Archive

  • The answer to seasonal stress

    Looking for a break from seasonal stress? The Matara Centre may have the answer. In the middle of crazy Christmas queues, the stress of visiting relatives and overindulgence, one quiet corner of the Cotswolds remains a haven of calm and tranquillity.

  • Novelist hits the Jacq-pot

    Cotswold Essence meets journalist-turned-fiction writer Martin O'Brien With paperback sales alone of his debut crime novel Jacquot and the Waterman already exceeding 21,000 copies, author Martin O'Brien could easily be mistaken as an overnight sensation

  • Out of service

    Cotswold Essence goes in search of the area's 'retired' churches. Candlelight is a pleasant atmospheric addition to a carol service in a country church, but for some churches it can still be the only means of lighting. These are the churches only used

  • Arsonists torch Stratton football club

    A CASH-STRAPPED football club is in dire straits after arsonists burnt its changing rooms to the ground. Vandals caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to Stratton Wanderers North's storeroom and changing facilities in the early hours of Sunday morning

  • Ain't no mountain high enough

    When my friendly local car dealer offered me the chance to take the new Hyundai Santa Fe for a spin, I don't think he appreciated just how far I wanted to spinning it. A car magazine with a bottomless budget would, naturally, have taken it to Santa Fe

  • Eco-logical

    New state-of-the-art homes are being designed with the environment in mind. Second homes have become an established part of the Cotswold landscape and often excite strong opinion from both residents and local authorities. But love them or loathe them

  • Sparkling fireworks display at Coates

    A SPECTACULAR display of colourful rockets, fire crackers and sparklers helped entertain the crowds at Cirencester Round Table's annual fireworks display at the weekend. Thousands of people from the Cirencester area packed into Setts Farm on Saturday

  • Plan a-head for Christmas ...and revamp your make-up bag

    Christmas hair and beauty tips from Cotswold Essence While we all dream of being pampered at the hair salon before a big Christmas night out, more often the reality of our busy lives means that we are rushing from desk or domesticity to delectable diva

  • New Pam Ayes at Swindon theatre

    PAM Ayres does wonderful things with words. In her unmistakable accent she describes mundane situations on a way that reduces you to tears of laughter. She makes her ordinary life sound anything but; we instantly click into the issue under discussion

  • Room at the inn

    After six Christmases at war, the world was ready for peace. "It'll all be over by Christmas", they said at the beginning of the Second World War; but which Christmas? Sixty years ago the question was answered, after six Christmases of conflict which

  • Smiths tribute at the Corn Hall

    FORMED in 2003 and impressing audiences ever since, The Smyths bring their authentic tribute to The Smiths to The Corn Hall, Cirencester, tomorrow (Friday). During their first 18 months, The Smyths built their reputation by playing to sell-out crowds

  • Have a 'Joly' Christmas

    Comedian Dom Joly will be flicking the switch at this year's Christmas lights ceremony in Cirencester. The TV prankster, who lives near Lechlade, will be the star attraction during an all-day Advent Market on Saturday, November 26. All the usual entertainments

  • Hear my voice

    Meet the octogenarian who says it's never too late to change career. Not too many people's careers take off again when they are in their eighties but this is what happened to Philip Evans, a delightfully modest man with a mind like a razor. Philip's life

  • Attempted murder suspect 'faces life'

    THE Cirencester teenager accused of trying to murder and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl has been told he could face life in prison if he is convicted. The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before magistrates for the

  • Fun that can't be topped

    Artist and writer Jacqueline Govier goes behind the scenes at Gifford's Circus "Want some tea?" What? "Want some tea?" What on earth? For heaven's sake, can't you see I've been in the ring, flying through the air, riding horses? I've got sawdust all over

  • Colourful Joseph returns to Everyman

    JOSEPH and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat returns to the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, from November 14-19. Following sensational reviews, Bill Kenwright's new production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic family musical continues to enjoy

  • Play on marriage in Gloucester

    THE Phoenix Players present the first production of their 47th season with When we are Married by J B Priestley. Three couples, married in the same place on the same day, meet to celebrate their 25th anniversaries. But their celebrations, reputations

  • No business like Snow Business

    From Hollywood blockbusters to Cirencester Advent Market - if you need snow without having to rely on the weather, there's only one place to turn... If Eskimos really do have hundreds of words for snow, then one Cotswold company could probably make a

  • Much-needed point for Centurions

    Southern League Premier Division Halesowen Town 1, Cirencester Town 1 DESPITE being reduced to 10 men for most of the second half, Cirencester left The Grove with a deserved point. They showed determination and should have won the game but lacked confidence

  • Candle-lit Mozart at the parish church

    CIRENCESTER Parish Church is once again to host a candle-lit performance by the English Mozart Ensemble on Friday, November 11, at 7.30pm. The acclaimed group, which returns to Cirencester for the fourth year running, is joined for the evening by the

  • Arsonists torch table-topping football club

    A CASH-STRAPPED football club is in dire straits after arsonists burnt its changing rooms to the ground. Vandals caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to Stratton Wanderers North's storeroom and changing facilities in the early hours of Sunday morning

  • A good read

    It's cold outside, so curl up in front of the fire with a good Cotswold book... A Cotswold Village by Joseph Arthur Gibbs In 1892, Joseph Arthur Gibbs left his family banking firm in London and headed for the Cotswolds. Swapping the role of high-flying

  • Ciren man races down the Zambezi

    CIRENCESTER'S Peter Reed - a world champion rower and Oxford Blue - beat crocodiles and Cambridge in a boat race on South Africa's Zambezi River. Two months after winning world gold in Japan, the 24-year-old ex-Cirencester Deer Park School pupil took