Rick Wakeman hosts charity dog concert

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Actor Peter Egan stars at concert in aid of Saving Strays at Guildford Cathedral on November 24th

Christmas will come to Guildford early this year when keyboard maestro, composer and renowned raconteur Rick Wakeman CBE headlines a very special pre-Christmas concert.

The event at Guildford cathedral on Friday 24th November will raise funds for Saving Strays, the all-volunteer UK charity which rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes abandoned and abused dogs.

Get in the festive mood while raising money for a worthwhile cause with an evening of music and fun, as Rick plays old favourites from his own repertoire and those of other artists, plus seasonal tunes, all adapted for piano and keyboards and interspersed with hilarious anecdotes and stories that tickle his sense of humour.

Rick, who along with his wife Rachel has adopted Saving Strays’ rescue dogs, says: “Dogs have so much love to give and it upsets me that humans are not always reciprocal. If you let a dog into your life, then from first hand experience, I can guarantee that you will have a very special life.”

The bill for this exclusive evening will be completed by:

Musical comedy trio Triple Cream

Singer-songwriter Mim Grey

New vocal talent Nicola Olsen

Choir from Godalming-based music school, A Touch of Musicality

Peter Egan, screen star of Downton Abbey and Unforgotten, and co-chair of Saving Strays.

Join this wonderful evening while raising money to help lost and abused dogs around the world!

Co-chair Maria Slough says: “To be able to host this concert with Rick and Peter and everyone who is taking part is such an incredible way to close out the year. We will raise the roof for the dogs in need and it will be an experience to remember for everyone.”

Ticket prices: Standard £30-50. Meet & Greet and Premium Ticket £80. All tickets include souvenir programme.

Doors open: 6.15pm (for Meet & Greet Ticket holders), 6.50pm (for Standard Ticket holders), Showtime: 7.30pm

Box Office: https://www.guildford-cathedral.org/events/boxoffice/695

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Can you help local hygiene bank?

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Helena Vernon, Project Coordinator for Farnham and Aldershot Hygiene Bank needs your help to find a new storage location to continue helping people in need

At The Hygiene Bank, we believe it is not right that feeling clean should be a luxury or a privilege for anyone in our society, yet many are living in poverty and cannot afford to stay clean. That is why our network of projects exists – to give people access to the basics they need.

We are a grassroots, people-powered charity and social movement, grounded in community. Our passion stems from the injustice that people may be unable to fully participate in society due to hygiene poverty. This is why we work to inspire social change. 

What is hygiene poverty?

Many people locked in poverty or those who find themselves in times of crisis often experience restricted options. This leaves them caught between being able to heat their home, pay their rent, buy food or keep clean. Hygiene poverty can be shaming, humiliating and excluding and can result in social isolation.

It can lead to a lack of confidence and can negatively affect good health and mental well-being which can impact early childhood development, learning, employability and social interaction.

How we work:

Products are donated, collected, sorted and distributed to our network of community partners – a mix of organisations, charities and schools – who support those of us pulled into poverty.

Supporting The Hygiene Bank is a simple way to help not just one organisation, but multiple grassroots initiatives across the UK tackling a wide range of issues from poverty to domestic abuse and disability.

Our current problem:

We have, for some time, been using part of the garage of the Rev Crawley’s on the Upper Hale Road, Farnham as a store for our hygiene items. This arrangement has worked out very well and we’ve been very grateful for its use. However due to the Rev Crawley moving on, we have now been given notice to leave in January 2024. Without storage we will be unable to function and we are very worried for our future and for those hundreds of local families and individuals currently receiving our help. 

I visited a local storage facility recently and was quoted £34 per week for renting a 40ft unit and we just don’t have the funds to pay for this. We need a new location. Ideally, it needs to be local to the Farnham area, dry, ground floor, with vehicle access, and have electricity, but I will happily discuss any suggestions.

Please get in touch at [email protected]

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QueenMee Accessories supports Aylesbury Women’s Aid

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Celebrate kindness with QueenMee, shop local and support local women in need this Christmas

QueenMee Accessories, the boutique hair accessories and brooch company, is partnering with Aylesbury Women’s Aid for November and December with donations to women and children in the shelter.

For every £100 spent on QueenMee.com, a sparkling hair accessory or piece of jewellery from the collection will be donated to a woman or child resident of the shelter, to give them a Christmas boost.

April Benson, CEO of Aylesbury Women’s Aid said of the initiative: “We know the women and children here are going to love receiving the accessories. We do receive some donations already at Christmas for the children, but we don’t receive much for their mothers. That is why QueenMee’s support is so welcome, as it will give our residents a lovely pick-me-up.”

QueenMee founder, Amanda Waterstone Carthy, is the daughter of well-known Entrepreneur Sir Tim Waterstone, founder of Waterstone’s booksellers. She says: “QueenMee is about celebrating kindness – being kind to yourself, celebrating your own personal style, and giving back as you shop for yourself or others.

“We know that the Christmas period often brings with it an increase in the incidence of domestic abuse, with money worries, increased time spent at home, and alcohol all escalating domestic abuse incidents.

“As a mother myself, I know how important it feels to protect your child – and give them a magical Christmas. I often think of the pain women in abusive relationships experience, and of the impact on their children.

“I am so pleased to be able to do something small to lift survivors of domestic abuse and their children this Christmas.

“I hope the colour and sparkle of the jewellery will bring hope and cheer to the residents of Aylesbury Women’s Aid shelter; and that the mothers and children will enjoy celebrating Christmas in a safe environment together.”

QueenMee Accessories’ collection includes brooches, hair clips, headbands, silk scrunchies, and earrings, all of which make gorgeous gifts – with the bonus of giving back as you shop.

Beautiful, eco-friendly gift wrap is free of charge with every order.

The QueenMee Christmas collection is available to order online at QueenMee.com. Also at John Lewis, High Wycombe – 4th December to 10th December. Waddesdon Manor Christmas Fair – 22nd November to 17th December.

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Shop for vintage and pre-loved fashion

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Worth the Weight returns to Oxford Town Hall Saturday, 18th November, from 11am to 5pm

Stay cosy and shop with a clear conscience this November as Worth the Weight returns to Oxford Town Hall on Saturday, 18th November with nine tonnes of handpicked vintage and pre-owned stock to have a rummage through, including a great range of autumn coats and jackets to keep you cosy this season.

There will be 60 rails of clothing, where shoppers can pick and mix from the best denim, sports, ladies fashion, men’s fashion, outerwear and accessories and pay on the scales at the end. It costs £20 per kilo, with prices starting from as little as £1. It’s a cost-effective way of getting bulk sustainable clothing and helping the environment at the same time. Heavier items will be capped at £20. Even if it weighs over a kilo, you’ll never pay more than £20 for 1 item! Make sure to point out heavy items to your server at the till to redeem the discount.

Based in Sheffield, Worth the Weight was founded in 2018 as a way of fighting fast fashion. Since its inception, the company has taken the UK by storm travelling the length and breadth of the country with tonnes of amazing vintage stock every weekend.

Chris Davies, Worth the Weight organiser, said: “Oxford is always a great place to come this time of year, knitwear is always very popular, so we’ve made sure to stock up for all the sustainable fashion pioneers.”
Entry is £3 for early bird and £2 after.

For more details of future events follow the official Worth the Weight Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/worththeweightvintage/

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Oxfordshire fen restored to snails’ delight

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

National Trust restores Pea Pits in West Oxfordshire, potential home to the Newbury bypass snail

A team of rangers and volunteers have been scything reeds in a plan to restore an area of alkaline fen at Pea Pits in West Oxfordshire.

Fenland is one of Britain’s most threatened and precious homes for rare plants and wildlife. The National Trust is working with Freshwater Habitats Trust who provided the tools and scythe training to protect this internationally important habitat. 

Most people associate fenland with the lowlands of East Anglia and are unaware that alkaline fens are also a special feature of the Oxfordshire countryside. The fens in Oxfordshire are fed by springs emerging from chalk or limestone in valleys and on hill slopes.

Alkaline fens support many wetland plants that are rare or endangered nationally or in the county such as the carnivorous butterwort, grass-of-Parnassus, marsh helleborine and marsh lousewort.

Endangered insects include species of soldier-fly, horsefly and damselfly, while molluscs include the Desmoulin’s whorl-snail. This is the tiny rare snail the size of a pinhead that almost stopped the Newbury Bypass being built in 1996 when the construction was set to destroy its habitat.

The work party cleared back trees and reeds at Pea Pits to give the rare plants some light. The cuttings were used to create dams to slow down water flow and create pools. The team also planted marsh lousewort to stop the dominant reeds taking up the majority of light. Marsh lousewort does this by finding another plant’s roots underground and extracting water and nutrients from the ‘host’ plant. This parasitic action weakens the reeds, allowing a diversity of other, more delicate plants to come through.

Whilst the marsh lousewort is establishing, the National Trust will continue to cut the reeds and scrub in late summer and, if funding and a suitable grazier can be found, may eventually fence the area and graze it with cattle. Rest assured, if the vanishingly rare Newbury bypass snail makes an appearance at Pea Pits, it will have a safe home.

Richard Watson, Countryside Manager, West Oxfordshire said: “It is great to see this quiet corner of the estate being brought back to life. It is the only fen site we look after in West Oxfordshire, so it’s a really important habitat. It’s been great to work with the Freshwater Habitats Trust on expertise and training for our staff and volunteers to take on the management of the site.”

Paola Perez, Fen Conservation Officer at Freshwater Habitats Trust said: “Along with other small freshwater habitats, alkaline fens have traditionally been overlooked, but they support a unique community of plant and animal species.

“Restoring and protecting these rare alkaline fen habitats is a vital part of our work to reverse the decline in freshwater biodiversity. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with the National Trust to restore the alkaline fen at Coleshill and are very grateful to their volunteers for all their hard work.”

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M&S Aylesbury colleague celebrates 40th anniversary

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Bra fitter Julie Walters joined more than 50 colleagues at an event in London marking her years of service for the high street retailer

Julie Walters, a bra fitter at Marks & Spencer in Aylesbury is celebrating her 40th year working for the high-street retailer. Julie recently travelled to London to join M&S colleagues from across the country, all of whom were celebrating milestone anniversaries, ranging from 25 to 50 years. More than 200 colleagues attended the event and were congratulated by M&S Co CEO, Katie Bickerstaffe and thanked for their dedication and service.

M&S has been part of many special memories for Julie over the last 40 years, having worked at the store since she joined M&S in October 1982. Julie has spent her whole career working at the Aylesbury store where she specialises as a bra fitter.

Julie loves to help people and has found the role extremely rewarding over the years, from helping pregnant women or first-time mothers pick a new bra, to supporting transgender customers and young girls pick out their very first bra. A particular highlight was when a pregnant customer Julie helped pick out bras for named her son after Julie’s son! M&S is truly Julie’s second home, working with colleagues she calls friends, many of whom have been with the store for more than 20 years, including her best friend, Cassie McVeigh.

Julie said: “It’s honestly been an amazing experience working at M&S over the years. So much has changed but one thing remains the same, the people – both colleagues and customers – are the best! My passion for helping people has never diminished and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to work in a job I love for so many years. I’d like to thank M&S for all the wonderful memories I’ve made with the company and for the fabulous trip to London – I had a great time!”

Natalie Moon, Store Manager at M&S Aylesbury said: “There’s no doubt about it, Julie is an integral part of the team and has had a huge part to play in our success over the years. Having served M&S for a number of years with her tremendous bra fitting expertise, she has not only been able to make customers feel at ease, she’s also worked with the team to train colleagues and pass on her knowledge. I’d like to thank Julie for her years of service to M&S – it’s truly an honour to celebrate this milestone with her!”

To find out more about working for M&S, and the roles and training available, visit M&S Careers.

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National Trust restores Oxfordshire fen

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Rangers and volunteers have been clearing and restoring an area of alkaline fen to aid endangered species such as a tiny rare snail

A team of rangers and volunteers have been scything reeds in a plan to restore an area of alkaline fen at Pea Pits in West Oxfordshire. Fenland is one of Britain’s most threatened and precious homes for rare plants and wildlife. The National Trust is working with Freshwater Habitats Trust who provided the tools and scythe training to protect this internationally important habitat.

Most people associate fenland with the lowlands of East Anglia and are unaware that alkaline fens are also a special feature of the Oxfordshire countryside. The fens in Oxfordshire are fed by springs emerging from chalk or limestone in valleys and on hill slopes.

Alkaline fens support many wetland plants that are rare or endangered nationally or in the county such as the carnivorous butterwort, grass-of-Parnassus, marsh helleborine and marsh lousewort.

Endangered insects include species of soldier-fly, horsefly and damselfly, while molluscs include the Desmoulin’s whorl-snail. This is the tiny rare snail the size of a pinhead that almost stopped the Newbury Bypass being built in 1996 when the construction was set to destroy its habitat.

The work party cleared back trees and reeds at Pea Pits to give the rare plants some light. The cuttings were used to create dams to slow down water flow and create pools. The team also planted marsh lousewort to stop the dominant reeds taking up the majority of light. Marsh lousewort does this by finding another plant’s roots underground and extracting water and nutrients from the ‘host’ plant. This parasitic action weakens the reeds, allowing a diversity of other, more delicate plants to come through.

Whilst the marsh lousewort is establishing, the National Trust will continue to cut the reeds and scrub in the late summer and, if funding and a suitable grazier can be found, may eventually fence the area and graze it with cattle. Rest assured, if the vanishingly rare Newbury bypass snail makes an appearance at Pea Pits, it will have a safe home.

Richard Watson, Countryside Manager, West Oxfordshire said: “It’s great to see this quiet corner of the estate being brought back to life. It is the only Fen site we look after in West Oxfordshire, so it’s a really important habitat. It’s been great to work with the Freshwater Habitats Trust on expertise and training for our staff and volunteers to take on the management of the site.”

Paola Perez, Fen Conservation Officer at Freshwater Habitats Trust said: “Along with other small freshwater habitats, alkaline fens have traditionally been overlooked, but they support a unique community of plant and animal species.

“Restoring and protecting these rare alkaline fen habitats is a vital part of our work to reverse the decline in freshwater biodiversity. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with the National Trust to restore the alkaline fen at Coleshill and are very grateful to their volunteers for all their hard work.”

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Keeping adoptive siblings in care together

Round & About

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Community & Charity

Adoption agencies across the UK, including Parents And Children Together (PACT) have joined forces to keep brothers and sisters together.

Voluntary adoption agencies across the UK have come together with a joint mission to stop brothers and sisters who are waiting in care from being separated when adopted.

Almost half of children currently waiting in care* are part of a family group and voluntary adoption agencies (VAAs) are looking for people who can offer them a permanent and loving home.

Thames Valley-based Parents And Children Together (PACT) is among 23 VAAs from all over the UK who have together created a guide for people considering adoption containing helpful information and advice from parents who have already adopted sibling groups.

Lorna Hunt of PACT said: “The impact on children in care who are separated their brothers and sisters to enable them to find a permanent family is huge and causes anxiety and loss for children who have already experienced a difficult start in life. Yet so few people feel equipped or able to consider adopting a sibling group of three, or even four children.

“We are excited to be a part of this project sharing first-hand, heartfelt experience and advice from families who have already done this incredible thing of adopting a sibling pair or group.”

VAAs are specialists in finding families for children who wait the longest in care. They work in partnership with local authorities to find families for children waiting for a permanent home. VAAs are independent, not-for-profit organisations who have intensive services to provide families with vital support both when the children are placed and into the future.

Maggie Jones, chief executive of the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies (CVAA) which represents VAAs across the country said: “Brother and sisters who are adopted together are often the only constant thing in each other’s lives in times of huge upheaval, loss and trauma. The voluntary adoption sector are specialists in finding families for sibling groups and being there for them with bespoke packages of support for as long as its needed.”

“Brother and sisters who are adopted together are often the only constant thing in each other’s lives in times of huge upheaval, loss and trauma!”

Download a copy of the advice guide Adoption agencies join forces to keep brothers and sisters together.

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Hogs Back Brewery celebrate hop harvest

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Record number of guests enjoy beer and entertainment at Hop Harvest Festival

A record number of people enjoyed Hogs Back Brewery’s hop harvest and raised more than £2,500 for a local charity as they did so.

More than 3,500 guests savoured beer, food, live music and family entertainment in the late summer sunshine in Tongham, Surrey, over the weekend of September 15th to 17th, making it Hogs Back’s biggest hop harvest party ever.

This year, for the first time, the entertainment started on the Friday evening, with a new ‘Roots’ concert on the Festival stage, headlined by folk musician Seth Lakeman. On Saturday, crowds gathered from early afternoon to watch lively performances from six bands, culminating in a set of crowd-pleasing covers from headliners Bloomfield Avenue. Compere David Whitney kept people entertained as bands changed over, and performances were live streamed to the Beer Garden for those wanting a more chilled musical experience.

At Sunday’s TEA Party, a more family-friendly vibe took over, with plenty of entertainment for children of all ages. The fun included a circus workshop, archery, inflatable slides, Mr Magic show, farmyard animals and electric skateboarding, as well as the ever-popular dray rides around the Hop Garden. There was music for the younger crowd too, with the popular Harry Styles Experience topping the bill.

Across the weekend, guests enjoyed the full range of Hogs Back beers, including Green TEA – a variation of the brewer’s flagship Tongham TEA, brewed with fresh ‘green’ hops straight from their hop garden. Food included hog roast, pizzas and authentic Indian dishes from local Mandira’s Kitchen. In line with Hogs Back’s ambitious sustainability aims, no single use plastics were used, replaced with reusable or compostable items.

One of the highlights of the weekend was, as in previous years, the competition for best hop-decorated hat, this year won by Jonathon. The custom of raising money for a local charity was also continued as the Prostate Project, based in Guildford, took a stand at the event and received all donations made on the dray rides. In total, the charity raised £2,543 over the weekend.

Rupert Thompson, Hogs Back managing director, said: “Every year, we say we’ve just had our best Hop Harvest Party ever – and it’s always true! This year we had more guests than ever before, more bands on the Festival stage, fabulous entertainment for families – and we enjoyed nearly all of it in glorious sunshine.

“The whole event was staffed by the Hogs Back team, so a big thank you to them, as well as to local businesses and volunteers, and to the many local people who joined us to create the party.”

He added: “We have already set the dates for next year’s Hop Harvest celebrations, which will run on 13th,14th and 15th September. We look forward to an even bigger and better event.”

Hogs Back harvested three hop varieties this year: Fuggles, used in Tongham TEA; English Cascade, used in its Hogstar lager and Surrey Nirvana Session IPA; and Farnham White Bine, a traditional local variety that the brewer saved from near-extinction by planting in its hop garden in 2014.

Thompson said: “We’re delighted to have harvested hops from our own hop garden for the eighth year. This year’s crop won’t be our biggest, due to the wet weather in July and August, but the hops we have are of good quality and will add distinctive flavours to our beers.  We’re proud to be growing hops just yards from the brewery, helping to reduce our food miles and achieve our goal of being an ever more sustainable brewer.

“It’s rewarding to have reinstated hop farming in Farnham and we know it’s meant a lot to local people. We’re grateful for their support, particularly the 50 Hogs Back Hopper volunteers who helped us bring in the harvest. It’s hard physical work over a few weeks and they certainly earned themselves a few pints!”

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Full of beans

Karen Neville

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Community & Charity

Remember when the only choice for a coffee was white or black? Times have changed and ordering a coffee is now akin to reciting War and Peace. However you like your caffeine shot (or not) support National Coffee Week this month

Cappuccino, latte, flat, white, Americano, affogato – however you like yours, as a nation, we in Britain drink around a whopping 95 million cups of coffee a day!

So, the only way to mark National Coffee Week, October 16th to 22nd, is by raising a cup in whichever style you prefer. The week is the biggest celebration of coffee, raising funds for Project Waterfall which brings clean drinking water to coffee growing communities.

Since 2011, the UK Coffee Week community has raised more than £800,00 for Project Waterfall, reaching over 45,000 people with clean drinking water, sanitation and education.

Funds raised during the 2023 campaign will support Project Waterfall’s latest project in the Berbere district of Ethiopia. The country is considered the biological and cultural home of coffee but 82% of households in the Berbere area use water from unprotected sources.

Working in partnership with the local government as well as WaterAid, Project Waterfall will build a solar powered multi-village gravity-flow water system, that will provide water to 40,000 people. The new infrastructure will be climate resistant and accessible to everyone in the area.

How can you get involved and do your bit to help? Hospitality businesses of all shapes and sizes fundraise by donating from every cup or bag of coffee sold, or by running events and competitions.

Whether you serve, sell, sip or roast the much-loved bean – which is actually a fruit – you can take part in UK Coffee Week and support coffee-growing communities. Among the vendors locally taking part are Fieldhouse Coffee, Rose Brae, Woodlands, Windlesham and COLCO Coffee, Unit 3, Manor Farm, Common Road, Eton Wick, Windsor. Explore their selection of hand roasted coffee from around the world including Colombian Speciality Coffee, Single Origin Coffees and Premium House Blends. A percentage of their coffee proceeds goes to support great causes, why not grab a bag today?

Also participating is Art Cafe, Bonn Square, Oxford where, as the name suggests you can appreciate some work from local artists as you enjoy your cuppa.

There are more coffee shops than you can shake a bean at so why not try one of these which serve up a little something extra?

In picturesque Ripley, you’ll find Nest Home & Café, part café, part home / gift shop with a reputation for excellent service, world-class coffee and eclectic shopping. All food and drink is served in recyclable trays, cutting down on waste too. You’re also welcome to take along your own favourite cup or mug and enjoy a discount on your coffee.

Here’s a coffee shop with a difference, the Terrace Lounge Coffee Shop at Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary in Shere boasts stunning views over the Surrey Hills. Recently opened, could there be a better way to enjoy some ‘me time’ in stunning surroundings and while you’re there why not combine it with some healing?

Described as a ‘curious coffee shop and gift shop’, Hemingways in Haslemere has found a special place in the hearts of locals with its ‘marvellous mix of old and new, classy and comfortable, lively and relaxing with a wonderfully eclectic decor and range of gifts and homeware that combine to make a special and favourite place for all those who visit’. It is also heavily involved in the community, supporting many local charities and organisations.

Cappuccino with a cavapoo? No problem at Cantine in Fleet. The dog-friendly café offers a warm welcome to our furry friends as well as their owners with a delicious range of sweet treats and a recently launched full English breakfast to tuck into too. Take your pooch along and they can tuck – or lick – into dog ice cream and the popular Puppicino treat too. There’s local art on the walls and regular quiz nights too to test your little grey cells.

Never has the saying from little acorns been more apt for Acorns Coffee Roastery which operates from The Shed in Bordon. From the early days as a mobile coffee shop in a converted horsebox, the team and passion for coffee grew with the addition of Head Roaster Matt whose knowledge means you can now enjoy Acorns small batch roasted coffee anywhere in the country.

At Coffee Under Pressure, the two baristi who created it believe that great coffee is an affordable luxury, but also an everyday need which is why, when visiting the shop in St Mary’s Butts, Reading you will find passionate and knowledgeable baristi with attention to detail and persistence for the best brew every time. Chat to them about how to explore new flavours and brewing methods and ask every detail you wish to know about their coffees or teas.

All things gluten-free are celebrated at YayLo in Cross Street, in Reading town centre. You may recognise the only gluten-free coffee shop in town, it was previously the award-winning Nibsy’s. Now under a new name and new ownership, it is proud to be gluten-free and serving up ‘awesome-licious gluten-free’ pastries, donoughts and cakes alongside its equally delicious coffee.

Robyn’s Nest at Moss End Cafe, Warfield, isn’t just offering great tasting coffee and cakes, during the pandemic they provided cake boxes for the NHS and keyworkers and now offers business networking events as well as a play area so you can enjoy your coffee – while it’s hot – while your little ones play.

The Collective in Church Road, Caversham, is a speciality coffee shop, licensed cafe, lifestyle store and grocer with community at its core. It has won awards for bringing together a love of incredible coffee, great quality food, design and living well into one destination.

If it’s all about the coffee for you Spoon in Duke Street, Henley, proudly serves Extract Coffee. Ethically sourced, kind to farmers and utterly delicious. Often dubbed ‘the best coffee in Henley’, they sell pre-ground Original Espresso in-store so you can take Extract’s heavenly blend home with you to sip at your leisure.

The Pantry in Thatcham has its own specially blended coffee from their partner coffee supplier Kingdom Coffee. The Pantry Blend is a full bodied, smooth coffee with a creamy mouth feel and notes of berry fruits, chocolate and molasses. Sounds delicious and each and every cup is expertly crafted for you by the trained staff making it stand out in so many ways.

A former Wesleyan chapel is the location for Community Hub cafe at City Arts.The barista coffee machine and home made cakes sit alongside the current art exhibition. Cakes are baked by local bakers and can be enjoyed with great barista coffee and a selection of high quality teas. Browse and buy the unique cards on sale from local artists too.

Elaine’s in The Courtyard, Hungerford and Hughendon Yard, Marlborough believe everyone should be able to eat out knowing they are able to choose food that is right for them and is delicious and nutritious, no matter what diet they are committed to. Alongside wholesome fare, you can enjoy your coffee in a relaxed and welcoming setting.

The award-winning Hampstead Norreys Community Shop is a true gem on a mission to serve its community in every way. Stocking essential and speciality groceries, it champions sustainable and locally made products not least in its cafe where you’ll feast on delicious home-made food, barista coffee and other beverages.

If it’s location you’re after while you sip on your coffee, then head to The Tea Shop by the canal at Newbury, this can be found in a unique grade II listed building on the Kennet and Avon waterway.

Coffee for a cause is the idea dreamed up by James at Coffi Lab opposite the Town Hall in Marlborough. The venture combines his love of Labradors, creating a coffee brand and making a difference. The cafes, of which there are eight, are not a dog café as such, but open venues; a focal point of leafy neighbourhoods where family and friends come together without having to leave their canine companions at home. As it says on the website, Coffi Lab is ‘driven by a desire to do good’ and to that end they have so far raised in excess of £60,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Cappuccino with a cavapoo? The Dog’s Spot in Abingdon is a unique place for dogs and their owners. A place to meet, socialise, enjoy good coffee and cakes, in a relaxed dog-centred space with its own doggy menu. In the shop they offer a range of high-quality food, treats and accessories, as well as being home to grooming spa.

Oxford’s Grand Cafe can stake a unique claim to fame – it is housed in the spot where the very first coffee shop in England was founded in 1650. According to a number of sources, including Samuel Pepys, an entrepreneur named Jacob established the first English coffee house in High Street almost 400 years ago. There’s a challenger for this accolade with Queen’s Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, saying it is ‘the longest established coffee house in Europe’. The difference? Queen’s Lane has always been a coffee shop whereas the Grand Cafe has actually been a variety of businesses over the years. Both have great historical value and serve an exceptional cup of coffee and more!

Society Café is an independent speciality coffee shop in the heart of Oxford city centre. Their focus is on making great coffee sourced directly from the best coffee producing farms in the world and roasted by the best roasters in the world. Try a cup and see.

Location, location, location – one of the best is surely that occupied by The Waterfront Cafe at Benson. Relax with your brew on the vast decking as you watch the boats gliding up and down the river. The perfect spot to watch the world go by. The decking and covered outside areas are also dog friendly.

Head to the Vale and Download Museum in Wantage for coffee and a little history or for some rustic charm how about Cogges Kitchen in the old milking parlour at Cogges Manor Farm in Witney. Tuck in to tasty cake with a good cup of locally roasted coffee.

And if you like your coffee among plants then head to Root One Garden Centre in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell where you can enjoy some delicious sweet treats too.

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