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Saturday, 28 June 2008

Cheltenham Cycle Hire Scheme

A two-month pilot scheme to introduce bikes for rent launches in Cheltenham on July 1. Rental bicycles will be available at key locations around the town. Fourteen docking stations will be set up at seven locations with 26 bikes, plus additional 4 at Cheltenham Spa railway station with bikes funded by Great Western Trains.

The scheme allows people to use their mobile phones to set up an account and get a security code to take one of the bikes. Bikes can be dropped off at any docking station, not just the station they were hired from. The first half hour’s hire is completely free, with extra time charged for. Users need to pre-register to take part and a £10 deposit is required.

If successful the scheme would be expanded throughout the town with a minimum of 100 bikes. Other bodies would be invited to join, most notably Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust and Cheltenham General Hospital.

The pilot will be launched on the Promenade opposite the tourist information office, with a ride to the railway station on Tuesday 1 July 2008.

Location of stands:
Junction of Cambray and the High Street
Junction of Henrietta/St George’s Place and the High Street
Top of the Promenade junction with Clarence Street
Bath Road, outside the Exmouth Arms
Promenade near the war memorial and the Municipal Offices
Montpellier junction with Bayshill Road and Montpellier Street
Waitrose

Charges:
0 to 30 minutes Free
31 minutes to 60 minutes £2
61 minutes to 120 minutes £4
121 minutes to 180 minutes £6
over 181 minutes (whole day charge – 24 hours) £8
After that each day or part of a day will be charged at £8.

Friday, 27 June 2008

Cheltenham Restaurant Wins a Place at the Final of Festival of Curry

Spice Lodge in Cheltenham has been selected as one of the 10 finalists for the Tilda Tiffin Cup Festival of Curry at the House of Commons on Wednesday 9 July.

The Tilda Tiffin competition to find the best South Asian Restaurant in Britain began two years ago. Local MP’s are asked to vote for their favourite South Asian restaurant from within their constituency. These restaurants are then entered into a national competition and ten finalists are chosen to attend the national ‘cook off’ at the House of Commons.

The word Tiffin probably comes from Southern India and is the word that is mostly used to describe a light snack. In Mumbai, the tiffins are prepared for white collar Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, and forwarded to them by Dabbawalas (couriers) who use a suburban train network to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations. The snacks are packed in stainless steel or tin boxes with carry handles, also sometimes called tiffins or tiffin-boxes. A common approach is to put rice in one box, dal in another and further items in the third or fourth box.

Martin Horwood MP with the proprietor of Spice Lodge, Mohammed Rahman

Spice Lodge, which was nominated by Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood, will attempt to ‘curry favour’ with the judges, including celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, Editor of Tandoori Magazine, Mr Humayun Hussain, Head Chef at Washington Mayfair Hotel in London, Mr Rajesh Rao, and owner of Madhu's, in Southall Mr Sanjay Anand.

This year the competition will raise funds for Friends in Village Development Bangladesh, whose aim it is to contribute towards educational and socio-economic empowerment of disadvantaged people in rural Bangladesh, and also the breast cancer charity ROKO Cancer.

Thursday, 26 June 2008

2000 Trees Festival 2008

11 - 12 July 2008, Upcote Farm, Withington

The 2000 Trees Festival is one of the latest additions to Cheltenham summer season. Inspired by independent events like Truck Festival, the 2000 Trees Festival is about the love of live music, great performances and having a fantastic time in a field. In its second year, the 2000 Trees Festival offers two nights of music under the stars in a relaxing, picturesque Cotswolds location with three stages featuring over forty bands.

The Festival will actually start on Thursday when the Early Entry Permit holders will be able to enter an open mic competition to win themselves a slot on the festival bill the very next day. The Festival will be officially opened on Friday by Frank Turner who will perform an intimate midday acoustic set in the Leaf Lounge. Friday will also feature Fancy Dress Party, the theme for this years Fancy Dress Friday will be “Countries of the World”.

The 2008 line-up, which includes many well known local bands, is headlined by The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. The main stage will feature the following bands:

Friday
80’s MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER
THE DUKE SPIRIT
IN CASE OF FIRE
THE KING BLUES
SLAVES TO GRAVITY
GHOST OF A THOUSAND
GENTLEMANS PISTOLS
OLD SCHOOL TIE
JIM LOCKEY
SKANKT
TUBELORD
SOULJACKER
THE DIVINE SECRET

Saturday:
ART BRUT
THESE NEW PURITANS
FUTURE OF THE LEFT
FRANK TURNER
IMPERIAL LEISURE
THE ANOMALIES
FLIPRON
CAPTAIN BLACK
LAZY HABITS
HIJAK OSCAR
DIAGONAL
A SILENT FILM
THE DIVEBOMB REVOLUTION

Tickets information: Weekend Tickets cost £39 (Children 10-15 accompanied by an adult £20), Day Tickets are £25. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk/tickets (booking fee applies) or at the following shops:
Cheltenham: Badlands Records (01242 227 725)
Cheltenham: Vinyl Vault (01242 227 454)
Cheltenham: The Frog & Fiddle (01242 701 156)
Stroud: Kane’s Records (01453 766 886)
Tewkesbury: The Music Trade (01684 850 220)

Shuttle buses to the Festival venue from Cheltenham Railway Station are available, return ticket on the coach costs £15.



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

Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Cheltenham Book Fair

19 July 2008 - St. Andrews Church, Montpellier

A new regular Book Fair is coming to Cheltenham in July. The first Book Fair will take place at St. Andrew's Church in Montpellier on Saturday the 19th of July (10:30 - 4:00).

A wide range of books covering a variety of different subjects will be offered - something for everyone - including some very inexpensive bargains, plenty of medium priced quality titles, as well a number of scarce and collectable works.

Entrance is free and refreshments will be served. Nearby parking is available, there is also disabled access.

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

Friday, 20 June 2008

Cheltenham MP to Support Bill Bryson's Litter Campaign

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood this week hosted a reception in Parliament to launch Stop the Drop, the new campaign against countryside litter and fly-tipping by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. The campaign is being fronted by the charity’s President, the acclaimed novelist Bill Bryson, the author of Notes from a Small Island.

Stop the Drop highlights the growing problems of litter and fly-tipping in England’s countryside. According to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, the headline statistic on local authority performance on litter fell from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘unsatisfactory’ between 2005/06 and 2006/07. Litter is five times worse than in the 1960s. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where litter is often left to lie for much longer than in towns and cities.

Martin Horwood was delighted to be able to support Bill Bryson and the Campaign to Protect Rural England in this important campaign. He said: "Litter and fly-tipping are an unsightly and unnecessary blight on too much of our countryside. I know that my constituents want to see more action from responsible bodies to clean up our towns and countryside. I have also tabled a House of Commons motion backing the campaign.”

Bill Bryson welcomed the support of Cheltenham MP. "We need the backing of as many MPs as possible to persuade people to stop dropping litter, and to prevail on those with the powers to do so to clean it up. Litter is becoming the default condition of the countryside, and it is time that we – all of us – did something about this. The landscape is too lovely to trash,” he commented.

CPRE is highlighting the need for stronger leadership from central Government to tackle litter and fly-tipping, and better enforcement of existing laws by local authorities and others. Keep Britain Tidy’s 2006/07 survey did not rate a single local council as ‘good’ on litter, even though, collectively, councils spend more than £600 million a year clearing litter up – a bill that is ultimately met by taxpayers. Local authorities can hand out fixed penalty notices to people dropping litter, but in 2006/07 just 25 of the 354 English local authorities gave out 62% of the fines, and 72 issued none at all.

There are similar enforcement problems with fly-tipping. Of the 2.6 million incidents dealt with by local authorities in 2006/07, just 1,796 were successfully prosecuted, working out at a roughly one in 1,450 chance of being brought to book.

Bill Bryson said: “Littering is not a crime that has anyone quaking for fear of the consequences because, by and large, there are no consequences. If we want the cleaner, tidier countryside that we all deserve, we need firm action and leadership at both national and local level, to show that dropping litter and fly-tipping will not continue to be consequence-free crimes.”

To find out more about CPRE’s campaign, visit http://www.cpre.org.uk/ . You can also find out what’s going on in your own area, and start picking up litter yourself, by visiting http://www.litteraction.org.uk/ .

Saturday, 14 June 2008

St. Mark's Community Festival Weekend

20 - 22 June 2008, St. Mark's area

St Mark's is to hold a community festival weekend from June 20 to 22. The weekend which will be something of a cross between a street party and an open house will bring something for all ages.

Friday evening, June 20, will start with puppet workshops, bouncy castles, beat the goalie, skittles and more for young children from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at St Mark's Junior School, Robert Burns Avenue.

On Saturday from 11am to 5pm at St Mark's Church, hall and grounds, there will be an international cafe, face-painting, clay modelling, genealogy, making a wall hanging, bell-ringing workshop, pig roast, cream teas, music from Dixie Band and Pate's students and a bouncy castle,
On Sunday at 12.15pm there will be a family barbecue outside the church.

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

Friday, 13 June 2008

Cheltenham Music Festival 2008

4 – 19 July 2008, Cheltenham Town Hall and other venues


2008 Cheltenham Music Festival brings 70 events at various venues spread over 16 days. This year's themes include music by Gloucestershire born Ralph Vaughan Williams, Franz Schubert's song cycles, sonatas and more, folk music of many diverse countries, such as Hungary, Norway, Spain, Estonia and Venezuela. You can enjoy medieval music, 18th century operas, as well as premieres of music pieces by contemporary composers. Most of the concerts of this year's Cheltenham Music Festival take place in Cheltenham Town Hall, Pittville Pump Room, All Saints' Church, St. Andrew's Church in Montpellier, Tewkesbury Abbey and other Gloucestershire churches.

Many free family events taking place in Imperial Gardens behind the Town Hall will accompany the festival, such as on Saturday, 5 July, when Gloucestershire Youth Dance will show off various forms of folk dance - from the Cotswolds to the Caribbean, and from the past to the present. Cleeve Samba then will play traditional Brazilian carnival rhythms fused with some original ideas of their own. The event starts at 11am. On Sunday, 6 July Gloucestershire’s Youth Jazz Orchestra will be performing a mixture of jazz standards, big band and Dixieland jazz and Gamelan Community Players will be playing traditional music from Java. Gloucestershire Academy of Music will also be performing. All this will be taking place in Imperial Gardens from 11am. Saturday, 12 July at 2pm a community choir Vocal Antics will perform fantastic a cappella music from around the world. Later in the afternoon Tewkesbury Town Band will play music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Another free event will take place on Saturday, 12 July at 3pm this time in the Pittville Bistro marquee - Mackwoods Fine Tea and Opera - an afternoon tea tasting and opera cabaret. Saturday, 19 July from 4pm there will be a performance of London Bulgarian Choir in Imperial Gardens.


PROGRAMME:

Fri 4 July
7.30pm BBC Philharmonic 1, Town Hall

Sat 5 July
11am SURROUND SOUND Gloucestershire Youth Dance, Imperial Gardens
12noon Trio Medieval, All Saints Church
12noon Cleeve Samba Band, Imperial Gardens
2pm SURROUND SOUND Gloucestershire Youth Dance, Imperial Gardens
3pm Rolf Lisevand Ensemble, Pittville Pump Room
5pm FILM The Full Monteverdi ,Pittville Campus, University of Gloucestershire
6.15pm EXPLORE Meurig Bowen & Christopher Cook, Town Hall Drawing Room
7pm BBC Philharmonic, Town Hall

Sun 6 July
9.30am Cereal Samba, Town Hall
11am The Dowland Project, Pittville Pump Room
11am SURROUND SOUND Glos Youth Jazz Orchestra, Imperial Gardens
12pm SURROUND SOUND Gamelan Community Players, Imperial Gardens
3pm SURROUND SOUND Gloucestershire Academy of Music, Imperial Gardens
3pm A Shropshire Lad & Songs of Travel, Pittville Pump Room
6pm EXPLORE Meurig Bowen on Grainger ,Town Hall Drawing Room
7pm Carmina Burana, Town Hall

Mon 7 July
11am
Ingrid Fliter, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Estonian Television Girls Choir, Pittville Pump Room
6.00pm EXPLORE Gamelan Community Players, Tewkesbury Abbey
7.30pm From Spem to Et Exspecto, Tewkesbury Abbey

Tues 8 July
11am Gringolts & Madžar, Pittville Pump Room
4.30pm Wells A Cappella, All Saints Church
7.30pm On Wenlock Edge / Schubert Ensemble / Gilchrist, Pittville Pump Room

Wed 9 July
11.00am
Elias String Quartet, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Barbirolli String Quartet, St Peter’s Church, Winchombe
6pm The Maxness of King George / Discovering Music, Pittville Pump Room
6.30pm Time to Sing, Town Hall
7pm Cabaret Dinner / Fascinating Aida, Pittville Bistro
9pm Fascinating Aida, Pittville Pump Room

Thurs 10 July
11am Marc-André Hamelin, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Thomas Carroll, St Swithin’s Church, Quenington
7pm Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tewkesbury Abbey
9.30pm SPNM’s Folk From Here / Tickell / Bhamra ,Pittville Pump Room

Fri 11 July
10.30am EXPLORE Veljo Tormis in conversation, Pittville Pump Room
11am Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Lulu Yang, Pittville Pump Room
7.30pm Philharmonia Orchestra / Hickox, Tewkesbury Abbey
8pm Kathryn Tickell Band, Town Hall

Sat 12 July
10.30am
EXPLORE Mark-Anthony Turnage in conversation, Pittville Pump Room
11am Craig Ogden, Pittville Pump Room
2pm FILM O Thou Transcendent, Pittville Campus, University of Glos
2pm SURROUND SOUND Festival Community Choir, Imperial Gardens
3pm SURROUND SOUND Tewkesbury Town Band, Imperial Gardens
3pm Mackwoods Fine Tea & Opera, Pittville Bistro
7.30pm Strings Fantasia / Manchester Camerata, Town Hall
6.30pm Trabuco dinner, Pittville Bistro
8pm Virtuoso Venezuela / Trabuco, Pittville Pump Room

Sun 13 July
10am Maxwell Davies & Hellawell in conversation, Pittville Bistro
11am Primrose Piano Quartet, Pittville Pump Room
2pm FILM Akenfield, Pittville Campus, University of Glos
4.30pm Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra, Pittville Pump Room
7.30pm Sarah Connolly / La Serenissima, Town Hall

Mon 14 July
11am
Ishizaka & Wosner, Pittville Pump Room
4.30pm Calefax, Pittville Pump Room
6.30pm EXPLORE Michael Tavinor on RVW, Town Hall Drawing Room
7.30pm Cheltenham Bach Choir, Town Hall

Tues 15 July
11am Samhadi Ensemble, Pittville Pump Room
2.30pm Schools Concert: Young & Live, Pittville Pump Room
3pm FILMS The Noble Savage & Bert, A Personal Memoir, Pittville Campus, University of Glos
4pm Schools Concert: Young & Live, Pittville Pump Room
6.30pm Tango Dinner Cabaret, Pittville Bistro / Pump Room
7.30pm The Band of HM Royal Marines, Town Hall

Wed 16 July
11am Pavel Haas Quartet / Ishizaka, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Alasdair Macaskill, St Andrew’s Church, Montpellier
7.30pm Dante Quartet, Pittville Pump Room

Thurs 17 July
11am Festival Academy, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Rosy Hall, St Andrew’s Church, Chedworth
7.30pm Die Schöne Müllerin / Clayton / Lewis, Pittville Pump Room

Fri 18 July
11am
Festival Academy, Pittville Pump Room
3pm Amy Dickson, St Mary’s Church, Painswick
6.00pm SURROUND SOUND Bells in Motion, Town Hall, Pillar Room
7.30pm Schwanengesang / Boesch / Vignoles, Pittville Pump Room
10pm Festival Academy, Quartet for the End of Time, Pittville Pump Room

Sat 19 July
10am
Schubert’s Painters, Pittville Bistro
11am Winterreise / Padmore / Lewis ,Pittville Pump Room
1pm WORKSHOP London Bulgarian, Choir Town Hall
2pm FILMS Cymbalom Legacy & The Miraculous Circumstance, Pittville Campus, University of Glos
4.30pm SURROUND SOUND London Bulgarian Choir, Imperial Gardens
6.15pm Peter Dickinson on Lord Berners, Pittville Pump Room
6.30pm Hungarian Dances - Jessica Duchen in conversation, Town Hall, Drawing Room
7.30pm Festival Academy, Pittville Pump Room
8.00pm Taraf de Haidouks, Town Hall


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

Tuesday, 3 June 2008

Cheltenham taxi fares to increase

If you are planning a night out in Cheltenham and wish to leave your car at home, you will need to add extra cost to your evening as Cheltenham taxi prices will increase from 1 July. Late-night rates will be charged from 8pm instead of 11pm, which means that passengers travelling in the evening will pay £4.50 per mile, up from £3.40.

From July 1 2008 the cost of travelling in a taxi in Cheltenham the distance of one mile will rise from £3.40 to £3.60, two miles will increase from £5 to £5.40, and three miles from £6.60 to £7.20. After 8pm, one mile will cost £4.50, two miles £6.75 and three miles £9. Waiting time charges will also increase by 10p.

This is the first price increase in Cheltenham taxi fares since 2006.

Sunday, 1 June 2008

June Gigs in Cheltenham

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


Sun, 1 June 2008
Black Sabbath Tribute, The Venue at The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 8pm - Midnight, Rock

Mon, 2 June 2008
JB3
, The Daffodil, Jazz

Tue, 3 June 2008
JB Jazz and Blues Band, The Venue Jazz Club, Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Doors open 8pm / Music Starts 9pm, Jazz

Fri, 6 June 2008
Peter Gill & State 51,
Let the Good Times Roll, The Evesham Arts Centre, Evesham. Tickets £13/£11, Rock n Roll
Slowburner & The Ben Fletcher Band, Tubby Blues Club, Newlands Club, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham 01242 691998 or 07796 034206 7pm for Diners / 8:25pm Show, Tickets £10, Rock n Roll

Sat, 7 June 2008
Tom Jurgens, The Crown & Trumpet, Broadway, 9pm, Acoustic Pop & Folk
JB2 with Bridget, Lydney Festival, Jazz

Sun, 8 June 2008
JB Jazz and Blues Band, Cheltenham Civil Services Club, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham, Jazz
Alex Chapman, The Wellington, Gloucester Road, Bristol, 9pm, Pop
Otis Mack Solo, Nottingham Arms, 129 High Street, Tewkesbury, GL20 5JU, 8:30pm onwards / Free admission, Jazz
JB2, The Kilkenny, Andoversford, Lunchtime, Jazz

Tue, 10 June 2008
Paul Newman's Jam Night,
The Royal Oak, Hucclecote, from 9pm, Eclectic

Fri, 13 June 2008
Alex Chapman, The Strand, High Street, Cheltenham, Pop
Tom Jurgens Trio, The Royal George, Birdlip, Acoustic Pop & Folk

Sun, 15 June 2008
JB Jazz and Blues Band, The Stafford Jazz Club, Lunchtime, Jazz

Tue, 17 June 2008
Paul Newman's Jam Night, The Bayshill Inn, Royal Well, Cheltenham, from 9pm, Eclectic
Joined at the Hip, The Venue Jazz Club, Wheatshead Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, Doors open 8pm / Music starts 9pm, Jazz & Blues

Fri, 20 June 2008
Alex Chapman,
John Gordon's, Montpellier, Cheltenham, 8:30pm, Pop
Tom Jurgens, House in the Tree, Boddington, Acoustic Pop & Folk

Sat, 21 June 2008
Tom Jurgens Trio, Lakeside School Fayre, 12:30pm, Acoustic Pop & Folk

Sun, 22 June 2008
Tom Jurgens, Charlton Kings Working Mens Club, BBQ, 2:30pm, Acoustic Pop & Folk
Otis Mack 6 Piece Band, Riverside Park, Chepstow 'Music in the Park', 2:30pm - 5:00pm, Bring your own picnic, Free admission, Jazz

Tue, 24 June 2008
Paul Newman's Jam Night, The Venue, Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ, 9pm, Eclectic

Thu, 26 June 2008
Alex Chapman,
The Cross Keys, Cross Keys Lane, Gloucester, 9pm, Pop

Fri, 27 June 2008
Alex Chapman, The Hogs Head, High Street, Cheltenham, Pop
JB Jazz and Blues Band, The Muggery, Upton upon Severn Jazz Festival. Jazz

Sat, 28 June 2008
Tom Jurgens Trio, The Pilot Inn at Hardwicke, Acoustic Pop & Folk
JB Jazz and Blues Band, The Muggery, Upton upon Severn Jazz Festival, Jazz

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