Local News
Visit the Local News section of PP website for this week’s Local News including planning and road policy disputes, a reprieve for Wantage’s youth club and an open meeting in Hungerford to discuss the proposed neighbourhood plan.
Local Events – see below
Local Activities
• upcoming workshops & courses:
• free football sessions for children with physical & learning difficulties with Thatcham Tornadoes start Tues 23 May
• Make a Pinafore Dress for a Baby/Girl 10am – 4pm Sat 20 May, Hungerford
• FAST Self Defence Workshops Sat 20 May, Chilton Foliat click on link for times – a few places left in juniors section
• Patisserie Masterclasses with The Vineyard’s Head Pastry Chef – Afternoon Tea 8 June, Chocolate Desserts for Beginners 22 June (6 – 9pm)
• Marlborough Floral Club meets the first Thursday of the month and welcomes new members
• kids karate classes with Matt Ward Karate in Swindon, Royal Wootton Bassett, Chilton Foliat and Lambourn – contact Matt on 07774 645476 for a free taster session
Recommendations
• A. Paton recommends Lambourn Valley Dental Practice: ‘Everyone instills confidence and calmness.’
• Mr Bungay recommends Greenwire Solar: ‘The yield has so far been better than predicted by about 20%.’
Quizzes & Competitions
• Our short and sweet May Quiz is about fitness and the prize is one month’s membership at the fab new Seeds 2 Glory Fitness Studio just south of Hungerford.
• Click here for details of Round 3 of the North Wessex Downs AONB Photography Competition with the theme of Spring in the North Wessex Downs. Entries must be in by the end of May.
• If you’re unsure for whom you should be voting at the general election, this online quiz might help.
Special Offers
• sign up to The Media Marketing Co’s newsletter to get a 40% discount off their Facebook Power User Masterclass Thurs 25 May at Audley Inglewood near Kintbury.
• 10% discount on this month’s matching wines from The Naked Grape in Hungerford.
Local Jobs
See the Penny Post website for local jobs including: Sales & Marketing Officer Arlington Arts • Car Park Attendants Watermill Theatre • Higher Level TA Chilton Foliat Primary School • Cafe Assistant & summer Site Assistant, Nature Discovery Centre Thatcham • Classical Music Sales Assistant, Hogan Music • Bar Staff, The Pheasant Shefford Woodlands • Part-time Fitness Coach, Doubletree by Hilton Newbury • Chefs, East Garston • Delivery Driver, Hungerford • PT Housekeeper, Inkpen • Van Driver, near Ramsbury • Waiter/Waitress, Chilton Foliat • Library Trustees, Hungerford • Full-time Care Assistants, West Berkshire • Occupational Therapist, West Berkshire • Massage Therapist, West Berkshire • Cleaners, West Berkshire • Charity Shop Volunteers, Hungerford • Homecare Assistants, throughout West Berkshire.
• retained (on-call) fire fighters earn approx £500/month and are desperately needed in Hungerford, Lambourn, Mortimer and Pangbourne. Have a Go Day at Newbury Fire Station Sun 4 June
Local Businesses
Family Life • Food & Drink • Health, Beauty & Wellbeing • House, Garden & Pets • Legal & Professional • IT, Media & Web • Visual & Performing Arts • Retailers • Travel & Tourism • Tuition & Training
Please support the businesses which support Penny Post!
• congratulations to The Wheatsheaf in Chilton Foliat for winning the Sawday’s Local, Seasonal & Organic Produce Award, beating 800 pubs that were shortlisted!
• for expert social media training with The Media Marketing Co grab a place on these great workshops: Facebook Power User Thurs 25 May, Twitter Power User Thurs 8 June.
Charity Plugs
• do you want to organise a Big Lunch/Great Get Together in your street/village? It’s not difficult to plan – you choose a date (suggested between 16 & 18 June) and ask everyone to bring their own food.
• Creative Wiltshire is looking for volunteers to help photograph and log all public art in Wiltshire (thanks to Angela from Born Again Swindonian for sharing)
• would you like to help improve a local river for wildlife? Thurs 25 May is the last of ARK’s Bearwater Community River Days river restoration project in Hungerford. Advanced booking essential contact [email protected] Volunteers needed any time between 9am – 4pm
• still time to train for the Ollie Johnson Memorial 5 Mile Run Sun 4 June Kintbury supporting Kintbury St. Marys School and Newbury AC Ollie Johnson Fund
• see this week’s Local News for a list of just some of the people who’ve helped to raise money for good causes recently. Quite as lot of you this week – hats off all round.
Four Legged Friends
• no British mammal has suffered as steep a fall in population over the last century than the water vole. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species is looking for volunteers to help with a national survey. For more information on water voles, click here.
• good news from Thatcham charity Hedgehog Bottom about a mother hedgehog and her babies they rescued recently
• my husband tells me he’s written something about sloths in this week’s Local News: so, all you sloth-lovers, click here…
Seasonal Snippets
• Beekeeping in May – time for the first honey extraction of the year…messy but exciting!
• all is not lost with our poor french beans that caught the frost last week – a drastic remedy reveals there is still life in them yet
• this week’s recipe is my all-time favourite healthy snack Crunchy Kale Crisps from local author Kay van Beersum. I promise even our teenage sons find them completely addictive with a garlic/curry/cheese flavouring of your choice. I’ve also made them in a pan rather than in the oven.
• Hungerford’s Jane Buckle has just got through the latest X Factor round – and this Sunday she will be checking out a hotel with Dom and Perry from Gogglebox. There is more to this 64 yr old dynamo than meets the eye…
• if you think you could consider fostering please click here for interviews with some local foster parents. Fostering Drop-in Info: 9.30am – 4pm, Thurs 25 May, outside Marks & Spencers, Northbrook Street, Newbury
• see this week’s Local News for the usual mix including election hustings, neighbourhood plans, voles, hedehogs, sloths, recycling and energy-saving advice.
• all Newbury constituency voters are invited to submit a question for the pre-general election Candidate Question Time on Thurs 1 June hosted by Hungerford Chamber of Commerce. The submission deadline is Tues 23 May (see link for details)
• my husband has been trying to classify things recently (including the posts on the PP website and the options involved in meeting up with some friends in London) and has got himself into a bit of a muddle. Classifying Choice is the result.
See below for upcoming local events!
Penny
[email protected]
PS: If you know anyone else who might also enjoy this week’s Penny Post, please click here to forward it them!
Local Events
Lots more on the PP calendar
Open Studios 2017, throughout May at numerous venues in West Berkshire and North Hampshire.
Fri 19 May
Gastro Nicks Pop-Up Deli 11am – 4pm Hungerford Town Hall
Coccobello Curiosity Shop Opening 6pm The Wheatsheaf, Chilton Foliat. All welcome to toast the opening of this lovely new corner-shop-on-the-Portobello-Road style shop upstairs in the pub – with beer, wine and pizza of course!
Monster Ceilidh Band 8 – 10.30pm Ace Space, Newbury – powerful combination of traditional & electronic dance music.
Ian Sanderson Fabric Warehouse Sale 10am – 6pm nr Newbury. Great bargains and professional advice, so take along your measurements and colour matching requirements. Refreshments.
Sat 20 May
Gastro Nicks Pop-Up Deli 11am – 4pm Hungerford Town Hall
House Wine Tasting 11am – 4pm Gastro Nicks Deli, Collingbourne Ducis
Ian Sanderson Fabric Warehouse Sale 10am – 1pm near Newbury. Great bargains and professional advice. Refreshments.
Hungerford Town Band Concert, 7.30pm Hungerford Town Hall
Sun 21 May
Ramsbury Clay Shooting Competition Hilldrop Farm, Ramsbury SN8 2HB Top class shooting with international competitors in aid of Ramsbury Pre-School
Mon 22 May
Neighbourhood Watch Meeting with talk on CyberCrime, West Berks Council Offices
Thurs 25 May
The Role of Women in the First World War Thurs 25 May at 2pm. The talk will be free, but ticketed. Book with [email protected] or tel. 01672 870300 – part of the
Wiltshire at War Exhibition – Keeping the Home Fires Burning 18 May – 25 June at Crofton Beam Engines.
‘M’ Maxwell Knight: MI5’s Greatest Spymaster: Book Talk with author Henry Hemming 7.30pm Hungerford Town Hall
Fri 26 May
Chaddleworth House Walled Garden Open Day 1 – 4pm Chaddleworth House. Enjoy a stroll around this lovely garden. Refreshments available. Free Admission; Donations to local charities
Andreas & Rune Danish Folk Duo live at The Wheatsheaf, Chilton Foliat – expect more excellent music and great bar food
Bank Holiday Weekend
Sat 27 May
Beer & Music Festival The Ibex Inn, Chaddleworth live music from 3.30pm inc The Mini Band, The Sidekickz & Jersey Bones, In aid of Air Ambulance street food, range of beers
Victoria Park Family Day 10am – 3pm Victoria Park, Newbury. Lots of family fun inc bouncy castle, skate board & BMX demos and Grand Opening of the newly refurbished Tennis Courts at 11:30am by Jonathan Overend, BBC Radio 5 Live Presenter.
Sat – Mon
Steaming Weekend at Crofton Beam Engines open 10.30am – 4.30pm Sat – Mon
Sun 28 May
Berkshire Country Fayre, Englefield Estate. Traditional country entertainment inc dog show, tractors, birds of prey
Mon 29 May
Ramsbury Country Fair, Hilldrop Farm – fun for all the family from magic show to pig racing. In aid of Ramsbury Pre-school.
Ring-Out Music & Art Installation 1pm, 4pm, 6pm & 9.30pm Newbury Market Place. Experience this thrilling kinetic sculpture that will transform the market place – free entry.
Coming Soon…
Thurs 1 June Pre-General Election Candidate Question Time 7.30pm Hungerford Town Hall
Watermill Touring Production: Nesting opens Weds 21 June in East Garston Village Hall – click here for full tour dates in Aldworth, Padworth, Bradfield, Aldbourne, Shrivenham, Cold Ash, Brill, Hungerford, Hampstead Morreys, Eastbury, Uffington, Ashampstead & more
