Book your tickets for the sober, wholesome Back To The Roots festival in Bucks, 9th to 11th August
Created by the people for the people, Back To The Roots is a collaboration of diverse and cultural backgrounds to offer world sounds, a co-creation of art, music, education and innovative ways to bring us together to unite in love, music, dance, discussion, and commUNITY.
This will be the third year running Back To The Roots, an all-inclusive nature fest no matter your background or age to celebrate how we can live more consciously and harmoniously together in a world with so much diversity. This is a sober, family-friendly and pet-friendly event.
The Back To the Roots stage is the main hub with musicians, workshops, and drum circles. It’s been erected with a prayer from Jote Prakash, each pole placed in the ground with intention and love and there’s a sola PA system from Solar Sound Tribe.
Nestled in the trees, The Tree Of Life stage comes alive with acoustic vibes, spoken word and storytelling. At night the trees are illuminated and the party vibes come alive with Freedom dance sets and soundscapes, powered by battery-operated sound system by CopperBottomSounds.
If you are looking for a place where you can let your imagination run wild, embrace your creativity and learn in a fun and interactive way, The Forest School is the perfect place for you.
Festival-goers can also enjoy the amazing Cacao Temple, Fire Side, herbal organic mocktails, smoothies, and organic living deserts, face painting with Amy ‘SpacePony’, a children’s nature craft area and more!
Valentine’s Day isn’t just about a romantic meal for two, it’s about spending time with those we love, from our family to our best friends. It’s the perfect time to create a tablescape filled with love for your partner, family, best friends or for a Galentines brunch!
You don’t need to get your cupid’s arrow in a knot, styling a romantic table doesn’t need to be expensive and can be created using handmade decoration, hiring items, and using what you have at home.
Here are our top 14 tips for styling a dreamy tablescape for the 14th February
1 – Start with thinking of a theme. Having a theme can add instant fun or a luxurious element to the tablescape plus it helps with the décor decisions & keeping to a budget and helps keeps the table look cohesive.
2 – Create a vision board on Pinterest, it allows you to keep all your ideas in one place.
3 – There are endless romantic themes like, a classic red & hearts, or soft baby pink & pastels, a fun ‘Love Heart Be Mine’, an XOX with your Galentine’s or a Be Mine theme with someone you love.
4 – Linen always adds a luxurious feel to a table, but you don’t need to necessarily buy it! This can be hired for a fraction of the price. If you don’t want a full tablecloth, you could always use a runner down the centre of the table. This will add texture, a pop of colour without covering the whole table.
5 – Fold your napkins into hearts, you could add a little chocolate love heart on the napkin too!
6 – Do you have enough seats for everyone or chairs that match? You can hire extra chairs & benches. Have a matching set to give your table the extra wow factor. You could hang a little heart to the back of them. This is a great way to bring your theme into all areas of your Valentines tablescape.
7 – Love notes, on each place setting write a little note to your guest about something you love about them.
8 – Have a creative afternoon and make heart fan decorations for your special meal, these could be hung from windows, on the back of chairs or scattered on the table – check out our social media pages for full instructions.
9 – A special table is all about layers, use charger plates to give an instant luxurious feel to each setting. They can add textures and colours without overpowering the setting. These can be hired, there is no need to buy them!
10 – For a special table setting, use crystal glasses, and gold cutlery, something you might not have at home, these can be hired and even given back dirty!
11 – Remember to think about the height of the centrepiece, your guests need to be able to see each other, without a great big candelabra blocking their view! Use odd numbers of items, it creates a much more pleasing effect on the eye.
12 – No romantic table would be complete without flowers, you could go with traditional roses, pretty gipsofila that you can buy in the supermarket or even used little potted plants. Incorporate all the winter foliage and pretty winter flowers into your table set up. You can create a table runner, then add in elements like mini bows, chocolate hearts or even packets of love hearts!
13 – Fruit is a fantastic way to add a pop of colour to your tablescape, scatter strawberries or grapes around your décor or onto your plates. You could fill glass containers with fruit!
14 – At AB Event Hire we are conscious about the environment & stay away from one-use plastic throw-away items. Instead of buying new tableware, hire it in at a fraction of the price. Not only does it help reduce waste, but we can wash it up for you too! Use matching plates, cutlery, and glasses to create an instant cohesive feel to the tablescape.
For more information about how to hire items & tips on creating Valentine tablescapes, head over to our social media pages @ab_event_hire or our website AB Event Hire.
AB Event Hire is a family run wedding, event & catering equipment company. We are based in Woking and can supply you with all the items you might need to create a perfect celebration. Please get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you! Our telephone number is 01276 856440 and the office email is [email protected].
Love your kitty? Adore your doggy? We always knew that we Brits loved our pets passionately. But the last year has deepened our appreciation for our animal companions!
April is National Pet Month, and National Pet Day is on 11th April. To celebrate, we’ve teamed up with Surrey artist & pet-lover Bri to offer you the chance to win a portrait of your pet…
Artist Bri had planned to launch her drawing and painting workshops for beginners in March 2020… until the world put a stop to that! She jokes: “Timing has never been my speciality but this takes the mick!”
Keeping motivated
Bri decided to offer free pet portraits to local people… “This was an exercise to get some practice and to bring a smile to people’s faces,” she tells us. “I know how important a pet’s company is: I live alone with my dog. She’s my best mate, haha! And I couldn’t have been more grateful for the distraction she gave me. Also, she was a legal reason to leave the house! I thought pet portraits would be nice to keep me motivated as I was unable to tutor. I’d never done a pet portrait before but after I put up a couple of posters I was inundated.”
Hundreds of responses
Bri completed almost 50 portraits, 31 alone last April. “When I first thought about the type of work I could offer free to encourage people to commission me, pets were the subject I thought would attract most interest,” she says. “But hundreds of responses and the copious positive feedback was on a scale I didn’t imagine! It proves we’re a nation of animal-lovers. From dogs to cats, and the odd gecko thrown in, we love our pets. It’s particularly worthwhile to hear how someone got genuine happiness from seeing a pet who perhaps isn’t with them any more celebrated in paint.”
Rebranded as The Isolating Artist, Bri evolved to virtual workshops. “Online teaching is a fantastic way to communicate in what otherwise would be an impossible situation, but classroom tutoring is the best way to learn to draw and paint,” says Bri. “I hope soon to bring together a beginners’ art group. I want to introduce students to the fun of art and give people a chance to be creative, to look at the world differently. If there’s anything we need after all this it’s to leave the house so what better reason than an art class?”
As for influences, Bri says: “As a kid, art was the only thing I was any good at, so that was a natural inspiration. I remember coming across a book about Francis Bacon at school. It changed my opinion on how I should draw and paint; something I’ll never forget seeing for the first time”. Bacon remains one of Bri’s favourite artists, alongside Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper and many more.”
Visit isolatingartist.com to find out about Bri or sign up for an art class.
WIN your pet’s portrait!
We want you to share your love for the pet in your life. Share a picture, poem or photo of your beloved animal companion on our social media channels. Tag Round & About (our links below) and #petportrait in your post and Bri will select the winner who will be immortalised in portrait form! Deadline: Tues 4th May.
