Swindon 'Outer Circle' Town Crier Magazine July/August 2015 by Town Crier

♥ TownCr er Magazine COVERING ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT, HIGHWORTH, LIDDINGTON, WROUGHTON, WANBOROUGH, CHISELDON, SOUTH MARSTON, BLUNSDON, PURTON, STANTON FITZWARREN, PURTON STOKE, LYDIARD MILLICENT, HOOK, GREATFIELD, WICHELSTOWE, THE LAWNS & MARLBOROUGH ROAD

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JULY/AUGUST 2015

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

FOOD l HEALTH & BEAUTY l MOTORING l GARDENING l PET CARE

August Day Trips Sat 1 LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) Tue 18 GUNWHARF QUAY, PORTSMOUTH LONDON ZOO HISTORIC DOCKYARD, PORTSMOUTH SPINNAKER TOWER, PORTSMOUTH Sun 2 LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) SOUTHSEA GREENWICH (Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory etc.) COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK WEYMOUTH MORETON-IN-MARSH (Market Day) & Bourton-on-the-Water Mon 3 CORONATION STREET: The Tour & Free Time at Deansgate PEPPA PIG WORLD (Paultons Park) WESTON SUPER MARE Wed 19 BUCKINGHAM PALACE and Time in WINDSOR Tue 4 BOUGHTON HOUSE inc. Guided Tour of House & Estate by Coach WEYMOUTH CARNIVAL COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK FISH & CHIP RIVER CRUISE AND TEWKESBURY (Market Day) MORETON-IN-MARSH (Market Day) & Bourton-on-the-Water Thu 20 LYME REGIS & BRIDPORT BRIGHTON THORPE PARK Wed 5 BOURNEMOUTH THE VIEW FROM THE SHARD & BOROUGH MARKET POOLE BOROUGH MARKET LONDON EYE & THAMES CRUISE Fri 21 BOURNEMOUTH LEGOLAND POOLE WINDSOR & ETON LEGOLAND Thu 6 GUERNSEY FOR THE DAY (Inc. Continental Breakfast) WINDSOR & ETON CARDIFF Sat 22 GUNWHARF QUAY, PORTSMOUTH BARRY ISLAND HISTORIC DOCKYARD, PORTSMOUTH LONGLEAT (Inc. Safari & all other attractions) SPINNAKER TOWER, PORTSMOUTH Fri 7 BUCKINGHAM PALACE and Time in WINDSOR SOUTHSEA WESTON SUPER MARE LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) Sat 8 BLETCHLEY PARK: Home of the Codebreakers WESTFIELD LONDON SHOPPING CENTRE MILTON KEYNES: Shopping & Market Sun 23 SHREK'S ADVENTURE - LONDON! Plus Free Time SHREK'S ADVENTURE - London! Plus Free Time LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) LONGLEAT (Inc. Safari & all other attractions) Sun 9 FESTIVAL  OF QUILTS, NEC     Mon 24 WEYMOUTH GUNWHARF QUAY, PORTSMOUTH      Tour) & HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT (Audio Free Time  HISTORIC DOCKYARD, PORTSMOUTH     Tue 25 BUCKINGHAM PALACE and Time in WINDSOR SPINNAKER TOWER, PORTSMOUTH      COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK    SOUTHSEA  Day) & Bourton-on-the-Water   MORETON-IN-MARSH (Market LONDON (Kensington  or Park Lane)     WESTON SUPER MARE    TOWER OF LONDON       DRIVE Wed 26 HIGHGROVE GARDEN TOUR WITH LUNCH AND SCENIC Mon 10 BOURNEMOUTH       BOURNEMOUTH    POOLE POOLE     LONDON (KENSINGTON OR PARK LANE) BRISTOL ZOO GARDEN,         COVENT LONDON CRIBBS CAUSEWAY SHOPPING CENTRE, BRISTOL      Tue 11 COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK Downton Abbey"     Thu 27 HIGHCLERE CASTLE: "The Real  MORETON-IN-MARSH (Market Day) & Bourton-on-the-Water Horse Drawn Boat Ride on Kennet Canal (Inc. food) & Newbury WEYMOUTH       & Avon  WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR - The Making of Harry Potter SENIOR SPECIAL - BOURNEMOUTH         BRIGHTON    Wed 12 WESTON SUPER MARE  Fri 28 SWANAGE CADBURY WORLD & BULLRING SHOPPING CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM            LONDON EYE & THAMES CRUISE BULLRING SHOPPING CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM     Sat 29 BOURNEMOUTH WELLS (MARKET DAY) & STREET    POOLE Thu 13 BUCKINGHAM AND TIME IN WINDSOR   PALACE      LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) TORQUAY       LONDON ZOO PAIGNTON                 Sun 30 WESTON SUPER MARE BRIXHAM   LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane)   SAVILL GARDEN & FROGMORE HOUSE     Observatory etc.)  GREENWICH (Cutty Sark, Royal Fri 14 SIDMOUTH          Mon 31 BUCKINGHAM PALACE and Time in WINDSOR SEATON TRAMWAY &  SIDMOUTH       WEYMOUTH & DORCHESTER ALTON TOWERS          Sat 15 LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) NATIONAL GALLERY & TATE BRITAIN                   Sun 16 BOURNEMOUTH     POOLE

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LONDON (Kensington or Park Lane) LONDON ZOO Mon 17 WOOLACOMBE, LYNMOUTH & NORTH DEVON TOUR MONKEY WORLD

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

JULY/AUGUST 2015

Editor’s Letter Welcome to the July/August edition! Summer is finally here, and with the long School Summer holidays coming up, now is the time to get out into the local area! In this isssue we feature schemes for running, walking and cycling. Sky Ride Local is taking place all over Wiltshire so got to the Sky Ride Local website and see if there is one near you. There are many local opportunities to volunteer too - look out for items from NSPCC, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Swindon Therapy Centre. We also feature the work of Angel’s Orphanage in Nepal, Jubilee Gardens and Greatwood - please support them in any way you can. Many thanks to everyone who sent in contributions to this issue - Cotswold Wildlife Park, Swindon Museum and Wessex Male Choir and many more. Until next time ...

Annie

Your Local

TownCr er Magazine

The Stables, Fishers Brook, Calne, Wilts. SN11 9HB Tel: 01249 811068 www. towncriermagazine.com Deadline for submissions for the next magazine: 8th July 2015 Editor: contact@towncriermagazine.com Advertising: steven@towncriermagazine.com Artwork: production@towncriermagazine.com CONDITIONS OF ADVERTISING: The Editor reserves the right to refuse any copy which she feels may not be appropriate material for print. No responsibility will be taken for any damage or loss of material caused by inaccuracy or omission of any advertisement. Artwork prepared by us remains the property of The Town Crier Magazine and reproduction in any form is expressly forbidden without prior permission from the Editor. We provide artwork free of charge and where possible we will adhere to your request on layouts and type, but we cannot guarantee an exact copy. If you wish to produce your own artwork to a specific layout, or have any changes to an existing advert, please ensure your copy is with us by the 1st of month prior to publication at the latest. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the The Town Crier Magazine.

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

18 IN THIS ISSUE 6 What’s On Local News and Events 18 Wiltshire Summer Activities - Sky Ride Local

- Run England - Get Active - Get Wiltshire Walking

20 Ice Cream Ice Cream Month 22 Recipe Penne with Kale 27 Wolverine Triplets Cotswold Wildlife Park 28 Puzzle Corner Crossword/Sudoku 30 Angel’s Orphanage The Nepal Earthquake 32 Book Reviews Children’s Books 34 Kevin Sanders Website Mistakes

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

ON W NE HAT A R ’S YO U

Local Focus JULY/AUGUST 2015

What’s happening locally • News • Events • Charities • Clubs

Volunteers needed for NSPCC Service Centre Have you spare time on your hands? Then why not become a volunteer for the local NSPCC Service Centre. Volunteers are needed to help with our work with families and young people including crèche work, driving and supporting practitioners alongside group work. Full training opportunities will be offered including supervision, travel allowance. DBS and references required. For further information please contact Jan Davidson on 01793 683100. The NSPCC offers hope to children in Swindon from its service centre in Swindon Old Town, where support for children and families ranges from therapeutic services to help children overcome sexual abuse, providing help and advice to new parents and assisting families to overcome the effects of domestic abuse. The NSPCC has delivered services in Swindon for nearly 27 years and the new centre, which officially opened last September, has brought together two teams from their former offices on the outskirts of Swindon into a purpose designed larger facility which has helped to expand the team’s work. It pioneers new approaches to address child protection problems facing local children and delivers services that will help create a safer future for them. Last year the team provided therapeutic care to more than 120 children from the area and referrals for this year are already suggesting that figure will rise.

Your Local

TownCr er Magazine

To submit your What’s On go to towncriermagazine.com/submit-your-event

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Reader’s Photographs Local photographer Brad Carter has kindly sent in two photographs taken at Jubilee Lake in Royal Wootton Bassett.

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Local Focus

Wessex Male Choir Summer Concert On Saturday 25th July 2015, Wessex Male Choir will hold their summer concert in STEAM, Fire Fly Avenue, Kemble Drive, Swindon near the Retail Outlet Centre, accompanied by accomplished young singers, MJ UK Arts and the all-female wind trio Breeze. Tickets for this event are already on sale from the Information Office in the Central Library, Swindon 01793 466454, the STEAM Ticket Office in person, from the choir on 01793 852786 or further details can be found on the choir’s website: www.wessexmalechoir. co.uk or email: tickets@wessexmalechoir.co.uk. Wessex Male Choir are on the lookout for new recruits to this award winning choir based in Swindon. Regular practice is held in the church at Abbeymeads village, North East Swindon on Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9pm. If you are male, 16yrs and over and like singing why not come along to one of our practices. Alternatively look at our website or get more insight into by contacting Nick on membership@wessexmalechoir.co.uk.

Wessex Male Choir

Moving On Up! SWINDON THERAPY CENTRE FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW APPEAL “MOVING ON UP!” Swindon Therapy Centre is a totally self-funded group, which has been treating people who have MS since August 1983. Many people who have had the treatment with oxygen and other therapies have gained considerable benefit from them. In more recent years we have been able to help people with other neurological conditions such as ME, Strokes and Parkinson’s disease and children with a variety of conditions, including Brain Tumours, Cerebral Palsy and Autistism. Other therapies also available include Physiotherapy, Pilates, Yoga and other holistic therapies, as well as general advice and support. We are planning to expand our centre by taking on the upstairs space in Bradbury House, which will mean that we can develop and extend the space and services we provide. Plans include developing a gym with state of the art equipment, further therapy rooms, a dedicated exercise studio for classes, a larger community area, and further treatment rooms. “We are thrilled with the opportunity to be able to develop the services and support that we offer to people at our centre. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the people and businesses of Swindon and the surrounding areas for their fantastic support to date and hope they will continue to support us going forward. It is a wonderful facility that we have and we cannot wait to take things further, as we move on up!” Sonya Dykes-Brown, Centre Manager. HOW CAN YOU HELP? We need to raise in the region of £250,000, so, all help towards fundraising will be most welcome! The sorts of things that you might consider include:

Breeze

• Cash donations. For every £100 we raise, 1 sq ft of the new Swindon MS Centre will be ours … .and every donation, of whatever size will be recorded in a commemorative Book of Thanks. • Organise an event to raise funds for us. Let your imagination run wild! • If you work for a local company, get your colleagues involved and again, remember that we really appreciate every single penny that is raised. And of course – your ideas and creativity will add to this list!

MJ UK

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Contact us with any help you can give – Sonya (centre manager) on 01793 481700, Email: stcswindon@btconnect.com www.msswindon.org.uk

01793 602502 or www.rightathomeuk.com/swindon swindon@rightathomeuk.com

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

What's On

Diary Dates JULY 2015

LYDIARD BARK DOG SHOW Sunday 5 July, 11am to 4pm Lydiard Bark is back for a second year with an even bigger and better dog show. There are more classes, more stands and even more great prizes. Entry to Lydiard Park and the event is FREE! www.lydiardpark.org.uk BARBURY CASTLE INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS & SHOW 2015 Marlborough July 9-12, 2015 The world’s top eventers are at Barbury ahead of the the FEI European Eventing Championships. Top Class Show Jumping. In 2015 Barbury is supporting the Injured Jockey Fund - see Jockeys v Eventers v Showjumpers. The Sheep Show - don’t miss the Dancing Sheep. More than 70 shops ... and much more! www.barburyhorsetrials.co.uk DRAGON BOAT RACING Saturday 11th July 10am–4.00pm Monkton Park, Chippenham Fantastic Dragon Boats are provided so why not enter a team, have a really fun day, support your local community, and raise money for good causes at the same time! For further information, call L. Goodridge 01380 850565 or W. Henry 01249 740714 or visit www.rotary-chippenham-wv.org.uk SEVINGTON VICTORIAN SCHOOL Grittleton, Chippenham SN14 7LD On July 12th Miss Squire will be holding her Sports Day. Children are invited to come along and take part in traditional events including a Victorian style dressing up race. On 16th August children and adults can take part in the Great Sevington Sewing Bee and the school will be open during Heritage Weekend, Saturday and Sunday 12th and 13th September. For more details visit: www. sevingtonvictorianschool.co.uk

BOWOOD HOUSE Guided tours of Lord and Lady Lansdowne’s Private Walled Gardens. 15 July. £31 per person. Entered through a ‘secret’ door, the four-acre walled garden is made up of four distinct one-acre squares comprising formal borders, a picking garden, glass houses and a working kitchen garden packed with fruit and vegetables. Also taking in the Italianate Terraces that front the Diocletian wing of Bowood House and the Pleasure Grounds surrounding it, the complete guided tour of the gardens stretches out across 2½ -3 miles (with seats positioned along the way) and lasts approximately two and a half hours. Admission to Bowood House & Gardens and a two course lunch in the House Restaurant are also included in the ticket price. For more details and tour dates beyond July: www.bowood.org/bowoodgardens/private-walled-gardens). Call 01249 810961. GREAT COMPOSERS 18th July 2015 7.30pm St. Andrew’s Church Chippenham Following the great success of our concert last year (Around the World in 80 Minutes), we are returning this year with an exciting programme entitled 'Great Composers'. We aim to play you some of the most famous classical music in the repertoire ranging from Mozart and Rossini to Gershwin and Rachmaninov. £10/£8 for concessions. Tickets: online at wegottickets.com, Tel 07725 959098 or on the door. The concert will be in aid of Dorothy House Hospice Care and the Forever Friends Appeal. FAIRFORD INTERNATIONAL AIR TATTOO 17th-19th July www.airtattoo.com/airshow WOMAD FESTIVAL Charlton Park, 24th-26th July www.womad.co.uk CALNE BIKE MEET 24th-25th July 2015 - Town Centre www.calnebikemeet.com

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

SUMMER CONCERT Saturday 25th July 2015, STEAM Wessex Male Choir will hold their Summer Concert in Steam, Fire Fly Avenue, Kemble Drive, Swindon near the Retail Outlet Centre, accompanied by accomplished young singers, MJ UK Arts and the all-female wind trio Breeze. See page 8 for more details. GREATWOOD OPEN DAY 26th July 2015 - Clench Common, Marlborough SN8 4DT 11am-4.30pm Displays, Meet the Horses, Fun Dog Show, Horse Parade, Have-a-go Agility, Trade Stands. See page 12 for details or visit: www.greatwoodcharity.org AUGUST/SEPT 2015

FESTIVAL OF BRITISH EVENTING Gatcombe Park, 7th-9th August www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk CASTLE COMBE FAMILY CYCLING DAY 30th August Castle Combe Whatever your age, or cycling ability ... this celebration of the bicycle is an event for all the family! Visit www. castlecombecyclingfestival.co.uk WILTSHIRE BIG WHEEL September 6 Public cycling event beginning and ending in Devizes. This is the first time that Wiltshire Air Ambulance is taking part, and the charity has 40 places available. Riders can choose from a 12 mile family challenge, 45 mile or 100 mile route. Get all the latest information about places at: www.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk GOATFEST 2015 Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September 2015 The first GoatFest will be held at the Goatacre cricket ground next to the Village Hall. This will be a festival of music, food and drink with a line-up of local bands and singers, a variety of food on offer and a wide selection of real ales and ciders. For more information, event and ticket details visit: www.goatfest.co.uk

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Greatwood

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GREATWOOD focuses on educating disadvantaged young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through equine assisted learning. & ‘HAVE- A- GO’ AGILITY Greatwood’s educational programs are inclusive and are designed Displays At Meet e Horses Di splays for young people aged 5-24 with Meet thth e Horses cognitive, physical, emotional and Fun Dog Show Fun Dog Sh Horse Parade social challenges or disabilities. Sunday 26thow July at 12.00 Horsnoon e Parade As an accredited Alternative Have-a-go-Agility Provider of SEND programmes and Have-a-go-Agility Trad ands 4DT Trade eStSt Farm, Marlborough Provider of ‘Positive Activities for Address: Rainscombe Hill anSN8 ds Young People’ with the Wiltshire Entries taken on the day. £2.00 per class Council, Greatwood offers a Judge: Avril Reeves variety of unique resources to both mainstream and specialist schools. All proceeds from the day to Greatwood SPONSORS Greatwood’s variety of 6 educational All proceeds from the day to Greatwood programmes prepare young people Day opens at 11.00 am for life in and out workplace and closes atDogSEE 1.of theBest Puppy Da yde opand 4.30 pm enscat aterin Tra 11.g00staam clo nds an by helping them to learn life and avadilab at hou 4.30t the leses throug pm Tra de and cat erin g sta 2. Best Cross Breed Stevens nds ava ilab Entrance Adults £10. le throughout the dayday Cars study skills; as well as personal 00 En un r 12 yearsDudley development and £5 3 employability Best Pedigree trance Adults £10.00 undede Jewelle r 12David years £5 skills; achieve a nationally accredited 4. Best Rescue The English Rose qualification; and ultimately assist Changing Lives ….. Cre 5.independence Best Trick them in achieving in Changing Lives ….. Cre ating Futures Trinity Web ating Futures Registered Charity Num ber: 1117322 adulthood. Since6.2006,Best Greatwood Condition Calne Pet Suppplies RainscombeReg ed Cha rity Hillister Num Farm, Clench Comber: 732 2 mon111 , Mar has now educated over 3,500 lbor Rainscombe Hill Farm, Clench Common, Marlbor ough SN8 4DT ON TH E A3 oug 7. Dog with the Waggiest Tail Polly Hutson Physio 45 BE 4DT TWEEN PEWSEY AN h SN8 disadvantaged children and young ON TH E A345 BETW D MARLBOROUGH EE wwN EY adults. w.gPE AN reaWS Dorg two MA odchar 8. Dog the Judge would most like to take home Calne RL ity. BOROTown UGH Crier ww rea two infw.g o@ har gre ity. atwodc org For further information visit ood cha rity .or g info@gre016 atw72 ood BEST IN SHOW Basils Raw Food cha535 rity.org 514 www.greatwoodcharity.org 01672 514 535 Registered Charity: 1117322

FUN FAMILY DOG SHOW GREATWOOD

Admission

PLEASE NOTE:

Greatwood Fun Family Dog Show & ‘Have- a- Go’ Agility The Judges decision is final. Right of admission reserved. Enquiries: Celia Jones Tel: 01672 514 535 Greatwood Open Day, Sunday 26th July at 12.00 noon All dogs to be kept on a lead at all times Entries taken on the day. £2.00 per class. Judge: Avril Reeves

1. Best Puppy - Dog SEE 2. Best Cross Breed - Stevens Cars 3 Best Pedigree - David Dudley Jewellers 4. Best Rescue - The English Rose 5. Best Trick - Trinity Web 6. Best Condition - Calne Pet Supplies 7. Dog with the Waggiest Tail - Polly Hutson Physio 8. Dog the Judge would most like to take home - Calne Town Crier

GREATWO

11.00

Admission £10, Children under 1

Best In Show Basils Raw Food PLEASE NOTE: The Judges decision is final. Right of admission reserved. GREATWOOD OPEN Enquiries: Celia Jones Tel: 01672 514 535. All dogs to be kept on a lead11.00am at all times – 4.30pm

DAY

FUN FAMIL

& ‘HAVE- A

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Admission £10, Children under 16 years £5, Children under 5 years free

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

FUN FAMILY DOG SHOW & ‘HAVE- A- GO’ AGILITY

GREA

Sunday 26th J

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Local Focus

Swindon Museum & Art Gallery

Jubilee Gardens Project CELEBRATING A YEAR OF CHARITY PARTNERSHIP WITH SAINSBURY’S STRATTON! A year of fundraising reached its climax on Saturday (23rd) when the Jubilee Gardens Project received a cheque for £7,793.91 at the start of their hugely successful Open Day. The donation was presented by Sainsbury’s Stratton Store Manager Val Atwill, who was quick to praise the efforts and generosity of colleagues and customers of the shop. ‘We have some extremely hard working staff at our store,’ she enthused, ‘and when you put all that effort and focus alongside the kindness of our wonderful customers it is amazing what you can achieve.’ She went on to thank the project for the huge part they played in the partnership. ‘From day one they have been a pleasure to work with - always willing to attend our fundraisers and in-store events, and always taking time to explain their operation to customers.’

The growing collection of top-class contemporary ceramic art at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery has received a further boost with the acquisition and long-term loan of a further 17 works. Two of the items have been secured for the gallery with financial support from the Contemporary Arts Society. One is by London-based ceramicist Grant Aston, and the other by Swindon College of Art School-trained Fenella Elms (pictured above), whose studio is in nearby Aldbourne and whose work is internationally-known. A further 15 items which were in the collection of notable collector Henry Rothschild have been loaned on a long-term basis by a member of the Rothschild family, including important pieces by Bernard Leach, Elspeth Owen, Charlotte Epton and Henry Hammond, none of whose works were in the Swindon collection previously. Also included among them are six works by Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, who lived locally for some of her life and which add to an already sizeable collection of her art held in Swindon. Sophie Cummings, the curator of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, said: “Although our major collection of British 20th Century modern paintings is well-known, it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that we also have a growing and significant collection of British ceramics. “Britain has a long tradition of producing talented ceramic artists and it is very pleasing to recognise this here in Swindon with some of the best examples of their work anyone could wish to see.” EXHIBITION AT SWINDON MUSEUM & ART GALLERY The Arts in Art: Theatre, Dance and Creativity in Modern British Art until 12th September 2015

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

For Jubilee Gardens, Company Secretary John Crawford was equally complimentary about Sainsbury’s Stratton, thanking them for all their hard work during the year and going on to expound the project’s aims and successes. ‘We started operations in 1978 with the aim of helping people with learning difficulties to expand their horizons and, through learning horticulture, to also hone their personal lifeskills. We can have up to 25 pupils at a time here and since we started we are proud to have been able to help over 100 people.’ With previous monies presented throughout the year the final total raised for Jubilee Gardens came to over £8,000 and while Sainsbury’s Stratton are currently in the process of selecting a new partner for adoption as their Charity of the Year for 2015 one thing is for sure. As Val Atwill put it, ‘We will never forget our year’s partnership with Jubilee Gardens and we wish them every success for the future.’ Barrie Matthews, Sainsbury’s Stratton

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

What’s On

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Challenges raising funds for Wiltshire Air Ambulance WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance (WAA) is challenging people to cycle or trek during its Silver Jubilee year and raise money for the life-saving service. There is the Wiltshire Big Wheel, a public cycling event beginning and ending in Devizes on September 6, and a 100km Trek across the Sahara Desert from October 10 to 18 2015. This is the first time that WAA is taking part in the Wiltshire Big Wheel, organised by Bristol-based

Bike Events, and the charity has 40 places available. Riders can choose from a 12 mile family challenge, 45 mile or 100 mile route. The Sahara trek in Morocco is a 100 km trek through stunning scenery and there are 16 places available. It is organised by Adventurous Ewe. Rebecca de la Bedoyere, WAA’s Fundraising Manager, said: “We’re

WAA volunteer Facebook page WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance (WAA) has set up a dedicated Facebook page for its volunteers. The page: www.facebook.com/waavolunteer - is for existing WAA volunteers and for people interested in becoming a volunteer with the charity. Jemma Brown, WAA’s Volunteer Manager, said: “The Volunteer Facebook page is there to celebrate the incredible work our volunteers do for us and it’s also there to help recruit new volunteers. Other charities have volunteer Facebook pages and their volunteers use them regularly. “We are using it to update our volunteers on events that are coming up and where we would like their help. We encourage our volunteers to post updates about events they have been to. Since we set the page up a few weeks ago we have had six enquiries from people

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

delighted to offer these fantastic challenge events for our Silver Jubilee year. We’ve been flying and saving lives for 25 years thanks to the amazing people of Wiltshire, and we’re really hoping people will get stuck into a challenge this year and go the extra mile to raise vital funds.” Information about all of the challenges are on WAA’s website: www.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk interested in becoming a volunteer for us, which is brilliant.” WAA has about 70 active volunteers and would like to increase the number to 100 by the end of 2015. The charity is holding an event on Saturday June 6 from 10am to 12.30pm at Devizes during National Volunteers’ Week for existing volunteers and people interested in becoming volunteers. Jemma said: “Our volunteers are our ambassadors and we would like more to enable us to cover events that are going on in the community. Our volunteers represent Wiltshire Air Ambulance at fundraising events, attend cheque presentations and give talks. Our volunteers are enthusiastic and have a passion for what we do. We couldn’t do what we do without them and we would love more people to join us.” For more information about becoming a volunteer with WAA or the event on June 6 email jemma@wiltshireairambulance. co.uk or call 01380 739453.

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Sky Ride Local is back! Fun, free summer cycling with Sky Ride Local The popular programme of rides, guided by trained British Cycling ride leaders, kicked off on 31st May 2015 with rides taking place all over Swindon and across Wiltshire in the coming weeks. Organised by British Cycling and Sky, in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, Sky Ride Local offers local people the chance to join organised, guided rides of varying distances and difficulties – ranging from easy-going spins around picturesque parts of Swindon and Wiltshire through to ‘steady’ and ‘challenging’ rides, for those seeking a little more adventure. For more information and to book on a ride go to www.goskyride.com/swindon

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Enjoy free guided rides in Swindon. Sign up at

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Run England - Wiltshire The Run England project in Wiltshire continues to grow from strength to strength with new beginner runners getting involved all the time! The latest newsletter is now available to download with information on Leadership in Running & Fitness courses, the informal workshop programme that was delivered this year to coaches and run leaders and then some of our success stories from the last 4 months including new groups in Marlborough and School Gate Runs in Calne, Corsham and Chippenham with a further one planned for Malmesbury. School Gate Runs are simply social active walk / run groups that go from the playground after you’ve dropped your child off at school! A great way of getting 30 minutes exercise in at the start of the day! For more information on the Run England project please contact Amy Chalk, Wiltshire’s Run Coordinator on achalk@englandathletics.org or www.wiltshire. gov.uk/leisureandrecreation/sportandfitness/ sportandphysicalactivity/healthandphysicalactivity/ running.htm.

Get Active Holiday Sport The Wiltshire Council’s Get Active Holiday Sports brochure has been put together by the Sports Development team to help promote opportunities for young people across 46 Wiltshire venues this Summer. The brochure features our expanded holiday programme for this year and includes information on the following projects: • Slamdunkz Basketball Camps • Star:Track Athletics Camps • SEN/Inclusion Camps (Disability Sports Activities) • Sloggerz Cricket Camps • LTA Tennis Camps • Fun in the Sun • Football Camps • Free Swimming • Camp Activate

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Get Wiltshire Walking

Free walking groups in Wiltshire

Join one of the free walking groups in Wiltshire led by trained walk leaders. Groups meet every week, last approximately one hour and often end with a cup of tea and a chat in a local cafe. Walking in a group is a great way to get active and stay motivated. You’ll make new friends and discover new places to walk in your neighbourhood. Everyone is welcome, providing you are independently mobile and able to meet the physical demands of the walk. It’s free and fun. All walks take about one hour. Just turn up at • Standard, starter or the meeting point or contact the walk leader progression walks available below. Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted • Free, fun and friendly on the walks. • Explore your local area Get Wiltshire Walking has been granted the Inspire Mark; the badge of the London 2012 Inspire Programme. This is the first time the Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee has sanctioned the use of a Games mark for non-commercial partners running projects to benefit local people and communities. Being part of the Inspire programme is a once in a life time opportunity. Seb Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: "The Inspire programme is ensuring the legacy of the 2012 Games starts now as projects like Get Wiltshire Walking are enabling people in Wiltshire to make positive life changes" Interested in joining our team of volunteer walk leaders? • Each walk has its regular starting venue on the same day and time every week. We try to vary the routes each week but standardwalks will last around an hour and 15 minutes. • Starter walks last around 30 minutes and are on flat stable terrain. • Fit walks are 45 minutes long and are at a brisk pace designed to get the heart and lungs working harder. For information on any of the following walks please contact either Sarah Sims Tel: 07846 100233 or Rosie Golding tel 07917 599964 or visit: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/GetWiltshireWalking

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Food & Drink

Happy Ice Cream Month! IN 1984 President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month! Isn’t that a fab idea? I think the UK should definitely follow suit on this one. Around 25% of all ice cream sold in the UK is vanilla. As a nation it seems we’re not terribly adventurous. Here are some more frozen facts: • Approximately 15 billion litres of ice-cream are consumed worldwide every year - enough fill 5,000 Olympic swimming pools. • According to NASA, ice-cream is among the top three items most missed by astronauts on space missions: the others are pizza and fizzy drinks. • There is actually a diet called ‘The Ice Cream Diet’... seriously! It was developed in Venice by an ice cream store (no surprises there) and involves ‘cleansing’ your body and mind by eating five pints of raw coconutbased ice-cream a day for four straight days...I assume that’s if you don’t give yourself brain-freeze or a coronary first!

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

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www.haynesconstruction.org.uk The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Food & Drink

Penne with Kale and Sun-dried Tomatoes Kale is from the same family as cabbage. It’s packed with calcium, vitamins and other nutrients as well as being full of fibre. It’s already classed as a super food, but this simple supper dish proves that it’s super-tasty too.

Servings: 1 Preparation time: 20 minutes Ingredients 60g penne pasta 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 a bunch of kale, finely chopped Handful of baby spinach 1 clove garlic, crushed 30g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained & chopped 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes Salt and ground pepper to taste Method Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, kale, spinach and salt – cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add sun-dried tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Drain pasta and add to veggie mixture in skillet – stir well. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and some Parmesan shavings and serve.

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

EARTHMOVING SERVICES www.earthmovingservices.net

• Garden/site shaping, levelling and clearance Micro excavator, • Footings, trenches and ditches excavated minimum access • Sub-bases, soakaways and land drains width required: • Concrete, tarmac, hedge and stump removal 29 inches (730mm) • 0.75-7.5 ton excavators with driver

MEADOW FARM

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For more information call Steve on

01793 848708 07967 341567

9, SUTTON LANE, LANGLEY BURRELL, CHIPPENHAM, SN15 4LW

T. 01249 720522 M. 07794 515938 info@meadowfarmnurseries.co.uk www.meadowfarmnurseries.co.uk

Quality Plants & Hanging Baskets Your local plant nursery supplying Trade or Retail Everything grown on the Nursery Friendly staff. Competitive prices Credit/Debit cards accepted on amounts over £10 We are easy to find - only 1 mile from Sutton Benger down Sutton Lane. Turn right past Bell Hotel towards Lyneham or 1st left on entering village from Christian Malford.

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Pets

Local businesswoman beats McDonalds to national award

WINDON businesswoman Hilary Coates has been named New Woman Franchisee of the Year at the 2015 EWIF Awards after seeing off stiff competition from Jane Blackwell of national fast food retailer McDonald's and Rosemary Bookkeeping's Caroline O'Brian. Since launching her Wagging Tails franchise in April 2014 Hilary enjoyed great success and has built a thriving business offering dog owners in the area an alternative to kennels whereby their dogs receive a holiday of their own staying in the home of specially selected dog carers. An understandably ecstatic Hilary had this to say on her success, “I am absolutely over the moon. It has been a lot of hard work and I would like to thank my wonderful owners and carers for helping me to make my business so successful. Being selected ahead of a brand of the stature of McDonald's is a real honour and I am incredibly proud to have won this award.”

“Pleeease can I come to stay?”

Richard Davies of category sponsor Making Money magazine presents Hilary with the EWIF award for New Woman Franchisee of the Year. Richard Davies of Category Sponsor, Making Money magazine, had this to say of Hilary's achievement, “Not only has Hilary successfully developed her own thriving local business but she has given a huge amount back to her franchisor by getting involved with the training of new franchisees and providing support in the development of the network. Hilary is a worthy winner of this award and an example of how the relationship between franchisee and franchisor should work”. EWIF is a not-for-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. EWIF’s primary focus is to support women who are looking for a route into the franchise industry by providing advice and guidance to these people. Commenting on their involvement with the awards Andrew Taylor, Head of Leisure, Retail and Franchising at headline sponsor NatWest stated,

WELCOME DOGS LIKE ARTHUR INTO YOUR HOME FOR A HOLIDAY AND RECEIVE A LITTLE EXTRA INCOME

Give a dog a holiday! Where happy dogs holiday

Hilary Coates Phone: 01793 874 777 / 07436 796 115 Email: sn@waggingtailsuk.co.uk

www.waggingtailsuk.co.uk/sn/carer-enquiry A franchise owned and operated under licence by Hilary Coates Ltd like us facebook.com/WaggingTailsUK

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

“We are delighted to continue our support for the EWIF awards and congratulate all the winners on their success. The awards provide a great opportunity to recognise and celebrate the work of women in the UK franchising industry. The professionalism and achievements of all the winners and nominees are inspiring and they are great role models for other women thinking about breaking into the industry.” The Awards took place at RBS House, London on Tuesday 12th May in front of guests from across the world of franchising (including sponsors McDonalds Restaurants Ltd, Making Money, NatWest, Busibricks, Franchise Finance, Elite Franchise, No+Vello and The Franchise Show) to honour those women forging successful businesses in this industry.

Wolverine Triplets Meet Sunshine, Liv and Gutt the Park’s new Wolverine cubs. After spending approximately nine weeks hidden away in their den, the rare cubs are beginning to venture out and explore their new woodland enclosure under the watchful eye of parents Sarka and Sharapova.

Cotswold Wildlife Park made history in 2012 as the first collection in the UK to successfully breed Wolverines (Gulo gulo) in captivity. These new arrivals are Sarka and Sharapova’s second litter and are testament to the Park’s excellent European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). Only around eighty Wolverines are believed to exist in captivity worldwide and breeding is notoriously difficult with this species, so the new cubs are encouraging news for future generations.

Keepers were unsure exactly how many cubs had been born until mother Sharapova started bringing the youngsters out of the den. Jamie Craig, Curator of Cotswold Wildlife Park and member of the EEP committee for Wolverines, commented: “Once the female enters her den, we are pretty confident that the kits have arrived. She is an excellent mother, only leaving the kits for very brief periods to eat and drink. Once the kits are old enough, she will allow them out to investigate their surroundings but always under her vigilant eye. We were delighted to be the first UK collection to breed this species and in many ways, it is even more rewarding to repeat our success.” The tiny kits are born blind and covered in white fur with a pungent waxy substance on their pelage. This acts as a great defence against predation while the kits are vulnerable*. A Wolverine’s start in life is a unique one. Adult females have a fascinating reproductive strategy known as embryonic diapause or delayed implantation. The embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus, but is maintained in a state of dormancy which allows pregnant females to finetune births and wait for the best

possible conditions. Reproduction is hugely energetically expensive for any animal. If the environmental conditions aren’t able to support a female through the intense periods of pregnancy and nursing, it makes no sense to put energy into giving birth to young that may not survive. Diapause can last up to ten months in Wolverines. Additional information: Wolverines possess one of the most powerful bites per square inch of any mammal. During the 19th century, Wolverines completely disappeared from southern Europe, mainly due to persecution. They were protected by law in 1969. Fortunately, they managed to survive in the most remote upland areas of Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Wolverine is the world’s largest terrestrial mustelid. Their scientific name, Gulo gulo, comes from the Latin word gulo, which means “glutton”. Wolverines are creatures steeped in folklore and myth. Indian mythology believes they are a link to the spirit world. In North America, they are also known as the “Indian Devil”. John James Audubon, an American ornithologist and naturalist, described them as being “one of the greatest gormandizers among the brutes” (The Viviparous Quadrapeds of North America, 1846).

Cotswold Wildlife Park opens its doors at 10am every day (except Christmas Day), with last admission at 4.30pm (3.30pm in the winter months). Visit www.cotswoldwildlifepark.com for further details. Photos: Cotswold Wildlife Park

*Source: The Wolverine Way by Douglas Chadwick (Patagonia Publications, 2012).

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Puzzles Ask AMS

PUZZLE CORNER

Advice for small businesses

Any useful tips for buying a house with my partner? There are 2 ways to jointly own / buy a property Joint Tenants: If you are in a stable relationship, buying as Joint Tenants is probably fine. You will own the property jointly, split income and costs equally and, on the death of one owner, the other owner automatically inherits the deceased person’s share of the property. Tenants In Common: If you want to split the income unequally you should buy as Tenants In Common. You could each own a share of the property as an investment, which you could then sell without the agreement of the other. (Check with the mortgage lender). @AMSAccountancy

Peter Bromiley ACA

01793 818400 www.ams-accountancy.co.uk AMS Accountancy Ltd. Swindon SN5 7XF

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

ACROSS 1 Informal (6) 4 Stadium (5) 8 Excuse, cover story (5) 9 Mediocre, undistinguished (7) 10 Resident of Birmingham (slang) (7) 11 Positive, additional (4) 12 ‘Take a load off’ (3) 14 Legend, heroic (4) 15 Breakfast food (4) 18 Belongs to him (3) 21 Finishes (4) 23 ‘Spill the beans’ (7) 25 Coach, mentor (7) 26 Vapour, miasma (5) 27 Extent, range (5) 28 Aggravation, vexation (6)

DOWN 1 Churlish, dour (6) 2 Winter sport slope (3,4) 3 Beyond good taste (idiom) (1,3,4) 4 Antiquated, getting on (4) 5 Digital correspondence (5) 6 Laid-back, cheery (2,4) 7 Moves hand as greeting (5) 13 Back and forth (2,3,3) 16 Victory (7) 17 Buffoon, clown (6) 19 Frighten (5) 20 Minor, subordinate (6) 22 Histrionics, theatrics (5) 24 2.54cm (4) Solutions to the crossword and sudoku on page 33

Call for a free, no obligation market appraisal from a professional team Chippenham 01249 447777 Calne 01249 813813 Swindon 01793 643643

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Friends of Angel's Orphanage

The Nepal Earthquake by Dr. Rosa Matheson

N 2009 my husband was asked to ‘volunteer’. It went something like this – “Dad, how do you fancy coming to Nepal?” The person asking was our son who at the time was a medical student at St George Hospital, London. Dad, was a retired GP.. Our son and his fellow students had put together a medical mission whereby Georges’ students and qualified doctors from U.K would work with Nepale medical students and doctors and go to the hill (mountains to you and me) villages in Nepal where there was little or no medical or surgical services. Our son was a pair of qualified medical hands short and hence the request to ‘volunteer’. Dad went and I, Mum, went too. Not being medical I was ‘volunteered’ for ‘the glasses clinic’ and very humbling and moving it was too. Never throw away your glasses – always donate them. Through clinics such as these you can change a person’s life with a pair of glasses. Whilst in ’base camp’ Kathmandu we met a man (Angel) who said “I have a big family with lots of sick children but no money for medicines.” We went to see and the ‘big family’ turned out to be a small orphanage of then 22 now 21 children and their ‘mommy’ and ‘papa’. We decided to ‘adopt’ them and created a charity called ‘Friends of Angel’s Orphanage’. We are very ‘hands on’ and go back regularly. We saw that the 100s of orphanages in Kathmandu were not full of real orphans, but many abandon or ‘given-up’ children too, given-up by their widowed mothers who had no way of making a living to be able to feed them. We started another charity the BOOK PROJECT (you can read about it opposite) which sponsors programmes that ‘skill-up’ Nepale women enabling them to help themselves and keep their families together or that breaks new ground for women’s employment. Sending aid - we need more of this...now...

Above: Our children when we first met them 2009 Below: Our children now

Because of this work we know and have become good friends with many Nepalese people so when the earthquakes shook the country with such a devastating effect there was no option for us but to get stuck in and help. Fortunately our ‘big family’ are unharmed and safe as is possible at the moment, however, friends here knowing our ‘hands-on’ direct way of working approached us with donations to help bring relief to those in immediate need. We have already sent out money which has done this, buying rice, lentils, medicines, baby formula, antidiarrhoea tablets, and mattresses and delivered to villagers, but, as you will know from the horrendous scenes and reports, much more needs to be done. We also want to build an ‘earth-bag’ communitydwelling for people to shelter in whilst they are building their own homes, especially widows and their children. Earth-bag buildings are particularly good for areas prone to earthquakes. In one village such a centre was the only building left standing after the quakes.

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Our plan is to collect a team of experienced ‘earthbuilders’ and other volunteers to go out after the rains - probably late September. We’re asking volunteers to raise some money towards the project as well as covering their own costs. To help these projects please donate at www.bit.ly/angelsbiggive

A book with a purpose

To support our children through desperately difficult times, donate via: www.angelsorphanage.com For more information or offers of help in anyway email: fo-ao@uwclub.net

the BOOK PROJECT, (our registered NFO) first project was a 'micro-finance project for 35 women working with the Rotary Club of the Himalayan Gurkhas. Now we are helping the 'Himalayan Adventure Girls', a first in Adventure Tourism for young women in Nepale, to run their own business. We are also supporting other projects, one with the Mountain Institute to train and mentor 153 hill-village women in farming medicinal herbs, another a street-seller in Kathmandu, and the other a young Nepale doctor.

DAY IN THE LIFE OF 100 WOMEN IN BRITAIN is not just a brilliant and fascinating read, it has the power to change women and their children's lives. It reaches parts other books do not reach (as they say!) All monies from this book go to economic projects that skillup and give women in Nepal the means to earn a living. This means they do not have to leave their families and villages and go to other countries to work; and widowed mothers do not have to give their children to orphanages as they have no way of earning money to look after them. Authored by 100 individual women, 100 different voices come from the pages of this very special book. A 100 stories giving a truly human 'snapshot' of women's lives as lived in Britain. These real 'every-day' women, who range in age from 18 to 95 years, do all sorts of things - make jewellery, chocolate, honey; work as an accountant, nurse, teachers, hairdresser, actress, vicar; teach yoga, African drumming and how to write; are carers for their husbands, mothers or children; write books and poetry, work as a butcher, run a cafe, and so much more. Each one writes honestly and bravely about different aspects of a woman's life - getting married, being 'dumped' for a younger version, being a 24 hour 'carer', finding the 'right' but wrong house, turning one's life around, losing one's mother, coping with the trauma of a dangerously ill child, living through the many changes of nearly a century. The book is feisty, funny, sometimes chokingly sad, and truly inspirational. A great read. A great gift to yourself and to others. The book £9.99 can be purchased from Pen & Paper Bookshop, Victoria Hill, Old Town Swindon, the Lighthouse Bookshop, Highworth, on-line at www:the100womenbookproject.com or direct from the BOOK PROJECT – contact the100womenbookproject@hotmail.co.uk. We would welcome other shops taking the book for sale. Talks about this amazing book and projects can be arranged by contacting Dr Rosa Matheson 01793 764979. The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Books

A Good Read

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon

................................................ Wellington is dead. He was killed with a fork. That’s not quite so odd though. It was a garden fork. Discovering the body of his neighbour’s dog, 15 year old Christopher is determined to find out what happens so he decides to do some ‘detecting’. What he discovers will tell him so much more than just who killed Wellington. As a reader you see the world through Christopher’s eyes. A world where maths is in charge and helps to make sense of everything. A world where seeing five red cars in a row is a sign of a ‘super good day.’ Christopher has Asperger’s Syndrome: a form of high functioning autism. This means that he doesn’t see things the same as others do. Facial expressions are difficult to decode – his teacher gives him clues to help him – and metaphors are just confusing and don’t really help you to understand things because you have to spend so much time trying to work out what it means. This highly acclaimed novel is an insight into a world inhabited by many people, but alien to most of the population. Haddon also brings out the difficulties of raising a child with Asperger’s. His widowed father tries to be patient but struggles with the lack of emotion from his son. In many ways Christopher has a better way of coping with life as he can shut himself away in a world ruled by algebra, patterns, and prime numbers. As the novel draws towards its rewarding ending you will feel reluctant to leave him as he takes the next steps through life, telling us, “I can do anything.” And like many people with Asperger’s, he just might.

Jack Stalwart: The deadly race to space: Russia Elizabeth Singer Hunt

.............................................................................................. Most nine year olds only have school to worry about. Jack’s life is a bit more complicated than that. He is a secret agent. It must run in the family as his older brother Max was also a secret agent: only he has now gone missing. 32

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Jack must travel around the world battling some of the most dangerous villains there are, in the hope that he will one day find Max. In this book (the ninth in the series) Jack must find the space project’s chief engineer who has gone missing on the eve of the launch of manned mission to Mars. With his spy gadgets, such as gripper gloves and a mind eraser, this appears to be straightforward, but Jack is in for a shock. The Jack Stalwart books are aimed at young readers aged 7+ and appear to be a natural draw for boys of this age. Hunt cleverly mixes fiction and non-fiction in this series. Each book is set in a different country and contains factual information as part of the story, plus ‘fact file’ pages in the book. This age is a tricky one when it comes to reading, especially for boys, and the fast-pace of the story, plus the non-fiction aspect is a definite plus. Reviews by Willow Coby

Why is Snot Green? Glenn Murphy

........................................................ Want to see a nine year old boy (or indeed, a thirty-nine year old boy) reading? Well, buy a copy of this book and that’s what you’ll get. In fact, you’ll get more than that. Written by a member of staff from the Science Museum, this book answers those questions you’ve always wanted to ask – ‘Could you dig your way to Australia?’ (Come on, admit it – you tried to on the beach when you were seven), ‘Are people with bigger heads cleverer?’ and’ Why do we walk on two legs?’ for example – as well as some – ‘Do spiders have ears?’– that might never have occurred to you. Each question is answered in conversational style, anticipating the reader’s responses and taking the explanation further. Whilst there is a fairly heavy concentration on the grosser side of science – there’s also plenty of technical terminology and you really do learn something new on every page. Even how to stop an ice-cream headache – so well worth a read for that alone! Review by Kath Bennett

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01793 763129 or 07984 163537 Crossword & Sudoku solution page 28

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

ADVERTORIAL

Five Common Mistakes Small Businesses make with their Websites In my job, I see a lot of small business websites; manufacturers, estate agents, consultants, builders – you name it. What continually surprises me is how many of these, even today, are not really fit for purpose. And it’s such a pity, because often you can sense that the owners have a real passion for their business. Yet their website is letting them down at every turn. Here are five of the most common mistakes I see small businesses make with their websites.

1. Unprofessional email addresses. An email address is often the first opportunity for a prospective client to get in touch. So what does your email address say about your business? Hotmail and Gmail addresses – or anything that sounds like it belongs to a private individual – can make your business sound less than professional. Choose an address related to your business: contact@superwidgets.com for example. Any good web designer or hosting provider will be able to set this up for you.

2. Irrelevant or poor quality images Images require careful thought. Crisp, high resolution photographs can really enhance a website. Conversely, blurry or poor quality images may drive potential customer away. Just as important is the choice of image. Do the images you’ve used make sense on the page?

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The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

To answer this, imagine your website was written in a different language – can you still tell what the page is about? If not, chances are you could benefit from using more relevant images.

3. Assuming your customers understand your business All too often, businesses forget that their customers are not experts. You might understand the technical specifications of your new super widget, but that doesn’t mean your customers will. In any case, they will be much more interested in how the widget can improve their lives. Keep your text simple, avoid jargon, and think about what your prospective customer really needs to know.

4. Poorly written copy Many small business websites are filled with sentences that are tough to follow, and littered with basic spelling and grammatical errors. Some customers may assume that a lack of care with words will equate to a sloppy service. Taking time over your text will therefore pay dividends in the long run. If you’re not very confident, enlist the help of friends and family, or consider using a copywriting service.

5. Expecting the website to do all the work Some businesses assume that once their website has been built, the work is done, and that customers will automatically beat a path to their door. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. A website is usually an ongoing project that needs to be continually developed and grown to retain its impact. Websites work best as part of an overall marketing strategy. These five common pitfalls are easy to spot and just as easy to fix. Take a step back, deal with each of them, and you will be streets ahead of many of your competitors. Good luck! By Kevin Sanders – www.ks-webdesigner.com

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015

Thinking of SELLING or RENTING your Property Call your local office now for some FANTASTIC New Year Offers*

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*All new clients who sell or let their property with McFarlane Sales & Lettings during January & February 2015 will receive an exclusive discount

www.mcfarlaneproperty.com 36

The Town Crier Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2015