Razorlight delight the crowd at Sandown
Photo courtesy www.hayleybray.com
Thursday 22 July 2010 - Razorlight opened their concert at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher last night with their hit song Back to the Start getting the sun soaked crowd all revved up for what was a fantastic concert from the London-based rock’n’roll band.
Johnny Borrell and his band members Skully, Carl and Bjorn entertained the crowd with a lively performance of hit songs from their albums Slip Way Fires and Up all Night including In the Morning, Wire to Wire and Golden Touch. The highlight of the evening was a packed crowd dancing around to the iconic America.
The final summer live music night at Sandown Park, performing live after racing on Thursday 5 August will be the Irish Pop group sensation WESTLIFE. The band who are currently on a UK summer tour called The Where we are Tour, will be performing classic songs such as Flying Without Wings, Uptown Girl as well as new numbers from their latest album. The evening is proving to be extremely popular so it is recommended fans book early.
For further information or to book tickets for these events telephone Sandown Park on 01372 47 00 47 or visit www.sandown.co.uk.
Horses for Heroes Raises over £250,000
Brough Scott, Project Ambassador for Horses for Heroes
The sun shone for the equestrian world as Horses for Heroes took place at Ascot Racecourse and Windsor Great Park at the weekend.
With money still being collected by all 600 participants who took part in the eight mile ride, organisers believe the final money raised for service charity Help for Heroes may reach £300,000.
Mark Elliot, Chief of Staff for Help for Heroes attended Saturday’s event and was amazed with what he saw. "It’s been absolutely brilliant," he said. "It’s extremely humbling to see the effort that everyone has made to get here and be a part of this historical ride. I’ve spoken to people who have come from all over the country to do their bit and each one of them has had a smile on their faces saying it’s the best sponsored ride they’ve ever taken part in. Something very special has happened here today – it’s been a special ride, a special route and a special place."
The Ascot team kicked off proceedings with a group of Riders from the racecourse departing at 7:30am in the first group, including Chief Executive Charles Barnett, Lt Guy Disney who lost a leg in Helmand, and Help For Heroes Project Ambassador Brough Scott.
Brough, who rode former Aintree Foxhunters winner Scots Grey, said: "I’m unbelievably thrilled with today. The concept of the ride, having the start and finish at Ascot enabling people to gallop past the largest grandstand in the world at the end has really worked and given riders a great experience. Holding a charity event which people have actually enjoyed has really helped with fundraising and it’s quite clear how much fun everyone has had today."
A Fashionable Day At The Races
The Best Dressed Ladies competition on Ladies Day at Sandown Park was won by a dentist from Surrey. Trish Gould was presented with the first prize -- a hot pink Vespa scooter -- by Camilla Dallerup from Strictly Come Dancing. Wonder how she got it home? Judging by the dress Trish was wearing, we bet she didn't ride off into the sunset!
The Queen opens new garden in the park
The Queen with Harvey Stephens, Head of The Savill Garden
Her Majesty The Queen has opened the new Rose Garden at The Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, and enjoyed a tour of this exciting contemporary Garden with the Chairman and Chief Executive of The Crown Estate.
Commenting on the new Rose Garden, Philip Everett, Deputy Ranger, Windsor Great Park, said: "It was a pleasure to be able to present this innovative Garden to Her Majesty The Queen. We have moved away from the traditional presentation of roses and created a new way to experience the perfume and colour of these splendid flowers. It was fitting that the first bloom in the Garden was that of Rosa - The Queen Mother."
The Crown Estate commissioned leading garden designers Wilson McWilliam Associates to create the Garden. From an initial concept and outline design by Andrew Wilson, he and Gavin McWilliam developed the scheme to include the specification of materials and construction details.
Visitors will experience the intensity of perfume and colour as they enter the Garden and their senses will continue to be stimulated at every turn with different scents, colour combinations and views. The walkway in the centre of the design appears to ‘float’ above the Rose Garden, giving stunning views within the Garden and further out into other areas of The Savill Garden. As the deep aroma of the roses naturally rises, visitors will also be able to enjoy the perfume at its best from the walkway.
Mark Flanagan, The Keeper of the Gardens, says: "The new Rose Garden leaves behind traditional elements and the formality associated with conventional designs and leads us into a new way of displaying roses to create a fresh and stimulating visitor experience. The Savill Garden has a tradition of exploring new ways of presenting plants and showcasing new varieties and we are continuing with this progressive approach with a design that looks to the future."
The Rose Garden’s curves and interlocking crescents will create a journey towards the centre of the Garden. This is emphasised by the way in which the 2,500 roses have been planted within a palette of colours radiating out from an intense centre of deep plum purple through soft pinks fading to white and subtle apricots to tangerine orange where the Garden meets the vibrant herbaceous borders. Repeat flowering roses have been used which means that the Garden will look splendid from mid-June through to September.
Mark Flanagan adds: "This has been an exciting project and we are delighted with the way in which the Garden is now presented. After enjoying the Rose Garden, visitors will be able to stroll around the adjacent Golden Jubilee Garden, Dry Garden and the herbaceous borders, all of which provide complementary, though very individual, plantings which will look stunning throughout the summer."
Gully cover thefts draining resources
Here's a bit of information to impress your friends with in the pub this evening. It costs £55 to fill a pothole.
That's the figure revealed by Surrey County Council who have been busy trying to fill the holes while dealing with the even more alarming news that 536 drain covers have been stolen from our roads this year. Although the problem is widespread across the LIVING WITHIN region, Elmbridge is one of three Surrey boroughs to have been particularly badly hit.
It costs between £200 and £400 to replace a cover, depending on the location and the type of cover used. The council estimates it has spent just over £160,000 on replacements since January – enough to fill 2,909 potholes.
The police said the covers are being sold for scrap, which has a high value at the moment. Drain cover gangs are known to operate all over the UK, many of whom have specialist equipment which means they can remove the covers in seconds.
If you get approached by anyone trying to sell you a drain cover, call the police!
Jockey eats his way into the fire and rescue service
Jockey Alan Daly has put on two stone in weight to fulfil his "burning" desire to become a firefighter.
After 203 wins over 15 years in the saddle, 34-year-old Alan has joined Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.
Alan, who finished his career with a winner at Lingfield, said: "I had a fantastic time racing and went out with a bang but I am ready for a new challenge."
The 5ft 7in jockey said he will enjoy being able to eat more: "I was fed up of starving myself and sitting in the sauna for two to three hours a day to lose weight. It is so nice to be able to enjoy food and eat more than one meal a day."
He recently completed a three-month induction programme at Esher fire station.
Alan said: "I have still got a lot to learn but I am completely dedicated and ready for the task."
Garden Party
The popular event attracts families and local residents every year to the prestigious Founder’s Building and supports the Mayor of Runnymede’s charities which this year are the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, Homestart Runnymede, Thorpe Youth Association and the New Build and Daisy Appeal for the Early Birth Unit at St Peter’s Hospital. More than £2,000 has been raised and will be split between the worthy causes and will also include donations to the Joshua Deller Appeal.
Activities included tours of the campus, live music, children’s rides, shows, face painting and a raffle. Prizes included dinner and an overnight stay at Coworth Hotel, dinner for two at Wentworth Club, a Lumix Digital camera and lunch for two at the Ritz.
Royal Holloway Events Manager, Marta Baker said, “I’d like to thank the organisers, sponsors, tour guides and stall holders for another magnificent community event that brings families, businesses and staff together to raise money for such worthy causes.”
Free Clothes
It would seem that our good friend Jack Bateman from Greens Designer Collections in Sunningdale doesn't rate the chances of England winning the world cup. Either that or he's just happy to give away his stock. Jack has kindly offered to refund any purchase made from his store between 25 May and 9 June 2010 if England win the World Cup in South Africa. So what are you waiting for? For further details visit www.greens-forhim.com
Spandau Satisfy Sandown
With a magnificent sunset and aeroplanes flying gracefully low overhead, Spandau Ballet took to the stage at Sandown Park last night, delighting the crowd as they strummed out their first hit, To Cut A Long Story Short.
The middle-aged audience was taken on a reminiscent road trip of days-gone-by when Spandau shared the airwaves with their Le Bon & Co rivals from Birmingham.
Spandau's back catalogue is so vast that they would have had to have played all night to perform all their hits, but most of the favourites were there, including Only When You Leave, Through The Barricades, Highly Strung, True and Gold.
Perhaps surprisingly, the band’s best performances of the night came with their hits Communication, Lifeline and the excellent Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On).
Just as everyone was beginning to feel young again, Tony Hadley announced that he had just celebrated his 50th birthday. Suddenly it was 2010 again.
And shortly after that the crowd left the park, satisfied with a great night out… and their suburban Surrey lifestyle.Choir left holding the baby - or a cardboard cutout
Never work with children or animals. That was the message from Craig Dunkerley, Deputy Chief Explorer of Chessington World of Adventures Resort. And he should know.
Against a backdrop of a new African-themed reserve, the Chessington World of Adventures Resort this week played host to the Destiny Africa Children’s Choir who visited from Kampala Children’s Centre in Uganda (www.kampalachildren.com). The children from the choir were asked to name a newly born Scimitar Horned Oryx.
But when the choir arrived at Chessington, expectant mum Zola hadn't delivered.
So the nice people at the theme park presented the choir with a carboard cutout of what the new baby might look like when it finally enters the world.
The choir had planned to name the calf Mukisa meaning blessing in Lugandan.
Craig Dunkerley, Deputy Chief Explorer of Chessington World of Adventures Resort said: "As we all know working with animals almost never goes to plan so when the Oryx calf didn’t arrive at the weekend we had an inkling that this could be a little embarrassing. But the choir seemed to find it more amusing than disappointing, especially when we presented them with the life-sized cardboard cut out!"
The African inspired area is called the Wanyama Village and Reserve and is the latest development at the park. It features Grevy’s Zebras, the very rare Scimitar Horned Oryx and other African species and it's part of Chessington Zoo’s vital breeding programme for endangered species.
Surrey plans to reduce carbon footprint
Surrey’s carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by 20 per cent, saving an estimated £11,000,000 on energy bills over the next four years.
If the county council’s recently approved plan is successful, it will save 21,000 tonnes of carbon. That’s the equivalent of travelling almost 63 million miles in an average car.
Measures that will be taken to cut the carbon footprint include improving the energy efficiency of council buildings. Old boilers will be replaced with more efficient heating systems and properties will be better insulated. Low carbon technology will be introduced such as solar water heating and automatic lighting will be fitted in council buildings.
Cafe society
Already spolit for choice at lunchtime, people who live and work in Ascot have learnt that another cafe could soon be opening in the High Street.
An application for change of use at 39 High Street, to include A3 (restaurant & cafe), has been submitted to the planning authorities.
In the last 10 years a number of cafes and restaurants have opened in the town, including Starbucks, Fego and Subway. They joined a further five outlets who were already serving "food for consumption on the premises" in Ascot High Street. A Parish Council meeting on 11 May will be held to decide if residents have the appetite for another place to dine.
Get Composting
Surrey residents are being encouraged to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and save themselves money, by producing free compost for their gardens.
Out of a total 536,000 tonnes of household waste currently produced in Surrey each year, it's estimated that around a third could be composted which would save the county an estimated £8.7 million in reduced landfill and green waste disposal costs each year.
A large part of this saving could be achieved by home composting. However, findings from a recent waste prevention survey, carried out in the county, showed that just over half of all residents who have a garden don't compost at home, potentially unaware of the benefits home composting can bring to both their purse and the environment.
To coincide with Compost Awareness Week (2 to 8 May 2010), the Surrey Waste Partnership, made up of Surrey County Council and the 11 district and borough councils, is running a countywide scheme, offering home composting bins at reduced prices – from £14.00 (RRP £39.00), to encourage residents to start composting.
For further information on composting read Linda Regel's current post for LIVING WITHIN.
Sshh! It's the final day of Noise Action Week
Putting on a good show
Good news for those of you who struggle to find activities to fill the time between Jeremy Kyle shows. Surrey County Council's Cabinet meetings will now be webcast live from County Hall.
When we tuned in to watch, the members of the Cabinet were discussing the problems they have been having with tackling the issue of reducing carbon emissions. Everyone was being very polite and well behaved. Not quite the same as watching those lovely people on Jeremy's show, we know, but beggars can't be choosers.
Click here to access the webcast and watch the meeting live.
Election Twitters
LIVING WITHIN readers in Claygate, Esher and other parts of Elmbridge will be able to follow the election on Twitter.
From election news to important dates, you will be able to follow everything you want to know including information about the candidates that are up for election and where your polling station will be.
The Parliamentary election count for the Esher and Walton Constituency will be taking place at Sandown Park on Thursday 6 May at 10.00pm. The local election count will be taking place at Sandown Park on Friday 7 May at 10.00am.
If you would like to follow the news on Twitter then you can do so at: http://twitter.com/ElmbridgeBC
Help... somebody has stolen our pitch!
Ascot girl remains undefeated in kickboxing
Sarah Hunt, an 18-year-old girl from Ascot, has won all three of her first full contact kickboxing fights. In her last bout in Woking, she was even awarded the “Fight of the Night” title.
Sarah fought three, 2 minute rounds of full contact kickboxing dominating her opponent throughout and winning unanimously.
Sarah said: “I had a tough opponent but I’d trained hard and have a great coach so I followed our game plan and won the fight. To win was amazing but to then be awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ title was fantastic and a great end to the evening.”
Sarah is an instructor for Blaze Martial Arts.
Justyn Billingham, Chief Instructor of Blaze Martial Arts, said: “ I am incredibly proud of Sarah. This was still only her third fight and she’s certainly proving that she’s a tough opponent.”Tennis club finds a real bad minx to turn on the lights
Charlie Brooks, who plays bad girl Janine Butcher in the BBC's Eastenders, officially turned on the new floodlights at Thames Ditton Lawn Tennis Club.
Chairman Andrew Meatyard - who is not an avid soap watcher - proudly announced the arrival of "Janine".
"It's Charlie," said Charlie.
By now a little confused, Andrew thought two "celebrities" (Charlie and Janine) had arrived to turn the lights on!
With no time to waste, everyone marched along the narrow path to the courts where the opening ceremony was to take place.
"I now announce the lights officially open," said Charlie (Janine) - or something similar.
Andrew then put his token into the clever device that switches the lights on. At first there was a dim glow from the lights hovering above.
"They will get brighter," yelled Andrew from inside the new mini clubhouse. Hopefully none of the residents living nearby heard!
Photos were taken and then everyone hurried back to the free bar at the clubhouse.
Charlie was charming and didn't hurry away to her next engagement and then, by 9pm, a curfew meant it was time for the lights to be turned off.
The Volkswagen party rolls in and out of Esher
As anyone that tried to drive into Esher at the end of April will know, this years VolksWorld Show took place at Sandown Park racecourse. Getting off the A3 was a challenge, but the sight of all the classic VW camper vans made the wait worthwhile. We even noticed one vehicle heading towards Sandown on the back of a breakdown recovery vehicle.
The weekend is the largest show in Europe for VW Beetles and Camper Vans. The owners camp out overnight in their camper vans – right in the centre of Esher! And then they all rise early the next day to see all the buses, campers, vans, Beetles and Buggies that they missed on the first day. Brand new for this year was the Beetle Cup simulator. Nothing like your average Xbox, the actual full size car moved on hydraulic rams. Truly amazing!
However, for local residents the highlight was probably watching the VWs heading back home! A great display. Adios... and we'll see you all again next year.