Cotswold Link (West Oxfrodshire) September October 2020

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September / October 2020

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inside

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Tentative steps to the ‘new normal’

take a look at several Cotswold Taste businesses how adapted to 08 We survive the effects of Covid-19

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Helping Hospitality

A new app launched to help the Cotswold hospitality sector

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Garden View

We take a look at Dazzling Dahlias this Autumn

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08 Celebrating The Laundry local news: 08 Cotswold Taste business updates astronomy: 10 How to find the planets education 10 When did education start? advertorial

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10 A new app to help businesses garden view: 12 Dazzling Dahlias! local news: 12 A ecological emergency declared general interest: 14 How to capture spectacular sunsets local news: FEATURED

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Welcome to the September - October issue Welcome back everyone, what a difficult few months we have all been living through and I hope everyone is safe and well and staying alert. It doesn’t seem possible that it is September already but, in this most mellow of months, let us take a moment to enjoy the beautiful sunsets of autumn, and the stunning colours of the dazzling dahlias in our gardens, whilst we all adapt to this new normal.

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I hope you all enjoy this issue and I’ll see you again in early November.

Best wishes,

Christine Campbell | Editor

Cotswold Link Magazine is published in good faith and the editors cannot be held responsible in any way for inaccuracies in reports or advertising in reports or advertising that appear in this publication and the views of the contributors may not be the those of the editors. Adverts and advertisers Your Cotswold Link carry no implied recommendation from the magazine or the publishers. All rights reserved. All information is appearing in Cotswold Link Magazine correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of going to press. Cotswold Link Magazine cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions.

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Cotswolds’ Laundry Goes from Strength to Strength The Laundry Company, Cotswolds, is the regions’ premium laundry, servicing the areas most discerning households and small businesses.

Tentative Steps to the New Normal Food and drink businesses are taking a fresh look at the way they trade as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Several members of Cotswold Taste were forced to act quickly to find new markets for their products after the UK was told to ‘stay at home’. Now they’re adjusting their activities as a new period of uncertainty rolls out.

Local to Chipping Norton, the laundry was originally founded in 2008, however the current owners Patrina Allport and Patrick van Aalst purchased the business in 2011 and have grown the business year on year since which is testament to their quality of service.

Among them is Stroud Brewery, which found itself with a storeroom of cask and keg beer and no pubs to take it after 23 March. Owner Greg Pilley’s response was to package his real ales into ‘bags in boxes’ and work with local drivers hit by the lockdown to offer free delivery to customers ordering over the internet.

Willow Spring joins the Laundry Company, Cotswolds

At the same time, the number of village stores and other independent shops looking to stock cans and bottles increased.

Having carried out laundry services in-house and outsourced their dry cleaning to a business in Bicester since 2012, there recently became an opportunity to secure the purchase of Willow Spring Dry Cleaning, which the pair jumped at, with the intention of broadening their service offering in Chipping Norton, Bicester and surrounding areas.

Maintaining High Standards “We have always strived to provide a premium laundry, dry cleaning and ironing service to our discerning clients, and by bringing Willow Spring Dry Cleaning service under our operation, we can ensure that our quality and service standards continue to be met for our customers.

The Laundry Company aims to provide a high quality, and flexible, service to our customers and take pride in the fact that we have retained many of the customers who were with us when we first purchased the business.”

Petrina Allport, Owner.

The Laundry Company promises the following to its growing customer base: • The Laundry Company puts its customers needs at the forefront of its business • Extra care is taken with items (tags are pinned to care labels where possible) to prevent damage and lost items • Laundry is pressed to perfection and hand-folded with care and love • The Laundry Company cares about the environment, so biodegradable wraps are used • Collections are simple, with Stripe payments (they also accept many other payment types) • Collection and delivery is available by request.

‘We’re just grateful people have kept drinking our beer’ While the re-opening of pubs and Stroud Brewery’s own bar is generally seen as a positive step, Greg says he remains cautious as the country works to restore some semblance of normality.

‘We’re just grateful that people have kept drinking our beer.

“Immediately after lockdown we were facing the loss of between 75 and 80% of our usual sales, the biggest of which came from our own bar,” explains Greg, whose company moved from its original site to purpose-built premises in Brimscombe at the beginning of 2019.

“Then everybody was panic-buying, which included beer, so we found ourselves really busy: last April we sold just over £2,000 worth of products through our web shop; this year it was £25,000.

“Since lockdown all the contract canning and bottling companies have been fully booked up with a two rather than one-month lead in time, which presents us with an additional challenge in terms of knowing how much of our products to send to them.

“Pubs are now reopening but it’s clear a lot of people remain cautious and aren’t venturing out at present. Fortunately with our own bar we have a lot of space, and we’ve put in place measures such as table service and hand sanitisers.

The Laundry Company team would love to talk further with Cotswolds residents and businesses about setting up an account with The Laundry Company Cotswolds for your laundry and dry-cleaning needs.

For more information, please contact: enquiries@tlccotswolds.co.uk 01608 750085 www.tlccotswolds.co.uk

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“We welcome the return of orders from pubs, but deliveries have been smaller, resulting in lost potential in efficiencies, and we’re well aware that we’re one of a great number of breweries, each of which is looking to sell their beer to a smaller market.

“The hardest thing is being able to forecast what will happen and produce beer accordingly.”

The furlough scheme, which has enabled the brewery team to be split and brought in to work on a three-weekly basis, along with measures such as rate relief from Stroud District Council, have gone a long way to help Stroud Brewery stay in business, says Greg, and he believes the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ intervention will also help both his own bar and others serving food, although he fears for those pubs that rely largely on wet sales.

I hope people realise how critical British food is’ Over on the other side of Stroud, cheesemaker Liz Godsell has seen sales of cheese to hospitality customers wiped out, but gained in business from six new farm shops and increased orders from existing retailers. These include Midcounties Coop, which started listing Godsell’s Cheese just after Christmas; Gloucester Services, which has been stocking the family’s products on its forecourts, and Stroud Farmers’ Market’s pre-order scheme.

Orders for mozzarella for takeaway pizzas made at The Priory in Tetbury have also been a positive, but these gains have been tempered by the fall in the price paid for liquid milk produced at Church Farm in Leonard Stanley.

“I hope the silver lining from this awful Coronavirus business is that people will realise how critical British food is,” says Liz. “A lot of people have been nervous about going into supermarkets and I think the farm shops have provided a service almost on a par with the NHS: British farmers are producing food to keep people healthy.

“The increased cheese orders have given us a real boost, but we only use 15% of our milk for cheese and the fall in milk price has been really difficult because it doesn’t cover our production costs and comes after one of the wettest winters on record and a most unusual spring.”

Both Greg and Liz are hopeful that the lockdown period will have encouraged many people to reflect on their lives and issues such as the environment, communities and supporting local businesses.

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The

Where did Education begin?

Cotswold Sky How to find the planets

Welcome back to the Cotswold Link. No one knows what lies ahead in these disturbing times.

However, we can try and relax for a few minutes each evening by stepping out of the door and looking upwards to the sky and enjoy the serene night sky. You may say the sky is often cloudy or that you live where streetlights abound giving off light pollution. Yes, light pollution can make observing the planets more difficult, but they are still visible and there are a number of digital applications available to help you search for the position of the planets.

Equator on its journey south.

Along with the Spring equinox in March this is also when theoretically most places on Earth have equal amounts of day and light.

The precise term for when equal hours of daylight and darkness occurs is referred to as an equilux.

The precise date of an equilux occurs according to the latitude of the place in question.

Greenwich Mean Time Clocks go back one hour at 02.00 hours Sunday 25th October.

Planets Mercury – Mercury is not visible

Autumn Equinox – Tuesday 22nd

to observe during the months of September and October.

Venus – Observable in the east during the hours of 03.00 and 05.30.

Mars – Excellent for observation.

By mid-September Mars rises in the East at around 20.30 hours and can be observed making its way across the sky through to the early hours of the mornings. During October Mars will rise early evening in the East and by the end of the month can be observed due South, high in the sky at 22.30 hours.

Saturn and Jupiter – Saturn follows Jupiter across the sky for the 2 months.

Saturn being to the left of Jupiter. Easy to observe from 21.00 hours at the beginning of September look towards South East, the pair cannot be missed. This procession continues throughout October by which time they are seen to be making their way westwards so that by the end of the month Jupiter sets by 22.00 hours in the South West followed

by Saturn.

September 14.31 hours. This is when the Sun passes over the

John Harris

One of the most popular is Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). Stellarium is free and can be downloaded on to your computer, tablet and mobile. There may be a small charge to pay if downloading on to your mobile dependent on which application you choose. There are also other free applications available such as Cartes du Ceil, Celestia, Sky Safari and Sky View Lite to name but a few. Search your internet for the best suggestions.

View of Saturn and Jupiter looking due South 20th September at 20.00 hours (image taken from Stellarium)

Diary

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The obvious answer is at home when our ancestors taught their children how to feed and fend for themselves. This would have extended between families and communities as they would pass on ideas and assistance in their fight for survival. Archaeologists have found evidence of tools and weapons plus; incredibly; coloured paintings in caves like those in Lascaux, France dating back 15,000 to 17,000 years. Knowledge would have passed from each generation with improvements being implemented with time, but this was done in an informal way.

Initial Formal Education No one knows for certain when formal education commenced.

Conceivably we can start with the formation of writing c3,500BC by various ancient civilisations. There is evidence of the Babylonians (c1,800BC) having knowledge of fractions, algebra, quadratic and cubic equations (I recall solving quadratic equations in Babylonian cuneiform figures as part of my degree). The Greek civilisation had within it schools including one run by Pythagoras c570-c495BC (parents do you remember him?) it is not inconceivable that it was the students who worked out the Pythagoras theorem and not Pythagoras himself. However, I will leave that debate to the academics of this world. We must also make mention of formulised learning in Egypt, Arabia, India, and China. From this we can conclude that group schooling became a natural means of learning.

Formal Education in Europe AD500 – AD150 The first schools in the UK commenced in the 6th century originating in monasteries and centred on the teaching of Latin, writing and philosophy. These monastic schools became our first universities some 600 years later.

‘FreeMyMenu’ app a valuable key to helping Cotswwold hospitality sector recover Not Just Code Ltd, working in partnership with Cotswold Taste, has made the decision to make the ‘FreeMyMenu’ app free for businesses in the hospitality sector.

‘FreeMyMenu’ is an innovative app that enables restaurants to seamlessly update their website and printed menus. Jered Bolton of Not Just Code Ltd discussed the app and how businesses around the Cotswolds are able to benefit

free for the foreseeable future.

Even before lockdown, the ways people searched for restaurants were changing. When consumers search for a restaurant on their phones, the number one thing they want to see is an up-to-date menu.

As the lockdown eases, it’s never been more important to have upto-date menus on your website.

“The app we’ve created, ‘FreeMyMenu’, enables restaurants to update their website even before the printed menus have left the printer! Customers can further benefit from being able to filter menus according to their allergen or dietary needs.

on Cotswold District Council’s lat-

“Lockdowns are beginning to ease

est CDC LIVE broadcast from the

and many customers are venturing

BARN Theatre, Cirencester, at

back out to support local busi-

youtube.com/

nesses and enjoy a good meal. By

watch?v=HFaV6ZAJ5I4

using our app, businesses can save

Jered said: “I’m very happy to announce that we are providing the FreeMyApp service to businesses in the Cotswolds free of completely

paper and remove a point of contact between customers and front of house staff by letting customers know they can view exactly the same menu on their phones.”

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Out of interest the oldest existing and continually operating educational institution in the world is the University of Karueein, founded in 859AD in Fez, Morocco. The University of Bologna, Italy founded in 1088 is the oldest university in Europe.

Westwoods Grammar School, Northleach. One of the oldest schools in the

Oxford University is the oldest country destroyed by fire in 1988 university in the English-speaking world there is no clear date of foundation , but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

The oldest schools in the Cotswolds The oldest school in England is The King’s School Canterbury (founded 597AD) but in 54th place is Chipping Campden (founded 1440AD) not far behind and certainly in the top 200 would have been Westwoods Grammar School, Northleach (founded 1589) which tragically burnt down in 1988 one year short of its 400th Anniversary. Westwoods was then amalgamated with Bourton Vale School at Bourton on the Water to become The Cotswold School.

Of the schools on the other side of the border in Oxfordshire the oldest in is Abingdon which is possibly as old as 1100 AD followed

by Magdalen College, Oxford in 1480 then Burford School which was founded in 1571. Henry Box in Witney was founded in 1660.

JOHN HARRIS

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_schools_in_the_ United_Kingdom

Cllr Tony Dale, Cabinet Member for the Economy and Skills at Cotswold District Council, said: “I would like to thank Not Just Code and Cotswold Taste for their incredible work to support businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are they working with food businesses across the Cotswolds

“It’s vital for businesses to think about their digital presence, particularly with shopping habits

to bring them online and assist

changing as a result of the

with digital and contactless

pandemic. If you don’t have a

services. They are now enabling

website you should certainly be

even more businesses by offer-

thinking about developing one

ing the FreeMyMenu app free of charge. Really excellent work,

or at least starting a social me-

thank you so much!”

dia presence so customers can

Not Just Code is a long-stand-

have a website and social me-

ing member of Cotswold Taste,

dia, you should be undertaking

the region’s leading food and

a ‘Health Check’ of your website

drink quality marque.

right now.”

Jered stressed the value of

To learn more about FreeMy-

supporting local networks and

Menu, visit: www.freemymenu.

connections, adding: “By all

com

working together, we can make

For more information about

the connections that allow us

Cotswold Taste, please visit:

to help each other now – and

www.cotswoldtaste.co.uk

easily find you. If you already

digital is part of that process.

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GARDEN VIEW

Dazzling Dahlias Over the past few years, I’ve fallen in love with dahlias for their ability to provide autumn colour. I think Dahlias are like the glamorous friend who arrives late to the party, fresh and full of life, outshining all the other guests who are a bit tired and past their best...or maybe that’s just me being fanciful.

Either way the vibrant colours, tactile textures and stunning petal formations make the Dahlia queen of the September garden for me.

The dahlia originates from Mexico and there are 30 species and around 20,000 cultivars! Don’t let its exotic past fool you; it hails from high mountain regions so is happy in cool, wet, and windy conditions.

It doesn’t matter what size your garden is there is a dahlia for you, from dwarf varieties to giants. There is even one variety (Imperialis) that can reach 6m (20 feet) in the wild in its native South America.

If your garden is on the exposed side, or you live in the north then look for the pompom varieties as the colourful globes are very hardy, standing up to the worst of the

Ecological emergency declared in the Cotswolds Cotswold District Council (CDC) has voted to declare an ecological emergency, putting ecological issues at the heart of the Council’s actions to deliver nature recovery across the district.

Public awareness of the importance of the natural environment, open spaces and wildlife has increased significantly during the COVID-19 crisis. By declaring an ecological or nature emergency the Council is acknowledging the huge and unprecedented declines in species, habitats and natural capital caused by humans over the last hundred years.

One in seven UK species is now at risk of extinction. Since the 1930s, 97 per cent of the UK’s ancient wildflower meadows have

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British weather.

Dahlia bulbs are comprised of tubers. In order to sprout the tuber must have an ‘eye’.

If you live in a very cold area, you can dig up the tubers at the end of the season and plant them out again the following year.

My garden is quite sheltered, so I simply cut them down and mulch them. I learned the hard way that mulched dahlias survive and thrive much better than unmulched plants. Dahlia tubers are hungry beasts and don’t take kindly to being undernourished.

The first year I planted them I didn’t mulch and the second year the flowers were sparse and undersized. On the advice of a neighbour I fed them, mulched them, and watered them through the hot season, and they returned in full vigour the following year.

Dahlias come in the most amazing array of colours.

‘Lubega Power Yellow-Orange’ sounds like a toilet cleaner but is in fact a gloriously tropical dwarf bedding dahlia which produces masses of double flowers well into autumn if you deadhead it regularly.

been destroyed. There’s been a 76 per cent decline in flying insects since 1990 and pollinators, such as bees, are particularly struggling.

Cllr Rachel Coxcoon, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “Climate change is putting further pressure on biodiversity and loss of biodiversity is helping to drive climate change, so the two are inextricably linked.

“To address the ecological emergency and to help reverse it, we will prioritise our work to deliver a wide range of actions to help drive biodiversity and green initiatives in the Cotswolds. We will take a leadership role on the ecological emergency and natural recovery in the district by working with, influencing and inspiring partners across

At 30cm you can plant it at the front of the border or in window boxes to brighten the dullest of days.

Dahlia ‘Cornel Brons’ produces wonderful round copper-coloured architectural flowers. They are long-lasting and make spectacular cut flowers. They look good in the middle of a border because they grow to 90cm.

For gardeners who prefer a more subtle or unusual colour palette: Dahlia ‘Cafe aux Lait produces enormous exquisite blooms in a soft apricot-pink colour, which fade to vintage cream. It’s the perfect dahlia for creating a focal point toward the back of the border as it grows to 120cm.

Dahlia ‘Creme de Cassis’ has stunning twotone petals on water lily-shaped flowers. It grows to 90cm so is good for the middle of a border and also looks fabulous in a big pot.

By Rachael Leverton

the County and South West region to help deliver nature recovery.”

Doug Hulyer, Chair of the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership, said: “Biodiversity and natural capital are the backbones for all activity – economic, social and natural. They provide vital services to society but are under threat from the twin challenges of land-use change and climate change.

“It is vital we act swiftly to put nature at the heart of decision-making, and the declaration of an ecological emergency is a bold step in that direction. The Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership wholeheartedly applaud Cotswold District Council for this action.”

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Spectacular Sunsets and how to capture them

a long time. As the sun dips beneath the horizon it can produce some spectacular shots, but afterwards, the colours of the sky can become even more rich and

Christine 01609 777401 07742 595747 christine@jkanorth.com www.cotswoldlink.co.uk

Autumn is the best time of year for beautiful sunsets. Have you ever tried to capture one and been disappointed with the result? Sunsets can be devilishly tricky to capture well, but we have a few tips.

Choose the time and place – If you’re serious about sunsets make a note of places where they are particularly good then head there before the sunset to give you time to set your camera up. There are websites which tell you what time the sun will set on a particular day.

Try www.timeanddate.com/sun/ Foreground is important – The best sunset photos tend to have something of interest in the foreground, generally silhouetted. This provides a focal point. Look for an attractive tree, or a wind farm, and even pylons can look impressive in front of a sunset.

Patience is also important – Sunset actually goes on for quite

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beautiful, so hang around.

So is a tripod! The best shots are often longer exposures, so they will look shaky unless you secure your camera to a tripod.

Ignore ‘the rule of thirds’ – The sunset is the star so place your horizon really low down in the shot.

This fills the image with colour.

Remember reflections - If you are near water take full advantage of doubling the impact of your sunset. In this instance try placing the horizon at exactly halfway or shoot only the reflections. Experiment and have fun.

By Louise Addison

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