Cheltenham4u.co.uk

from 27 July 2009 onwards, St. Edwards Junior School

4-2-1's family run camp is back this Summer offering a creative alternative to sports-based camps. They run exciting themed weeks, workshops, and jam-pack the schedule with swimming, arts and craft, cookery, pottery, drama, music, games, quests, bouncy castles and more.

Camp 2's independence is encouraged via their newspaper and CommonRoom activities and younger children can rest with stories and puzzles.

The staff are well trained, professional and pride themselves on making sure every child has as much fun as possible and makes friends with other campers. Impromptu games of bench ball, rounders or water fights are common, as are quiet time activities after particularly lively swimming sessions.

All children are welcome and the staff are very happy to try and accommodate any special requirements or individual needs. The day starts at 8.45am and finishes at 4.30pm, with a time out facility available until 5.30. Prices start from £25 per day, daily and weekly bookings are welcome, from age 4 - 11.

For more information contact Louisa at activitycamp4211@hotmail.co.uk

For information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

3 June 2009, 9am - 4pm, Barclays Bank, 128 High Street

The Barclays Premier League Trophy visits Cheltenham on Wednesday, 3 June. If you pop in to Cheltenham branch of Barclays Bank in High Street, you'll have the opportunity to have your picture taken next to the trophy. Donations are welcome, money collected will go to Piep Piper Appeal in conjuction with Star Radio.

23 - 25 May 2009, Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse will be the venue of a traditional family fun day this bank holiday weekend, full of exciting activities for the whole family. Steven Hill Funfairs will bring a large funfair with rides for children and adults, side stalls and bouncy castles. All three days will feature walkabout celebrity character guests at various invervals throughout the day. On Sunday and Monday children will be entertained by Uncle Brian's Funtime Clowning Spectacular. The entry is £1, free car park available.

22 -23 May 2009, Cheltenham College Junior School Hall

Stage Experience, a registered charity providing a taste of professional theatre to young people by offering Performing Arts opportunities within a production directed and produced by industry specialists, is back and this time they are bringing High School Musical to the Bacon Theatre Cheltenham! This production will see the best of Gloucestershire's young talent come together to perform this high-energy musical with the backing of a professional creative and production team.

Have you got what it takes to perform on stage in one of the hottest musicals around? Then why don't you go for an audition. Auditions will take place 22 May, 7pm - 9pm and 23 May, 9am - 12 noon in Cheltenham. Call backs for main roles will be 23 May at 4pm — if you wish to audition for a main role you must also be available at this time.

SHOW DATES:

Show 1: Thursday 29th October 2009 at 7.30pm

Show 2: Friday 30th October 2009 at 7.30pm
Shows 3 & 4: Saturday 31st October 2009 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

For more details and an application form visit http://www.hsm1.co.uk/ .

3 - 7 June 2009, Cheltenham Town Hall and other venues

The guest director of Cheltenham Science Festival for 2009 is Carol Vorderman and she will be putting together a unique collection of events for you to savour. To stir up a good discussion, the festival theme for 2009 is heresy. 2009 is also 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin which is also reflected in this year’s festival events schedule. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, marking 400 years since Galileo first pointed his telescope at the sky.

As every year Cheltenham Science Festival will feature free Discover Zone, offering interactive science for all ages from 10am to 5pm every day of the festival at Cheltenham Town Hall, there will be also adults-only session on Saturday 6 June, 7pm – 8pm. Family Fun Days on Saturday 6 June and Sunday 7 June at Imperial Gardens are also free to join. There will be lots of interactive activities and live science experiments on both days from 11am.

And what are the highlights of this year’s festival? On Wednesday, 3 June at 6.15pm Olympic winner Sebastian Coe will reveal what it takes to have winning mind. Robert Winston will examine whether science can make you happy on Thursday, 4 June, at 4.30pm and retrace the steps of Charles Darwin on Sunday, 7 June at 10am. Richard Hammond is back in Cheltenham, this time with his Blast Lab to perform some crazy experiments on Friday, 5 June, from 12.30pm. Also on Friday you’ll be able to taste local beer from Battledown Brewery at 9pm. On Saturday, 6 June, at 2pm, you can join Dr. Alice Roberts, the presenter of the BBC series, when she’s retracing the The Incredible Human Journey, and at 4pm meet Evan Davis, BBC’s Dragon’s Den presenter, who will present his Beginner’s Guide to Economy. At 6.45 Cheltenham’s own science panel show begins with the comedian Dara O’Briain, Robert Ince and others competing for points.

From its small beginnings around a pub table in February a new community initiative is being developed that has already attracted a great deal of local interest and support. Focused on the residential and trading areas of The Bath Road (South End), Tivoli, The Park and The Suffolks, Cheltenham Connect aims to strengthen and empower the local community and to help protect it from the current economic downturn. It also aims to raise awareness of climate change and the need for the community to develop a low carbon and sustainable future.

Four working groups have already been established and each is now developing its own online network. They are: CC Buy Local, CC Go Green, CC Skillspace and CC Community. Ideas being discussed include a ‘Buy Local Pledge Week’, a ‘Buy Local Festival’, Swap, Share and Save schemes, skill-shares, resource shares, business networks and energy saving resource and advice schemes.

A full launch is being planned for Saturday 27th June at The Exmouth Arms in Bath Road and all are welcome. Each of the action groups will be there to share their activities along with local trading and residents associations, energy and sustainability organisations, local churches and schools, and local musicians and craftspeople. The aim is for the event to be full of good old fashioned fun with lots of information, but also games and entertainment, provided throughout the day. Everyone in the local area is invited to become involved with Cheltenham Connect and to share their own ideas. It’s very much a local project run by local people and could put South Cheltenham on the map as a place of thriving community focus and innovation.

Founder Wendy Ellyatt says ‘I am delighted how quickly things are moving. It just goes to show that a small number of people coming together within any local community can really make a difference.’

For further information visit their website at http://www.cheltenhamconnect.co.uk/, call Wendy Ellyatt 01242 572 803 or email wendy@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk.

23 - 25 May 2009, various venues

Cheltenham4u brings you a round up of activities for this Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

FAMILY FUN DAY AT CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE
23 - 25 May 2009
Cheltenham Racecourse will be the venue of a traditional family fun day, full of exciting activities for the whole family. Steven Hill Funfairs will bring a large funfair with rides for children and adults, side stalls and bouncy castles. All three days will feature walkabout celebrity character guests at various invervals throughout the day. On Sunday and Monday children will be entertained by Uncle Brian's Funtime Clowning Spectacular. The entry is £1, free car park available.

LA VIE EN BLEU AT PRESCOTT HILL CLIMB
23 - 24 May 2009
Bugatti Owner’s Club is hosting yet another exciting weekend of both vintage and classic cars races. This time they will be celebrating fine French automobiles, with appearances of the Bugatti Veyron and its predecessor the EB110 of Top Gear fame. Battle of Britain Flight is scheduled to take place, including a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane, at around 2pm. Tickets cost £12 per day in advance or £15 on the gate.

ROMAN FOOD WEEKEND AT CHEDWORTH ROMAN VILLA
23 - 24 May 2009
Learn about Roman meals and customs, and have a go at grinding some flour to make bread. Roman recipe cards to take away so you can have a go at home (but dormice won’t be on the menu!) and other children’s drop-in activities. Includes Roman Food Quiz with clues around the villa to help you, and a prize for everyone who has a go! 10am - 5pm. Tel:Sarah Hobbs, 01672 539167.

CIRCUS STARR AT CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE
24 - 25 May 2009
Circus Starr will visit Cheltenham with its latest show. The circus will host the show to raise money for charity group Acorn Children's Hospice Trust. The event - which will include two shows - will be held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Sunday, May 25. The two shows start at 4:45pm & 7:00pm.

SUFFOLKS STREET FAIR
25 May 2009
As every year Suffolk is holding its Street Fair on May Bank Holiday Monday. The event starts at 10am and will include stalls and activities for children, including Mr Jinks’ Punch and Judy show, face painting, a bouncy castle and a carousel. Live music is provided by a walking jazz band, an acapella group, plus local rock and folk bands. The Street Fair Grand Raffle offers everyone the opportunity to win some fabulous prizes and the proceeds are donated to the Mayor’s Charities

CHEESE ROLLING AT COOPER'S HILL
25 May 2009
This year's Cheese Rolling at the Cooper's Hill near Brockworth offers as much mad fun as always. There is no need to apply beforehand, just turn up on the day and you can enroll in the race. As the event can be oversubscribed please arrive early to ensure your place in the race. The entry is free, but there is £5 parking charge to cover the cost of the event. First race starts at 12 noon.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

29 - 31 May 2009, Cheltenham Racecourse

Since 2005 Cheltenham Racecourse plays host to Wychwood Music Festival, family friendly festival, featuring a mixture of music from world to folk, psychedelic pop to dance.

In 2009 Wychwood Music Festival will celebrate its 5th anniversary. This year's line up will include Super Furry Animals, Supergrass, Dub Colossus, The Wonder Stuff, Oysterband, The Beat, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Bellowhead, Little Boots, Cara Dillon, Red Light Company, Dohl Foundation, Kissmet and many more.

New for 2009 is a Children's Literature minifestival in association with The University of Worcester and Borders with interactive workshops and readings. A line-up of best-selling children's writers, illustrators, storytellers and poets will lead readings, workshops and sign copies of their latest titles across the weekend.

Once again Wychwood Festival is so much more than great music. Visitors can also look forward to the performances of top comedians, such as Arthur Smith, Mundo Jazz, Sol Bernstein and Robin Ince. Up on 'The Green' you will find 5 tents bursting with activities, workshops, shows, acoustic music and more, including the cinema. There are well over 100 different sessions including adult, children's and family activities and workshops for all ages.

Workshops will include circus skills, milonga sound therapy, laughter therapy and Inta Africa drum circle. Music will be provided by the best local acoustic artists, an intimate Acoustica performance and some busking. There will also be a games room and plenty of opportunities to play! There will be a site parade on Sunday. The parade will involve jugglers, dhol drummers, stiltwalkers and most importantly - you!

Wychwood has a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. There are lots of places to chill out and enjoy excellent food and drink with friends and family. Traders selling clothing, jewellery, records, books, toys and much more.

The Healing Gardens is again offering a wonderful selection of relaxing and beneficial treatments for your body, mind and soul. Whether you need to escape from it all and relax, or be energised and revitalised, there is something for everyone. Weare pleased to welcome back the familiar faces from previous years,together with new healers and therapists for 2009.

Tickets are £110 per adult for full weekend (includes camping), children under 12 free.

For more information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood is celebrating the work of the Warm Front scheme in tackling fuel poverty in Cheltenham and is urging more local residents to come forward and get help with measures that could cut their energy bills by anything up to £600 a year.

Martin said: “Solutions which tackle climate change are vital, but they can also address social issues such as fuel poverty at the same time. The Warm Front scheme aims to help people with energy efficiency and has made a real difference to increasing numbers of people who are finding energy bills a heavy burden. Much more needs to be done but this scheme has shown the way forward.”

Warm Front works by providing contributions of up to £2,700 towards insulation and gas heating measures and £4,000 for oil for the elderly, disabled and low income families.

Green support services company eaga reported that since the beginning of the scheme’s operations in the constituency, there have been record take up figures with 1635 households in Cheltenham having benefited from the scheme.

These households benefited from a range of energy efficiency measures including loft and cavity wall insulation, new heating systems and draught proofing.

To date £1,504,894.64 has been invested by Warm Front in Cheltenham. Many of those who have benefited from the scheme are reporting average household savings of anything between £300 and £600 a year.

Rising fuel prices and the need to protect the environment from dangerous CO2 levels are making the work of the Warm Front scheme increasingly important.

As well as benefiting from energy efficiency measures, households contacting eaga are also receiving a free benefit entitlement and to date 72 homes in the Cheltenham constituency have increased their average weekly income by £22.20.

To qualify for Warm Front residents must either own their own home or live in privately rented accommodation and should be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. To find out more about the scheme and see if they qualify, Martin is urging households to contact Warm Front on 0800 316 6014.

Martin Horwood is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cheltenham. If you need to discuss any matters with your local MP, you can arrange an appointment at his advice surgeries on Friday lunchtimes or evenings. Appointments can be booked by phoning the office on 01242 224889 or e-mailing martin@martinhorwood.net.

You can also meet Martin at various events taking place in and around Cheltenham.

Thursday, 07 May 2009
1:30pm
Martin will be going to a coffee afternoon at Gloucestershire County Association for the Blind (GCAB) in Albion Street, Cheltenham, where he is a trustee, to meet with volunteers and staff and find out about GCAB’s plans for the year. Please see http://www.geecab.org/ for more information about GCAB.

Friday, 08 May 2009
7:00pm
Martin will be dropping in on an event being held to celebrate 20 years of practice and a recent rebuild at Keith Holland Opticians at 27 St George’s Road, Cheltenham.
8:00pm
Martin will be joining St Philip and St James Area Residents’ Association (SPJARA) at their Annual General Meeting to be held at Church House, St Philip and St James’ Church, Cheltenham.

Monday, 11 May 2009
7:00pm
Martin will be attending the Whaddon Youth Centre Awards Evening at the centre in Dart Road. Please contact Sandie Bolger on 01242 262887 or Sandra.bolger@gloucestershire.gov.uk for more information.

Thursday, 14 May 2009
7:00pm
Martin is hoping to go to the formal opening of Cheltenham Sea Cadets’ new headquarters in Alstone Lane. Please see www.cheltscc.co.uk for more information about Cheltenham Sea Cadets.

Friday, 15 May 2009
2:30pm
Sue Ryder Care’s Leckhampton Court Hospice are hosting a celebration event to mark the completion of work funded by the Department of Health to improve their facilities for patients and their families. Martin will be going along to find out more about the work that has been carried out.
7:30pm
A public meeting, organised by Cheltenham and Gloucester PSC Group, is being held at St Matthew’s Church, Clarence Street, Cheltenham, entitled ‘Israel and Palestine: What Chance a Lasting Peace?’. The speakers at the meeting will be Graham Watson MEP, Dr Liz Burroughs, Ed Hill and Rev Dr Jon Morgan. For more information contact John Webster on 01242 511424. Martin will be attending this meeting.

Sunday, 17 May 2009
2:00pm
Save the Countryside are holding a circular walk through the fields of the proposed NW extension between Swindon Village and Uckington. For more information please contact 01242 680 602 or info@savethecountryside.org.uk. Martin will be joining the walk.
4:00pm
Martin and his family will be going to the Cheltenham Hebrew Congregation’s 170th anniversary concert featuring the London Cantorial Singers at the Synagogue in Cheltenham.

To keep up-to-date with Martin's Horwood's appearances in parliament please visit our website.

In May Beyond Eternity Promotions have prepared some exciting gigs for Cheltenham and surrounding areas.