Community Yearbook 2020

Newbury Weekly News

Thursday, 16 January, 2020

Gin distillery’s a tonic

The Base set to buzz THE Base arts centre slipped into commission up at Greenham Park, with the opening of the Natural History touring international showcase exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018. The new arts hub’s Honesty Café attracted a steady flow of visitors, tempted by its offering of pastries and bakes, bowls of chilli and curry. While a programme of workshops and demos was set to begin in the upstairs education and workshop space, nine artists studios were occupied. The plan was to run around five high- quality exhibitions a year and an exciting ‘name’ was still to be announced for the summer. The exhibition ran until April, when the local Open Studios taster Insight moved in. Practical classes began in March, with figure drawing, oil painting, bookbinding, printing and knitting. Some of the workshops were inspired by the exhibitions, and used them as a stimulus, like the writing sessions with poet and artist Becci Louise, family creation workshops school sessions for children and wildlife and conservation talks. Newbury has long been crying out for a dedicated visual arts space. While not in the town centre, the purpose-built Base, owned by Greenham Trust and under the management of the Corn Exchange, went a long way to filling that gap. Go to www,cornexchangenew.com

THE old smoking yard at The Newbury pub in Bartholomew Street was transformed into the town’s first-ever gin distillery. The creative force behind the hand- crafted 137 Gin, called Lumber’s Bartholomew, which was already being sold in shops and bars throughout the country, was entrepreneur and publican at The Newbury, Pete Lumber. What started out as an idea after a lunch meeting with a friend at the tail-end of 2017 became a fully- fledged operation, formally recog- nised and listed in the Gin Guide . Within months of starting up, Lumber’s Bartholomew was being stocked at the Michelin-star restaurant The Blackbird at Bagnor. It can also be found at both Henry & Joe’s restaurant and the King Charles Tavern pub in Cheap Street, Newbury, the Harrow at Little Bedwyn, independent Newbury- based retailer Inn at Home and Grapesmith in Hungerford. But Mr Lumber has big plans to make it available across the country

Prior’s aims high at Abbey Road AN emotional documentary detailing the extraordinary journey to the Abbey Road studios made by pupils at Prior’ s Court School was released. Aim High for Autism: Let Me Shine at Abbey Road was premiered at the Corn Exchange in Newbury – and there was barely a dry eye in the house. Among the audience were parents, glowing with pride as they watched their children perform with obvious joy. Prior’s Court School in Hermitage, one of the country’s leading providers of education and care for children with severe autism, recorded the song Let Me Shine to help raise awareness of the condition. Millions watched the video on the school’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Super Saturday shock NEWBURY Racecourse said it was “very disappointed” after one of its biggest meeting of the year was cancelled following an equine influenza outbreak. Three horses tested positive for the virus and meetings in Huntingdon, Doncaster, Ffos Las and Chelmsford, were cancelled before the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) took the decision to suspend all racing. As a result, Newbury was forced to abandon its Super Saturday meeting, featuring the Betfair Hurdle and the Denman Chase, which were run the following week at Ascot. Newbury Racecourse head of communications Harriet Collins said:“We were obviously very disappointed to lose the fixture, which is our second largest across the jumps calendar. “We would have welcomed over 7,000 racing enthusiasts with some fantastic racing on the cards.

and hopes that it will put Newbury “on the gin map”. He started a gin club – where people can sign-up for free online to receive emails on all the latest offers. The distillery also converts into a

private dining room which can accommodate 16 people.

Royal approval As well as gin-tasting experiences, Mr Lumber also created a tasting menu of dishes to complement the gins. THE DUCHESS of Gloucester opened the Greenham Trust Wing at West Berkshire Community Hospital after one of the most successful fundraising appeals in recent memory. Funded solely through donations to The Rosemary Appeal, the Greenham Trust Wing cost more than £5.3m to build. The new wing comprises the Enborne Unit, which provides a renal dialysis service, the Rosemary Centre, which delivers care to patients requiring chemotherapy, and the Sue Ryder day therapy centre, which offers palliative, neurological and bereavement support. The Duchess was given a tour of the building and met with patients and staf , hearing about how the new facilities have already transformed care for local people by bringing treatment closer to home.

Proper customer service

Great face to face service, which is becoming a rarity these days, alongside a sound knowledge of available products.

Ian Haggett, January 2020 Smart Money People review

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