All the listed events take place at the Earth Trust, Little Wittenham, OX14 4QZ unless otherwise stated, they include all March events and those family events in April that occur during the Easter holidays. As always, more information can be found on our website www.earthtrust.org.uk.

Mother’s Day Edible Bouquets – Sunday 6^th March, 10am-2pm

Drop in to the Earth Trust Centre on Mothering Sunday and plant your mum an edible bouquet! Decorate your pot and fill it with seeds that will grow into tasty leaves, herbs and flowers. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

 

Lambing Weekends – Saturday 12^th & Sunday 13^th March, 11am-4pm
Saturday 19^th & Sunday 20^th March, 11am-4pm

Our annual Lambing Weekends are back, but this year there’s be even more to see and do on the Earth Trust farm! As well as the ewes and their lambs, there’ll be pigs, piglets, goats and more, plus bale climbing and craft activities. Refreshments available. £6 adult, £3 child, £15 family, free for Earth Trust Friends.

Easter Fun on the Farm – Sunday 27^th March, 11am-3pm

Get set for some egg-citing family fun this Easter Sunday! Eggs-plore the Earth Trust farm and meet some of the animals, plus bring your own egg (hard boiled!) to decorate and roll down the Clumps. Refreshments available. £5 adult, £2 child, £12 family.

Woodland Adventure – Wednesday 30^th March, 10am-12pm

An expedition for 5-8 year olds. Use your detective skills to discover the Earth Trust’s woodland, where we’ll explore, build and play. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Sling Walk  – Thursday 31^st March, 10am-11.30am

Bring your baby for a ramble around the Earth Trust nature reserve. A great opportunity for you both to get our in the fresh air and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the countryside with other local parents. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Discover and Play – Friday 1^st April, 10am-12pm

Forest School for the under-5s. Join the Earth Trust for a morning of play and discovery in the our woodlands. Forest School offers hands on learning experiences in a natural environment. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Nettles – Nasty or Nice? – Sunday 3^rd April, 10am-12pm

Stinging nettles may pack a bit of a punch, but did you know they’re used by both people and wildlife? Join us at the Earth Trust Centre and get inspired by our delicious nettle recipes, and discover which other species like eating them too. With Love Food Hate Waste. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. Drop in.

Clumps Club – Monday 4^th & Tuesday 5^th April, 9am-5pm

Wild adventures for 8-12yr olds! Different outdoor activities each day, please check web for details. £30 per child per day; booking essential: 01865 407792.

Wildlife Wednesday – Wednesday 6^th April, 2pm-4pm

Our roving Wildlife Wednesdays visit a different Earth Trust community nature reserve during each school holiday. This half term, come and join us at Wallingford Castle Meadows (OX10 8DL) to learn about local wildlife and have lots of outdoor fun! £2 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free; no need to book.

Family Bushcraft – Friday 8^th April, 10am-4pm

Bring the whole family and go wild in the great outdoors! Explore the woods, make shelters, learn how to make a fire and use a knife safely. We’ll cook on the fire but bring a packed lunch too. £20 adult, £15 child; booking essential: 01865 407792.

Lucy Benyon

Communications Officer

Comedy Club on Thursday 3 March brings three of the best on the comedy circuit.  You’ll have seen headliner Joe Lycett on Live at the Apollo and Sunday Night at the London Palladium as well as Celebrity Juice to name but a few!  Foster Panel Prize Winner 2014 Will Duggan will share his cheerfully cynical view of the world along with comedian, actress, songwriter and improviser Pippa Evans.  MC Ben Van Der Velde has worked for Komedia, The Comedy Cafe and Bestival so you’re sure to be in safe hands.

Exhibition Neil Marchant: Nebula XXI has been formed from a fascination with 1950s popular culture: the science fiction stories, magazine illustration and toys and games.  Running from Saturday 27 February until Sunday 3 April this exhibition explores the idea of space and space travel through childhood memories in a mixed media of throw-away packaging materials such as packing paper, building materials and string.  Free to view, with artworks for sale.  Children and adults will have an opportunity to meet the artist and get closer to the exhibition through talks and interactive activies on Saturday 12 March. There are also children’s Easter holiday activities available.  Please see website for more information.

The Curious Adventures of Pinocchio, brought to Cornerstone by Lygo Theatre on Thursday 31 March, follows Pinocchio on his quest to find his father and to become a human boy.  Performed by writer-director Patrick Lynch, this show has a beautiful set, with lovely puppet characters and delightful, specially created, music.

Political history is brought to life in a new play, Lady Connie and the Suffragettes, on Saturday 5 March.  Exploring the role of this lady of the realm in the new suffragette movement alongside the flutuations of her aching love affair this production offers real insight into a moment in history. Suitable for older teens to enjoy alongside adults.

An explosion of brass and beats augmented by drum and percussion from Hackney Colliery Band on Friday 18 March offers an evening of superb, uplifting music from this supremely talented nine-piece. Hailing from East London with influences from Balkan beats, contemporary jazz, soul, rock, afrobeat and hip hop this is music you won’t be able to keep still to.  These guys are cool, confident and hilarious while delivering a packed set.  They’ve collaborated with international orchestras, the late Amy Winehouse and Eliza Doolittle and were the only act to play fully live at the closing cermony of the London 2012 Olympic games.

On offer through the Easter school holidays is a wide variety of family and children’s workshops to keep all ages engaged and inspired, including: Science Day: Great and Small; Clay Sculpture: Forest Floor; Worlds of Art; Animation: Amazon Adventure; Musical in a Day: Exploring Oliver; Drop-in and Doodle: The Big and the Small; Youth Dance and more.   If you enjoy fun and creative adult workshops why not give Felt Jewellery, Drawing from Scratch and Clay Sculpture a try?

Full details of our spring season programme and online booking are available at our website http://www.cornerstone-arts.org.  Tickets can also be purchased in person or by telephone from the Box Office on 01235 515144.  Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.  Closed Monday.

Bridget Haffenden

Marketing team

Please find below some information about our February 2016 events. As always, more information can be found on our website www.earthtrust.org.uk.  All events take place at the Earth Trust, Little Wittenham, OX14 4QZ unless otherwise stated.  All events other than Bird Bonanza take place during half term.

Bird Bonanza!

Sunday 7^th February, 10am-2pm

Drop in and get to know our feathered friends! Make a bird feeder, try some ‘twitching’ and even build your own nest! £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Mud Pie Monday!

Monday 15^th February, 10am-11.30am

Join us for our first Mud Pie Monday – buckets of mud and buckets of fun! Wellies and waterproofs advisable. Free taster session; no need to book.

Build a Bird Box

Monday 15^th February, 2pm-4pm

Take home your own handmade bird box and help encourage more wildlife into your garden. Tools and materials provided. £10 per box; booking essential (1hr slots): 01865 407792 or admin@earthtrust.org.uk.

Woodland Adventure

Wednesday 17^th February, 10am-12pm

An expedition for 5-8 year olds. Use your detective skills to discover the Earth Trust’s woodland, where we’ll explore, build and play. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book

Wildlife Wednesday

Wednesday 17^th February, 2pm-4pm

New for 2016: our roving Wildlife Wednesdays will visit a different Earth Trust community nature reserve during each school holiday. This half term, come and join us at Mowbray Fields in Didcot (OX11 8SS) to learn about local wildlife and have lots of outdoor fun! £2 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free; no need to book.

Discover and Play

Friday 19^th February, 10am-12pm

Forest School for the under-5s. Join the Earth Trust for a morning of play and discovery in our woodlands. Forest School offers hands on learning experiences in a natural environment. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

 

January is the perfect time for a fresh start and environmental learning charity Earth Trust is aiming to help you stick to your New Year’s resolution to get fit or get out more with the launch of its new volunteer group. Taking place every Thursday, the work party will carry out practical conservation tasks on the Trust’s community nature reserves in Abingdon.

Earth Trust has been managing Thrupp Lake since 2009 and was recently awarded a one year management contract to look after some of the land that is now grassland and developing woodland within the complex of former lakes at Radley. This addition, along with the management of nearby Abbey Fishponds, has led to the need for more volunteers to help improve the sites for wildlife and visitors.

“We’ve been running monthly work parties at our Abingdon reserves for years but taking on the extra land at Radley means there’s more work to do and we need more people power. Our volunteers are incredible and these greenspaces wouldn’t be as well looked after without people volunteering their skills and time. The work parties are really friendly and enthusiastic, and everyone enjoys getting out in the fresh air and getting stuck in. Volunteering can be a great way to meet like-minded people, pick up new skills and get some exercise,” said Lucy Tomkinson, Community Reserves Warden at the Earth Trust.

Winter work is already underway on the nature reserves and the existing volunteer group at Radley has made an excellent start by clearing willow to create open feeding areas for wading birds and orchid glades. But we need more help!

“It’s fantastic to have new projects to tackle at Radley and we have already been rewarded with some great wildlife sightings, including snipe, woodcock and a barn owl. There’s still a lot to do so we’re looking forward to welcoming some new members to the group to help out,” added Lucy.

For more information about volunteering with the Earth Trust see www.earthtrust.org.uk/volunteer

February kicks off with music from BBC award-winning Luke Daniels, who combines his outstanding talents as a guitarist, pianist and melodeon virtuoso with an original Polyphon machine.  It’s a 19th century mechanical music device about the size of a grandfather clock and Luke’s used it to develop a new method of transferring electronic music onto the steel polyphon discs.  Revolve and Rotate, on Friday 5 February, is a suite of six new one hundred second pieces composed by Luke.

Finding beauty within our disposable culture the Robert Strange Collecting Art exhibition runs until Sunday 21 February.  During childhood Robert Strange kept scrapbooks and diaries of thoughts, aspirations and images which led to a fascination with collecting objects from these experiences. This colourful and playful exhibition features detailed drawings alongside paintings, prints and photographs of everyday familiar items that we regularly use and throw-away.

Join the villanous Captain Cut-Throat and his fearsome crew as they set sail through monster-infested waters in search of a mysterisous island crammed with jewels and gem stones.  Here Be Monsters on Thursday 18 February is a thrilling new musical adventure, bringing this exciting children’s story book to life.  The perfect afternoon’s entertainment for half-term for ages from 3+.

The Missy Malone & Friends Burlesque Revue, on Saturday 13 February, offers tassels, tease and temptation!  This glorious theatre show, widely regarded as the best of its kind currently touring the UK, brings together the very best authentic burlesque performers in an evening of comedy, music and cabaret.

There’s comedy from Hal Cruttendon with Straight Outta Cruttendon on Saturday 27 February.  Hal, host of Live At The Apollo and star of Radio 4, is back and ranting about the real evils of the modern world: from over-sharing on social media to the 5:2 diet.  The more he complains the funnier he gets!

Full details of our spring programme can be found on our website at http://www.cornerstone-arts.org, where online booking is available.  Bookings can also be made through the Box Office by telephone on 01235 515144 or in person.  Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from 11am to 4pm.  Cornerstone is closed on Monday.

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Whether it is improving services today, or helping to shape them for tomorrow, Healthwatch Oxfordshire is all about enabling local voices to influence the delivery and design of local health and social care in our county. Not just for the people who use them now, but for anyone who might need to in future.
Healthwatch Oxfordshire was set up on April 1 2013, as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The organisation sits alongside 151 other local Healthwatch across the country.
Healthwatch Oxfordshire hears what children, young people and adults have to say about health and social care services, whether that is praise, criticism or ideas for improvement. We strengthen the collective voice of patients and the public, so that service providers and commissioners listen to what they have to say. We then hold them to account on how they use the information we provide to shape, inform and influence service delivery and design.
In order to ensure that we have the best possible evidence and the widest possible views to influence the delivery and design of health and social care services, we need as many people as possible to speak out about their experiences, so that we can speak up on their behalf.
Healthwatch is independent, and we are accountable to the people of Oxfordshire, so please tell us how you would like to be treated and cared for, and what is important to you when using health and social care services, and we can make a difference together.
To find out more about Healthwatch Oxfordshire, please visit our website, www.healthwatchoxfordshire.co.uk
Contact us on 01865 520 520 or email hello@healthwatchoxfordshire.co.uk
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DIDCOT & DISTRICT UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 2pm at Didcot Civil Hall. Visitors are welcome to come to a meeting as a taster before joining.

At our meeting on 15^th December 2015 is the Christmas Entertainment

It’s never too late to expand your horizons…………..

The University of the Third Age offers the opportunity to share your knowledge, experience and talents with others and learn from them in friendly surroundings.   Why not come along to the next meeting of the Didcot & District U3A and find out what we are all about. A member of our committee will be on hand to make you welcome.

Tel: 07802 237963

Email: didcotdistrictU3A@virginmedia.com

Website: http:/u3asites.org.uk/didcot

Christmas at Cornerstone always means a wonderful show for families and, this year, we are thrilled to present The Snow Dragon, a magical and enchanting fairy tale from Tall Stories, the team who brought you The Gruffalo and Room on a Broom.  Performances start on Saturday 19 and run until Thursday 24 December.  It’s the perfect run-up to the Christmas festivities for everyone from 3 to 103!  (Full details of dates and times on our website – see below.)

We’re very excited about Brit-Award winning vocalists Blake, who are bringing their long-awaited debut Christmas show ‘Christmas Classics‘ to Cornerstone on Thursday 10 December.  This two hour stage spectacular will feature festive songs in beautiful trio harmony, video projections and the group’s famous, fast-paced comedy banter.

If you can’t wait to get into the Christmas spirit why not come along to our Felt Making: Christmas Decorations special family workshop on Saturday 5 December?  Great fun for families, you’ll learn how to make felt from scratch and then design your own decoration to take home and hang on the  Christmas tree.  Something to treasure for years to come.  For ages from 5 and up.

Stephen K Amos: The Laughter Master is back on tour and returns to Didcot with his new show, fresh from sell-out tours of Australia and New Zealand.  Catch him here at Cornerstone on Saturday 5 December.   

Stringfever wowed audiences at Cornerstone last year and we’re delighted that they’re returning on Sunday 6 December.  The world’s first genetically modified string quartet combine exceptional musical skill with a real talent for involving and engaging audiences.  Expect a musical and visual extravaganza, offering an evening’s entertainment like you’ve never seen before!

Cornerstone will close its doors for Christmas on Thursday 24 December, re-opening on Tuesday 5 January 2016.

The New Year means the launch of the Spring season and, just to whet your appetite with a teaser or two…we’ll welcome ten top folk musicians, including Eliza Carthy, in Songs of Separation on Friday 22 January.  If you love folk music you’ll kick yourself if you miss this.  The undisputed masters of off-the-cuff comedy, The Noise Next Door, take audience suggestions and transform them into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye.  Catch their show Noise In The Hood, on Saturday 23 January.  Funky Monkey and the Juicy Fruits, on Sunday 31 January, is one of our Top Fun Sunday performances, with lots of fun on offer for families and children.  Robert Strange: Collecting Art will open in the Cornerstone gallery on Tuesday 12 January.

Full details of our Autumn and Spring season programmes can be found on the Cornerstone website at http://www.cornerstone-arts.org, where online booking is also available.  Bookings can also be made in person through the Box Office, or by telephone on 01235 515144 (closed Monday).

The team at Cornerstone wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and Happy New Year.

Please find below a listing of our November events at Earth Trust. As always, more information can be found on our website www.earthtrust.org.uk.  All events take place at the Earth Trust, Little Wittenham, OX14 4QZ unless otherwise stated.

Potions and Pumpkins – Sunday 1st November, 10am-2pm

Drop in to the Earth Trust Centre to taste our scarily delicious pumpkin soup by the fire and make some Halloween potions. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying adult(s) free. No need to book.

Heritage Experiences – Sunday 8th November, 11am-3pm

For the last 18 months Earth Trust volunteers have been learning traditional skills such as green woodworking, blacksmithing, basket weaving and hedgelaying – come along and see what they have been doing and have a go yourself! Free.

Star Walk – Friday 13th November, 6pm-8pm

Join the Earth Trust for a starlit countryside walk with Dr Russell Layberry from Oxford University. Appropriate for older children and adults. £5 adult, £2 child; booking essential: 01865 407792 or admin@earthtrust.org.uk

Lucy Benyon

Communications Officer

Earth Trust, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire, OX14 4QZ

Direct Line: 01865 409406

Office No.: 01865 407792