to see their dad in action? “Oh yes, they always see the shows. As to what they think of them, my children are now asking for a raise in their pocket money and calling it research costs!” Hal says. Speaking of research, how easy does he find the writing? Not, it would appear! “I am anything but disciplined, I am rubbish – if I did not have a deadline to work to I doubt I would get anything done. I have the upmost respect for Lee Mack, I have absolutely no idea how he writes all the comedy scripts and stand-up shows that he does.”

Having toured the world, it seems the bright lights of New York still beckon for Hal, he says: “I would really love to perform in New York, I really fancy doing Carnegie Hall or the Radio City Music Hall.” Your chance to see him at Norden Farm Arts Centre is on Friday, 11th and Saturday, 12th January.

  For more information go to norden.farm

Blackbeard’s Treasure at Escape Hunt

Cherry Butler

Streatly & Pangbourne

Cherry Butler ends up all at sea in Reading’s newest escape room, Blackbeard’s Treasure at Escape Hunt.

It seems Reading residents can’t get enough of being locked in a room and trying to puzzle our way out against the clock, with numerous escape games popping up in town over the past few years. The fifth and latest, Escape Hunt, opened on 7th December.

Having assembled a crack team of sleuths – from escape room virgins to Crystal Maze Live veterans – we arrived at King’s Walk bright and early on a grey Saturday, ready to attempt to steal Blackbeard’s Treasure.

Themed on a pirate ship, the wood-clad room had been put together with great attention to detail, and was so involving that we quickly forgot that we were in a shopping centre. My “shipmates” and I had an hour to search for clues and solve the puzzles that would set us free. Sadly, our time ran out; in our defence there were a couple of technical teething issues! We left thoroughly flummoxed, but having had fun.

As well as pirates, players can channel Norse gods or outlaws in The Last Vikings and Escape From The Wild West rooms. Doctor Who fans will soon be able to immerse themselves in the first escape game officially based on the BBC series, coming to Reading in March.

A game costs £20-25 per person (£30-33 for Doctor Who) depending on the number of players (up to six in a team). They sell gift boxes, too, an alternative to giving more stuff.

Escape Hunt also has rooms in Oxford, Bristol and other cities around the UK and the world.

 You can find out more, check terms and conditions and book at escapehunt.com

Image courtesy of Escape Hunt

Mendelssohn & more

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Langtree Sinfonia’s autumn concert takes place on Saturday, 17th November, in St Thomas’s Church in Goring

The evening will start with the Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage overture by Mendelssohn. Inspired by two poems by Goethe, they also inspired Beethoven to write a cantata. It was the fourth of Mendelssohn’s seven overtures, and was written before his better-known Hebrides overture. Also in the programme, conducted by Paul Cox,will be Tchaikovsky’s homage to Mozart, the Suite No 4, sub-titled Mozartiana. Written as a tribute to Mozart, a composer whom Tchaikovsky adored, it uses Mozart’s own themes, as well as that of a contemporary of Mozart, to create a work designed to popularise Mozart’s lesser-known works, which it may well do here. Rounding off the programme will be Mozart’s Symphony No 38, in D Major, known as the Prague Symphony. First performed in Prague in January 1787, the finale quotes from his opera, The Marriage of Figaro, which was extremely popular in Prague at the time.

Langtree Sinfonia orchestra began as a music class in adult education in 1971 and went on to establish itself as an independent. When the orchestra celebrated its 40th anniversary the orchestra combined with local choirs to perform Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.

They have been on tour to Goring’s twin town, Belleme, in Northern France playing Poulenc, Mozart and Beethoven and works played in other concerts include Rodrigo’s Fantasia para un Gentilhombre, Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony. Tickets £10/£5/under 16s free; buy on the door or call 0118 9415498.

A cut above: best Christmas roasts

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Turkey is a traditional favourite but there are so many choices of meat when it comes to the festive table, and many excellent local producers

What scene depicts Christmas more traditionally than a large cooked bird being brought out to the table and carved by the head of the household?

Turkey is, of course, the popular festive choice. Tom Copas Jnr says: “Turkey is what you’re meant to have! We’ve been rearing the best turkeys in Britain for over 60 years and nothing tastes better on Christmas Day, especially knowing all the care and attention that’s gone into their welfare.” Visit www.copasturkeys.co.uk.

Walters Turkeys is a family business running since 1911 on the Yattendon Estate in the Berkshire Downs. The team are passionate about animal welfare and expert in the best way to cook and store your bird for the perfect feast; call 01635 578 251 or visit www.waltersturkeys.co.uk. Tell your butcher how many guests you have (and how greedy!) to select a bird or joint of the perfect size.

Excellent traditional alternatives to turkey include goose and duck, which are more expensive and do not give as much meat per size as a turkey. Cockerels (male chickens) clock in at about the 10lb in weight and are becoming a popular alternative to turkey. For more adventurous of home cooks there is also the three-bird roast, with a wide variety of bird breasts one inside another (such as turkey, pheasant and partridge). These have plenty of meat but need to be carefully cooked.

Hungerford butcher Christian Alba says: “In all the places I’ve worked, Christmas meat is usually turkey. But I grew up on a turkey farm, so I have beef fore rib.” Phil Currie, head chef at The Greyhound in Letcombe Regis says: “I like to use beef shin as the bone provides so much flavour which leaves you with a great sauce. For Christmas we serve it with classic bourguignon garnish and a twist with a blue cheese dumpling. It’s a great alternative to turkey.” Visit www.thegreyhoundletcombe.co.uk or call 01235 771969.

Jesse Smith Butcher & W.J Castle in Cirencester has a unique dry-aging process for its beef featuring a room lined with Himalayan salt bricks. The company, which goes back for several generations, are passionate about animal husbandry and welfare and also offer the very finest poultry, game, pork and lamb for the well-stocked Christmas larder; visit www.jessesmith.co.uk or call 01285 653352.

Recipe queen Lyn Deveson says: “I’ve always cooked turkey and a gammon; cold turkey, ham, turkey curried, stir fried, in sandwiches is a big part of the appeal. But I cooked a cockerel last Christmas and won’t go back to turkey – it has more flavour. I remember my mother cooking the turkey all night on a low heat but the French way is best; higher heat and less time. People complain it can be dry but if cooked properly, it isn’t. Good gravy makes all the difference, too!

“I also remember my mother cooking the turkey all night on a low heat, but the French way is best – higher heat and less time. People complain it can be dry but if cooked properly, it isn’t. Traditionally we cook turkey, stuffing, bread sauce, sausages wrapped in bacon etc. with the head male at the top of the table, carving! That’s the  picture we all have in our heads and everyone wearing paper hats and pulling crackers! Because turkey meat can be quite bland, you can go to town with the other flavours. A good gravy makes the difference and thanks to chefs such as Jamie Oliver, we are learning that Bisto is not the essential ingredient but I am shocked by the number of English who still use it! The trouble is we are so spoilt nowadays and can eat anything any time of the year, so Christmas lunch or dinner isn’t such a treat as it used to be.”

Enter our competition for a Christmas In A Box foodie hamper – including a 6kg turkey!

GINspiration

Round & About

Streatly & Pangbourne

Gin is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, with a wealth of interesting spirits produced right here on our doorstep. We chat to some of the enthusiastic local producers and offer up our favourite tipples!

History of gin

Gin may be one of the most popular liquors in the country, yet the colourless spirit has had to contend with a chequered history since it first landed on these shores more than 300 years ago.

Originally gin was sold as a medicine, distilled and supposedly capable of aiding kidney ailments, gallstones and gout after Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius created genever. Brits were first introduced to it when the English soldiers assisted the Dutch against the Spanish in Antwerp during the late 16th century during the Eighty Years’ War.

The armies were known to drink genever before heading into battle, and it’s thought to be the origin of the phrase “Dutch courage”. William of Orange then arrived here to rule in 1688 and promptly relaxed laws on making spirits. Gin, which starts with a base of juniper berries, gained in popularity – among all classes – with the upper classes drinking genever and the working classes making do with a new, cheaper “imitation” gin, substituting the costly ingredients with such things as turpentine and sulphuric acid.

Subsequently, gin’s reputation took a turn for the worse. In London alone, more than 7,000 “dram shops” sprang up with an estimated 10 million gallons being distilled annually by barbers, grocers and market stall holders. Gin became increasingly cheap to produce, easily accessible, little duty was paid on it and some workers were even given it as part of their wages. The 1736 Gin Act forced anyone wishing to sell distilled spirits to take out a licence costing £50.

Only three such licences were taken, but gin’s popularity did not wane as “mother’s ruin” remained hugely popular, before a second act was passed in 1751, which raised duty, and prohibited distillers, grocers, chandlers, jails and workhouses from selling the liquor.

         

Thankfully this was the low point for gin and the spirit has rebuilt its once-tarnished reputation to become the UK’s most popular alcoholic drink. “We’re spoilt for choice with local gins here in the in Thames Valley” says Catriona Galbraith of The Greyhound in Letcombe Regis. “Our favourite is the TOAD Oxford Dry Gin, a delicious citrus and aromatic combination or the kaffir lime and lemongrass gin from Twisting Spirits, as exotic as it sounds with a hint of Asian spice notes. “We like to serve our gins simply, with either a favourite tonic from the Fevertree range and garnish such as lemon, lime, orange, cucumber, mint or basil or even neat over ice, to allow the real complex botanical flavours to come through.”

Hobbs of Henley

“There’s nothing more marvellous than a gin at 11 o’clock on the river to wake the spirits…” Indeed, back in 1870, Mr Harry Hobbs, founder of Hobbs and Sons (now Hobbs of Henley) and publican of The Ship Hotel was renowned for his flamboyant beard and nature, often seen in his punt sipping his home-distilled gin of a morning. Mr Hobbs threw parties along the riverbanks, hiring out his boats for shindigs. Now, 150 years later the family’s gin is made with local botanicals.

 

Cotswold Distillery

Cotswold Distillery uses local raw materials, traditional kit and techniques to create its handmade gin. There’s a 500-litre pot still, (only filled ¾ full to make sure the vapours get contact with the copper during distillation). Distilled with nine carefully considered botanicals, the Cotswolds Dry Gin has an aromatic twist of juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, local lavender, bay leaf, hand-peeled fresh lime and pink grapefruit zest, cardamom and black peppercorn. The distillery building itself is a miniature version of what is usually an enormous plant and the shop and tasting rooms are more like a cosy Cotswolds cottage – you can sit by the wood burner to sip their outstanding natural spirits.

Foxdenton Estate

The use of British fruit combined with traditional recipes is what makes our fruit gin so quaffable,” says Nick Radclyffe of Foxdenton Estate. “There is nothing better as the nights draw in than the warming tipple of a fruit gin cocktail such as the Ping Pong.” Foxdenton Estate creates gin liqueurs with plums, sloes and damsons using recipes that date back several generations with father and son gin producers, Nick and Piers, choosing the traditional tipples they know and love. Sloe Gin, 70cl £24.50.