Not for Profit
Published: July 17, 2023 | Updated: 17th July 2023
Chandlers Ford Scouts set off on 1710km odyssey to raise £50k
A group of scouts from Chandlers Ford have set off on a journey of epic proportions to raise £50,000 towards a new Scout HQ and Children in Need.
The team, which includes members as young as nine and 11 years-old, is aiming to walk and cycle from John O’Groats to Lands’ End, a journey of more than 1710km, in a trip they’re calling ‘The Great Woggle JOGLE’.
Scout leaders Jennie and Phil Evans are joined by their son Ollie (9) and daughter Hattie (11) along with fellow scouts Bethan Wilby (14) and James Tyler and Cara Patient (both 18) on an adventure expected to take 60 consecutive days to complete, travelling 4-5 hours each day.
Throughout the trip, they will be joined by Scouts and Guides from other groups, while a number of people and organisations have offered overnight accommodation including campsites, a nature reserve, a mountain rescue hut and community fire stations.
“We have never done anything like this before and none of us are athletes or even in peak physical condition, so this is an extreme adventure for us,” explained Jennie, who is a Consultant Paediatrician working in the NHS.
“However, we are doing this for two important causes – BBC Children in Need and #BrickfieldsBigBuild – and to inspire other young people across the country that they can do anything they aspire to achieve!”
“Along the way we are inviting Scouts, Guides, and families from across the country to join us for as much or as little as they are able. We hope to meet and share our adventure with as many people as possible.”
#BrickfieldsBigBuild is one of the largest projects ever attempted by the 1st Chandler’s Ford Scout Group and will involve rebuilding its current dilapidated Scout hut in Eastleigh that was constructed on their site in 1965.
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Celebrity DJ opens Isle of Wight’s first beach sauna
Things are heating up in Freshwater Bay, after it became home to the Isle of Wight’s first beach sauna.
Carried across the Solent by Wightlink Ferries, the new sauna is owned by Rob da Bank, a DJ and musical entertainment promoter who runs the Slow Motion wellness brand with his wife Josie.
An addition to that brand, the mobile wood-fired sauna features a panoramic mirrored window which enables views of the sea outside as waves crash on the grey flint and chalk shore.
From autumn, the sauna will go on the road, popping up at festivals and charity events throughout the year.
Rob said: “Leaving your worries (as well as your mobile phone!) at the door is a liberating and truly relaxing experience that can often result in a spiritual high and recharge of the batteries.
“We’ve been running Wim Hof breathing workshops, meditation courses, and rejuvenating sleep retreats at our home on the Isle of Wight for several years. The mobile sauna perfectly complements our wellness offering and we’re delighted to share the experience with visitors.”
The sauna is now open on Saturdays and Sundays between 7am and 6pm throughout July and August 2023. Prices start from £10 per person. Sessions should be booked in advance and 45-minute slots are available at www.slowmotionretreats.net
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Winchester’s inaugural food festival pronounced a great success
© The Electric Eye Photography
The first-ever Winchester Food Festival has been hailed as a great success.
Organised by Hampshire Fare with support from Winchester BID and Winchester Cathedral, the event was held in the cathedral’s Outer Close.
“It was great for Hampshire Fare to be responsible for the first local-led Winchester Food Festival,” said Tracy Nash, Hampshire Fare’s Commercial Manager.
“I was thrilled to see how many people attended; it was a really positive day all round with many lovely comments from visitors, and producers asking if we can do it all again next week!
“I have wanted to hold a Winchester Food Festival in the setting of Winchester Cathedral for years – so this was a dream come true!
“This event was all about community and local, with generous sponsorship from several local businesses and organisations enabling us to roll out the Festival as a free event.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped to make Winchester Food Festival happen: our volunteers; our producers; our chefs, who were truly amazing; and our supporters – NFU Mutual Winchester and Wickham, Shorewood Homes, Quob Park Free Range & Organic, Winchester Bakery, Winchester BID and Winchester Cathedral.”
The festival featured an artisan market where attendees could buy produce including charcuterie, cheese, chutneys, olives, pâtés, savoury tarts, fudge, pastries, shortbread, juice and alcohol-free cocktails for a picnic on the grass.
Richard Butler of Butler Country Estates said: “It is the best event we have attended this year as it has been a destination for people.”
Meanwhile, top local chefs, including Damian Brown, Lenny Carr-Roberts and Paul Onami, held a chef’s kitchen where they passed on personal stories and kitchen secrets.
Tracy Nash added: “The Chefs’ Kitchen was terrific with a dish for every season including one using the last of the season’s asparagus from Lenny, another featuring local ChalkStream trout with a summer slaw from Damian, comfort food for autumn from Munch, and Bere Mill pasture-raised beef Japanese-style by Paul.”
The Festival was officially opened and blessed by The Very Reverend Catherine Ogle, Dean of Winchester.
Sarah Kennedy of Lusso Leaf gave a talk about fresh local microgreens and herbs, while nutritionist Mary Needham of social enterprise Munch, in collaboration with the Festival’s charity partner, The Winchester Beacon, gave lots of money-saving cookery tips.
A feature of the event was to give something back to The Winchester Beacon’s volunteers who prepare meals for the charity’s residents.
They were invited to a Chefs’ Table where they ate the dishes being prepared during the chefs’ demos. The volunteers agreed that it was a special experience and the dishes were “off the scale of gorgeousness”.
Simon Machola, Director, Shorewood Homes, one of the Festival’s sponsors, added: “As a Winchester-based business, the local community is important to us, so we were delighted to support and attend the first Winchester Food Festival, which was a fantastic gastronomic event.”
Tracy Nash concluded, “Winchester Food Festival was run as part of this year’s Hampshire Food Festival. The aim was to hold the city’s first truly local and totally free Festival. We are already looking forward to next year’s, and hopefully the weather will be as kind!”
