Well done to the 20 brave men who have bared (almost) all for an outdoor winter fundraiser in Virginia Water raising more than £2,500 (so far) for the Mental Health Foundation.
We’ve all been feeling the cold in recent weeks. So praise is due to the local runners who braved the chilly trails of Virginia Water Lake togged up in just a pair of running shoes and “budgie smuggler” briefs.
The Budgie Smuggler Run 2023 event was founded by Brian Turner, Josh Lappin, Paul Dash and Jordan McDowell from Hampshire and Surrey in 2021 when they wanted to raise money and awareness for charity.
Since then, others have joined in the January spectacle, with 20 runners taking on the 7km route last Sunday (29th January) raising more than £2,500 for the Mental Health Foundation.
Brian said: “It started off as a bit of a laugh, but with a serious aim to raise money and awareness for charities that are close to our hearts. It certainly does turn heads, and after the first run I was surprised to find more people than just me willing to strip down and run the 7km route in the middle of winter.”
The Budgie Smuggler Run is now set to become an annual mass participation event in aid of raising money and awareness for men’s mental health.
World record holder Darren Hardy, a charity fundraiser and former British Army officer who was medically discharged from the army with PTSD in 2017, joined this year’s event. “It’s such a great event and certainly turned heads,” he said. “Despite the frosty January start we all rose to the occasion and drew quite a crowd at the finish line. I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone wanting to do something a bit different for charity.”
“It certainly does turn heads”
Over the last two years, runners have raised £2.5k for BulliesOut, an anti-bullying charity, and £1.3k for Cancer Research UK.
Brackendale Tree Care has valuable advice to help you care for your trees in winter
At this time of year, your garden will probably look as if it’s settled down for winter. That surely means your jobs for the year are all wrapped up. All you need to do now is feed the birds and enjoy your garden from the warmth of your home.
However, winter is the perfect time to crack on and care for your trees.
Not only is winter the ideal time for tree care from Mother Nature’s perspective, but it’s also a great time for us humans. Other garden jobs, such as weeding, lawn mowing and hedge trimming aren’t needed so we have time to lavish on our trees instead. And after all, what’s better than getting outside into the fresh air and work up an appetite for all that hearty winter food?
The two big tree-related jobs for the winter are winter pruning and planting bare rooting trees.
Job 1 – winter-pruning your trees
It’s nearly always better to prune your trees in the winter than in the spring or summer. There are a host of reasons for this, which we’ll now go into.
For deciduous trees at least, the lack of leaves makes it far easier to see what you’re doing. This means you’re less likely to trim your trees back too far or into a shape that you’re not happy with. There’s also the benefit of having almost no leaves to sweep up afterwards – only the branches and leaves. You’ll also know that nesting birds won’t be an issue – it’s only from March onwards that nesting becomes something to bear in mind
Because trees are dormant in the winter, their sap is less active. Sap delivers water and nutrients throughout the tree which may ‘bleed’ when the tree is cut. Too much bleeding can shock your tree so it’s important to make sure you’re pruning at the right time of year. Most trees are best pruned in the winter, although there are some such as magnolia and birch which should be pruned at a different time of year.
Winter pruning is a great way of reinvigorating trees and bushes that were beginning to look tired or straggly. Successful winter pruning can encourage bushy, healthy growth, helping revive a previously tired-looking specimen.
Pruning during the winter also helps prevent diseases. That’s because the bacteria, insects and fungi that carry the diseases are dormant or dead. So, by pruning during the winter months, your tree is less likely to pick up a serious disease.
Job 2 – plant bare rooted trees
Another job that’s perfect for the winter months is planting bare rooted trees. Loved by gardeners and tree surgeons alike, bare rooted trees are the best choice for anyone wanting to enhance their garden with healthy, strong plants.
Using bare rooted trees and hedges gives you a better range of plants to choose from, thanks to the range of specialist nurseries that deal with bare rooted plants. They’re also far better value than pot-grown plants giving you a healthy sapling for a bank-balance friendly price. This makes bare-rooted trees and hedges a must-buy for anyone wanting to plant lots of trees or a new hedge.
There are a few things to remember when planting bare rooted trees:
1. Plant bare-rooted trees quickly as you can
The longer you leave your bare rooted trees unplanted, the more moisture they will lose from their roots. And the more moisture they lose, the lower your chances of having a healthy tree in your garden. If you can’t plant your tree immediately, store them somewhere cool (a garage or shed is perfect) with their roots wrapped in a plastic bag.
2. Stake your bare-rooted tree after planting
Staking your bare rooted trees will help them establish more successfully by keeping the roots healthy. By keeping your new tree in a stable position, you minimise the chances of torn roots. It can take as much as two years for a new tree to fully anchor itself into the soil, which makes this step especially important.
3. Water trees thoroughly in the first year after planting
Although your new tree or hedge won’t need water while it’s dormant, as soon as you start seeing leaves bursting into bud, it’s time to water. Water your tree thoroughly (a full watering can is perfect) once a week – or more often if the weather is dry. In especially dry, warm weather you should water your new tree two or three times a week to help it establish.
Get in touch for help with winter pruning and planting
Winter pruning and planting bare rooted trees are tasks that your tree surgeon can advise on and help with. If you have questions or would like us to look after your pruning and planting, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
Interested in good design? Interested in exciting new buildings in the borough? Interested in sustainability?
The Guildford Design Awards Exhibition concludes its travel round the villages at West Horsley Place on Saturday, 29th October, 10am-4.30pm.
The exhibition will then have two days at the Guildhall in Guildford; on Friday 18th & Saturday 19th November, 10am-4.30pm.
The Guildford Design Awards were established to encourage and recognise; good design in new buildings and external spaces; restoration and conservation projects which ensure the legacy of our heritage buildings; projects which demonstrate sustainable energy principles and exemplary environmental awareness. The Awards help to establish a sense of civic pride in our built environment and improve our awareness of the importance of good design and the benefits it brings to our daily wellbeing.
Make sure to catch the travelling exhibition of the 2020 and 2021 award-winning projects to coincide with the Heritage and Architecture Open Days. Admission is free. Learn about some the excellent quality of commercial, public and community buildings, individual houses, multiple housing, conservation and regeneration projects and public art
Exhibition locations, dates and times:-
The Guildford Design Awards is a joint project between the Guildford Society and Guildford Borough Council, applications for the 2023 Awards (which as 2022 awards were postponed because of the pandemic, will include projects completed between June 2021 and June 2023), will be open next spring.
Submit an entry...
Potential entries are welcome over the next 12 months – email [email protected]
Hogs Back Brewery marked its 30thbirthday with a special ’30 at 30′ celebration, inviting 30 local loyal drinkers to join them for a celebratory pint
The 30 at 30 celebrations, held at the brewery in Tongham, brought back happy memories for guests, as they recalled where they had enjoyed their first pint of Tongham TEA.
For Nigel, his first pint at the King William IV at Mickleham, was ‘love at first taste and it has been an enduring love story!‘. Martin was‘lucky to taste the first brew of TEA, with the original Hogs Back brewer’and John remembered drinking it “with my father, explaining to me what real beer tastes like.” Several guests had enjoyed Tongham TEA at weddings and birthday parties.
Hogs Back Brewery managing director Rupert Thompson said: “We wanted to celebrate our 30thbirthday with thanks to loyal customers who have supported us for 30 years – as without them, we wouldn’t be here today.
“Over the years, TEA has been requested as the beer at many weddings and other celebrations, so for a whole generation of local people, it has a special place in their lives.
“Many also spoke about coming here with their parents to collect a barrel of Tongham TEA and are now doing the same with their own adult children. We’re of course delighted to see this tradition continue, and by inviting some of these younger drinkers to join our celebrations, we hope that they too become lifelong Tongham TEA drinkers!”
Ready for harvest
The ’30 at 30′ gathering was one of the last to be held in the Hogs Back hangar this summer before it switches from being a bar and event space to become the hub of the hop harvest, which starts at the end of August. Hop bines cut in the hop garden just yards away are brought back to the hangar where they are sorted, then dried and vacuum packed that they can add flavour and aroma to the brewer’s beers all year.
Bringing in the hops from the 8.5 acre field is expected to take several weeks and will be celebrated at the Hogs Back Hop Harvest weekend on 24thand 25thSeptember. The Hop Harvest Festival on the Saturday offers a fantastic musical line up including top Queen tribute band Majesty, while the TEA Party on the Sunday is more family-focused with a range of children’s entertainment. The full range of Hogs Back’s beers, including Green TEA, brewed with hops freshly-picked in the hop garden, will be available on both days:https://hogsback.co.uk/products/hop-harvest-party-2022
The biggest event on our calendar
Thompson said: “The Hop Harvest festivities are the biggest event on our calendar and were attended by 2,500 people last year. And as we’re the only brewer of any size to have our own hop garden, it is a uniquely Hogs Back celebration.
“Hops, like all crops, need water to thrive and the recent drought will have an impact on this year’s harvest. We’re not expecting to repeat last year’s bumper crop, but we will still harvest a good quantity of our own home-grown hops, which contribute to the distinctive flavour of our beers. And, as they are grown just yards from the brewery rather than imported from afar, they are reducing our food miles and helping us achieve our goal of being an ever more sustainable brewer.”
Hogs Back will harvest 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.
Your chance to join the celebrations for three decades of Tongham TEA
If you live in or around Farnham, the chances are that one of your first pints of beer was Hogs Back’s Tongham TEA (Traditional English Ale). The ale was the first beer brewed at Hogs Back Brewery when it opened 30 years ago, and it enjoyed almost instant success, with the hog icon becoming a familiar sight in pubs across Surrey.
To celebrate its 30th birthday this year, Hogs Back is inviting 30 local drinkers who’ve been enjoying their beers for a while to join them – and bring a younger drinker with them, for a toast to the past, present and future success of the brewery, on Thursday, 18th August.
We remain an independent brewer, committed to our Surrey roots
To join the party just let them know where you drank your first pint of TEA, by visiting the website page. We’ll invite 30 people to our special birthday drinks at the brewery, with a son, daughter or other younger relative or friend – aged 18+ – to pass the love of TEA down the generations!
Managing director Rupert Thompson said: “We’re delighted to be reaching our 30th birthday with plenty to be proud of. Much has changed since the brewery opened its doors in 1992, but we remain an independent brewer, committed to our Surrey roots – as demonstrated by our continued investment in our site here at Tongham, including the hop garden.
We are both thanking the local people who’ve made Hogs Back the successful brewery it is today, and doing our best to make sure it’s still alive and kicking in 30 years’ time!
“Clearly, without people drinking our beers, we would have no success to celebrate today! So, we’d like to reward anyone who’s been enjoying our TEA for a while with a pint or two on us, and at the same time introduce our beers to younger drinkers. This way, we are both thanking the local people who’ve made Hogs Back the successful brewery it is today, and doing our best to make sure it’s still alive and kicking in 30 years’ time!”
Hogs Back Brewery opened in August 1992 in Tongham, near Farnham, in 18th century farm buildings that at various times had stored wheat and housed cattle and, appropriately, hogs. The first casks to roll out of the original brewhouse – now the site of the Brewery Shop – and into local pubs were TEA – which was renamed Tongham TEA earlier this year.
Tongham TEA remains the brewery’s best-seller, winning numerous awards over the years, and gathering a loyal customer following in Surrey and across the south. Hogs Back’s reputation as a brewer of exceptionally fine ales was bolstered by subsequent launches such as Hop Garden Gold and RipSnorter and in recent years the brewery has broadened its range, launching new beers such as Hogstar Lager, Surrey Nirvana Session IPA and A over T (Aromas over Tongham) which won CAMRA’s Champion Bottled Beer of Britain in 2020.
HOGS BACK BREWERY – 30 YEARS OF BREWING EXCELLENCE
1992: First barrels of TEA produced at the Manor Farm site in Tongham, where the brewery remains today. One of the first pubs to stock it is the White Hart in Tongham, where it sells at £1.30 a pint.
1995: TEA named as runner up in Best Bitter category at the Great British Beer Festival, run by CAMRA.
2000: TEA named as winner in Best Bitter category and then overall runner up Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival
2006: A over T (Aromas over Tongham) named Supreme Champion Winter Ale of Britain at the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival.
2012: Business bought by Rupert Thompson, who had worked in the brewing industry for many years on brands including Carling (Britain’s biggest beer brand), Old Speckled Hen and Hobgoblin.
2013: Launch of Hogstar Lager, a 4.5% ABV lager brewed with five different hops and selected herb extracts and matured for over a month.
2013: Launch of Hazy Hog, a cloudy cider
2014: Planting of hop garden adjacent to the brewery, making Hogs Back the largest brewer with a hop garden in the UK. In 2015, Hogs Back harvest three hop varieties: Fuggles – used in Tongham TEA; Cascade – used in Hogstar lager; and Farnham White Bine.
2015: Hogstar wins Gold in the Premium Pale & Golden Lagers in the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) National Awards. It also wins Gold in the SIBA South East Region Awards in 2018
2019: Relocation of the hop garden to an 8.5 acre site next to the brewery.
2020: A over T, a 9% ABV bottle conditioned barley wine, wins CAMRA’s Champion Bottled Beer of Britain
2021: Hogs Back harvests its largest ever hop crop, and 2,500 people enjoy Hop Harvest celebrations over a weekend in September.
2022: Hogs Back’s flagship ale, TEA, is renamed as Tongham TEA and given a new design. The traditional, graphic style shows an illustration of the familiar Hog mascot in front of the brewery, farm buildings and fields.
The Green Hub in Milford, which has just had its first birthday, offers a vital support space for teenagers struggling with their mental health
Just one year ago you‘d find the Green Hub Project for Teens on Facebook looking for local folk to join a DIY SOS-style weekend, to transform their tranquil garden in Milford. This month the garden celebrates its first birthday.
Over its first year Green Hub Project for Teens has transformed from an idea in its embryonic stage into a confident adolescent.
The garden is the vision of local chiropractor Tone Tellefsen Hughes. “I’ve seen so much trauma through my clinic in recent years,” she says. “But since Covid, it’s become unimaginably bad, so many young people experiencing a tough time – it’s heart-breaking. This is why we are reaching out to families with teens struggling with low to moderate social anxiety, stress and overwhelm.”
Tone’s co-chair, local business coach Vanessa Lanham-Day, has been instrumental in creating the momentum behind the project. “The garden and teen volunteering is such a simple concept – it’s all about providing time out in nature and calm.
But, for the teens to benefit from time spent in the garden, there has been a whole machine that needed to be created. We have been busy spreading the word as well as building relationships with GPs, schools and youth organisations – but the most passionate requests come from parents themselves.
Teens spend up to 12 weeks becoming garden volunteers, under the guidance of adult leaders – there are morning and afternoon sessions (all free) each Saturday for up to eight teens. The process isn’t “therapy” problems aren’t discussed, and no advice is given – but the process is undoubtedly therapeutic.
Tone adds: “Science shows that being in nature allows the brain to calm down and settle a little, like a busy snow globe when the snow falls. When you immerse yourself in an activity – especially in nature – your brain is unable to do anything else and this gives the busy teenage brain a chance to rest and make sense of what’s been going on in their world. There are long term benefits after a garden session, as well as finding a connection which has been so sorely missed since the pandemic for so many.”
Tone and Vanessa would also like to find other garden spaces to extend the programme.
After two years the popular beer festival returns to Hindhead Royal British Legion Club with an amazing array of beers for you to enjoy
Get a head start on the Platinum Jubilee celebrations by sampling a selection of beers themed around the occasion, as well as a selection of British ciders, and a handful of international lagers as part of the Beacon Hill Beer Festival.
On Friday 13th May from 5pm we will be open to everyone to kick off the celebrations with live music from The Bierkeller Boys, a Bavarian Oompah band who are ready to get everyone on their feet with plenty of clapping, swaying and thigh slapping.
Saturday 14th won’t be any less exciting! Organizers say: “We open at 1pm for an afternoon of beer, lager and cider tasting. Shortly followed by what is sure to be a fiery FA Cup Final with Liverpool vs Chelsea on our big screen, with Liverpool aiming to become the first English team to win the quadruple, so we are sure to be in for an exciting game before we get right into the evening. There will be live music from The Noize to get us up on that dance floor for the night.”
An incredible weekend awaits at Hindhead Royal British Legion, Beacon Hill Road, Hindhead, GU26 6QB with a variety of breweries already lined up to take part:
A visit to Build It Live this month will help you create a home as individual as you
Are you planning an extension to your home? Or perhaps you even have aspirations to build a new home from scratch? Whatever your plan for a dream home, make sure you pay a visit to the Build It Live show coming soon to Bicester on October 2nd and 3rd.
The exhibition aims to provide a stress-free route to creating a truly individual home with the opportunity to meet a wide range of suppliers plus a host of independent experts who can provide invaluable (free!) advice and top tips on your own self-build or home renovation project.
Architects and other experts will be offering one-to-one advice on how to turn a project into reality including how to find land, what is possible with and without planning permission and how to ensure you have the right design.
At the show there will be a number of specialist areas including a Heating Advice Clinic, glazing manufacturers displaying a huge range of bifold and sliding doors, French doors, windows, contemporary and traditional front doors, and rooflights – plus a Build Cost Clinic to help you understand how much it will cost to build the home of your dreams.
We have 100 pairs of free tickets worth £24 to giveaway.
Simply visit www.builditlive.co.uk and use promo code ROUND100.
This August, opera, fairy-tale and musical theatre will combine in a spectacular show, Goblin Market at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
“Goblin Market is a chamber opera like no other that stands out from other British Youth Music Theatre shows. With complex musical harmonies, it reveals the unlimited imagination and enthusiasm of its young cast, who will at last unleash their incredible talent after many months of confinement. It promises to be a truly spectacular show,” says Zoë Wanamaker, BYMT patron.
A new extraordinary musical theatre adaptation of Christina Rosetti’s famous tale, Goblin Market is coming to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on 26th-28th August.
With music by renowned composer Conor Mitchell, this enchanting chamber opera of high energy physical theatre and complex musical harmonies charts the story of two sisters tempted by goblin merchant men. Unmissable, tempting, controversial, seductive… can you hear the Goblin call?
Grace Murray
Richard Gerard Jones
Director Gerard Jones (The Royal Opera House, English National Opera, La Scala) says: “Theatre centres on shared experiences, both for the audience and the performers. BYMT’s work gives this experience to the young people, and to us creatives working closely with them. I wanted to work again with the company since the first time I directed a piece there. That show had one if the very best group bonds I’ve ever experienced among cast and crew, and I’m sure that will be the same again also with this darkly exciting piece.”
One of the young performers, Grace Murray 18 from Market Drayton, Shropshire, says: “I have absolutely loved my BYMT experience. I’m playing Laura in Goblin Market and I’m enjoying every second of rehearsals. It’s so rewarding to take part in a show where everyone is as dedicated to the project as to each other, which also comes from the incredible score and an amazing team of creatives”.
This spectacular production was last seen in Edinburgh in 2005 and was hailed by press and public alike as a huge success:
“Magical… Kath Burlinson and Conor Mitchell have created the ideal vehicle for such a versatile and talented company of performers’ – Belfast Telegraph
“A brilliant production…energetic, dynamic, exciting, superb… Conor Mitchell has excelled here with a demanding and ambitious score…” – Irish News
“The greatest musical Sondheim never wrote…” – Broadwaybaby.com
