the vine magazine luton - february / march 2015 - issue 7

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Connecting local people to local businesses Vine the • Bramingham • Icknield • Barnfield • Stopsley Delivered Free to 10,000 homes FREE Sponsoring Feb / Mar 2015 Issue 7

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A free community magazine for the Luton area of Bedfordshire. Packed with an engaging variety of articles, news, puzzles, competitions and local what's on guide. The Vine is also a local business directory, offering affordable and effective advertising to local businesses - "connecting local people to local businesses". 10,000 copies delivered to homes in the Bramingham, Icknield, Barnfield and Stopsley areas of Luton. www.thevinemagazine.com

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Connecting local people to local businessesVinethe

• Bramingham • Icknield • Barnfield • StopsleyDelivered Free to 10,000 homes

FREE

Sponsoring

Feb / Mar 2015 Issue 7

Please mention the Vine when responding to adverts

• Conservatories • Windows • Doors • Aluminium Seamless Guttering• Garage Doors • Car Ports • GRP Flat Roofing

visit your local showroom at Leighton Buzzard Garden CentreLeighton Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 9NX

Contact Peter Pascan 01525 404204

[email protected]

WWW.CLADWINDS.COM

insuran

ce bac

ked

10 ye

ar guara

nteeestablished in 1985

Imagine beautiful windows for your home

Transform your home with beautiful new windows from Cladwinds. A trusted local

firm with 29 years manufacturing and installing experience

3www.thevinemagazine.com

Free no obligation measuring and quotations 3All blinds made to measure 3

Blinds and awnings are made to meet your requirements and budget 3Large range of quality, affordable fabrics and colours to choose from 3

Choose in the comfort of your own home or workplace 3All blinds come with a guarantee 3

Make your house a home with blinds and awnings from Vansar...

Call 01525 220477 OR 01582 699565 TOdayFREE home consultation, measuring & quotation including FREE fitting.For Further information visit www.vansarblinds.co.uk

yOUR lOCal EXPERTS

OvER

25 yEaRS

www.vansarblinds.co.uk

• Free No Obligation Measuring And Quotations • All Blinds Made To Measure • Choose In The Comfort Of Your Own Home Or Workplace • Family Run Business• Large Range Of Quality, Affordable Fabrics And Colours To Choose From Call: 01525 220477 or 01582 699565 E: [email protected]

Make your house a home with blinds and awnings from

4

Editors:Scott NightingaleShelly Nesbitt

For advertising & editorial: Shelly Nesbitt01525 22237907852 [email protected]

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the content of advertising and articles published in this magazine are accurate, neither the publisher or its editorial contributors can accept and hereby disclaim any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors.Neither do they reflect the opinion of this publication. The Vine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication.No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission.

Beds Food And Drink Awards 6 Health, Beauty & Wellbeing 8Beanstalk 10Martin Lewis Money Page 12Consumer Clinic 14Puzzles 16Looking Up! 18At Home 20In The Garden 22Auto-biographies 24Technology 26Out & About 28

Copy deadline for our next issue - 18th March

Vinethe

This Month...

5Please mention the Vine when responding to adverts

A complete refurbishment and roofing service.n Flat Roofingn Tiled Roofingn Loft Conversions

n Interior & Exterior Maintenancen EPDM Rubber Membranesn Fascia & Guttering

Tel: 01582 690005 Mob: 07515 [email protected] www.corr.org.uk

completerefurb&roofing Co

.

A c

FREEQUOTES

“Big on Quality, small enough to care.”

6 9

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-

shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian

Cumm

ins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink

Awards. “From

pubs to brewers, from

coffee shops to butchers, w

e are galvanising a mass m

ovement

of the most im

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ho know

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inners will be decided solely by votes from

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ebsite htt

p://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

Karen McGeeney, com

munications director for the

awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action

but even General Elections won't have seen any-

thing like this!

“We're already busy cam

paigning across Facebook and Tw

itter as well as traditional m

edia generating excitem

ent and encouraging nominations and votes.

Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on

Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on

Twitter for the latest updates.

“We're so excited about cham

pioning the best of the best and prom

oting quality in Bedfordshire.”Aw

ards could not happen without sponsors and

Bedfordshire Food & Drink Aw

ards is proud to be associated w

ith brilliant brands such as The Vine M

agazine.

Visit the awards w

ebsite to find out more about the

categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at

http://bedsfoodanddrinkaw

ards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink

awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and

The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that

we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories –

Best Pub of the Year.The aw

ards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them

on the websites

mentioned in the article below

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01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

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01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

WW

01582 454184 WWW.JAMESAYRESFLOORING.CO.UK

[email protected] 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, Beds. LU2 7UN

9

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian Cummins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards. “From pubs to brewers, from coffee shops to butchers, we are galvanising a mass movement of the most important people, the customers, who know the true meaning of quality when they taste it, drink it and are served it so well.”The winners will be decided solely by votes from members of the public that have been lodged on the awards website http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk Karen McGeeney, communications director for the awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action but even General Elections won't have seen any-thing like this!

“We're already busy campaigning across Facebook and Twitter as well as traditional media generating excitement and encouraging nominations and votes. Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on Twitter for the latest updates.“We're so excited about championing the best of the best and promoting quality in Bedfordshire.”Awards could not happen without sponsors and Bedfordshire Food & Drink Awards is proud to be associated with brilliant brands such as The Vine Magazine.

Visit the awards website to find out more about the categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at http://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories – Best Pub of the Year.The awards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them on the websites mentioned in the article below.

nominees and sponsors with Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the awards

www.bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

the

The Vine Magazine sponsors search to find

Bedfordshire’s Best Pub

“Our vision is to highlight the very best of Bedford-

shire’s quality food and drink sector,” said Damian

Cumm

ins, director of the Bedfordshire Food & Drink

Awards. “From

pubs to brewers, from

coffee shops to butchers, w

e are galvanising a mass m

ovement

of the most im

portant people, the customers, w

ho know

the true meaning of quality w

hen they taste it, drink it and are served it so w

ell.”The w

inners will be decided solely by votes from

m

embers of the public that have been lodged on

the awards w

ebsite htt

p://bedsfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk

Karen McGeeney, com

munications director for the

awards, said: “Voting is at the centre of the action

but even General Elections won't have seen any-

thing like this!

“We're already busy cam

paigning across Facebook and Tw

itter as well as traditional m

edia generating excitem

ent and encouraging nominations and votes.

Look for Bedfordshire Food and Drink Awards on

Facebook and follow the hashtag #BedsFinest on

Twitter for the latest updates.

“We're so excited about cham

pioning the best of the best and prom

oting quality in Bedfordshire.”Aw

ards could not happen without sponsors and

Bedfordshire Food & Drink Aw

ards is proud to be associated w

ith brilliant brands such as The Vine M

agazine.

Visit the awards w

ebsite to find out more about the

categories and sponsors, to nominate and to vote at

http://bedsfoodanddrinkaw

ards.co.uk

An exciting new set of county food and drink

awards have been launched in Bedfordshire – and

The Vine Magazine is delighted to announce that

we're proudly sponsoring one of the categories –

Best Pub of the Year.The aw

ards call on the public to scour the nooks and crannies of the counties for the best independents and vote for them

on the websites

mentioned in the article below

.

nominees and sponsors w

ith Bedford’s Mayor

Dave at the launch of the aw

ards

ww

w.bedsfoodanddrinkaw

ards.co.uk

the

the Vine

8

Diabetes is the third leading cause of sight loss in the country (source: www.RNIB.org.uk). In the UK alone there are 2.9 million sufferers, according to the NHS and about 850,000 people who have the condition but are undiagnosed (source: www.NHS.co.uk). How would you know? Of course, seeing the GP would be the most obvious answer. But don’t worry if you are one of many who don’t like paying the GP a visit, there is another answer. That answer is to have an eye test with your local optician.When was the last time you had a health check? For most people visiting the GP for regular health checks is a bit daunting. Nevertheless visiting the local opticians can be more comfortable and can also answer many health related questions you may have. Going to the opticians isn’t just about checking if you need glasses or not. Many people think it’s expensive. There are many opticians that provide free eye tests and offers or discounts on the frames. Nowadays seeing the optician is more than just glasses, it’s about taking care of your eye health.There are various tests that can be done by the optometrist. One of them includes looking into the back of the eye and checking for health problems and eye diseases. Health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can all be detected just by checking the back of the eye. In most opticians now they have a ‘Fundus Camera’ this is a clever piece of equipment that allows the optician to take a photo of the back of the eye. Optometrists can then sit down and talk to you about your photos and show you if there is any problem. Pretty clever right?

Eye diseases are also a common find at the opticians. They can occur at the back of your eyes, without causing any symptoms for you to be aware of. It is only in the late stage of eye diseases, like, glaucoma and retinal detachments that you notice sudden problems in your eye. This just shows how vital it can be to get your eyes checked out. For example retinal detachment is when a layer at the back of the eye slowly begins to peel away. Sounds creepy right? It doesn’t happen in everyone, but the risk factors

include being very short-sighted, or playing a lot of contact sports. The only changes

a person may be aware of is bright white flashes of lights in the corner of their vision and an increase in black dots that come in different sizes and shapes and appear to float about in

the vision. Usually when optometrists see these signs you can expect to sit in

hospital on the same day. Now don’t start panicking, the treatment the hospital will give is

highly successful so it should be alright.It is very important to get children tested as well. Eye tests usually start at 3 years old. The tests done will probably be slightly different to an adult test. Looking at 3D pictures, and checking colour vision is all part of the eye examination. Tests can be done to spot early signs of a lazy eye. If your child is getting fre-quent headaches, an eye test should be done to rule out glasses. Children don’t always know if what they see is blurry or clear, and the sooner they are seen by an optometrist the better it is. Eye tests should be done every two years for adults unless specified by the optometrist. Children should be seen every year. So if you haven’t had a test yet, get yourself to your opticians!

Health Beauty Wellbeing&

By Maulia Selvarajah, BSc (Hons) MCOptom

Seeing

the optician isn’t

just about glasses,

it’s about

taking care of your

eye health

Local Charity Offers Specialist Physio Service

9www.thevinemagazine.com

Do you know someone with:

• Cancer? • A neurological condition? • Fibromyalgia? • ME? • Leg Ulcers?

Oxygen Treatment may improve health, accelerate healing, give more energy.

Oxygen Treatment changes lives!

Registered Charity 299524 Hertfordshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, 30 Campus Five, Letchworth, Herts SG6 2JF

Experienced, friendly team. Supervised sessions.Oxygen Treatment from registered charity Herts MS Therapy Centre.

Helping people for 30 years.

Find out more. Call Mark or Claire on 01462 684214.

Many local people will know about the physiotherapy services in Chaul End, Luton offered by Herts MS Therapy Centre.The charity has been provid-ing specialist physio and fitness support for local people with MS, Parkinson’s and after stroke. In fact, they help anyone with a long term or neurological condition.Good news! The service available locally is going to be even better than before. It will be able to help even more people!Instead of treating people in a mobile clinic, services will now be upgraded to be available from permanent, local premises. Home visits will also be available too, offering a huge advantage to many people with mobility or transport problems. Top class physio and exercise support could be on your doorstep – literally!

All this is possible because the team has a new Clinical Specialist Neuro Physiotherapist on the team. Kate Fitzmaurice is very skilled and has 13 years of post gradu-ate, specialist neurological physio experience.“I am very excited about the physi-otherapy service we can provide people in Luton” says Kate. “We’ve improved in every way – seeing people faster, offering specialist help tailored to individuals and moving to permanent premises.”“Our goal is to help as many peo-ple with neurological conditions as possible” adds Kate. “Everyone can benefit from a physiotherapy guided exercise programme. The changes we have made mean that we can increase treatments both at our clinics and at people’s homes. The sky is our limit!”

To find out more about how - and where - specialist physio and fit-ness can help you – or someone you know, contact Mark or Claire on 01462 684214.

Image: physio session in progress, Kate Fitzmaurice

Local Charity Offers Specialist Physio Service

Help support some of the 75,000 children that leave primary school every year in England struggling with their reading.

Could you help children learn to read? Could you inspire a love of reading and books in children?

You could help today by contacting Beanstalk Charity on 01604 720969 or visiting www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers

and apply to become a Beanstalk Reading Helper.

Unfortunately many children can not, with 75,000 children in England leaving primary school last year struggling or behind with their reading. Would you enjoy developing a love of books and reading with children in the Luton and Dunstable areas, providing children with a lifelong skill? Beanstalk Charity is looking for Reading Helper volunteers to support children with their reading in schools and you could help.

Beanstalk is a national charity that has recently launched in the Luton and Dunstable areas to support some of the 75,000 children that leave primary school every year in England behind with their reading.

There is a strong need for volunteers in the Luton and Dunstable areas and if you feel you could help in any way please get in touch. Each Reading Helper works with 3 children, for 30 minutes each, twice a week and continues to work with the same children throughout the school year, enabling the Reading Helper to see the children grow in their enjoyment and confidence of reading.

If you feel you could make a difference to a child’s life or to find out further information about Beanstalk you can call us on 01604 720969, email [email protected] or visit our website www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers.

Cna yuo raed tihs?

Help support some of the 75,000 children that leave primary school every year in England struggling with their reading.

Could you help children learn to read? Could you inspire a love of reading and books in children?

You could help today by contacting Beanstalk Charity on 01604 720969 or visiting www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers

and apply to become a Beanstalk Reading Helper.10 www.thevinemagazine.com

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The Martin Lewis Money Page

Martin LEWIS Tackle your bills

Winter is coming. Don’t wait until you’re knee-deep in the white stuff to sort your bills. Here, prevention truly beats cure – tackling your bills now means you can take the financial bite out of winter chills…

Free loft insulation and even boilers (for some). While the loft insulation free-for-all's ended, some will still be entitled to some serious free energy-saving measures. Most of the big six energy firms offer free boilers, typically worth £2,000, and free insulation, usually worth about £300. Crucially, you don't need to be with the energy provider to get it, but you do generally need an income under £16,000, and to be on income-related benefits or pension credit. I can’t definitely say you’ll qualify, but it is worth checking. Alternatively, the well-meaning but stuttering Green Deal initiative is designed to let you pay for things like underfloor heating, double glazing and solid wall insulation, from the 'savings' you make on energy bills. Deciding whether it’s right for you is complex, so for full help read www.moneysavingexpert.com/greendeal

Save £100s and beat the hikes. Rather surprisingly, fixing energy, where you lock in a set rate, is now cheaper than a normal switch. Five of the big six energy providers have now announced hikes, and their best new prices are costlier than the cheapest fixed tariffs. So right now you can get the very cheapest deals available, and it comes with no-hike certainty. The only exception to this is a variable (ie, subject to hikes) tariff from minnow Spark Energy – though it hasn't hiked (yet?), needs paying upfront, and feedback ain't great, so I’m ignoring it.

The cheapest fix comes from E.on for a year, but slightly longer and only a touch more are deals from EDF or Npower. Crucially, these two have no exit penalties. So on the off-chance the Prime Minister delivers the price cuts he’s promised, and the even more unlikely event that they’ll be so substantial that other tariffs elsewhere are cheaper, you'll be free to leave.

However, always do the numbers for your own circumstances. To check if you can save (you may be on an older, cheaper deal), and who your winner is, you can use my Cheap Energy Club top fixes comparison at www.cheapenergyclub.com, or do a standard

comparison on any Ofgem-approved comparison site – just search for The Confidence Code at www.ofgem.gov.uk to see the full list. If you're not online, use a comparison with a phone service, such as Energyhelpline on 0800 074 0745, or uSwitch on 0800 051 5493.

Paying energy bills by monthly direct debit’s up to 6% cheaper. If you can, do, as it’ll usually mean discounted bills of up to 6% less, so contact your provider to check. Though always do regular meter readings for accuracy, as your bill is estimated. If it’s too high, you have a right to ask for it to be lowered.

Got electricity only? You can still save. With electricity only, you can still get a cheap fix to save - just follow the info above. For those on Economy 7, assessing is trickier. It’s only really a boon for those who use at least 40% of their energy at night. If not – don’t bother. Full help to decide at www.mse.me/eco7

Can you find your stopcock? No sniggering - winter frozen pipe bursts can create an average £7,000 of damage, often worsened as many scrabble round searching for their stopcock - the mains water off switch - for ages as their home floods.

Take the time to find it now – mine is under the kitchen sink. Others find theirs in the bathroom or inside a cupboard. If yours isn’t working, you may want to call a plumber now, before it’s a problem.

Choosing between heating and eating? If you're seriously behind, or in general financial hardship - as far too many are after the hikes - you may be eligible for special help. Call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 to check. Plus if anyone in your home was born on or before 5 January 1952, you're due up to £300 in tax-free winter fuel payments. Payments should be made automatically, but if you’ve never had it before then you may need to register - see www.gov.uk.

Plus anyone on specific income support, jobseekers' allowances or pension credit gets £25 in cold weather payments for every 7 days it's sub-0 C.

@MoneySavingExpert

Car insurance prices have fallen 40% over the past two years, according to the AA. But with a rise in fraudulent claims, its latest index predicts an increase of up to 8% in 2015; others

think 10% is possible. So to help you drive down costs, let me answer your most common questions…

Car Insurance

Q. Is this only something you can do if you’re at renewal?

A. No, everyone should be checking their price right now, even if you only signed up to a new deal a few months ago. Unless you’ve claimed, you can usually cancel a policy for a fee of around £50 and get a re-fund for the rest of the year (though you won’t earn no claims for that year). It’s worth checking if it’s worth it.

Q. My renewal’s only six weeks away, should I just wait?

A. It’s likely if you did try and cancel and get a new policy now, the cancellation fee will diminish any savings – so that’s a bit futile. Yet there is another trick - www.aviva.co.uk, www.postoffice.co.uk and www.lv.com quotes last 60 days, so why not grab them now and you’re effectively locking in those prices in case they rise in the meantime.

Q. Are the savings that great? Can’t you just auto-renew?

A. Never just auto-renew without checking elsewhere, often it just lets insurers smack a price rise on you, as it knows apathy means many will keep paying more and more.

I’m not saying auto-renewing will never be your cheap-est option, just that it should never be done without checking and comparing elsewhere first.

Q. So it’s just a question of getting on a comparison site?

A. That’s the route many use, but there are steps to re-ally kick it up. It’s important to understand that there’s no one cheapest provider, so it’s a case of following a system. Never just do one comparison, you need a benchmark of a few comparisons to find out where’s cheapest. There’s a system to follow fully explained at www.mse.me/carinsurance. In a nutshell…

Combine comparison sites. They don’t all cover the same insurers, so combining a number of sites is the best way to really make a meaningful saving. My cur-rent top picks for a typical driver are -www.moneysupermarket.com, www.confused.com, and www.comparethemarket.comCheck insurers that comparisons miss. Comparison sites let you compare 100s of insurers quickly but they don’t capture the entire market. The biggies, including Aviva, www.directline.com and www.zurich.co.uk only offer their products directly.

More than one car at home? Comparison sites can only cope with one car at once so don’t include multi-car discounts. Therefore you should always manually check those that offer it. The big one is www.admiral.com multi-car, but www.churchill.com, www.direct-line.com and www.privilege.com also offer it. I’m not saying they’ll win, but that you should check.

Difficult to insure? Use a broker. If you’ve difficult cir-cumstances (eg, past bans or big accidents) that make getting insurance difficult, a comparison site is less likely to help as these are mainly focused on ‘normal’ policies. You may be better off finding a local broker - see the British Insurance Brokers’ Association website (www.biba.org.uk), as these can sometimes find a cheaper deal for you.

Q. So it’s all pretty straightforward?

A. Ah if only. Common-sense doesn't always do the job… - Third party's not always cheapest. Merely select-ing comprehensive makes some insurers see you as a lower risk. So always check both.

- Adding a responsible second driver can cut your costs. This can bring down your risk average and price - of course, it must be someone who may drive your car. As Mazzyb5 tweeted: "Took your advice and added mum - saved £500."

The Martin Lewis Money Page- Tweaking your job description can cut costs. I'm not saying lap dancers should call themselves cabinet ministers (or vice versa, heaven forbid). But these days many people have such specific job descriptions car insurers don't list them, as Fabsternation tweeted: "Thanks. Changing from creative director to marketing manager saved £300." See my fun car insurance job picker tool www.mse.me/jobpicker.

- Beware paying monthly. A monthly payment plan for your insurance is essentially a high-inter-est loan. For example, if your premium is £1,000 but you’re paying an APR of 25%, your insurance will actually cost £1,140 once you factor in the interest. So either pay in full, or if you can't afford it, use a credit card with a lower APR or better still, a 0% credit card for spending, ensuring your repayments are big enough to clear it within a year.

Q. And any special tips for young drivers?

A. With the average premium for a 17-22-year-old at an eye-watering £1,194 per year, young car drivers can be priced out - all the techniques above will help, but if you’re not getting there, check ‘pay how you drive’ (telematics) this involves a device being fitted inside your car that monitors your actions behind the wheel. Full info in www.mse.me/youngdrivers.

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14

By Jonathan Vernon-Smith

You can listen to The JVS Show every weekday morning from 9am on BBC Three Counties Radio

Consumer Clinic

How to Get Ripped Without Being Ripped Off

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have completely overindulged during the festive period. In fact, I think I ate about 17 turkeys and drank my bodyweight in Harvey’s Bristol Cream. Sadly, the result of this gluttony is that the New Year requires a little vigorous exercise and

healthier eating to get back in shape.

Indeed, it’s generally this time of the year when many of us look in the mirror and race to the nearest gym, happy to sign ourselves up to expensive, long term contracts. But how do you protect yourself against getting ripped off in the process? Over the years, I have dealt with many complaints about gym membership deals. Sometimes this is because gyms are unreason-able in their approach but sadly, more often than not, it's down to pure naivety from consumers. Gyms are businesses, not chari-ties! They have sales advisors in most gyms whose sole responsibil-ity it is to sign up new customers. They are generally paid by com-mission, and are highly trained to persuade you to sign yourself up for at least a years’ worth of keep fit expense. They seem so nice, so friendly, so understanding and so kind. However, don’t underesti-mate them. Without you agreeing to join the gym, they don’t get paid. That is their motivation. Be aware that when you sign up to a gym membership, you are entering a legally binding contract. Unless there is a cancel-lation period outlined in the terms and conditions, you are legally

obliged to pay your membership fees for the entire length of the contract. If you're concerned that you'll only bother to go for the first two months, then agreeing to a year long (many contracts are 18 months or two years) is a pretty stupid thing to do. If you decide to cancel, you'll probably be liable for hundreds of pounds worth of fees. What about exceptional circum-stances though? Often consumers will come to me saying "I took out gym membership and then lost my job the following week" or "I signed up to a gym but had a bad car accident and haven't been able to use it for 6 months". Of course exceptional circumstances can help your case when attempt-ing to cancel, but unless it states that cancellation is allowed under exceptional circumstances in the terms, you'll still be liable for the full membership costs. So when CAN you cancel a gym membership? Obviously if the service you receive from the gym is poor (for example many of the machines don't work) then you can make a good case for cancellation of the contract. Also if you can prove that some of the terms and conditions in your membership agreement are

unfair you may stand a chance, but be prepared for a fight. In my experience gyms can be some of the most aggressive organisa-tions to fight as a consumer. They often have legal departments that are very used to arguing with unhappy gym goers who want a quick way out. If you are uncertain over your motivation to attend the gym, it is worth noting that many gym chains will offer special member-ships that can be cancelled easily, or are on a pay as you go basis. It may be best to start with one of these until you've properly de-cided whether you like it or not. You may conclude from this month’s article, that I'm an anti-gym person. I'm not! Honestly! If you are motivated, they can be fantastic places to fight the flab, feel better about yourself and im-prove your health. Just approach gym membership with your eyes open and you'll not come unstuck months down the line. Happy Fat fighting!

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Bedfordshire’s Night Sky Looking Up!

February & March 2015 Image by Jeff BartonBy Seb Jay

See Venus & Mars tango over the western horizon: February sees a celestial encounter fit for Valentine’s night romance as Venus and Mars tango over the western horizon at dusk. On 14th February look low to the west from an elevated location like Dunstable Downs. Bright Venus is unmistakable in the fading twilight. By 6:20pm Mars will be obvious too as a dull orange ‘star’ located slightly above and to the left of Venus. The two planets draw even closer together over the ensuing week, so do keep watching them if you have the chance.

Discover amazing Jupiter in a telescope: As darkness falls over Bedfordshire in February and March this year another bright ‘star’ will be shin-ing over towards the east and south-east. Jupiter is a must-see object in a telescope. Even a small telescope reveals Jupiter’s four Galilean moons in orbit around the giant planet, while larger telescopes let us glimpse cloud detail in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

Don’t miss out on the March Solar Eclipse! Friday 20th March 2015 sees the UK experience a deep par-tial eclipse of the sun. From Bedfordshire just over 85 per cent of our warm yellow friend will be temporarily consumed by the moon’s disc. The event begins at 8:30am and lasts until 10:30am. Mid-eclipse, and the deepest darkness, is at 9:30am.

19

www.thevinemagazine.com12

Discover AshridgeDiscover this area of outstanding

natural beauty right on our doorstep.

Visitor Centre, Moneybury Hill, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 1LT

The Visitor Centre and National Trust Shop is now open all year round 10am – 5pm (or dusk if earlier).

Wildlife at AshridgeFebruary and March is a great time to go for a walk on the Estate and try and spot some of our more unusual winter bird visitors. Wrap up warm and see what you can discover! Many birds fly to the UK to spend the winter here, where the weather is warmer than in their Scandina-vian breeding grounds. In the mixed finch flocks look out for some of the more uncommon species such as brambling. Similar to chaffinch, but with an orange rather than pink colouration, the bramblings are particularly fond of beech mast.Another finch to look out for is the crossbill. You may find these amongst the conifer trees. Crossbills have specialised beaks which enable them to extract seeds from pine cones. The numbers of ground-dwelling woodcock are boosted in winter by migrants from NE Europe. With their long bills, woodcock probe in the wet mud to find invertebrates to feed on. They are secretive and hard to see, but you may come across them in quiet corners of the woodland.

Get InvolvedAre you interested in getting involved in volunteering at the Ashridge Estate and joining the team? Here are some of the opportunities we currently have.

Countryside volunteers – Our rangers have two regular groups of volunteer who help with scrub clearance and other maintenance and monitoring across the Estate. Meeting every Thursday and once a month on Sundays.

Maintenance Volunteer – Help us keep the presenta-tion of the Visitor Centre and surrounding area in tip top condition.

Litter Pickers – Help us keep the Estate clean and tidy. This essential job takes place one Sunday a month.

Mobility Scooters – Help provide this valuable service to our less mobile visitors. Volunteers work in pairs to loan out scooters to visitors who want to explore the Estate but can’t do so on foot or by bike. Training on how to use the scooters is provided

LIGHTEN UP YOUR HALF TERM16th - 20th Feb £1 per child 10am - 4pmMake and decorate your own jam jar lantern to take home with you or bring it along to our Candlelit walk on Friday 20th February. No need to book just turn up.

CANLELIT WALKFri 20th Feb 5.30pm - 9pm £1Follow our trail around Meadley’s Meadow, lit by candles. At various points there will be featured lighting effects such as floodlit trees and sweedish candles. Suitable for all the fam-ily. Walk on a surfaced track. No need to book, just turn up. Bring a torch along with you. For youngsters: Come along during the week to make your coloured lantern in the Visitor Centre and then bring it with you to help you light your way along the trail.

ASHRIDGE SPRING TRAIL16th Feb - 30th May Daily 10am - 5pm £1Take a stroll through the woodland discover-ing more about Spring time at Ashridge. Visit the Ashridge Visitor Centre to collect your trail map and follow the trail, answer the questions and return to collect your sticker reward.

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< Local, national & international moves < Packing services & materials available < Containerised storage

Tel: 01582 572967

[email protected] www.stephensremovals.com

Member of the British Association of Removers

Membership No. S052

19

At Home&In The GardenThe Art Of Wallpaper

Paint 1Make sure all your paper has the same lot number so that it matches.

2 Use a lining paper to prevent the top paper from creasing or stretching and help the

paste to dry faster.

3 Apply a one-inch stripe of white paint along the top of the wall before papering over dark

paint or wallpaper. It won't be as noticeable if the wallpaper fails to align exactly at the top.

4 Use a special plumb bob to get paper straight.

5 Your first strip should be about four inches longer than the height of the wall. Strips after

that should be at least two inches longer top and bottom and may need to be more to ensure a pattern match.

6 Turn off the power before papering around switches and receptacles. Remove cover

plates and paper over them. Then make a di-agonal slit from opposite corners. Trim away the triangular flaps and replace the cover plate.

7 Double check newly hung strips for bubbles and seam matches.

8 Use a sponge to wipe excess adhesive and rinse the sponge often.

9 Use a sharp utility knife to trim paper

10 A special paste is needed to hang a border on top of wallpaper.

Go along to any DIY store or specialist decorating shop and you will see lots of different types of wall coverings, but how did they originate?

The first type of paper was introduced in Egypt around 4000 BC and was called papyrus. It was from about 200 BC that the Chinese started to put glued rice paper onto their walls, and around 105AD that they began to make paper from textile waste. Knowledge spread from the Chi-nese to the Middle East via prisoners in the eighth century. It took until the twelfth century for papermaking to reach Europe.English manufacturing methods became world famous, and in the eighteenth century wallpapers from London work-shops were highly sought after. Initially, hand painted papers imitated architectural details or materials like marble and stucco, but eventually other patterns emerged.The 1920’s are known as the Golden Age of Wallpaper as some 400 million rolls were sold during that period. The industry was revolutionized after WW2 when plastic resins were added to make wallpapers stain resistant, washable, and more durable. Whilst the popularity of wallpaper has ebbed and flowed in the intervening years, there is now more variety than ever and a wide price range. The choice of wallpa-per can affect the mood and style of a room and can influences the selection of furnishing. To get the best effect from any paper however, it is important to hang it correctly, so we have ‘pasted’ some great tips opposite...

20

At Home&In The GardenThe Art Of Wallpaper

Paint 1Make sure all your paper has the same lot number so that it matches.

2 Use a lining paper to prevent the top paper from creasing or stretching and help the

paste to dry faster.

3 Apply a one-inch stripe of white paint along the top of the wall before papering over dark

paint or wallpaper. It won't be as noticeable if the wallpaper fails to align exactly at the top.

4 Use a special plumb bob to get paper straight.

5 Your first strip should be about four inches longer than the height of the wall. Strips after

that should be at least two inches longer top and bottom and may need to be more to ensure a pattern match.

6 Turn off the power before papering around switches and receptacles. Remove cover

plates and paper over them. Then make a di-agonal slit from opposite corners. Trim away the triangular flaps and replace the cover plate.

7 Double check newly hung strips for bubbles and seam matches.

8 Use a sponge to wipe excess adhesive and rinse the sponge often.

9 Use a sharp utility knife to trim paper

10 A special paste is needed to hang a border on top of wallpaper.

Go along to any DIY store or specialist decorating shop and you will see lots of different types of wall coverings, but how did they originate?

The first type of paper was introduced in Egypt around 4000 BC and was called papyrus. It was from about 200 BC that the Chinese started to put glued rice paper onto their walls, and around 105AD that they began to make paper from textile waste. Knowledge spread from the Chi-nese to the Middle East via prisoners in the eighth century. It took until the twelfth century for papermaking to reach Europe.English manufacturing methods became world famous, and in the eighteenth century wallpapers from London work-shops were highly sought after. Initially, hand painted papers imitated architectural details or materials like marble and stucco, but eventually other patterns emerged.The 1920’s are known as the Golden Age of Wallpaper as some 400 million rolls were sold during that period. The industry was revolutionized after WW2 when plastic resins were added to make wallpapers stain resistant, washable, and more durable. Whilst the popularity of wallpaper has ebbed and flowed in the intervening years, there is now more variety than ever and a wide price range. The choice of wallpa-per can affect the mood and style of a room and can influences the selection of furnishing. To get the best effect from any paper however, it is important to hang it correctly, so we have ‘pasted’ some great tips opposite...

21www.thevinemagazine.com

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In The Garden

The Greenhouse Effect

People often ask me, “Is there something in your garden you

couldn’t live without?”... My reply is always, “My greenhouse.”

A greenhouse has many benefits, chief of which for me is that it extends the gardening year.

With a greenhouse you can potter in your gar-den all year round, and grow a range of plants which simply wouldn’t thrive without the extra protection.Before choosing a greenhouse you will need to check whether your local planning author-ity imposes any restrictions. While you don’t normally need planning permission, building regulations do have to be adhered to.Buy the biggest greenhouse you can afford that will fit comfortably on to your plot - you will always fill it! But even if you can only afford a tiny one - my first one had a base of just 4’ by 5.5’ (1.2m by 1.7m) - it will still be a worth-while investment.The aluminium- framed types are very sturdy and relatively cheap. Wooden-framed construc-tions are more attractive though, and often better in a small garden where everything has to earn its keep. Western red cedar is good because it lasts a long time and weathers really well.Greenhouses are even more useful if they are heated. I started out with paraffin heaters, but found they produced a lot of condensation and were messy and smelly. Electric heating is best, and very economical if you fit a system thermo-stat so that it only switches on when necessary.Apart from heat the most important factor is ventilation. In high summer this is vital to prevent your plants from cooking. Automatic arms which open the vents at a pre-designated temperature are really useful. External blinds are also very good as they prevent sun scorch.Finally, fit staging along one edge of the green-house for your pots, and dig a soil or gravel bed on the other side for things like tomato plants.Now all you have to do is plant some seeds and invest in a few tender perennials.

Fit your greenhouse to level foundations.

Orientation isn’t important , but make sure it isn’t in the shadow of the house, or overhanging trees.

Ventilate well.

Any electrical work must be carried out or certified by a qualified electrician to comply with part P of the building regulations.

Don’t be tempted to use a household electric heater. It won’t cope with the damp conditions in a greenhouse.

Fit a water butt to the down pipes at either end of the greenhouse to conserve water.

Great Greenhouse Tips

Nest Boxes

22

In The Garden

The Greenhouse Effect

People often ask me, “Is there something in your garden you

couldn’t live without?”... My reply is always, “My greenhouse.”

A greenhouse has many benefits, chief of which for me is that it extends the gardening year.

With a greenhouse you can potter in your gar-den all year round, and grow a range of plants which simply wouldn’t thrive without the extra protection.Before choosing a greenhouse you will need to check whether your local planning author-ity imposes any restrictions. While you don’t normally need planning permission, building regulations do have to be adhered to.Buy the biggest greenhouse you can afford that will fit comfortably on to your plot - you will always fill it! But even if you can only afford a tiny one - my first one had a base of just 4’ by 5.5’ (1.2m by 1.7m) - it will still be a worth-while investment.The aluminium- framed types are very sturdy and relatively cheap. Wooden-framed construc-tions are more attractive though, and often better in a small garden where everything has to earn its keep. Western red cedar is good because it lasts a long time and weathers really well.Greenhouses are even more useful if they are heated. I started out with paraffin heaters, but found they produced a lot of condensation and were messy and smelly. Electric heating is best, and very economical if you fit a system thermo-stat so that it only switches on when necessary.Apart from heat the most important factor is ventilation. In high summer this is vital to prevent your plants from cooking. Automatic arms which open the vents at a pre-designated temperature are really useful. External blinds are also very good as they prevent sun scorch.Finally, fit staging along one edge of the green-house for your pots, and dig a soil or gravel bed on the other side for things like tomato plants.Now all you have to do is plant some seeds and invest in a few tender perennials.

Fit your greenhouse to level foundations.

Orientation isn’t important , but make sure it isn’t in the shadow of the house, or overhanging trees.

Ventilate well.

Any electrical work must be carried out or certified by a qualified electrician to comply with part P of the building regulations.

Don’t be tempted to use a household electric heater. It won’t cope with the damp conditions in a greenhouse.

Fit a water butt to the down pipes at either end of the greenhouse to conserve water.

Great Greenhouse Tips

Nest Boxes

23

Do not put nest boxes of the same type close to each other.

Open fronted boxes should be hidden from view.

Make sure cats cannot get into the boxes.

Consider putting a metal plate around the hole to deter squirrels.

Boxes should be sheltered from the weather.

Keep the boxes away from bird feeders.

Place between 1 and 5 metres high.

Use screws that will not rust.

This year, National Nest Box Week takes place from 14th-21st February. The event is organised by the British Trust for Ornithology. The idea started in 1997 following fears about

birds losing their natural nest sites because of lots of trees being cut down,

old buildings disappearing, gardens being ‘tidied’ and old houses being repaired. The Trust wants us to put up nest boxes so that we can protect the wildlife we have, and encourage even more birds to come into our gardens. It is estimated that there are now over 5 million nest boxes in the UK designed to help everything from Robins to Owls. Different types of nesting box attract different birds. So in a box with small holes, you might get Blue Tit’s, Nuthatches, Redstarts or House Sparrows. Boxes with larger holes may encourage Starlings, Spot-ted Woodpeckers and perhaps even Little Owls; and in very big boxes you might see Kestrels, Jackdaws, Stock Doves and Tawny Owls. There are also open fronted boxes which appeal to Robins, Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Wagtails. Imagine how lovely it would be to watch the birds go-ing in and out of your boxes and hopefully some young ones hatching there. If you are careful and quiet, you can even peek inside the box from time to time when the eggs are incubating, as most birds will sit tight. If you want to count the eggs, observe in the early morning and wait until the female bird flies off for a quick meal. You can choose to buy some nest boxes from your local pet store or garden centre, or make some. Instructions for building boxes are available on many internet sites including www.bto.org/ the British Trust for Ornithol-ogy site.February is an ideal time to put boxes up, because pairs of small birds prosper towards the end of the month. You are also helping however if you put boxes up at any time of year, although 1 August to the 31 January is the time under Bird Protection Law when nests can be cleaned out, and any dead eggs found destroyed.

Nest Boxes

Handy Hints

LEATHER

CAR SEAT & FURNITURE REPAIRS

Most repairs can be undertaken

in your home by our qualified

leather technicians, or larger jobs

brought into our fully equipped

workshop.

• Rips • Cigarette Burns • Holes • Cat Scratches • Re-colouring• Colour Matching • Cleaning• Cracking • Stain Removal • Re-Padding • Spring Replacement.

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Website: www.furnitureclinic.co.uk

24

auto Biographies

By Tim Barnes-Claywww.carwriteups.co.uk

The 1994 Geneva motor show signalled the arrival of a new kind of vehicle, one that would revolu-tionize the world mo-tor market. At the time few people could have predicted the effect the Toyota RAV4 would make.

The initial Recreational Activ-ity Vehicle with 4-wheel drive (hence RAV4) opened up a new sector for compact, manoeuvrable sport utility vehicles (SUVs).Toyota had unpresumptuous aspi-rations for its new car, expecting worldwide sales of only around 4,500 models. When 8,000 orders swamped the Japanese automaker in the first four weeks alone, production volumes had to be doubled.To begin with, it was avail-able only as a three-door with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Measur-ing just 3.96m long (little more than today’s Toyota Yaris), it was unlike anything else at the time.The public had an appetite for the new kid on the block, however, and in 1995 RAV4’s first full year on sale – almost 6,800 were sold, quickly establishing it as the fourth best-selling car in Toyota’s 14-strong British line-up.Twenty years on, and the RAV4 is almost unrecognisable. That’s because the compact SUV mar-

ketplace has evolved and matured in line with customers’ changing requirements and preferences. Generally speaking, two decades ago, this type of car was regarded as a substitute to sporty hatch-backs and coupes. Today its pop-ularity is among families wanting a more fun car over multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and estates.Over the years, Toyota has worked hard to keep the model firmly at the heart of its segment, without forfeiting the entertaining-to-drive quality that defined the original RAV4. When it came to creating the latest model, Toyota talked to existing RAV4 customers around the globe to understand what was best about their car. They named its manoeuvrability, ease of ac-cess, lofty view of the road ahead, ingenious packaging, versatility and reassuring capability, even when the going gets tough.As a result, 2014’s RAV4 points towards an even stronger focus on family use. The result is a car that is more refined with better exterior styling, a more airy cabin and load-space, greater comfort and higher levels of safety. The only drawback with the cur-rent RAV4 is the old-fashioned interior. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a major issue – but it is notice-able all the same. The car is un-doubtedly luxurious, especially in ‘Invincible’ 2.2 D4D Auto guise, but the cabin still looks at least a decade old. It’s not poor quality or anything. In fact it all looks very hard-wearing. It’s mainly the switchgear that looks really dated.

Behind the wheel, much of that is forgotten once the pure pleasure of driving takes over. The RAV4 is smooth and gracefully punchy. Indeed, its all-wheel drive capabil-ity is more sophisticated than ever before. Toyota’s Integrated Active Drive System has been developed to offer a more engaging “sport” mode, with gadgetry to automati-cally adjust the amount of twisting power distributed between the front and rear axles. It’s easy to see why the RAV4 was, and is, such a hit. It is undoubt-edly thanks to this car that the SUV market developed from a niche to become a vital feature of the motoring majority.

Toyota RAV 4

Max speed: 115 mph 0-62 mph: 10.0 secs Combined mpg: 42.4Engine: 2231cc 4 cylinder 16 valve turbo diesel Max. power (bhp): 148 at 3600 rpm Max. torque (lb/ft): 250 at 2800 rpm CO2: 176 g/km Price: £29,305 on the road

FAST FACTS

PROS & CONS Spacious √Punchy √Grip √Driving Position √Dated Interior X

auto BIOGRAPHIES Toyota RAV 4

By Tim Barnes-Clay, Motoring Writer www.carwriteups.co.uk @carwriteups

The 1994 Geneva motor show signalled the arrival of a new kind of vehicle, one that would revolutionize the world motor market. At the time few people could have predicted the effect the Toyota RAV4 would make. The initial Recreational Activity Vehicle with 4-wheel drive (hence RAV4) opened up a new sector for compact, manoeuvrable sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Toyota had unpresumptuous aspirations for its new car, expecting worldwide sales of only around 4,500 models. When 8,000 orders swamped the Japanese automaker in the first four weeks alone, production volumes had to be doubled. To begin with, it was available only as a three-door with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Measuring just 3.96m long (little more than today’s Toyota Yaris), it was unlike anything else at the time. The public had an appetite for the new kid on the block, however, and in 1995 RAV4’s first full year on sale – almost 6,800 were sold, quickly establishing it as the fourth best-selling car in Toyota’s 14-strong British line-up. Twenty years on, and the RAV4 is almost unrecognisable. That’s because the compact SUV marketplace has evolved and matured in line with customers’ changing requirements and preferences. Generally speaking, two decades ago, this type of car was regarded as a substitute to sporty hatchbacks and coupes. Today its popularity is among families wanting a more fun car over multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and estates. Over the years, Toyota has worked hard to keep the model firmly at the heart of its segment, without forfeiting the entertaining-to-drive quality that defined the original RAV4. When it came to creating the latest model, Toyota talked to existing RAV4 customers around the globe to understand

what was best about their car. They named its manoeuvrability, ease of access, lofty view of the road ahead, ingenious packaging, versatility and reassuring capability, even when the going gets tough. As a result, 2014’s RAV4 points towards an even stronger focus on family use. The result is a car that is more refined with better exterior styling, a more airy cabin and load-space, greater comfort and higher levels of safety. The only drawback with the current RAV4 is the old-fashioned interior. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a major issue – but it is noticeable all the same. The car is undoubtedly luxurious, especially in ‘Invincible’ 2.2 D4D Auto guise, but the cabin still looks at least a decade old. It’s not poor quality or anything. In fact it all looks very hard-wearing. It’s mainly the switchgear that looks really dated. Behind the wheel, much of that is forgotten once the pure pleasure of driving takes over. The RAV4 is smooth and gracefully punchy. Indeed, its all-wheel drive capability is more sophisticated than ever before. Toyota’s Integrated Active Drive System has been developed to offer a more engaging “sport” mode, with gadgetry to automatically adjust the amount of twisting power distributed between the front and rear axles. It’s easy to see why the RAV4 was, and is, such a hit. It is undoubtedly thanks to this car that the SUV market developed from a niche to become a vital feature of the motoring majority.

FAST FACTS Max speed: 115mph

0-62 mph: 10.0 secs

Combined mpg: 42.2

Engine: 2231cc 4 cylinder 16valve turbo diesel

Max. power (bhp): 148 at 3600 rpm

Max. torque (Ib/ft): 250 at 2800 rpm

CO2: 176 g/km

Price: £29,305 on the road

PROS ‘N’ CONS

Spacious √ Punchy √

Grip √ Driving Position √

Dated Interior X

25

auto Biographies

By Tim Barnes-Claywww.carwriteups.co.uk

The 1994 Geneva motor show signalled the arrival of a new kind of vehicle, one that would revolu-tionize the world mo-tor market. At the time few people could have predicted the effect the Toyota RAV4 would make.

The initial Recreational Activ-ity Vehicle with 4-wheel drive (hence RAV4) opened up a new sector for compact, manoeuvrable sport utility vehicles (SUVs).Toyota had unpresumptuous aspi-rations for its new car, expecting worldwide sales of only around 4,500 models. When 8,000 orders swamped the Japanese automaker in the first four weeks alone, production volumes had to be doubled.To begin with, it was avail-able only as a three-door with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Measur-ing just 3.96m long (little more than today’s Toyota Yaris), it was unlike anything else at the time.The public had an appetite for the new kid on the block, however, and in 1995 RAV4’s first full year on sale – almost 6,800 were sold, quickly establishing it as the fourth best-selling car in Toyota’s 14-strong British line-up.Twenty years on, and the RAV4 is almost unrecognisable. That’s because the compact SUV mar-

ketplace has evolved and matured in line with customers’ changing requirements and preferences. Generally speaking, two decades ago, this type of car was regarded as a substitute to sporty hatch-backs and coupes. Today its pop-ularity is among families wanting a more fun car over multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and estates.Over the years, Toyota has worked hard to keep the model firmly at the heart of its segment, without forfeiting the entertaining-to-drive quality that defined the original RAV4. When it came to creating the latest model, Toyota talked to existing RAV4 customers around the globe to understand what was best about their car. They named its manoeuvrability, ease of ac-cess, lofty view of the road ahead, ingenious packaging, versatility and reassuring capability, even when the going gets tough.As a result, 2014’s RAV4 points towards an even stronger focus on family use. The result is a car that is more refined with better exterior styling, a more airy cabin and load-space, greater comfort and higher levels of safety. The only drawback with the cur-rent RAV4 is the old-fashioned interior. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a major issue – but it is notice-able all the same. The car is un-doubtedly luxurious, especially in ‘Invincible’ 2.2 D4D Auto guise, but the cabin still looks at least a decade old. It’s not poor quality or anything. In fact it all looks very hard-wearing. It’s mainly the switchgear that looks really dated.

Behind the wheel, much of that is forgotten once the pure pleasure of driving takes over. The RAV4 is smooth and gracefully punchy. Indeed, its all-wheel drive capabil-ity is more sophisticated than ever before. Toyota’s Integrated Active Drive System has been developed to offer a more engaging “sport” mode, with gadgetry to automati-cally adjust the amount of twisting power distributed between the front and rear axles. It’s easy to see why the RAV4 was, and is, such a hit. It is undoubt-edly thanks to this car that the SUV market developed from a niche to become a vital feature of the motoring majority.

Toyota RAV 4

Max speed: 115 mph 0-62 mph: 10.0 secs Combined mpg: 42.4Engine: 2231cc 4 cylinder 16 valve turbo diesel Max. power (bhp): 148 at 3600 rpm Max. torque (lb/ft): 250 at 2800 rpm CO2: 176 g/km Price: £29,305 on the road

FAST FACTS

PROS & CONS Spacious √Punchy √Grip √Driving Position √Dated Interior X

auto BIOGRAPHIES Toyota RAV 4

By Tim Barnes-Clay, Motoring Writer www.carwriteups.co.uk @carwriteups

The 1994 Geneva motor show signalled the arrival of a new kind of vehicle, one that would revolutionize the world motor market. At the time few people could have predicted the effect the Toyota RAV4 would make. The initial Recreational Activity Vehicle with 4-wheel drive (hence RAV4) opened up a new sector for compact, manoeuvrable sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Toyota had unpresumptuous aspirations for its new car, expecting worldwide sales of only around 4,500 models. When 8,000 orders swamped the Japanese automaker in the first four weeks alone, production volumes had to be doubled. To begin with, it was available only as a three-door with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Measuring just 3.96m long (little more than today’s Toyota Yaris), it was unlike anything else at the time. The public had an appetite for the new kid on the block, however, and in 1995 RAV4’s first full year on sale – almost 6,800 were sold, quickly establishing it as the fourth best-selling car in Toyota’s 14-strong British line-up. Twenty years on, and the RAV4 is almost unrecognisable. That’s because the compact SUV marketplace has evolved and matured in line with customers’ changing requirements and preferences. Generally speaking, two decades ago, this type of car was regarded as a substitute to sporty hatchbacks and coupes. Today its popularity is among families wanting a more fun car over multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and estates. Over the years, Toyota has worked hard to keep the model firmly at the heart of its segment, without forfeiting the entertaining-to-drive quality that defined the original RAV4. When it came to creating the latest model, Toyota talked to existing RAV4 customers around the globe to understand

what was best about their car. They named its manoeuvrability, ease of access, lofty view of the road ahead, ingenious packaging, versatility and reassuring capability, even when the going gets tough. As a result, 2014’s RAV4 points towards an even stronger focus on family use. The result is a car that is more refined with better exterior styling, a more airy cabin and load-space, greater comfort and higher levels of safety. The only drawback with the current RAV4 is the old-fashioned interior. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a major issue – but it is noticeable all the same. The car is undoubtedly luxurious, especially in ‘Invincible’ 2.2 D4D Auto guise, but the cabin still looks at least a decade old. It’s not poor quality or anything. In fact it all looks very hard-wearing. It’s mainly the switchgear that looks really dated. Behind the wheel, much of that is forgotten once the pure pleasure of driving takes over. The RAV4 is smooth and gracefully punchy. Indeed, its all-wheel drive capability is more sophisticated than ever before. Toyota’s Integrated Active Drive System has been developed to offer a more engaging “sport” mode, with gadgetry to automatically adjust the amount of twisting power distributed between the front and rear axles. It’s easy to see why the RAV4 was, and is, such a hit. It is undoubtedly thanks to this car that the SUV market developed from a niche to become a vital feature of the motoring majority.

FAST FACTS Max speed: 115mph

0-62 mph: 10.0 secs

Combined mpg: 42.2

Engine: 2231cc 4 cylinder 16valve turbo diesel

Max. power (bhp): 148 at 3600 rpm

Max. torque (Ib/ft): 250 at 2800 rpm

CO2: 176 g/km

Price: £29,305 on the road

PROS ‘N’ CONS

Spacious √ Punchy √

Grip √ Driving Position √

Dated Interior X

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Action speaks louder than words"

26

TEC

HN

OLO

GY

The TelephoneAlexander Graham Bell

Earlier this week I witnessed a remarkable thing – a room full of people who not once

during the three hours they were together, took out a mobile phone to check emails, send texts, play games – or even make a call! It was re-markable because for most of us, the telephone is an integral part of modern life, an extension of ‘us’. The humble phone has come a long way since its creation nearly 140 years ago. I wonder what its inventor would make of it now?!Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland on 3 March 1847, and subsequently moved to Canada with his parents at the age of 23. With his father, grandfather, uncle and broth-ers all working in elocution and speech, and with a mother and wife who were both deaf, Alexander developed an interest in acoustics. Initially teaching the deaf how to speak, he finally decided to concentrate on experiment-ing with hearing devices and the transmission of sound via electricity, which culminated in the invention of the first practical telephone. His innovative streak brought about some inter-esting results along the way! At the age of 16, he and his brother built a robotic head which they got to ‘speak’ a few words. Alexander then taught the family dog how to ‘talk’ by manipu-

lating its lips and vocal cords to form a crude sounding “Ow ah oo ga ma ma” (How are you grandmama?”)! He’s also famous for inventing the metal detector, quickly put together fol-lowing the assassination of US President James Garfield, in order to locate in his body the bullet that killed him.But back to the telephone...Bell filed for a US patent to cover the transmission of sounds telegraphically on 14 February 1876 – the same day as rival inventor Elisha Gray. Even now, there is controversy about who got there first – the Scotsman or the American – but generally it is accredited to Bell. Three days after the patent was issued on 7 March 1876, Alexander got his telephone to work for the first time. He made a call to his assistant in an adjoining room, uttering the words, “Mr Watson, come here. I want to see you.” Later that year, he and Watson had a conversation 2 miles apart and as development continued, they were ultimately able to make a transcontinental call in January 1915 which spanned 3,400 miles. By 1886, more than 150,000 people in the Unit-ed States owned telephones. Today, over 90% of American adults own a mobile phone, bringing the total in operation to more than 327 million!

27www.thevinemagazine.com

STOCKWOOD DISCOVERY CENTRETel: 01582 548600

British Wildlife Photography Awards Continues until 15th March

The British Wildlife Photography exhibition will feature over 100 im-ages and videos, including winning and commended entries.Winning images are chosen from thousands of entries in sixteen sepa-rate categories including a special film category for Wildlife in HD Video and three junior categories to encourage young people to connect with nature through photography.Visit this stunning exhibition, which celebrates both the work of amateur and professional photographers and the beauty and diversity of British wildlife. Free

TALKS & EXHIBITIONSValentines

Friday 20th February, 2-3.30pm

Changing Faces of Luton BuildingsFriday 20th March, 2-3.30pm

A look at some of Luton’s most inter-esting history through film footage, photos and museum artefacts.Tea & coffee included.£7, £5 concessions

SAPPHIRE SOCIAL CLUBSapphire Social Club - this social club caters for the unattached aged 50+. We meet weekly in Hitchin and organize a variety of social events every month. No joining fee for the first two months. Come along and meet new friends.Tel: Joyce 07960 440 417 for detailswww.sapphiresocialsinglesclub.co.uk

THE PARKSIDE SINGERSDo you enjoy singing?The Parkside Singers is a lively mixed choir, singing four-part har-mony musicincluding pop, songs from musicals and some choral favourites such as Ave Verum and The Lords Prayer. Call Claire on 01525 753110.

LUTON POETRY SOCIETYLast Saturday of every month, 2-4pmLuton Central Library£3, free for Poetry Society member (£20 annual membership)Our meetings usually take place on the last Saturday of each month at Luton Central Library (3rd Floor)February’s theme is ‘Valentine’March’s theme is ‘Choices’For more information visit www.lutonculture.com/luton-libraries or call 01582 547 418

HOMESTARTHave you got just 2 to 3 hours to spare each week to support a local young family who are struggling to cope? The charity Home-Start is looking for caring parents and grand-parents. All training and support is given and expenses paid. It’s a great way to gain new skills, make friends and really make a difference to your community.Tel: 01582 [email protected] www.home-startcentralbeds.org.uk

POETRY CLUB FOR YOUNG WRITERS.

Reviving young Love, for Literature!The Parish Centre, Bramingham Park, LutonFirst Saturday of each Month 1.30pm – 2.30pmProfessional Home Tuition are creating a platform for young poetry writers to showcase their work. The Poetry club aims to help the writers enhance their skills and share theirwork with others. Poets will meet other like minded individuals who have the same passion for writing and reading poetry. PHTS say,’The club aims to revive love for Literature for the younger, gadget loving generation’.The club is open to all students from ages of 8 to 13.Yearly membership of £10 and then £2 per visit.To register your child or for further information call 01582 528 368.

BREAKOUT SOCIAL CLUBWe are a club for the over forty fives, not a singles club but a social club for people who enjoy going out but are on their own, where they can meet like-minded people, with a varied monthly programme covering Disco’s, Pub lunch’s, walks, parties and much, much more, we meet once a week in the front bar at the Conservative Club, High street North DunstableFor more information please contact Sandy on 07813 262556

WARDEN AFTERNOON CLUBMeets every Tuesday 2 - 4pmWarden Hill Community Centre (rear of the Warden Tavern)We are a recently established group of friendly ladies and gentlemen who meet weekly for companion-ship, activities and refreshments. If you would like some company, or know someone who would benefit from joining us, please come along any Tuesday - everyone is very welcome. For more information contact Sue on 07706895444 or email [email protected]

THE BOGTROTTERSThe Bogtrotters (Dunstable and District Walking and Hostelling Group) are a group of about 90 walkers, hikers and hostellers. We run a surprisingly diverse range of activities, including half and full day walks, hostelling trips, meals and evening activities.New members are always welcome. Prospective members are invited to get in touch via the website, give us a ring or just turn up to an event or walk.Enquiries@dunstablebogtrotters.co.ukwww.dunstablebogtrotters.co.uk01582 865966 Sue or Julian

28

Out About&• Clubs • Groups • Events• Community

The Natural History Museum at Tring was built in 1889 to house the incredible zoo-logical collections of Walter Rothschild. Come and discover animal specimens from around the world, from tiny beetles to enormous bears.Explore exhibitions and events atwww.nhm.ac.uk/tring.

Akeman Street Tring

Hertfordshire HP23 6AP

For Infomation Tel: 020 7942 6171

Bird FeedersThursday 12 February30-minute workshops at 11.00 and 14.00Especially for under fives.Tickets £1.50

Funky Photo FramesMonday 16 and Tuesday 17 February30-minute craft workshops at 10.15, 10.45, 11.15,14.30 and 15.00Suitable for ages five and over.Tickets £1.50

Den Building in Tring ParkWednesday 18 February45-minute activity at 10.30 and 14.00Suitable for ages five and over.Free, advanced booking required

The Natural History Museum at Tring was built in 1889 to house the incredible zoological collections of Walter Rothschild. Come and discover animal specimens from around the world, from tiny beetles to enormous bears.

Explore exhibitions and events at www.nhm.ac.uk/tring.

ExhibitionsLast chance to see

A Shot in the ParkUntil 16 November Free

Admire the wonderful winning images from this local photography competition, in partnership with Tring Brewery and the Woodland Trust, sponsored by Millican.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year29 November to 8 March Free

An international showcase for the very best nature photography, this annual exhibition continues to amaze and inspire with beautiful and thought-provoking images from around the world.

Polar Bear CraftMonday 29 and Tuesday 30 December 30-minute workshops at 10.15, 10.45, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.00

Suitable for all ages.

Tickets £1.50

Potato Print PenguinsThursday 8 January 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Buying event ticketsUnless otherwise stated, tickets can be bought in person on the day of each event.

For bookable events please call 020 7942 6163. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 10.00 to 16.00.

Telephone bookings can only be made with a debit/credit card.

Bookings open Thursday 23 October.

Family activitiesToddler TuesdaysEvery Tuesday in term time from 14.00 Free

Borrow something special from the collection and help your toddler explore and play around the Museum.

Autumn HedgehogsThursday 13 November 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Animal CalendarThursday 11 December 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Christmas Holiday Challenge20 December to 4 January

Search the galleries for the lost polar bears on this trail.

Free

Events for adults50 Years of Measuring Change: The Rothamsted Insect SurveyThursday 6 November 19.00–20.00

Join chief ecologist Chris Shortall to discover the results of a long-running survey of UK moths and aphids, and the relevance of this unique dataset to understanding environmental change.

Tickets £4.50, advance booking required

Behind the Scenes in the Rothschild LibrarySaturday 17 January 30-minute visits at 10.15 and 11.00

A rare opportunity to visit Walter Rothschild’s personal library, not usually open to the public, and see some of its beautiful natural history volumes. Please bring proof of address, details provided on booking. There is no step-free access to the library.

Tickets £4.50, advanced booking required

Tring Mansion from Wren to the Performing Arts SchoolThursday 19 February 19.00–20.00

Mike Hutchinson has delved into the darkest corners of the mansion’s history to discover all its previous owners, from Henry Guy to the Performing Arts School, and tracks the changes associated with them and the building.

Tickets £4.50, advanced booking required

Bird FeedersThursday 12 February 30-minute workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Funky Photo FramesMonday 16 and Tuesday 17 February 30-minute craft workshops at 10.15, 10.45, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.00

Suitable for ages five and over.

Tickets £1.50

Den Building in Tring ParkWednesday 18 February 45-minute activity at 10.30 and 14.00

Suitable for ages five and over.

Free, advanced booking required

Build a Bird BoxThursday 19 February One-hour workshops at 10.15, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.30

Group activity, one box per group, suitable for ages five and over.

Tickets £8 per box, eight boxes per workshop.

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Build a Bird BoxThursday 19 FebruaryOne-hour workshops at 10.15, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.30Group activity, one box per group, suitable for ages five and over.Tickets £8 per box, eight boxes per workshop.

The Natural History Museum at Tring was built in 1889 to house the incredible zoological collections of Walter Rothschild. Come and discover animal specimens from around the world, from tiny beetles to enormous bears.

Explore exhibitions and events at www.nhm.ac.uk/tring.

ExhibitionsLast chance to see

A Shot in the ParkUntil 16 November Free

Admire the wonderful winning images from this local photography competition, in partnership with Tring Brewery and the Woodland Trust, sponsored by Millican.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year29 November to 8 March Free

An international showcase for the very best nature photography, this annual exhibition continues to amaze and inspire with beautiful and thought-provoking images from around the world.

Polar Bear CraftMonday 29 and Tuesday 30 December 30-minute workshops at 10.15, 10.45, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.00

Suitable for all ages.

Tickets £1.50

Potato Print PenguinsThursday 8 January 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Buying event ticketsUnless otherwise stated, tickets can be bought in person on the day of each event.

For bookable events please call 020 7942 6163. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 10.00 to 16.00.

Telephone bookings can only be made with a debit/credit card.

Bookings open Thursday 23 October.

Family activitiesToddler TuesdaysEvery Tuesday in term time from 14.00 Free

Borrow something special from the collection and help your toddler explore and play around the Museum.

Autumn HedgehogsThursday 13 November 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Animal CalendarThursday 11 December 30-minute craft workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Messy play especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Christmas Holiday Challenge20 December to 4 January

Search the galleries for the lost polar bears on this trail.

Free

Events for adults50 Years of Measuring Change: The Rothamsted Insect SurveyThursday 6 November 19.00–20.00

Join chief ecologist Chris Shortall to discover the results of a long-running survey of UK moths and aphids, and the relevance of this unique dataset to understanding environmental change.

Tickets £4.50, advance booking required

Behind the Scenes in the Rothschild LibrarySaturday 17 January 30-minute visits at 10.15 and 11.00

A rare opportunity to visit Walter Rothschild’s personal library, not usually open to the public, and see some of its beautiful natural history volumes. Please bring proof of address, details provided on booking. There is no step-free access to the library.

Tickets £4.50, advanced booking required

Tring Mansion from Wren to the Performing Arts SchoolThursday 19 February 19.00–20.00

Mike Hutchinson has delved into the darkest corners of the mansion’s history to discover all its previous owners, from Henry Guy to the Performing Arts School, and tracks the changes associated with them and the building.

Tickets £4.50, advanced booking required

Bird FeedersThursday 12 February 30-minute workshops at 11.00 and 14.00

Especially for under fives.

Tickets £1.50

Funky Photo FramesMonday 16 and Tuesday 17 February 30-minute craft workshops at 10.15, 10.45, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.00

Suitable for ages five and over.

Tickets £1.50

Den Building in Tring ParkWednesday 18 February 45-minute activity at 10.30 and 14.00

Suitable for ages five and over.

Free, advanced booking required

Build a Bird BoxThursday 19 February One-hour workshops at 10.15, 11.15, 14.30 and 15.30

Group activity, one box per group, suitable for ages five and over.

Tickets £8 per box, eight boxes per workshop.

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WARDOWN PARK MUSEUMTel: 01582 546722

Saturday SelectionEvery Saturday until 21 Feb

Session times11am - 1pm & 2pm - 4pm

Take part in object-handling sessions on Saturday’sVisitors will be able to get up close and hands on with a range of weird and wonderful objects from the museum’s many and varied collec-tions. Each week the museum will be searching its stores and bringing out objects for people to see and handle, many of which have never been on display. Free

Luton Art’ 14 ExhibitionCountinues until 22 February

An exhibition of works by local art-ists, in a range of medium and styles. Selected from submissions to the Luton Art Competition. Free

Music in the Museum: The SituatorsSunday 8 February, 2pm

Local band The Situators is a guitar and vocal group that play a wide range of familiar and less well-known music based on strong rhythms and tight harmony singing. Frequently de-scribed as “a breath of fresh air”, The Situators’ choice of songs and unique delivery will both sound great and entertain. Perfect to raise the spirits in deepest darkest February. £5

LISTEN!17 February – 19 April

Immerse yourself in an accessible interactive exhibition of sound.A quirky collection of much loved sound making objects curated and created by Graeme Leak.Gently ringing chimes, lightly amplified dripping water, environ-mental drones, retro tape loops and the sound of your own footsteps combine in LISTEN! to make a space where the noise of the world can be left behind for some moments of contemplation and wonder. Free

www.thevinemagazine.com 29

Out About

3130

Step On ItMUSTYDUSTYDUSTSDUCTSDUCKSSUCKS

Answers

Got any News, charities, events, groups or good causes

to promote?

We can help!

And it’s Free!

17

Discover magic, pure and simple magic. Grow food,

cook food and share food and do it in public places.

These are the words of Mary Clear co founder of Incred-

ible Edible Todmorden set up in 2007 with her friend

Pam Warhurst. Together with the help of their commu-

nity they have grown being Incredible into a worldwide

revolution with 300 IE’s all over the world.

I run my own gardening business and most of my work is for

the elderly. I have seen how lonely some folk can be when

everyone is out at work, everyone has stuff to do and no

one has time for their each other. I wanted my neighbour-

hood restored so I thought what better way to do this than to

make a beautiful garden that grows food for us all to share,

so I began!

February 2013 on a snowy winter’s day I started by writ-

ing to Dunstable Council and asking can you help, they

said ‘Yes’. Central Bedfordshire is our landowner and has

provided huge support. So together with some willing

volunteers we built this garden. We now have 5 raised

beds filled with 40 bags of horse manure topped off with 8

tonne of top soil all donated and collected for free. The beds

produced strawberries, tomatoes, fennel, coriander, mint,

thyme, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mixed salad leaves,

lettuce, spring onion, radish, swede all donated for free.

We were involved with Anglia in Bloom this year and

helped to bring home GOLD. We have been visited by Mr J

Chatterley Dunstable Town Mayor and he is in full support

of our community garden. We had a massive raspberry

plant over the half term holiday and planted over 30 fruit

canes all donated for free.

Next year the garden will be used for the students from

Barnfield Vale Academy as the garden for their Enrichment

Option. This will involve teaching them all about com-

munity, nature and sustainable food production, in a way

that will inspire them to look outside the box and see the

potential for expanding this project.

We will be hoping to have a seating area in the garden for

people to take the time to sit and have their lunch after do-

ing some work in our garden. Meet and take the time to talk

to each other after harvesting the free vegetables and fruit.

We are not funded by anyone; we rely on volunteer’s dona-

tions of their time and donations of plants and materials

from the local businesses and the local community.

If you feel you are able to support our project by working in

the garden or a donation of a plant or a few roles of weed

suppressant membrane and a few bags of mulch every tiny

bit of help is received with open arms.

Maybe a tree surgeon could deposit some free chippings

directly to our garden or a landscape gardener has extra

supplies or a grab lorry driver could remember us if he has

some topsoil to dispose of. We could use all of these things

for our herb spiral we want to make next year. We would be

truly grateful.

Big love, smiles and nice tea to share

Sahira (pronounced Syra)

Like and share our Facebook page Incredible Edible Dun-

stableFor more information contact me on

01582 519132 or 07905 116623

INCRedible

5

4

www.thevinemagazine.co.uk

The word on the street is that DUNSTABLE ROCKS,

the closing event for Dunstable Town Council’s Sum-

mer of Music, is going to attract phenomenal crowds.

This FREE event is headlined by legendary soul singer

Alexander O’Neal, famous for a wide range of classics

which includes ‘Cri tic ise’, ‘Fake’, ‘Never Knew Love

Like This’, ‘Saturday Love’ and ‘Secret Lovers’.

It is recommended that if you want to grab a prime view-

ing spot, you should arrive early. O’Neal is reputedly the

best pure singer to come from the 80s soul era, releasing

a string of memorable hits that are still on radio playlists

across the UK to satisfy regular ‘radio requests’. This

soul legend has an undying passion to perform and on

Saturday, 18 August 2012 you can enjoy his celebrated

act ABSOLUTELY FREE .

DUNSTABLE ROCKS will open at 12 noon with local

performances along with bands Subset, The Call Up and

Gin House Delta. Back by popular demand, after a very

popular set last year, is exceptional cover band ‘Leech’

who will once again deliver a string of popular, sing-

along, dance-along tunes getting Grove House Gardens

up on its party feet.

Keeping the party atmosphere going, Back to Black, the

Amy Whinehouse Experience will take up the reins with a

performance that encapsulates the look, the mannerisms

and the voice of Amy. ‘Can You Keep A Secret?’ Nathan

Moore, lead singer of Brother Beyond, takes to the stage

as the final act before the eagerly-awaited Alexander O’

Neal. Brother Beyond’s first hit, ‘The Harder I Try’ made

number 2 in the charts and we expect lots of female fans

for this 80s hottie!!

There will also be a variety of good quality food on sale

and our wonderful outside bar, BarWorx, will be there to

supply both alcoholic and soft drinks. So what are you

waiting for? Put Dunstable Rocks, Saturday, 18 August in

your diary now. And don’t forget to arrive early to secure

a prime position.

We want everyone to have a fantastic time, so to ensure

this; only a reasonable amount of alcohol will be permit-

ted on site and due to the enormous crowds expected at

this event, it will not be permissible to erect gazebos or

picnic tables because of lack of space.

SATURDAY, 18 AUGUST 2012

Grove House Gardens 12 Noon - 10pm

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www.thevinemagazine.co.uk

With Bradley Wiggins becoming the first Briton to

win the Tour de France and an outstanding ending

sequence to the Olympics featuring a hoard of

chrome bedazzled scooters to the backdrop of The

Who's 'Pinball Wizard', mod culture has reaffirmed

it's place as a truly heritage piece of everyday British

life in the nations psyche. Unknowingly created in

the smokey, dark jazz clubs of Soho in the 1950's

and rising in popularity to it's salad days in the mid

sixties following a swathe of media coverage follow-

ing clashes with leather clad rockers on the south

coasts holiday resorts, mod has always been typified

by smart, clean cut individuals with an obsessive sar-

torial attention to detail and penchant for tailor made

suits and Italian scooters - forever set in cinematic

stone in The Who's legendary cult film, Quadrophe-

nia. Mod culture has remained firmly rooted in Brit-

ish culture ever since and can be seen even today

in Dunstable with the formation and rising presence

and popularity of the towns very own scooter club

- Ready Steady Go! SC. Formed in the summer of

2012 by a group of long standing mods, some new

to Dunstable, to raise the profile of the town and

mod culture, Ready Steady Go! were named after

the legendary TV music show of the 1960's. Found-

ing member Micky Fallows explains more; "We all

came together and met during the summer of 2012

through the mod scene and felt the town needed a

scooter club with some glitz and glam. The public

love nothing more than seeing a line of scooters

dressed in chrome and lights. It raises a pride and

excitement in people with a piece of British culture

that they can all identify with in some aspect or

another." The group first met at the Four Kings Bar

& Bistro on High Street South in September with

16 colourful and shiny steeds sat proudly on the

forecourt. "It was a great day. Two of us have moved

up this way from Watford and we were happy to

have a few of the guys from down there come up

and say hello." Following the buzz and excitement

the first meeting created amongst the scootering

fraternity, the groups second major meeting the fol-

lowing month saw over 100 people on 60 scooters

turn up in the town to support the club with a line

of classic Lambretta's and Vespa's stretching half the

length of High Street South. "We were absolutely

stunned if we're honest." Micky continues. "We had

clubs come down for the day from Aylesbury, Milton

Keynes, Hemel Hempstead, Oxford and a few other

towns. The support has been incredible. The towns

shoppers and residents were out taking photos,

beeping their horns as they drove by and coming to

chat and have their pictures taken with the scooters.

It just goes to show that mod culture is very dear to

most people whether they are immersed in it or not.

It's a huge piece of British heritage and culture and

something the majority of people remember from

different parts of their lives and can identify with."

Since then club has had a continually growing core

membership and to this end have made the Four

Kings Bar their permanent home, meeting every

Thursday evening for a get together. Other founding

member Paul Quin says; “We meet every week, just

to catch up - either on the scooters or if the weather

is bad we head down by car. We always love to

see new and younger faces come down, so pop

along and say hello and get involved. We have lots

going on and coming up. The Four Kings have been

amazing, welcoming us with open arms and playing

us some good music when we show up too.” In ad-

dition to their weekly get-together and large monthly

weekend meetings, the club are now focussing the

support they have been given into running some

charity events for their nominated charity - the Keech

Hospice childrens services - with the first being an

evening of sixties/mod/soul music to be held at the

Four Kings Bar on Saturday 23rd February. Member

David Savage explains; “We have managed to get

the areas finest DJ’s from the best local mod clubs to

come together for the night to hopefully help us raise

lots of money for the Keech, and have a top night as

well!” Tickets for the charity night can be purchased

from from the Four Kings Bar, Hetty Spaghetty cloth-

ing, Vinyl Revelations record shop or online through

the clubs website. The club are always happy to

receive new members to club, as Micky concludes;

“Anyone wishing to get involved should come down

to the Four Kings on a Thursday evening. Whether

you are on a scooter or not, we don’t sit about talk-

ing boring mechanics. It’s all about a love for mod

and sixties culture and being proud of it’s place in

Dunstable.”

Dunstable

Scooter Club

5

www.thevinemagazine.co.uk

4

Dunstable Glider Pilots selected for British Women's Team Helen Hingley, seen here with her own LS4

glider, has been chosen to represent Britain

in the 2013 Women's World Gliding Cham-

pionship to be held in Issoudun , France , during July. Fellow Dunstable pilot Melissa

Jenkins has been selected as the British Team

Captain.Helen has been flying at the London Gliding

Club for 5 years, initially wanting a "holiday

with a difference" and decided to go flying

again after a 9 year break from flying light

aircraft. "I much prefer the challenge of pow-

erless flight" Helen says.She's been highly successful in cross country

competition recently, coming third in her class in the Dunstable Regionals this year and 7th out of 37 in the pre-worlds practice.

The competition will last over 14 days, and

each day over 50 women glider pilots from

around the world will be set task distances of

up to 600 kms.Understanding and then making best use of

the prevailing weather conditions in order to

find rising air and fly these huge distances -

without an engine - is the essence of gliding.

The London Gliding Club has operated from

its airfield at the foot of the Dunstable Downs

since the early 1930's. It is famous among

the aviation community for cross-country,

aerobatics and vintage gliding, and is one of

the largest gliding clubs in the world.

There is a whole world to discover on your

doorstepwith your local Wildlife Trust in 2013

Here are some of your up and coming events

for February and March this year· A Talk On Education And Community On Blows Downs Nature Reserve

Come and find out about the importance of educa-

tion and community work and the differences it

makes to Blows DownsEvent: Indoor Talk

Booking: Essential

Date: Monday 11 Feb 2013

Time: 7.45pm – 9.15pm

Location: Priory Middle School,

Britain St, Dunstable, LU5 4JA. Meet in the Dome

Price: Donations gratefully accepted

Audience: AdultA Free Event For Youth Wildlife Rangers

Event: Fun Outdoor Activity for 13 - 19 Yr Olds

Booking: Essential

Date: Wednesday 20 Feb 2013

Time: 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Location: Blows Downs Nature Reserve,

Dunstable. Meet at Oakwood Avenue

Blows Down Litter PickCome and help the Blows Downs Conservation

Group to keep your local nature reserve looking

beautifulEvent: Outdoor Activity

Date: Sunday 17 March 2013

Time: 10am – 3pm

Location: Blows Downs Nature Reserve,

Dunstable. Meet at the Half Moon Lane entrance

Price: Free. Turn Up On The Day

Audience: Everyone Welcome

Children must be accompanied by an adult

Community Open DayCome along and find out more about your local

nature reserve at Blows DownsEvent:

Activities for Adults & Kids

Date: Sunday 24 March 2013

Time: 10am – 3pm

Location: Blows Downs Nature Reserve, Dunsta-

ble. Meet near to the Half Moon Lane entrance

Price: Donations gratefully accepted

Audience: Everyone Welcome.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For information Tel Ruth Sneath: 01525 874317

Email: [email protected]

Wildlife Trust

Tel: 01525 222379 07852 453043Email: [email protected]

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[email protected]

Airport & Seaports

Luton airport (incl. £2 drop off/pick up) £27.00 Heathrow (all terminals) £75.00Stansted £90.00Gatwick (either terminal) £125.00Southampton cruise port £175.00Other destinations POA

Gow’s Chauffeur Cars

Prices from all LU post codes

Contact: Neville Gow on 07810 [email protected]

Stunning Silver Mercedes E-Class Saloon

Licensed by Central Bedfordshire Council

Fully insured and CRB checked

• Airport Runs • Business Trips• Staff Movement • Shopping Trips etc.

Gow’s Chauffeur Cars

Airport/Seaports: Prices from all LU post codes

Luton airport £27.00 incl £2 drop off/pick up

Heathrow (all terminals) £75.00

Stansted £90.00

Gatwick (either terminal) £125.00

Southampton cruise port £175.00

Other destinations POA

Licensed by Central Bedfordshire Council. Fully insured and CRB checked.

Stunning Silver Mercedes E-Class Saloon

Airport Runs, Business Trips, Staff Movement, Shopping Trips etc.

Contact: Neville Gow on 07810 453267

[email protected]

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www.zebramoney.co.uk

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGEThere may be a fee for arranging a mortgage. We charge a flat fee of £495 for advising and arranging straightforward mortgages and £995 for more complex cases, which is payable on completion of the mortgage. We will inform you of the precise amount at the outset, prior to any work being carried out. Pension Health Checks are carried out by a local Independent Financial Adviser, with whom we have an affiliation. Zebra Money Centre is not authorised to give Pension advice.

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