Slot Car Racing Evenings at Dowty's Slot Car Racing Club

Dowty Slot Car Racing Club update: "Congratulations to all the club members at the National Finals this year. Dave finished in the top 10 in two classes, Rob had problems with cars and controllers, but still finished in the top 30 in Sports and Mike and Noddy both made the intermediate saloon final."

April results are now available on Dowty Slot Car Racing pages on Cheltenham4u.

Dowty Slot Car Racing Club are offering local clubs, companies or social groups the opportunity to experience an evening some great racing fun. Their track is available for corporate race evenings. For £60 plus £2 per driver your group can enjoy an evening full of great entertainment.

The cars you will race are 1/24th scale models of cars raced at Le Mans, such as Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche or Toyota. They have a pressed steel chassis with a relatively slow motor, although they are much faster than the cars you race a home.

The controller works like the accelerator on a car, the farther down it is pressed the faster the car goes. There is a dynamic braking facility to slow the cars down quicker which only operates when the controller is fully released. The lanes are colour coded and the cars will have corresponding colour stickers. Each driver has at least one three minute practice run to get an idea how the cars perform and to learn the track.

Each driver has one three minute race on each lane. The best three times are totalled at the end of the evening to find a winner. If there is enough time there may be finals at the end of the evening. The winning driver from the heats total or finals win the trophy. If there is time members of Dowty Slot Car Racing Club will demonstrate all types of cars they use for their racing.

During the evening drinks can be bought from the Sports & Social Club and taken to the slot car room.

For more information please ring Dave Coward on 01452 421311.

If you are a member of Cheltenham club or society and would like to get your club's profile featured to promote its activities please get in touch. To find out how please visit our website www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/community.

The Simpsons Weekend at Cheltenham Racecourse

Sunday 25 May – Monday 26 May 2008, Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse is the host to a magical Simpsons weekend this Bank holiday. Characters from the popular TV series The Simpsons will appear throughout the day at various intervals offering you the opportunity to meet Bart and Homer personally for the first time. Other entertainment will include a fantastic funfair, hot air balloon displays, Uncle Brian’s Funtime Clown Entertainment and much more. Balloon glow display will take place on Sunday 9.30pm when choreographed to music hot air balloons of various shapes will be lit up.

Admission:

£2, under 1m go free
Times:
Sunday 1pm – 10pm
Monday 12noon – 6pm

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

St. John’s Players

St. John's Players is an amateur dramatics group based in Churchdown. It aims to produce high quality and entertaining productions - usually three times a year. The group meets at the St. John's Church Hall in Churchdown. The group has an excellent social structure providing a friendly atmosphere for all members.

Their next production is "Danny Boy" & "A Light Lunch", two single acts with a supper provided at the interval between the plays. “Danny Boy” was written by Tony Breeze and tells the true story of a young army recruit who gets lost on the Yorkshire Moors during an orienteering exercise. Directed by Sally Lewis. “A Light Lunch” written by Bridget Derrett. Laura & Richard Cartwright meet for lunch to celebrate their divorce. Comedy and pathos run in equal measure throughout the play. Directed by Gill Pegg.

Performance information:

Tuesday 10 June – Saturday 14 June 2008
at 7.45, St. John’s Hall, Churchdown
Tickets £7, concessions £6.50
First drink and programme is free.
Box office 01452 857371

To find out more about St. John’s Players please visit their profile on our website.

If you are a member of Cheltenham club or society and would like to get your club's profile featured to promote its activities please get in touch. To find out how please visit our website www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/community.

Queen's Hotel Wedding Fair

1 June 2008, Queens Hotel

If you are getting married in Cheltenham and surrounding areas in 2008 or even planning to do so in 2009, you can find inspiration for your wedding day at Queen's Hotel Wedding Fayre. There will be fashion shows at 12.45pm and 2.30pm for you to see the latest fashion in wedding and bridemaids dresses.

If you are planning a wedding, don't forget to check our Cheltenham Wedding Guide with useful information about who does what at the wedding, list of things to do before the wedding in order to have a relaxed and stylish wedding day, information about Cheltenham churches and civil ceremony venues, as well as wedding photography tips.

All photos courtesy of wedding photographers at 07743 738009.

Bishop’s Cleeve Street Fair

8 June 2008 – Bishop’s Cleeve

Bishops Cleeve 1940's Street Fair by John Bourton

This year Bishop’s Cleeve will hold its fourth Street Fair held in the heart of the village (or are we a town?). Whether you are a newcomer to the area or have lived here for some time we hope you will enjoy the many attractions we have arranged this year.

Once again the length of Church Road will be packed with stalls, entertainment and refreshments, as well as the traditional fair ground rides, plus the popular climbing wall and a simulator. At the Church there will be refreshments available and an exhibition of 1940's photographs. At the Tithe Barn car park there will be a return visit of the "Fun Dog Show", so if you own a dog bring them along and enter in one or more of the many classes. There will also be mouth-watering refreshments in the Tithe Barn provided by Home Flair Catering.

Across the road in the grounds of Cleeve Hall, there will be a collection of classic, vintage cars and tractors. This year to match our theme, there will be a number of 1940's military vehicles stationed around the village. If you have a vehicle you would like to display contact Ken on 01242 673914 or email: kenwedley@aol.com.

Have a go in the raffle, with a star prize is £100 cash (donated by Badham Pharmacy). There are also several other excellent prizes to be won donated by local businesses. It promises to be an exciting day with plenty to do and see. So why not enter into our 1940's theme, and come along in costume and join in with the community spirit and support the village and the local charities which will benefit. With your help, we hope to provide donations to the following causes or organisations: The British Legion; Tithe Barn, Gloucestershire Flood Relief, Denley Hall, Orchard House, Shipway Court, Air Ambulance and the Christmas Lights. So the more you spend the more we can donate.

If you want to find out more ring Christine Stratton on 01452 700507 or look at http://www.bishopscleevechamber.co.uk/freepage.asp?ID=6

The programme featuring the information on events and the performers will be on sale in the shops at the price of 50p, with a free raffle ticket inside. For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Cheltenham Districts Scouts Fun Day in Montpellier Gardens

17 May 2008, Montpellier Gardens

Cheltenham District Scouts Fete and Fun Day is held at Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham on 17 May 2008 from 11am - 4pm. There will be a raffle giving visitors the opportunity to win the prize of £100. The proceeds from the raffle will go to County Air Ambulance. Other attractions during the day will include a bbq, refreshment marquees, and fun side stalls. Climbing wall will be available for you to try out your skills. There will also hopefully be the fire service on display with one of their appliances, which children, and grown-ups, of course, can visit. For more information contact Elaine Green on 01242 237883 or email aegreen@talktalk.net.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Circus Starr in Cheltenham

25 May 2008, Cheltenham Racecourse

Circus Starr is coming to Cheltenham this May Bank Holiday weekend. Founded over 20 years ago, Circus Starr provides the best in Big Top entertainment for all the family, raising funds for local charities.

It brings circus artistes from all over the world. Peter Sandow & Co. will perform side-splitting antics with his crazy car with a mind of its own, a frantic plate spinning routine in which a dozen china plates are precariously balanced on top of slender rods and also his brilliant Ghost Buster routine.The Julio Acrobatic Troupe from the Bulgarian State Circus will have the audiences on the edge of their seats with their high-adrenaline acrobatics and aerial artiste Tracy Jones will present her acclaimed Corde Lisse act high above the circus ring. Cheltenham’s performance is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Shows: 14:30pm & 18:00pm
Booking Enquiries: 01260 288690

Booking Hotline: 0870 167 6177
Tickets from £11.75 to £16.45

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

May gigs in Cheltenham

In April Beyond Eternity Promotions have prepared some exciting gigs for Cheltenham and surrounding areas.

Thu, 1 May 2008
Epoc & Sweet Laredo, Monty's Bar, St George's Road, 8:30pm, Indie
Rockology, The Ridge & Furrow, Abbeydale, Gloucester, 9pm, Britpop

Fri, 2 May 2008
Midlife Crisis, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 8:00pm until Midnight, Rock/Pop Covers
Split Whiskers & Blue Torch, The Tubby Blues Club, Newlands Park Club, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, Doors 7pm for diners or 8:25pm, 01242 691998 for reservations, R&B, Blues, Rock and Roll

Sat, 3 May 2008
Sliding Steve Thompson, Blue's Guitar & Vocalist, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 8:00pm until Midnight, Blues

Mon, 5 May 2008
JB3, De La Bere Hotel, Cheltenham, 12:00 until 3:00pm, Jazz

Tues, 6 May 2008
Vince Freeman, The Slug and Lettuce, Acoustic
The Rod Kelly Trio, The Venue Jazz Club, Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Doors open 8pm Music Starts 9pm, Jazz & Blues

Fri, 9 May 2008
One Way Street, Merryfellow Inn, Charlton Kings, Jazz & Blues
JB Jazz and Blues Band, East Glos Tennis Club

Sat, 10 May 2008
One Way Street, The Suffolk Arms
The Fhoney Stones (Rolling Stones Tribute), The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, £7.00 - 01242 525371, Rock
Otis Mack, The Bell Inn, Main Road, Shurdington, 9pm onwards, FREE admission, Jazz & Blues

Sun, 11 May 2008
JB Jazz and Blues Band and Guests, Cheltenham Civil Service Club, Jazz & Blues
Otis Mack, The White Bear Free House, Bredon Road, Tewkesbury, 4pm onwards, Free Admission, Jazz & Blues
JB2, Lunchtime Jazz, The Kilkenny, Andoversford, Jazz

Tue, 12 May 2008
Jam Night with Paul Newman, Royal Oak Hucclecote, Gloucester

Tue, 13 May 2008
Vince Freeman, The Slug and Lettuce, Acoustic

Thu, 15 May 2008
One Way Street, The Apple Tree, Stockwell Lane, Woodmancote, Cheltenham

Fri, 16 May 2008
Hambling & Lloyd, Merryfellow Inn, Charlton Kings
Wishful Thinking, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Rock, Pop & Hip Hop

Sat, 17 May 2008
Howlers Comedy Club & Disco, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 7:30pm until Midnight, Comedy & disco
Rockology, The Royal Oak, Hucclecote, Gloucester, Britpop
Tom Jurgens, The Crown & Trumpet, Broadway, Acoustic Pop & Folk
Blues Supper Evening Otis Mack Band, Blades Bistro, Northleach, 6:30pm, Tickets only 01451 860715, R&B and Blues

Sun, 18 May 2008
Tom Jurgens, Kings Head, Upton Street, 1pm Start, Acoustic Pop & Folk

Tue, 20 May 2008
Jam Night with Paul Newman, The Bayshill Inn, Royal Well, Cheltenham
Vince Freeman, The Slug and Lettuce, Acoustic
The APO Band, The Venue Jazz Club, Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Doors open 8pm, Music starts 9pm, Jazz and Blues

Fri, 23 May 2008
Grapevine Blues Band, http://www.grapevineblues.com/, The Hillview Community Centre, Hulbert Road, Up Hatherly, Cheltenham, £10 Adv, £12 on Door, 01242 863635, Doors 8pm, Blues

Sat, 24 May 2008
Tom Jurgens, Beskley Arms, Tewkesbury, Acoustic Pop & Folk
The EchoBeats, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 8pm until midnight, 70's

Tues, 27 May 2008
Jam night with Paul Newman and Full House Band, The Venue @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Free Admission, 01242 525371
Vince Freeman, The Slug and Lettuce, Acoustic

Thu, 29 May 2008
Peter Gill, The Apple Tree, Stockwell Lane, Woodmancote, Cheltenham, 9pm, Boogie and Blues

Fri, 30 May 2008
Otis Mack, St James Hotel, Ambrose Street, Cheltenham, 9pm onwards, Free Admission, Jazz and Blues

Sat, 31 May 2008
Exposure Music Awards, University of Gloucestershire Park Campus, Cheltenham, Eclectic

For a full calendar of 2008 Cheltenham gigs please visit our MySpace page. For other Cheltenham events visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Charlton Kings Festival 2008

24 -26 May 2008, Charlton Kings

Charlton Kings Festival weekend is being held this year from May 24 to 26. There will be fun for all the family - live music, children's races, picnic in the park, family fun walk and much more.

2008 Charlton Kings Festival will open on Saturday, 24 May with a town criers' competition - the first ever to be held in the Cheltenham area. Following a short parade of those taking part along with their escorts from the Parish Centre to Grange Field, the event will start at 2pm after the official opening by the Mayor of Cheltenham. The judges will be marking the participants on diction, inflection and clarity. In addition, they will be looking for the best dressed crier and couple.

There will also be traditional children's games, a picnic in the park and live music from local bands and the Rondo Singers between 5pm and 7pm.

Sunday will see a tug-of-war sponsored by the Battledown Brewery, which will present a barrel of beer to the winners. Auctioneer Simon Chorley will value antiques in the afternoon and there will be line dancing and miniature steam rides. Village fair with over 40 charity stalls will take place in the Grange Field from 2pm to 5pm.

The festival climaxes on May 26, with Charlton Rovers battling Charlton AFC in a charity football match from 10.15am, and a family treasure walk at 2pm.

Anyone wishing to run a stall, please contact 01242 241412. Stalls cost £10.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Cheese rolling 2008

26 May 2008, 12:00, Cooper's Hill

This year's Cheese Rolling at the Cooper's Hill near Brockworth will offer as much mad fun as always. As the brave flock to Cooper’s Hill to chase the Double Gloucester on Monday May Bank Holiday, spectators can watch in awe as they tumble down the steep hill.

The actual course is only about 200 yards long, but it is very steep. The gradient is 1 in 2 for most of the course but it is 1 in 1 in places. There are 4 downhill races (3 races for men, 1 race for women) and 3 uphill races. The uphill categories are as follows: a) boys under 12, b) girls under 12, and c) open to all comers. Maximum of 15 runners can enter each race.

There is no need to apply beforehand, just turn up on the day and you can enroll in the race. As the event can be oversubscribed please arrive early to ensure your place in the race. The entry is free, but there is £5 parking charge to cover the cost of the event. First race starts at 12 noon.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Han Bennink at Xposed Club

Friday 2nd May 2008, 8pm - Xposed Club, Media Atrium, Pittville Studios, Albert Road, Cheltenham

(support from Noose for Luke and Longstone)

The Giant of Dutch Free Jazz Han Bennink is performing at Xposed Club as part of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. The University of Gloucestershire is working in partnership with Cheltenham Festivals, and the Xposed Club is a regular event which is gaining a following of those who enjoy hearing live and exciting music. It is open to all and tickets are £7 or £3 with concessions. They can be reserved by emailing swilding@glos.ac.uk or by phoning 07817 963214.

HAN BENNINK

In the niche-oriented world of major-league jazz, it's almost unfashionable to be so multi-faceted a player as Han Bennink. Bennink is one of the unfortunately rare musicians whose abilities and interests span the music's entire spectrum, from Dixieland to free. His straight-ahead playing is absolutely convincing — his time is solid, his sense of swing strong, and his technique flawless. He also possesses the requisite qualities of a free jazz virtuoso; Bennink's ability to interact quickly and creatively with horn players and pianists is great, as is his ear for timbral contrasts.

What ultimately makes Bennink special is his manifest love for the music, a love that inclines him to tear down the cardboard walls that too often separate different schools of jazz. At his best, with colleagues who share his all-encompassing stylistic embrace, Bennink plays the continuum of jazz as an instrument unto itself.

Bennink began playing drums while in his teens under the influence of his father, a classical percussionist. He played with hometown musicians in the early '60s. Between 1962 and 1969, Bennink backed local American jazz greats like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Eric Dolphy on their visits to Holland (he was the drummer on Dolphy's Last Date album, from 1964). In 1963, he formed a quartet that included pianist Misha Mengelberg, which played the 1966 Newport Jazz Festival. In the mid-'60s, Bennink began to play free jazz with the likes of Mengelberg and Willem Breuker.

In 1967, those three founded the Instant Composer's Pool, a not-for-profit organization designed to promote the Dutch jazz avant-garde. Around that same period, Bennink began continuing associations with the saxophonist Peter Brotzmann, guitarist Derek Bailey, trombonist Alex Schlippenbach, trumpeter Don Cherry, and the Globe Unity Orchestra. In the '70s and '80s, Bennink led and played as sideman on a number of sessions on the FMP, Incus, and Soul Note labels; he made a notable contribution to Steve Lacy's Herbie Nichols tribute album, Regeneration, with Mengelberg, bassist Kent Carter, and trombonist Roswell Rudd.

In the late '80s, Bennink started, with cellist Ernst Reijseger and saxophonist Michael Moore, the Clusone Trio, which has since become perhaps the percussionist's most ideal performance vehicle. Both Reijseger and Moore share Bennink's extraordinarily wide range of musical interests, to say nothing of his absurdist sense of humor. It is, in fact, Bennink's rather whimsical theatricality that mitigates — for some, at least — the seriousness and depth of his art.

For full programme of Cheltenham Jazz Festival please visit our Cheltenham Jazz Festival blog entry.

Sandford Lido to turn back the time

Saturday, 3 May 2008

The first day of 2008 season at Sandford Lido promises to be a little bit special. Sandford Lido invites the young and old to celebrate the history of this Cheltenham landmark, which was opened in 1935.

Entrance charges will return to 2p and staff will wear traditional costume. Cheltenham Silver Band will play from 10.50am to 1.30pm and traditional games will be organised around the pool.

The event will include a draw in which you get the chance to win a season ticket to the Lido. To apply visit www.sandfordparkslido.org.uk/winaseasonticket.htm and send in your thoughts why the Lido is special to you.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Cheltenham Science Festival 2008

4 - 8 June 2008, Cheltenham Town Hall

This year’s Cheltenham Science Festival promises to be as exciting as ever. Some of the most outstanding scientist will flock to Cheltenham to discuss the festival topics. This year Cheltenham Science Festival hopes to unsettle minds with a choice of taboo topic, such as our planet’s overpopulation, boundaries between scientific evidence and political correctness, medical history of vibrators, and many more mind bending discussions.

2008 guest director of Cheltenham Festival is Nick Ross, journalist, broadcaster and former presenter of BBC Crimewatch. He has prepared for Cheltenham several events, including discussions about crime and intelligence on Sunday, 8 June. Other popular scientist and science-loving celebrities to look out for this year are Richard Dawkins, Robert Winston, Tony Robinson and Richard Hammond.

The festival has expanded and offers 2 days of free outdoor activities for families and a number of events around Cheltenham. Discover Zone, situated in the main hall of Cheltenham Town Hall, brings free interactive science to all ages. You can meet robots, explore molecules, test your reactions, create electricity, see what you could look like in 10 years, investigate DNA and much more. The Discover Zone is open every day of the festival, from 10am to 6pm, 5pm to 6pm being aimed at adults who are encouraged to pop in and have a chat with the scientists.

From 6pm every day, After Hours offers some edgy and entertaining debate about science in a relaxed atmosphere, over a drink. New for 2008 is Talking Point where you can continue your discussions of previous events with speakers and other members of the audience over a cup of coffee.

Family Events will include Surfing the Solar System with Lucy Hawking, daughter of Stephen Hawking, Science with Mr. Men where Mr. Bump and Little Miss Sunshine will give a science lecture with a difference, and Richard Hammond Car Science where the Top Gear presenter will explain how cars revolutionised the world.


HIGHLIGHTS:

Wednesday, 4 June 2008
2pm - 3.30pm, Town Hall, The Moral Maze – Join Michael Buerk and his panel to tackle a big moral questions in science in this provocative BBC radio 4 programme.
8.30pm – 9.30pm, Town Hall, Dawkins on Darwin – Richard Dawkins will explain Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, to coincide with his forthcoming Channel 4 series.

Thursday, 5 June 2008
2.30pm – 3.30pm, Town Hall, Ghost in Your Genes – Robert Winston explores epigenetics, hidden influences on genes, that could lead to the most important developments in medicine in our lifetime.
8.30pm – 9.30pm, Town Hall, Time Team – Tony Robinson shares amusing anecdotes and historical tales from his archaeology digs with the Time Team.

Sunday, 8 June 2008
4pm – 5pm, Town Hall, Psychologist Steven Pinker and playwright A C Grayling discuss the immense power of words.
5.45pm – 6.45pm, Town Hall, What Makes a Brilliant Mind? – Nick Ross talks to psychologist Steven Pinker and neuroscientist Colin Blakemore and Sophie Petit-Zeman to find out whether high IQ is important when it comes to success.


PROGRAMME
Wednesday 4 June
10.15-11.15am From blueprint to building
12-1pm The secret world of abuse
2.15-3.15pm 100 years of British aviation
4-5pm The kingdom of infinite space
4.15-5.30pm 99.9% Human
4.30-5.30pm The power of fusion
5-6pm Science café: Toxic truth
6-7pm The God particle: Is science the new religion?
6.30-7.30pm Quantum dots
6.30-7.30pm NHS funding: Nice or nasty?
8.30-9.30pm My hero: Dawkins on Darwin
8.30-9.30pm Free will
9-10.30pm Shaken or stirred?
7-8pm Photography
9-10pm Sperm warfare

Thursday 5 June
10.30-11.30am Computer whizz: The best is yet to come
12-1pm Robotic world
12.30-2pm BBC Radio 4: The Moral Maze
2-3pm The caffeine kick
2.30-3.30pm Epigenetics: Ghosts in your genes
4-5pm Clocking on
4.15-5.15pm Sustainable world: John Beddington
4.30-5.30pm Future cars
5-6pm Science café: Best of the Fest, L'Oréal ladies' day
6-7pm Astrobiology
6.30-7.30pm Beautiful beings
6.30-7.30pm Food for thought
8-9pm Arabic science
8.30-9.30pm Time Team
8.45-9.45pm How the zebra got its stripes
7-8pm Destination: Space
9-10pm Tight corsets whilst reading French novels: The vibrator

Friday 6 June
10-11am States of mind: Hypnosis
12-1pm States of mind: Sleeping and dreaming
2-3pm Sustainable world: Sustainable China
2.30-3.30pm States of mind: Unconsciousness
4-5.15pm States of mind: Consciousness
4-5pm The Prince and the rainforests
4.30-5.30pm Advances in medical technology
5-6pm Science café
6.15-7.15pm Mind reader
6.30-7.30pm The right to die
7-8pm Sustainable world, Jonathon Porritt: Too many people?
8.45pm-late Slam the atom!
9-10pm Ben Goldacre: Bad science
7-8pm Visualise: The beauty of science
9-10pm Not rocket science

Saturday 7 June
10-11am Surfing the solar system family event
10.30-11.30am Animal adventure
0 10-11am Experitent Workshop: Create a brain
1 11.15am-12.15pm Experitent Workshop: Create a brain
10-11am What becomes of the broken hearted?
12-1pm Stories from stats
12-1pm On your marks... Get Set... Gold! family event
12.30-1.30pm Light fantastic
2-3pm Science with the Mr. Men
1.15-2.15pm Experitent Workshop: So you want to be a brain surgeon?
2.45-3.45pm Experitent Workshop: So you want to be a brain surgeon?
2-3pm In the shadow of the moon
2.30-3.30pm Psycho-Geography
4-5pm Sustainable world, David King: The hot topic
4-5pm Learning from other planets
4.30-5.30pm Image of a troubled mind
4.45-5.45pm Science café: Best of the Fest
6-7pm Martin Rees: Our Earth, the big bang and beyond
6-7pm Earth: The power of the planet
6.30-7.30pm Strange Fruit: The journey of the human race
8.30-9.30pm Good vibrations
8.45-10pm Mark Watson: Crap at the environment
9-10.30pm Ig Nobel Cabaret
6.45-8.15pm Famelab International
9-10pm Love and other viruses

Sunday 8 June
10-11am Dinosaurs of the sky family event
10-11am Jack and Jill: Why so ill?
10-11am Living in the stone age
10.15-11.15am Mental capital and wellbeing: Your well-tuned brain
12-1pm Mental capital and wellbeing: Dyslexia
12-1pm Richard Hammond: Car science family event
12.30-1.30pm Ready, steady, science
2-3pm Life, the Universe and everything
12.15-1.15pm Experitent workshop: Whodunit?
2-3pm Experitent workshop: Whodunit?
3.45-4.45pm Experitent workshop: Whodunit?
2-3pm Mental capital and wellbeing: Dyscalculia
2.15-3.15pm Climate engineering
3.30-4.30pm Science café: How was it for you?
4-5pm Steven Pinker & A C Grayling
4-5pm Living with nuclear
4.15-5.15pm The normality of crime
5.45-6.45pm What makes a brilliant mind?
6-7pm Engineering the gold
7-8pm Call my scientific bluff
8.15-9.15pm Science knight
5.45-6.45pm Serendipitous science

Tickets are available at Cheltenham Town Hall box office, tel. 01242 227979 or online at http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/.


For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Cheltenham to get a new library

Cheltenham Borough Council and the University of Gloucestershire have joined together in a bid to bring Cheltenham a new library and learning centre. The centre would replace the current public library in Clarence Street and a separate facility within the centre would serve the students of the University.

A firm proposal for the project could be ready this summer. Funding could come from a mixture sources, including the sale of Pittville Campus, as the University plans to move its art, media and communications faculty to Blackfriars in Gloucester.

The library and learning centre would adjoin the new council offices which Cheltenham Borough hopes to build in North Place car park as part of its Civic Pride scheme. The building in which Cheltenham library is situated now could be handed over to Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum which could use it to display its collections in a more adequate space.

Funkin' Beats at Yates's

Thursday, 17 April 2008 - Yates's

Live DJ's will be playing Back 2 Back at Yates's, Crescent Terrace, Cheltenham on Thursday, 17 April, to bring you a night of Fun & Great music. Playing the very best of Old Skool, Funky House, Electro & Dance Anthems.

2008 Wychwood Festival line up

30 May 2008 - 1 June 2008, Cheltenham Racecourse

Since 2005 Cheltenham Racecourse plays host to Wychwood Music Festival, family friendly festival, featuring a mixture of music from world to folk, psychedelic pop to dance.

2008 Wychwood Music Festival promises a rare collaboration project - Folk/world supergroup The Imagined Village, featuring Billy Bragg, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Sheila Chandra from Transglobal Underground, Andy Gangadeen from The Bays, Francis Hylton, Johnny Kalsi from The Dhol Foundation, Barney Morse Brown, Sheema Mukherjee and Chris Wood.

In addition to The Imagined Village there will be performances from The Proclaimers, The Blockheads, Duffy, indie up and comers Palladium, a touch of country from Truck favourites Piney Gir and the Country Roadshow and Oxford band The Epstein.

There will be more than 80 live acts, comedians, and over 100 workshops for all ages, where you will be able to learn Arabic dance, break dance, harmony singing, DJing, drumming, banner and mask making and much more. There will be open mic sessions for musicians and outdoor busking stage. There will be much fun for children as well, ranging from music and dance to storytelling. Other performances will include Flame fireshow, Youth circus, street arts show and puppet theatre. Local bands, such as Scene of My Demise and Blue Noise, will also be there to entertain spectators.

2008 WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL LINE UP

Friday

The Proclaimers
Robyn Hitchcock & the Psychedelic Trams
Dreadzone
Kasai Masai
Misty's Big Adventure
The Epstein
Air Cav
The Black Bloc
The Maladies of Bellafontaine
The Eden Four

Saturday
The Divine Comedy
Orchestra Baobab
Duffy
The Blockheads
School of Language
Spiers and Boden
Palladium
Kissmet
Chris Letcher
Piney Gir
Stornoway
Mor Karbasi
Marcus Bonfanti and the Bad Boys
Heavy Load
Desperately Not Yoko
The Loungs
Dirty Fakirs
Breaking the Illusion
Islands Lost at Sea
The New Delamores
Dan Collins & Dave Rigg
Rachael Kichenside
We See Lights
Ivan Campo
The Nearly Men

Sunday
Imagined Village
Kate Rusby
Transglobal Underground
Dengue Fever
Emma Pollock
Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls
Rachel Unthank & the Winterset
3 Daft Monkeys
The Young Republic
Karen David
Richard Walters
Sleeping with the Fishes
The Red Bullets
The Travelling Band
It's a Buffalo
Rainbow Trout
The Tragics
The Steals
Isobel Heyworth
Kathryn Edwards
Butler Williams
Rook and The Ravens
Jenny Bromley

Tickets are £100 per adult for full weekend (includes camping), children under 12 free. Day tickets are £35 for Friday Day Ticket (Concession £20), £50 Saturday Day Ticket (Concession £35), and £40 for Sunday Day Ticket (Concession £25). Tickets can be purchased from Cheltenham Town Hall.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Scott May's Daredevils in Cheltenham

14 April 2008, Cheltenham Racecourse

The Scott May's Daredevil Stunt Show comes back to Cheltenham. It takes place at Cheltenham Racecourse on Monday 14th April.

Scott's show includes Monster trucks, Human Cannon with the only female cannon ball in Europe, flip-mini which rolls over and over, motorcycles and much more You will see spectacular motorcycle jumps, people crashing through fire-walls and two wheel a 7.5 ton lorry driving on two wheels only.

The show starts at 7:30pm with the gates open from 6pm. Admission: adults £10, children £5, pay at the gate on entry.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Billy Smart's Circus in Cheltenham

Tue 22nd April - Sun 27th April 2008, Cheltenham Racecourse

Billy Smart's Circus takes its 2008 UK tour to Cheltenham. With one of the world's most stunning circus tents, Billy Smart's Circus with heart-stopping aerial performances, breath-taking gymnastics, clowns, jugglers and much more, gives you the very best in family circus entertainment.

2008 SHOW PROGRAMME

Overture
Billy Smart's Circus Orchestra under the direction of Jarek Gajewski

Opening Parade
Meet the Artistes

Timur Yakubov Troupe
watch this circus act from Kazahkstan tumble, somersault and fly through the air in this heart-stopping performance.

Chico Rico
Circus clown Chico Rico from Mexico is fabulously funny and loved by grannies and children alike.

Alina Eskina
A new stunning visual presentation by Russian aerial artiste Alina that captivates with a mind-boggling display of beauty and wonder within the aerial cube high in our huge big top.

Ross Presto & Company
Illusionists and Magic Act Ross Presto & Company unveil their new magical performance, a circus act full of mystery, illusion and suspense.

Romain Cabon
Romain is a famous french aerial trapeze and silks artist. His aerial act is a mixture of the beautiful and the breath-taking.

Alex the Fireman
Crazy, comical and a very original circus act, Alex puts on an amazing show with his mad firefighting antics and wild ladder stunts.

The Bull Dancers
The Bull Dancers are a new trapeze act who have taken America by storm. All five members of this American quintet have a first-class pedigree in the world of the trapeze, thrilling audiences with their aerial expertise and action-packed daring.

Miss Uelon-Jon
Amazing balance act and foot juggling from this young Mongolian juggler.

Duo Basini
Duo Biasini bring a mixture of breath-taking aerial stunts with grace and beauty - an outstanding visual feast of colour, silks and athletic figures.

Finale
All artists return in a grand finale


PERFORMANCES

Tuesday 22 April - Friday 25 April: 4.45pm and 7.30pm

Saturday 26 April: 2pm, 4.45pm and 7.30pm

Sunday 27 April: 12noon, 3pm

TICKETS

The box office is open on site from 10.00am - 8.00pm daily. You can purchase tickets on arrival 45 min before the show. Circus Tickets Hotline 0870 444 1505. You can also purchase tickets online.


For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Spanish Conversation Evenings in Cheltenham

Brush up on your Spanish at Spanish Conversation Evenings organised by the Cheltenham Spanish Circle in a relaxed, fun atmosphere at La Tasca, 70 Regent Street, central Cheltenham.

The evenings take place every 2 weeks - check with the bar staff for days and times or phone as below. It is free to take part, however food and drink is not included. Spanish level required: lower intermediate and above (don't worry about making mistakes!).

The Cheltenham Spanish Circle runs talks, presentations and more - once a month, except in summer, in Charlton Kings. Tel. 01242 250051

Cheltenham Swedish Group update

Cheltenham Swedish Group was set up in October 2007 to celebrate the culture and the language of Sweden. It is a fun informal group which meets every 2-4 weeks, usually in a cafe or pub for an informal social gathering and some Swedish conversation in a relaxed atmosphere.

The Swedish Group continues to grow, and there is now over 30 people on the email list, with many of them attending regular events. Their next event is on Tuesday 15th April at The Swan pub, 37 High Street, Cheltenham, at 8pm. The Swan is located just beyond the south-eastern end of the pedestrianised section of the High Street, between St. James Street and Berkeley Street. There is a large public car park directly behind the pub. If you are interested in Swedish culture you are welcome to come along.

Another way to celebrate Swedish culture, in particular Swedish cuisine, locally is to visit Cheltenham's only Swedish restaurant and cafe Svea, located in Rodney Road, where among other things you can try fantastic Swedish cakes.

If you are a member of a Cheltenham club or society and would like to get your club's profile featured to promote its activities please get in touch. To find out how please visit our website www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/community.