Martin Horwood is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cheltenham. If you need to discuss any matters with your local MP, you can arrange an appointment at his advice surgeries on Friday lunchtimes or evenings. Appointments can be booked by phoning the office on 01242 224889 or e-mailing martin@martinhorwood.net.
You can also meet Martin at various events taking place in and around Cheltenham.
Monday, 23 February 2009
3:00pm
Martin is going to visit the Greyhound pub on Hewlett Road, Cheltenham. Planning permission has been granted to turn the pub into flats. There is a lot of local opposition to this, so Martin will be meeting landlord Mike Carter along with representatives from the local CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) group.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
10:00am
Parliamentary Pancake Race in aid of RehabUK.
Members of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Fourth Estate will line up opposite Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens at 10.15am on Shrove Tuesday, 24th February, for the annual Parliamentary Pancake Race in support of disability charity Rehab UK.
A VIP official starter will be on hand to ensure that the Rules of Engagement are strictly observed, including a newly-imposed ban on tripping up other competitors!
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
1:45pm
Martin is meeting the Chief of Beaver Lake Cree, first nation people affected by oil sands in Canada, in his capacity as Chair of the APPG for Tribal Peoples.
3:15pm
Martin is meeting minister Lord Carter from the department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to talk about widening broadband access for Cheltenham
Friday, 27 February 2009
10:00am
Martin will be having a tour of the new arts centre being built at Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Martin will be travelling to Harrogate for the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference, which continues until Sunday lunchtime.
To keep up-to-date with Martin's Horwood's appearances in parliament please visit our website.
Saturday 21 February 2009
Meet Your MP Martin Horwood
Monday 16 February 2009
Your Chance to Play for Cheltenham Town FC
9 March 2009, Whaddon Road Stadium
There are still places available for this exciting opportunity to play for the Robins. The event has been re-arranged for Monday 9th March 2009, (kick off 7.45pm) following the postponement last year.
Managed by Cheltenham Town FC manager Martin Allen himself, you will be able to play at Whaddon Road Stadium under floodlights in the first team kit and change in the first team dressing room. The event will start at 6.30pm on the night in the Club's Blue Sheep Lounge for a pre-match briefing to discuss the opposition's strengths and weaknesses and prepare the game plan. Full match day experience from a professional footballer's perspective is guaranteed. Afterwards there will be a "Man on the Match" award plus a "worst" player of the night.
The cost to be a member of the squad is £150 per person to include a complete match day playing experience and a squad photograph. Players must be over 16 years of age the event is open to both male and female. If you are not interested in being a member of the squad to play the first team, but would like to come along and watch, entry is completely free! There will be hot food available and you are able to attend the post-match presntations too. The bar opens at 7pm
Please contact Leanne Sheath in the commercial department 01242 588107 by Friday 27th February for an application form or download the Supporters Application Form here. Please send to Leanne Sheath, Cheltenham Town FC, Whaddon Road, Cheltenham, GL52 5NA or fax to 01242 224675.
Wednesday 11 February 2009
More Half Term Activities in Cheltenham
16 - 20 February 2009, Chelteham Leisure Centre
A popular holiday scheme to keep children entertained during half-term is back, with Sports Zone offering a range of sports and fun activities at Cheltenham Leisure Centre from 16 to 20 February. Children aged from 8 to 13 years can join in all sorts of sports including football, badminton, squash, short tennis, basketball, uni-hoc and swimming.
Half and full days are offered during the week, with registration starting at 8.30am each day. A full day runs from 8.30am to 5.30pm (costs £15.50); morning sessions run from 8.30am to 1pm (cost £10.50); and afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 5.30pm (cost £10.50). A pass for the week costs £71. Registration forms can be found at customer services at Cheltenham Leisure Centre, Tommy Taylors Lane.
Children need to bring comfortable clothing for sport, trainers, a packed lunch and their swim wear and towel. They will also need to bring their receipt to confirm their booking for the day.
Tuesday 10 February 2009
More Music Gigs for Cheltenham in February
In February Beyond Eternity Promotions have prepared some exciting gigs for Cheltenham and surrounding areas.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Mainstreamers, Norwood Arms, Bath Road, 9pm
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Roger Lendon, Apple Tree, Wodmancote
Friday, 13 February 2009
Alex Chapman, The Bell, Avening, Nr. Stroud
Dave Harper Band, Brown Jug, Bath Road
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Richie Brooks & Paul Newman, Victory Club, 8.30pm
JB Jazz and Blues Band, The White Horse Sandhurst Jazz
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Greg Winters, Rising Sun, Cleeve Hill, 9pm
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Bayshill Jam Night, The Bayshill, Royal Well, Cheltenham
Swing from Paris, The VENUE Jazz Club, Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ. Doors open 8pm, music starts 9pm, Jazz
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Steve Browning Band, Cross Keys, Cross Keys Lane, Glos
Rick & Neil, Apple Tree, Wodmancote
Friday, 20 February 2009
One Way Street, Apple Tree, Wodmancote
JB3, The Summersault, Rugby Jazz
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Touch of Blue & Anita Walsh, Old Richians Rugby Club, Glos
THE BARRATS, The Somerset Arms, Lounge Room. Moorend Street Leckhampton, Chelt GL53 0EH 01242 523899. Fun Music Night With Special Guest Singers,
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Jam Band, Old Richians Rugby Club, Glos, 6pm
Crescendo Big Band, Gupshill Manor, Tewkesbury, 8pm
Brian McCabe, Rising Sun, Cleeve Hill, 9pm
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Alex Chapman, The Strand, Cheltenham
Paul Newman's Blues Jam Night, The VENUE @ The Wheatsheaf Inn, Old Bath Road, GL53 9AJ. Blues
Thursday, 26 February 2009
One Way Street, Apple Tree, Wodmancote
Friday, 27 February 2009
Gordon Wood & Phil Bird, Royal Oak, Old Gloucester Road, Andoversford
THE BLIGHTERS, Alleyrat Blues Charity Club, The Somerset Arms, Lounge Room. Moorend Street Leckhampton, Chelt GL53 0EH 01242 523899 Blues
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Steamroller, The Callow End Club, Upton Upon Severn
Tom Jurgens, The Crown and Trumpet, Broadway
For a full calendar of 2009 Cheltenham gigs please visit our MySpace page. For other Cheltenham events visit our Cheltenham events guide.
Monday 9 February 2009
Campaign to Double Swindon to Kemble Railway Line Update
Transport Minister Andrew Adonis has pledged £900,000 of central government money to kick-start the proposed plan to redouble the Swindon to Kemble railway line, following an earlier meeting with Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood and other local MPs. In a letter to the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA), Lord Adonis confirmed the government’s ‘strong support’ for the project and has now promised central government funding towards the initial engineering study required to get the project moving. The doubling of the current single line is expected to allow more direct trains from Cheltenham to Reading and London, a more reliable service overall and less disruption in the event of individual train breakdowns and delays.
At a meeting with Lord Adonis last month, Martin, Stroud MP David Drew and Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown presented a united front in support of the scheme and received explicit government support from the transport minister. Now his letter to the RDA has confirmed that the government to back up this support with cash. In the letter Lord Adonis writes: ‘I am strongly supportive of the railway re-doubling proposal.’ He goes on: ‘I recognise the value the extra capacity route and improved train performance could create for the region. The total cost of the re-doubling is now estimated by Network Rail to be £42m, including the £2.5m for an engineering study necessary to design and price the scheme. Given the potential value to the national rail network of the re-doubled route in the longer term, I am prepared to commit to funding £0.9m of the study costs from outside the regional funding allocation programme, from the Department’s National Networks budget.’
Martin commented: ‘This is great news. For once, government has really put its money where its mouth is. There’s a long way still to go and a lot of money to be found at regional level but there’s a real head of steam behind this proposal now.’
Sunday 8 February 2009
Music Gigs for Cheltenham in February
CORSANO-BEVAN-LASH, GRACE & DELETE + WARP WHISTLE & ION BEALE
Chris Corsano's drumming has to be seen to be fully appreciated. An 'into the void' musician who collaborates with a huge range of artists. Loose-limbed, intense, even melodic, he exposes the audience to sounds and rhythms that defy normality. He moves light footed around the world sparking off into all kinds of collaborations playing with/alongside Jim O'Rouke, the Dimension X project, Evan Parker, Bjork, Mick Beck, Okkyung Lee, Thurston Moore and Bill Nace among many. Chris will perform with his trio featuring Tony Bevan on Saxophone and Dominic Lash on double bass.For thirty years Paul Dunmall has carved out a reputation for himself and is now widely recognised as one of the most uncompromising and talented reed players on the International jazz/improvised music scene.Whether playing in small groups or big bands his musical sensitivity and imagination combined with a powerful sound to make him one of the most distinctive improvisers playing today.
Paul Dunmall and Paul Rogers have been making music together since the 1980s as a duo, as half of the co-operative quartet Mujician, and in larger groups organised by Dunmall, Keith Tippett and others.
Born in London and raised in Cadiz, Southern Spain, Beatrix Ward-Fernandez began classical violin training on her return to England. Residing in Sheffield, her interest in experimental and improvised musics led almost inevitably to her involvement in the fertile local creative scene, playing violin and castanets! 
Long attracted to the sound of the Theremin, she became fascinated with the possibilities it presented. It seemed to her that there had been little or no exploration of its integration and use within acoustic/experimental ensembles. Developing new techniques to meet the demands of these musics became an abiding interest.
Over the past few years she has recorded and/or performed with a vast number of creative artists, including Martin Archer, Mick Beck, Pat Thomas, J.D. Parran, Phillip Thomas, Jez riley French, Pleasure-Drenching Improvers, Damo Suzuki, Chris Corsano and Okkyung Lee. In July 2007 she performed with her regular trio of Derek Saw and Charlie Collins at the Theremin symposium "Hands Off".
Thursday 5 February 2009
Greyhound Inn Set to Close
The landlord of the Greyhound Inn in Whaddon, Mike Carter, has finally lost his fight to save his pub after a Government inspector has ruled that the building of five flats the owner wishes to turn the pub into can go ahead.
Brian Williams, owner of the Greyhound Inn, in Hewlett Road, has been given planning permission to turn the pub into five flats, despite more than six hundred of town residents signing a petition opposing the application. Although the application was turned down by Cheltenham Borough Council's planning committee, the permission was granted on appeal.
Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood said, ‘I am horrified at the probable loss of the Greyhound Inn in Hewlett Road following today’s planning decision that gives the green light for the pub to be demolished and replaced with flats. Despite a unanimous council planning committee vote against development a planning inspector has ruled that the pub can close.’
Mike Carter and Martin Horwood, MP
This closure would be very disappointing for Whaddon, as the Greyhound Inn is a very popular local pub. This possible action is part of a wider problem in Cheltenham and across the country. Pubs are now closing at a rate estimated at 39 pubs a week and rising.Yesterday in parliament, Martin supported the launch of a new All Party Group called ‘Save the Pub’, which aims to work alongside the pubs industry, trade associations and pressure groups to raise the challenges and issues facing publicans and pubs. One of the focuses will be changes to planning law to properly recognise the importance of and to offer more protection to pubs faced with closure.
Tuesday 3 February 2009
New Wedding Venue for Cheltenham
New wedding licence was granted for the Express by Holiday Inn Cheltenham this January.
Gloucestershire County Council has granted approval for the Express by Holiday Inn Cheltenham to allow the act of marriage and the registration of civil partnerships to be performed onsite. As of the 16th of January, couples can declare their wedding vows with a registrar present and undergo a ceremony set in Cheltenham’s newest hotel.
The hotel’s General Manager Jason Hiley says, “This hotel is a perfect setting for modern marriages. Our ‘Great Room’ area can host up to 220 people, and our beautifully landscaped courtyard compliments any function. Already we are taking bookings for wedding receptions and this new civil partnership and marriage licence will hopefully give prospective couples a more value for money venue choice.”
The new licence also allows civil ceremonies to be undertaken in the hotel’s conference rooms for more relaxed gatherings. The hotel can also cater for music or disco entertainment and wedding menus to suit.
For full details on the new licence or for more information on wedding bookings please contact Kimberley Hatherall 01242 548200, or visit www.hiexpress.com/cheltenham.
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.
Wedding photos courtesy of wedding photographers at 07947 918038.
Monday 2 February 2009
Meet Your MP Martin Horwood This February
Martin Horwood is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cheltenham. If you need to discuss any matters with your local MP, you can arrange an appointment at his advice surgeries on Friday lunchtimes or evenings. Appointments can be booked by phoning the office on 01242 224889 or e-mailing martin@martinhorwood.net.
You can also meet Martin at various events taking place in and around Cheltenham.
Monday, 2 February 2009
10:30am
Gloucestershire County Association for the Blind (GCAB) will be holding a visual awareness promotion on the first floor of the Regent Arcade over two days. Martin will be helping them to demonstrate how small changes can help people with a visual impairment.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Martin is hosting a meeting in the House of Commons to discuss the microchipping of dogs with other MPs and representatives from the RSPCA, Battersea Dog’s and Cat’s Home, Dog’s Trust and the Kennel Club
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
3:30pm
Martin will be meeting with Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, Chair of the Yellow School Bus Commission which examined the benefits of such a school bus system for the UK, to discuss school bus plans for Cheltenham.
6:00pm
Martin will be attending an event in Parliament for the National Star College, hosted by Lord Leitch.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
6:00pm
Martin will be a guest at the Gloucestershire Top 100 Club Round Table discussion at UCAS. It’s an opportunity for top business representatives from the area to get together and debate different topics.
Friday, 6 February 2009
5:00pm
Cheltenham Borough Homes are holding a celebration at Seasons in Quat Goose Lane to celebrate their decent homes programme. Martin will be saying a few words during the cake cutting ceremony.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
1:30pm
Martin will be going to the Chinese New Year celebrations being held at the Town Hall in Cheltenham.
To keep up-to-date with Martin's Horwood's appearances in parliament please visit our website.
Sunday 1 February 2009
Catrin Finch at Pittville Pump Room
15 February 2009, Pittville Pump Room
Virtuosic Harpist Catrin Finch, will be performing at the wonderful Pitville Pump Room in Cheltenham on 4pm February 15th 2009. The internationally acclaimed former Royal Harpist will be starting her UK tour in Cambridge to promote her latest CD release on Deutsche Grammophon / Universal - JS Bach's "Goldberg Variations". (Released on January 26th 2009).
Bach's Goldberg Variations represents a formidable challenge even for keyboard players, and has never been played previously on the harp. This is the challenge Catrin set herself in 2007, to transcribe the piece for harp, record it, and provide for the world a new arrangement that will come to occupy a respected place in the harp repertoire.
Tickets are available from the Corn Exchange box office 0844 576 2210 or on line www.catrinfinch.com/goldberg.htm. Please contact Hywel for more information about discounts for groups and societies on 07973 624 031.For information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.
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