Cheltenham Standard 19th February 2015

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REFUSE and recycling vehicles arebeing given a new look as part ofthe ‘Thanks a million’ recyclingcampaign. But at a cost to the tax-payer.The new vehicle artwork which

is being funded by CBC is costing£5,620.A council spokesperson said:

“The budget for this was ear-marked for marketing as we recog-nised this is the right time todeliver a positive message to resi-dents for working so hard to helpsave over £1million on land1ll taxcosts every year. As well as thank-ing residents it also deliversanother important message, a re-minder that every year we still pay£1.4m to bury waste.”

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VICKERY’SVIEW Phil Vickery MBE

shares his thoughts onthe 2015 RBS Six Nations

PAGE37

A WASTE OFMONEY AS THE POTHOLES TAKE

THEIR GRIP ON THE TOWNTHE BOROUGH COUNCILSPEND OVER £5K PUTTINGSIGNS ON REFUSE TRUCKS!

CHELTENHAM’SBIGGEST WEEKLY

NEWSPAPER

2 CHELTENHAM STANDARD 19 FEBRUARY 2015

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The new artwork on the vehicles willbe thanking Borough residents for theirpart in saving over £1million on land-Fll tax costs every year as well as re-minding residents not to waste theirmoney by sending unnecessary refuseto landFll. And it’s costing over £5K todo it.The new artwork will be on 10 of the

refuse and recycling trucks. Five refusetrucks will carry the ‘Don’tWASTE yourmoney’ artwork and Fve recycling ve-hicles will carry the ‘THANKS a£Million’. With the average recyclinground serving 740 properties per dayCheltenham residents are bound tospot them across Cheltenham.Councillor Chris Coleman, cabinet

member for clean and green environ-ment, said: “This campaign is aboutrecognising the vital role the people ofCheltenham play in doing their bit tohelp the environment. We want tothank them for what they do but as weare still paying £1.4m to bury wasteeach year we also want to increaseawareness on the importance of recy-cling to try and get this Fgure down.“The new vehicle artwork is a great

way to spread our thanks and encour-age more recycling.”This spending comes at a time when

the town is riddled with potholes andthe Bath Road single lane Fasco washalted early.

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

‘Thanks a £Million’

POLICE are appealing forinformation after an elderlywoman had cash cardsstolen whilst shopping at aCheltenham supermarket.The incident happened

at Morrisons on Caernar-von Road in Hatherleybetween 10am and10.30am on Tuesday 10thFebruary.The victim, a 78-year-old

woman from Colesbournewas returning to her car, asilver Volkswagen Fox, afterdoing her shopping. As sheput the shopping in the carand got into the driver’s

seat she was approached bya woman. The womanasked the victim for direc-tions to the hospital, towhich she has obliged. Asthe victim wrote down thedirections, a man joinedthe woman. Once thewoman had been giventhe directions the twowalked off.As the victim has at-

tempted to Fll her car upwith fuel she has discov-ered that her credit anddebit cards are missing. It isbelieved that the cardswere attempted to be used

in two shops.The Frst offender is de-

scribed as female, of easternEuropean origin, agedbetween 30 and 40 andwith brown hair. Thesecond offender is de-scribed as male, again ofeastern European originand between 30 and 40years of age. He had short,dark, curly hair.Anyone who may have

information on the inci-dent is asked to contactGloucestershire Police on101, quoting incidentnumber 292 of February 10.

ELEVEN contractors at a pro-peller Frm near Gloucesterhave been let go by thecompany following a cata-strophic blaze earlier thismonth.The Dowty Propellers

factory in Staverton wasalmost completely destroyedin a Fre on 5th January.A spokeswoman for parent

company GE Aviation said theworkers were given one-week'snotice and two day’s pay.She added that about two-

thirds of the 200-strong work-force will be redeployed by theend of the week.

Over 100 engineers andsupport staff have alreadybeen re-housed at the BishopsCleeve site.GE Aviation's Jennifer Villar-

real said some staff will workfrom portable buildings andother buildings at the Staver-ton site by Friday of this week.Equipment and machinery

from the Fre-hit factory will becleaned and decontaminatedto see what can be salvaged.Ms Villarreal said the

company was still workingwith Fre ofFcials on an inves-tigation to determine thecause of the Fre.

DOWTY LAY-OFFS AFTER FIRE

Cash cards stolen from elderlyvictim at Cheltenham supermarket

CONSERVATIVE councillors’calls to cut the number ofelections in Cheltenham andsave taxpayers £100,000 overfour years have been voteddown by the boroughcouncil.The local Conservatives

put forward an amendmentto Cheltenham BoroughCouncil’s budget to stop thecouncil electing half of coun-cillors every two years and

instead switch to a singleelection every four years.

Cllr Tim Harman, Conser-vative Group Leader said:“This council should becutting the unnecessary costof politics in Cheltenham.This simple step could savetaxpayers £100,000 everyfour years.“We already have elections

for County Councillors,Police & Crime Commission-

ers and General Elections forMPs. We certainly don’tneed to have two electionsfor Borough Councillorswhen we could easily andsimply vote once every fouryears.“If a single election is good

enough for other councilsand our national Parliamentthen it should be goodenough for CheltenhamBorough Council.” He said.

Tories Call for Single Council Elections Ignored

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TIM Judge and his partnerhave lived in Sandford ParkPlace, Cheltenham, since2001. It's a leafy backwatercul-de-sac, which has verylittle traf@c or pedestriansother than the residents.They have parked their two

cars on the drive of theirhouse since 2001 withoutever having had any issues.But within a week both ofthem have had PenaltyCharge Notices totalling £140for parking their cars on theirown driveway.To avoid a PCN over last

weekend Mr Judge’s partnerhad to park her car a mileaway in front of someoneelse's house near the Chel-tenham cricket ground.The recent issuing of these

PCNs has prompted them toconsider relocating to someother part of town whereparking on your own drive-way doesn’t invite the CivilEnforcement Of@cers to slapa £40 ticket on their cars.Mr Judge commented:

“The Civil Enforcement Of@-

cers will have had to walk onto my driveway to stick theticket on my car window. Soin fact they walked onto myprivate property to give me aticket for parking on it. It’sridiculous and grosslyunfair.”A furious Mr Judge also

said: “When the @rst ticketwas being printed out two ofour neighbours protested tothe of@cer and suggested tohim that a sensible solution

may have been to knock onour door and inform us of thefact that we were about to geta ticket. The of@cer warnedour neighbours that he was@lming them as he felt intim-idated.”Mr Judge @nally added:

‘’He then sneaked up ourdriveway to stick the ticketon the windscreen andrapidly retreated while ourneighbours rang our doorbellto inform us of our fate.”

OVER the past three months, CheltenhamRacecourse entered anyone, booking a con-ference or event worth over £5,000 at thevenue, automatically into a prize draw towina full day of hospitality at this year’s Chel-tenham Festival.The competition gave away a pair of tickets

to Ladies Day to all those who entered. In ad-dition, the winner won hospitality for up to30 people which includes a four coursemeal,morning coffee and biscuits, afternoon tea aswell as a complimentary bar worth over£20,000 on the biggest day of the year forJump Racing, CheltenhamGold Cup Day onFriday 13th March.The competition was won byNatasha San-

diford, EventManager atWest of England Ac-ademic Heath Science Network, and shecommented: “We have used CheltenhamRacecourse as the basis for our events becauseof its excellent location, facilities and access.The win has come as a complete surprise tous, but we are delighted to be able to pass thisopportunity on to the members of the Westof England AHSN.”

Shewent onto to say: “Whilst enjoying thehospitality, our members will use the oppor-tunity to communicate and network withone another, driving forward the innovativepartnership work of the West of EnglandAHSN.”Clare Reader, Regional Conference and

Events Manager for the South West com-mented: “Wewere delightedwith the take upof this offer, unsurprising really as it is such afantastic prize! We know howmuch Natashais looking forward to Gold Cup Day and welook forward to running her conferencein October.”

Cheltenham Racecourse givesaway private box for 30 guestson Gold Cup Day worth £20,000

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CHELTENHAM’S new MilitaryPreparation College has relocated toMillbrook Academy in Brockworthto expand the range of learning andsporting facilities it can offer its 16-18-year-old students.

The Military Preparation College(MPCT) in Cheltenham opened lastOctober and was previously basedat Gloucestershire College. The move toMillbrook Academy on Mill Lane, Brock-worth, makes the college more accessibleto learners from both Cheltenham andGloucester, as well as opening up accessto more sporting facilities.

Huw Moores, Employer EngagementManager at MPCT, comments: “Ourarrangement with GloucestershireCollege was always a temporary one, andwe’re very grateful to the College forhelping us get established in the area.Moving forward, however, we believeMillbrook Academy will offer a superbnew base for leaners from across theregion to develop their Jtness and func-tional skills.”

Millbrook Academy’s facilities includean Astroturf pitch, a range of other sportsJelds, a swimming pool, gymnasium andsports hall – all of which will be exten-sively used by MPCT students, who spendaround 50% of their time developingtheir physical Jtness. There is also greater

in-house KS4 provision that supports pro-gression into post-16 education routes.

16-year-old Niall Davies from Blakeneyis moving from MPCT Cardiff to the newGloucester branch and said: “I’m reallyglad there’s an MPCT nearer Gloucesternow – I will really miss all of my Cardifffriends, but I won’t miss the long journey!I’m looking forward to making even morefriends in Gloucester, and continuing towork hard to gain the skills I need tobecome an Infantry Man in the RiKes.”

Niall was recently awarded ‘MostPromising Learner’ at an awards cere-mony. He said: “MPCT has turned mefrom a shy young boy into a maturingyoung man with a career ahead of me. Ilove MPCT because every day is a new ad-venture.”

The College accepts students on a roll-on, roll-off basis, and anyone interestedin joining at its new locationshould contact [email protected]: 08442 428428.

Shoppers to enjoy free parking during race weekPARKING in all council run car parks will befree of charge every afternoon, from 1pmonwards during Cheltenham race week.

From Monday 9th to Friday 13th March2015 inclusive, visitors can enjoy the towncentre for even longer thanks to the freeparking. The initiative hopes to encourageshoppers to visit the town during Chel-tenham’s Gold Cup Festival and to showsupport for the festival as well as for local re-tailers and businesses.

Car parks allowing free parking after1pm each day from Monday 9th to Friday13th March 2015 are:

Bath Parade • Bath TerraceCheltenham Walk • Commercial StreetCoronation Square • High StreetWest End • Regent ArcadeRodney Road • Royal WellSandford Lido • Sherborne PlaceSt Georges Road • St James StreetTown Centre East (formerlyGrosvenor Terrace)

It is hoped that motorists, on average, will savearound £3 per day on parking during this time.

Councillor Andrew McKinlay, cabinetmember for built environment said: “Chel-tenham beneJts greatly during race week, it’s agreat atmosphere and visitors love cominghere. But we do recognise that it can be a quiettime in the town centre and we hope that thefree parking will encourage those who aren’t

watching the races to come and enjoy what theretailers and businesses have to offer.’’

Kevan Blackadder, the town’s business part-nership manager added: “There are severalhours of the day during the afternoons in raceweek when racegoers are packing out Prestbury

Park. It means it’s a great time for locals to headinto town and enjoy our shops. With 15 dif-ferent car parks in this free parking offer, itmakes great sense to take advantage. We’re de-lighted the initiative has been launched to helpboth our retailers and shoppers.”

New base for MilitaryPreparation College

POLICE are seeking informationabout an incident of car vandalismin Bishop’s Cleeve.

The incident occurred at about 9am on Sunday 25th January, on thejunction of TobyJeld Road andCourtiers Drive, where a whiteSuzuki Swift, with a magnetic Rus-combe School of Motoring sign onthe roof, was kicked by a male,causing several hundred poundsworth of damage to the rear near-side passenger door.

The man walked past the vehicleas it was reversing and jumped intothe rear nearside door, causing alarge dent. He was then seen toenter TobyJeld Road and departwith people in another vehicle.

The person responsible is de-scribed as a white male, 5’11’’ – 6’,late 20s, wide shoulders but slim,pale skin, medium length mousybrown scruffy hair, with a narrowface. He was wearing blue jeans anda round neck blue T shirt.

Anyone with information aboutthis incident is asked to contactGloucestershire Police on 101quoting incident number 107 of 25January and crime number1783/15.

Suzuki vandalisedin Bishop’s Cleeve


GLOUCESTER Services Farmshop andKitchen have started to recruit nearly 150new staff for their southbound site due toopen this summer. The business is now onthe hunt for traditional skilled workers to Ellpositions including butcher, baker, Esh-monger and pâtissier and become part of ateam dedicated to raising the standard offood on the motorway network.This follows the successful opening of the

northbound services in 2014, situated onthe M5 between junctions 12 and 11a.The business is now looking to offer

various employment opportunities forGloucestershire residents who are lookingfor a new challenge.Dedicated to local food, farming and the

surrounding community, the £40 millionservices features a farmshop stocked withlocally produced food, a butchery stockedwith Gloucestershire’s Enest meat, and acafé serving homemade dishes created fromlocally sourced produce every day. Glouces-ter Services works with over 200 local sup-pliers from across the South West, 130 ofwhich are within 30 miles of the services.

Sarah Dunning, CEO of WestmorlandFamily who own and operate the servicesexplains, “It’s our approach to food that setsthe business apart, we believe proper foodmatters. Quality, farm-assured food was atthe core of my father’s vision when heopened Tebay Services some 40 years ago.Back then it was visionary, today we’re partof a local food revolution.”Thanks to a growing interest in quality,

local produce and traceability, GloucesterServices is looking to build on the offeralready available. Not content with a qualitybutchery, the southbound services will seethe addition of a patisserie and the UK’s ErstEshmonger on the motorway network.Alongside the specialist roles, Gloucester

services will be recruiting nearly 150 staff in-cluding team members and team leadersacross catering and retail. There will be fulltime, part time and seasonal work withvarious shift patterns available, suitable forparents, students and those looking to Etwork around other commitments.

For more information please visitwww.gloucesterservices.com

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Remnants must be cleared

SOME in the town of a certain age will re-member the famous Prom Club. Well it’sdue to rise from the ashes to reopen in timefor Race Week.The old Prom Club in town is having a

make-over and is due to re-open in the Erstweek of March.Local man about town and former

manager of the old Prom Club Keith Billing-ton said: “It was a great club in its hey-day

and loads of fun to be in. I just hope the newPromClub lives up to its former reputation.”It will be a sister club to Coco, in Regent

Street. However it’s rumoured that the newlyrefurbished Prom Club, in 113 The Prome-nade, will be almost three-times the size ofCoco.Just last December Cheltenham lost

V Club in High Street which closed“indeEnitely.’’

Prom Club rises again for Race Week

MAMAS Kitchen in Bennington Street has juststarted a crowd funding campaign to try andsave the café, as they claim they’ve been se-verely affected by the works at The Breweryand the closure of North Place car park.The owner Sarah Edwards said: “We were

growing nicely and set to become a proEtablebusiness up to September last year. Then inOctober they closed the Brewery cut throughand the car park. Our takings dropped by halfinstantly. Our customers were calling to askhow do they get to us and where can theypark? Of course the answer was the only car

park is the multi-story NCP, which is not prac-tical if you’re just popping in to grab atake-out.’’She went to add: “We have been unable to

recover since then, and are now faced with thewhole of Bennington Street and the lowerHigh Street being shut for three months from19thMarch.’’ Sarah Enally commented, “If wecan get the crowd funding to cover the rent forthis period, we should be able to pick up oursales for the summer and when the roadreopens survive. But without it, we won’t behere next month.”

Mamas Kitchen under threat of closure

Butchers, Bakersand Muesli Makers

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TOURISM is a sig-niDcant part ofCh e l t e n h am ’seconomy, peopledrawn here by thenumber of quality

festivals, therefore we should be doingeverything we can to nurture the elementswhich event organisers Dnd so attractive.Successive governments, latterly the

Liberal Democrats and Conservatives incoalition, have signiDcantly failed toimprove the infrastructure. The railstation is run down and tired, the A417and limited M5 junction 10 cause majorfrustrations and delays to people whowant to do business here, and of course tothe tens of thousands of people who wantto visit.Now to make matters worse, we have

problems caused by changes to planninglegislation which have essentially putevery green space, one of Cheltenham’sDnest features, under threat of develop-ment.People across the town are Dnding

themselves faced with the loss of openspaces. For years people in Leckhamptonhave been Dghting a rear guard action to

protect local Delds, and now developersare making a bid for land designated as“area of outstanding natural beauty” inCharlton Kings. Nothing it seems is safe.Repeatedly, the people of Cheltenham

have made their views and feelingsknown; repeatedly they have repelled onethreat only to be faced with another.Why aren’t the wishes of local people

respected? The local referenda, as pro-posed by UKIP, would see these issues re-solved democratically. The people’s voicewould be heard and respected, not treatedas a stumbling block to be overcome at thenext opportunity.Mr Horwood and Mr Chalk will no

doubt be visible and vocal in their supportof protests by local residents. However itis a direct result of the coalition’s relax-ation of planning laws which have givenspeculators the green light which leavesCheltenham people again trying toprotect themselves from large developers.It’s not fair, it’s not right, it’s not

common sense.

Christina [email protected].


Christina Simmonds – Ukip CheltenhamParliamentary candidate for 2015

THE SIMMONDS FILE

PAUL Gilbert (pictured) has been de-clared as the prospective Labour Partycandidate for Cheltenham.The eldest of three, he was the Drst

in his family to study for a degree. In1987 he qualiDed as a solicitor and ayear later joined C&G, leaving tenyears later as their most senior lawyer.In 2000 he set up his own business inCheltenham training and coachinglawyers around the world.Paul Gilbert has lived and worked

here for 25 years. He commented: “I’mnot a politician and I don’t want to bea minister or sit on ego-stroking com-mittees. I just want to be the hardestworking MP in the country, dedicatedevery day to making a difference inthis town for our people.’’

Labour puts itshead above parapetLAST week saw the launch of Gloucestershire

College’s vocational training collaborationwith Chelsea Bar & Brasserie in Cheltenham.The newly formed partnership is the Drst

of its kind for both the College and theBrasserie Group, and reinforces the CateringSchool’s commitment to ensuring its stu-dents leave Gloucestershire College fully pre-pared for the world of work.

The town centre eatery will have six stu-dents training and working at any one time,exposing them to a real working environ-ment and the successes and challenges cater-ing and hospitality professionals celebrateand overcome on a daily basis.It’s no secret that Gloucestershire is

punching above in terms of its produce,chefs and restaurants, and this exciting col-

laboration will equip students with the skillsthey need to succeed in this thriving indus-try.Gareth Crwys-Williams, Head of School

for Catering and Hospitality, said: “As theleading Chef Training School in the county,we’re thrilled to be joining forces withChelsea Bar & Brasserie on this uniqueventure.“The collaboration will enable our stu-

dents to hone their cooking and service skillsin a commercial environment, whilst show-casing their talents to the public and otherlocal employers. Working with and support-ing local businesses is something we valuehighly at Gloucestershire College and it’sgreat to be teaming up with the BrasserieGroup, which has changed the face of Chel-tenham’s restaurant and bar scene, with anever-growing portfolio of popular venues.”CEO of the Brasserie Group, Abdul

Mannan, said: “This joint venture withGloucestershire College is very exciting formyself and the staff at Chelsea Bar &Brasserie. We are all looking forward toworking together and delivering our expert-ise to the students.”“This partnership will beneDt students by

giving them the skills required to work in in-dustry and mould them to be conDdent fortheir future careers.”For more information about Gloucester-

shire College’s Catering and HospitalitySchool, visit www.gloscol.ac.uk/catering

Gloucestershire College teams up with Chelsea Bar & Brasserie


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WITH less than two days to go to theDevil Mud Run, over a thousand peoplefrom around the UK are gearing up to takeon Cheltenham’s Jrst permanent mudrunning course.Sponsored by Raging Bull Sportswear,

the challenging 8km course is set in theCotswold Hills and incorporates over 30manmade and natural obstacles includingThe Ice Dip and Satan’s Steps.Organiser Nicholas Williams said: “We

are absolutely thrilled with the course andobstacles. It’s deJnitely going to rivalsome of the other more established mudruns andwill put Cheltenham on themapas a key mud running destination. It’sgoing to be toughmentally and physicallyfor competitors but will give them a greatfeeling of team spirit and sense of achieve-ment with a lot of laughs and plenty ofmud along the way!”With Gloucestershire’s clothing

company Raging Bull Sportswear as ofJ-

cial sponsors the Devil Mud Run will beofJcially opened by a local sports star andwill also be run by Hollyoaks legend NickPickard, who plays Tony!Local charity Winston’s Wish is also set

to beneJt as the Devil Mud Run’s ofJcialcharity partner with a contribution to thecharity from funds raised. Participants canalso raise money for the child bereave-ment charity, or any other cause if theywish.All Jnishers will receive an exclusive

goody bag that will include a unique DevilMud Run branded Raging Bull T-shirt.Setting itself apart from other mud run

organisations, the Devil Mud Run isGloucestershire’s Jrst permanent coursewhich will also be available for hire, al-lowing the team to expand its reach andbecome one of the biggest in the countyand beyond.

Visit www.devilmudrun.com formore details on how to get your place.

SoapboxBy COUNCILLOR KLARA SUDBURY

I REPORTED in last week’s Soapbox thatplans to build 27 houses at UllenwoodCourt near Leckhampton meant the ridingcentre there was under threat. The agentfor the developer has since conJrmed thatthey intend to submit revised plans whichwill include a replacement riding centre.Campaigners are cautiously optimisticabout the future but are waiting to see theplans before celebrating.ConJdence in the future of Cheltenham

was a key theme of the debate on settingthe budget for the Borough Council for2015-16. Local politicians met last weekand decided not to increase council tax orcar parking charges for the Jfth yearrunning, a fairly remarkable achievementgiven the swingeing cuts to the grant thecouncil receives from central government.This year’s budget includes more money

to tackle Cheltenham’s urban gullproblem and there is also cash to improvethe bus station.At the budget setting meeting we didn’t

discuss how the £7.8m capital sum fromthe sale of the North Place Car Park will bespent, that will take place at a later date.Of the options put forward for investmentduring the recent consultation, improvingthe Town Hall was rated highest by re-spondents.We went to an event there this

weekend, part of the Folk Three festivalwhich got me thinking of all of the diverseand bizarre things I have been to and seenat the Town Hall over the years. As a littlegirl I danced on the stage there. I was

utterly useless at ballet but can still re-member coming off the stage last (I wasthe tallest) having to wave and grin at theaudience.I have visited the Ideal Home Exhibition

there many times and been to numerousmusic and comedy events. Last year wewent to see Frank Skinner and I laughedso hard at one particular anecdote Ithought I would expire, a problem ofbeing asthmatic. One of the most extraor-dinary sights I have seen at the Town Hallwas when former Cllr Barbara Driverboogied on stage with Dancing Ken at herMayor Making ceremony.I wasn’t surprised when a national

newspaper recently described Cheltenhamas the best place in the country to raise afamily. Cultural venues like the Town Hall,and the Everyman Theatre as well as ourparks, gardens, festivals and good schoolsmake it a great place to bring up children.The work done by the council has a role toplay in many of these things. Howeverkeeping Cheltenham special involvesmany individuals and organisations, in-cluding private enterprise and the volun-tary and community sector.Speaking of volunteers, this Friday 20th

February between 10am and 2pm theFriends of Sandford Park are planting newhedges along the boundary of the car parknear Keynsham Road entrance (oppositethe Jre station). If you are able to go alongand lend a hand they would be delightedto see you. Please wear old clothes, sensi-ble shoes and bring a spade.

CHELTENHAM’S Conservative MP hopeful,Alex Chalk, has called on the town’s represen-tatives to crack down on ‘grot spots’ which heclaims are letting the town down. Mr Chalkhas launched a campaign calling on residentsto report eyesores in their local area, rangingfrom run-down buildings to litter, Ky-tippingand grafJti.Launching his call for action, Mr Chalk said:

“Cheltenham is a beautiful place to live and dobusiness. But there are also too many eyesoresscattered across our town which let Chel-tenham down.“They include properties such as the former

Royal Mail Sorting OfJce on Carlton Street,where a planning application to build Kats was

in place but fell through, and the derelictSpringbank Shopping Centre site, which wassnapped up by a housing developer but hasseen little action since. With the demand forhousing greater than ever and with increasingpressure on Cheltenham’s green Jelds, I believethe town’s representatives shouldworkwith theowners of these derelict sites to ensure progressis made.“Residents are also concerned about litter, Ky-

tipping and grafJti. If elected I am determinedto get results.”Residents can report grot spots in their

local area by following this linkhttp://streetrepairs.co.uk/api/problems/form?t=iframe&key=PHRP-XFONRVTGLMJ

Chalk calls foraction on ‘grotspots’ lettingtown down

Countdown is on tothe Devil’s Playground!


BUSINESSEditor’sDESK BRANDS SOLUTION OPENS

CHELTENHAM OFFICEBRANDS Solution, one of the UK’sleading suppliers of branded FMCGproducts to the retail sector, has an-nounced that it is to open new ofEcesin Cheltenham. The new ofEces willhelp service the company’s growingclient base in the South of England.The new Cheltenham ofEce will be

managed by Alex Lund, who recentlyjoined the company as a TradingManager, and will focus on servicingsuppliers and retailers in the healthand beauty sector. The company’shead ofEce will remain in Tattenhall,Cheshire.Guy Fennell, Managing Director of

Brands Solution, comments:

“Opening a new ofEce Ets with ourstrategic plan to extend our range andreach, both in the UK and interna-tionally. It is an exciting time as wecontinue to grow and develop andwith this new base we’re able to bettermanage our client needs as well asoffer specialist services in the health,beauty and medical sectors.”Brands Solution, based in Cheshire,

was established in 2008 and hasquickly become one of the UK’sleading suppliers of branded FMCGproducts working in all retail cate-gories including; frozen, chilled,grocery, household, drinks, health &beauty and medical sectors.

BUSINESS aware students from Pate’sGrammar School beat off competitionfrom sixteen other local teams to winthe Bristol 10th February heat ofICAEW’s National Business and Ac-counting competition, BASE.Pate’s Grammar School impressed the

judges and will go on to represent theWest of England at the national Enalwhich takes place in Birmingham inJune. This was one of 46 heats attract-ing over 3,000 students in more than500 competing teams nationwide.BASE links schools, students and em-

ployers to develop employability skills

and provide an insight into what acareer in accountancy, business andEnance might be like.Assuming the role of ICAEW Char-

tered Accountants, the students had 2hours to analyse a business situation,before presenting their ideas to a panelof top business professionals.Jon Blake, ICAEW Regional Director,

South West, said: “We were so im-pressed with the team’s performanceand shrewd thinking. These buddingbusiness advisers looked beyond thenumbers, they also showed they had anexcellent instinct for business and

ethics in order to give well-roundedadvice. I expect I’ll be seeing more ofthese young people in leading roles inthe future.”Head Judge, Simon Emery, said: “In

the presentations we looked for theethical and Enancial data to support thedecisions. Pate’s Grammar showed ex-cellent teamwork and role allocation indelivering a very comprehensive rec-ommendation. The team fromMillEeldSchool were the runners up and allteams can be rightly proud of theirachievements in dealing with a verychallenging business challenge.”

For further information aboutBASE and how to participate pleasevisit icaew.com/base.

I N a week where we as a paper,have slated the state of the roadsand the parking situation it now

transpires that the borough councilhave spent over £5K of our moneyplopping on some pointless signs onrefuse trucks that no-one will eitherread or actually absorb.And we have had the parking hell

rear its ugly head with some nonse-cial parking tickets being given out

in Sandford Place to a couple who park their cars on theirdrive and got two parking tickets as a result. What an ab-solute nonsense and a disgrace. When will the CountyCouncil see some sense and send someone who has amodicum of brains to monitor these Nazi parking locusts?It’s like a secret shopper. Check up on them to see what onearth they’re up to. Its bad business and its bad PR for thecouncil. And on a salutary note, have you ever met a trafEcwarden? I’m not calling them Civil Enforcement OfEcers asthat’s a sop tomake themmore acceptable to us.When I say‘meet’ I mean socially at say a dinner party? Bet you haven’t.This is also in a week where the Liberal Councillors voted

down a change to the way councillors are elected in a forlornattempt to try and save us poor beleaguered taxpayers somemoney. A bid to save taxpayers £100,000 by moving Chel-tenham Borough Council’s elections from every two yearsto every four years has been quashed.Conservative councillors urged the authority to look at

making the move to an election system which would see allcouncillors face election at the same time. But Liberal De-mocrat decision-makers refused to back the idea.All councillors serve four year terms but at the moment

they are elected on a rolling basis with half of the boroughcouncil put up for election every two years.The local Tories have estimated that moving to an ‘all up’

systemwould save the borough council £100,000 every fouryears. Why have the Liberals got a problemwith this? Surelythe council has a duty to look after the public purse andexamine ways to make either savings or at least use themoney judicially.The Tories attempted to slide the switch to single elections

into the borough council’s next budget when it was debatedlast week. But to no avail apparently.It doesn’t matter which side of the political fence you sit,

it’s a matter of saving us the taxpayer money. Allowing po-litical egos and grandstanding should be banned as a matterof disgrace if it means we can save a bob or two. A £100Kcould go a long way in this town to improving roads andother services.Maybe we should send the lot of them on a winter cruise

to discuss it. I’ll bet they’d be queuing up to waste thatmoney.

Eric Barton, Editor

Cheltenham Standard is published weekly by Cheltenham Standard Ltd is registered at Suite 104, Eagle Tower, Montpellier Drive, Cheltenham, GL50 1TA. Reproduction of any material, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden without the priorwritten consent of the publishers. All material is sent at the owner’s risk and whilst every care is taken, heltenham Standard Ltd will not accept liability for loss or damage. Dates, information and prices quoted are believed to be correct attime of going to press but are subject to change and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. Neither the editor nor publisher accepts responsibility for any material submitted, whether photographic or otherwise. All rightsreserved. ISSN no. 2055-2092. Terms and conditions at www.cheltenhamstandard.co.uk

Got a comment?Please contact us at

[email protected]

SAVVY SCHOOL STUDENTS

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Alex Lund


BUSINESS

SUIT the City is about to makesartorial dreams come true forboth male and female clients inthe Cotswolds. The made-to-measure tailors have opened forbusiness in Gloucestershire theirstyle consultants are mobile andcome to you to offer their exclu-sive personal service.Of course, the added beneGt is

that you no longer need totravel to London to be Gtted, (al-though they do have a Gtting fa-cility in Savile Row for thosewho do wish to travel to Londonon business or for a day out!). Allof this service comes at around athird of the price usuallycharged by Savile Row tailors.The company uses only the

Gnest Savile Row fabrics, allclothing is produced in their Eu-ropean factories, rather thanbeing sourced from unregulatedlabour somewhere in the FarEast; this means that customers

can rest easy knowing that thetailors are paid a fair wage andtheir luxury clothing is pro-duced ethically.Chris Vine, the face of Suit the

City in the Cotswolds is con-vinced that this blend of topquality, style and service will bea winner. He has a long pedigreein business and understands theimportance of feeling conGdentand comfortable, particularly forprofessional people and forthose who enjoy countrysidepursuits.Chris said, “Once we have a

customer’s measurements, wecan simply create whatever theywant, with different styles,colours and fabrics, Suit the Cityoffers so much more than beau-tifully cut clothes, it really is alifestyle choice!”Suit the CityTel: 0800 011 2450www.suitthecity.com

Businesses bene"t from£1.1 million rates relief

Suits on the move

CHELTENHAM Borough Councilhas awarded almost £420,000worthof business rates relief to about 500businesses occupying retail premisesin the Gnancial year 2014/2015. It isestimated that a further £650,000will be awarded in 2015/2016making a total of £1.1million over 2years.In line with government recom-

mendations announced in the 2013autumn statement, the council cur-rently awards business rate relief upto £1,000 to occupied retail proper-ties with a rateable value of £50,000or less. This will rise to £1,500 perproperty during 2015/16. Thecouncil has also awarded a further

£5,000 worth of relief to businessesoccupying retail premises which hadbeen empty for more than a year.The business rates team identiGes

businesses that might qualify andsends out the appropriate applica-tion form. All businesses currentlyreceiving the £1,000 will automati-cally be awarded the £1,500 on their2015/2016 bills when they areissued in March.Councillor John Rawson, cabinet

member for Gnance said: “I am de-lighted that so many local busi-nesses are beneGting from thisscheme. It’s a government backedschemewhich the council hasmadethe most of by encouraging busi-

nesses to apply. Over a millionpounds over two years is a big boostto the local economy.’’Kevan Blackadder, Cheltenham’s

business partnership manageradded: “All initiatives that bringbusiness rates relief to retailers inCheltenham are to be welcomed. Iwould urge the council to continueto investigate all possiblemethods tohelp further. It’s also important thatpublic bodies do all they can toensure that all the businesses thatare eligible are aware of the fact.”

For more information aboutthese reliefs businesses shouldcontact the business rates helplineon 01242 264255.

Manor by the Lake hosts Business ShowMANOR By The Lake in Chel-tenham was buzzing with businesslast week as huge numbers turnedout to Gll the Ballroom for theupdate on the Gloucestershire Busi-ness show.The event was introduced by

CraigWalker, Director of Marketingat the Manor who welcomed thelarge number of guests by detailingsome of the Manor’s upcomingbusiness events.Antonia Coles, Director of

County Business Shows outlinedthe details of the GloucestershireBusiness Show on the 13thand 14th of May at theCheltenham Racecourse where 140exhibitors have already bookedspace.Mr Walker said “It is crucial that

organisations in such a dynamiccounty as Gloucestershire support

an event like this, so we were keento be involved along with San-tander, National Star College andTotal Ltd. This promises to be an ex-cellent show.”The Manor, formerly owned by

Sir George Dowty, underwent a

multi-million pound restoration lastyear taking it back to its 1858speciGcation and now boasts6 unique venue rooms, 12 luxurybedrooms and suites and has areputation for some of the mostoutstanding food in the county.

LIKE some unfounded irrationalfears that some of us have, a visit tothe dentist can cause all sorts of un-necessary mental barriers.At Arnica Dental Care in Leck-

hampton, Cheltenham, they knowonly too-well that this trepidation isfor some patients very real and notirrational at all.Choosing the right private dental

clinic is a very important decisionand can be for some, a rather daunt-ing task.Arnica Dental Care is in fact Chel-

tenham’s leading Dental SedationCentre and therefore are extremelywell qualiGed and experienced toprovide nervous, anxious patientswith a range of sedation options in-cluding gas, air and intravenous se-dation.Arnica is very experienced at

helping patients with dental phobiasto fully relax and receive treatment.At Arnica Dental Care they also

offer Zygomatic dental implantswhich is a procedure that involvesanchoring longer than normal

dental implants in the cheek bone.The procedure is considerably lessinvasive than the traditional sinuslift or bone graft so therefore thepatient experiences less discomfortand the whole procedure can becompleted in one day.Dr Ellie Ledger (pictured) com-

mented: “This kind of implant tech-nique produces a permanent Gx. Notmany dentists are offering this asyet. In some cases a number of pa-tients’ thought that their conditionwas too far gone for implants. Thisnot the case now. The Gnished lookproduces great looking teeth thatalso feel fantastic.’’ She went on to

say: “For some of our patients it’ssimply life changing.’’Ellie goes on to further comment,

“At Arnica it’s always about strikinga balance between the needs of asuccessful practice and being com-pletely patient focused.’’ She goes onto say, “in the last six years we havegot bigger and growth has been at ahealthy rate. Being focused on thepractice itself and the needs of ourpatients has been key. And theactual growth has in a sense, been byreferral which is testament to ourability.’’Arnica Dental 01242 655 554www.arnicadentalcare.co.uk

WORD OF MOUTHPH

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HOW did Mother’s Day morphfrom tea and toast into Michelin-starred restaurants?Tea and toast in bed with a littletrip to the local church used to beall mothers expected on Mother’sDay. Now it’s all about mani-pedis,expensive meals, and StarbucksGift Cards inside a Moonpigenvelope. No bad thing.You know you’ve reached acertain age because your mum’sopinions now strike a surprisinglyinsightful chord.We spend most of our life pre-40,tutting at the insane evaluations ofthe women who broke their eyecapillaries pushing us into theworld. But then, one day,something =ips and asking themquestions becomes a fascinatingexchange that is both illuminatingand entertaining (you can play thesame game with small childrenand reach similarly bonkersconclusions).Thus prompted by voucheremails offering Mother’s Day gifts,from “Entry into the Knitting andStitching Show” to “LiposuctionConsultation.’’Mothering Sunday is the fourthSunday of Lent. Although it’s oftencalled Mothers’ Day it has noconnection with the Americanfestival of that name.Traditionally, it was a day whenchildren, mainly daughters, whohad gone to work as domesticservants were given a day off tovisit their mother and family.Today it is a day when childrengive presents, =owers, and home-made cards to their mothers. Orperhaps Clinton Cards might havea hand in it?Most Sundays in the yearchurchgoers in England worship attheir nearest parish or ‘daughterchurch’.Centuries ago it was consideredimportant for people to return totheir home or ‘mother’ churchonce a year. So each year in themiddle of Lent, everyone would

visit their ‘mother’ church, themain church or cathedral of thearea.As they walked along thecountry lanes, children would pickwild =owers or violets to take tochurch or give to their mother as asmall gift.So there we have it. MotheringSunday in a nutshell. Movingreligion gently and respectfullyaside it’s the ideal opportunity tospoil our mums on a day whenthey can be truly appreciated foreverything they’ve done for us. SoSunday 15th March needs to be onall our calendars and make sure wegive our mums a treat.


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A snapshot of student life in Cheltenham

BY FRANCESCA COBY

FEBRUARY and March bring a 3ockof fresh new faces to Cheltenhamfor the annual open days.The university becomes a hub of

activity and lots of brightly

coloured posters and advertisements(that we’re pretty sure weren’t therebefore) crop up all around campus.All the lecturers look exceedinglysmart, donned in their best out2ts,and wear their biggest grins.Although the queues for coffee

becomes dismally long on suchdays, it makes me incrediblynostalgic for my open day, andconsequential interview, I wasstupidly terri2ed.Open days consist of a tour of the

campus, halls of residence and a

look at the facilities and content ofthe particular degree yourconsidering taking. Everythingseems so shiny and new (apart froma few disgruntled students outsidehalls in their pyjamas).It is a common fact that most

student rooms are always absolutehell holes, and smell of old chipsand alcohol. But the room you’reshown on your open day is alwaysimmaculate, with a beaming studentsitting at their desk on their laptoplooking studious. Of course theywere told tomake everything spicand span by someone from housingand themajority of this is staged.Under the bed is full to burstingwith clutter and themoment youleave, said student, will get straightback into bed to watch endlessepisodes of Breaking Bad.Now that many of us are nearing

the end of university, over halfwaythrough our 2nal year, we seem to

spend the majority of our lecturesre3ecting over the past three. Oneof the highlights for me had to bethe 2rst day we moved into halls,the head of housing basically sungevery word she said andconsequentially tried to start aMexican wave when we had ourinduction in the main hall. Thiswas followed by a rendition ofRESPECT, the classic by ArethaFranklin. I can honestly say I havenever been so morti2ed in myentire existence. We all knew thewords but you didn’t get one peepout of any fresher there.Open days are a great day to

really 2nd somewhere you thinkyou will 2t, it’s the next chapterin your young adult life. Isincerely hope Mexican wavesand songs about ‘respect’ remain onthe agenda, for me it wouldn’t havebeen starting university withoutthem.

TheVIBE12 CHELTENHAM STANDARD 19 FEBRUARY 2015

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TELEVISIONYour one-stop guide to thebest terrestrial tv over the weekend


Friday 27th February, 8pmUniversity of Gloucestershire, FrancisClose Hall Chapel, CheltenhamTickets £7 / Students & Concessions £3available from [email protected] oron the door.

THE XPOSED Club returns to theUniversity of Gloucestershire with adouble bill from Keith Tippett (solopiano) andTheo May (solo violin).Keith Tippett is widely recognised as

one of the most distinctive and radicalpioneers in contemporary jazz today. Insolo performance Keith Tippett isunique. His playing is full of melody andspiritual power, which transforms thepiano into an orchestra of hisimagination.“Pianist, composer, bandleader,

innovator, catalyst – the internationallyacclaimed Keith Tippett is all thesethings and more” – TheWire.Tippett is joined for this performance

by the young and talented violinist TheoMay.Theo will have the audiencespellbound – don’t miss this one!University of Gloucestershire,Francis Close Hall Chapel, SwindonRoad, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,GL50 4AZ. Please see the Universitywebsite for travel information

CULTURE

FURTHER to the critically-acclaimedautumn 2014 tour, these fresh newadaptations byWest Country theatrecompanies ButterDy PsycheTheatre &

Livewire Theatre will invigorate, inspireand melt hearts around the SouthWestthis Spring.Whether you’re a hard-core Brontë

fan or if you've never had the pleasure,there is something for everyonewith three wonderful shows to choosefrom.Performed in rep, with only one and

two actors, there’s a chance to mix-and-match an old favourite along with a newacquaintance, as well as the chance tosee all three in omnibus performancesat most venues.

25th - 28th FebruaryThe Everyman Studio TheatreCheltenhamTel: 01242 572573everymantheatre.org.uk

KEITHTIPPETT& THEOMAY

LIVEWIRETHEATRE & BUTTERFLY PSYCHETHEATRE PRESENTS:

THE BRONTËSEASON BACK BY

POPULAR DEMAND!

The Brontë Season is made up of:• The Tenant ofWildfell Hall• Jane Eyre•Wuthering Heights


FOURTEEN-year-old Esme loses herentire family in one night when hermother, young twin sisters and olderbrother are shot dead. The evidencesuggests that Esme’s father, a man witha reputation for hard drinking, isresponsible. Brain-damaged afterallegedly trying to take his own life, he isin no position to argue.Thirteen years later, Esme has changed

her name to Alison and done her best toabandon her past. She works inaccounts, keeps her head down and livesa quiet, unassuming life in London until,through a twist of fate, she is compelledto attend a wedding in the very place shegrew up and where the ‘crooked’ housein which her family were gunned down

still stands. Drawn to her old home,Alison makes a discovery that castsdoubt on her father’s guilt. As, one byone,Alison’s assumptions about whattook place that terrible night arechallenged and overturned, she is forcedto conclude that the killer is still out there.The premise of the novel is simple and

powerful. It’s no understatement to saythat it punches you in the gut and grabsyou by the throat at the same time.Alison is a wonderfully sympatheticcharacter to which our hearts reach out.While Kent conveys the psychologicalimpact of the tragedy with heart-breaking honesty, she does so withoutsentimentalism, no mean feat.Murder leaves an indelible mark on

small, close-knit communities, and yetit’s in these same, occasionally ‘toxic’enclaves in which lies, half-truths and

secrets thrive. Creepily claustrophobic,the story builds to a thrilling climax and,combined with Kent’s surefootedplotting, atmospheric prose and Jrmgrasp of psychology, the novel is a raretriumph. However it’s the kind of bookthat comes with a serious warning.It’s so impossible to put down. Dinners

may be ruined, you may be late pickingup the kids from school and yourbedside light will blaze long into thenight.‘The Crooked House’ is published by

Sphere, an imprint of Little Brown.

Eve Seymour is a freelance writing coach andthe author of seven crime 5ction novels.Beautiful Losers will be published by USpublisher Midnight Ink early 2016. To seemore details of her work visitwww.evseymour.co.uk

By EVE SEYMOUR

BookREVIEW

The Crooked House By Christobel Kent

IT’S now or never for George Jones. Thecharismatic leader of the Labour Partyneeds to get out of opposition and intoNumber Ten. Plagued by a hostile media,beset by divisions in his party andhaunted by his own demons, George hasthree weeks to convince the Great BritishPublic that he’s their man. But howmuchcompromise is he prepared to make?How can you truly appeal to the man inthe street from the House of Commons?And which tie should he wear forPrime Minister’s Questions?Headlong (producers of last year’s

successful hit adaptation of 1984) presenta vigorous new production of David Hare’s

funny, stinging political drama on a timelynational tour during the build up to the2015 General Election.David Hare is one of the UK’s foremost

playwrights and screenwriters. His playsinclude Plenty; Skylight; The PermanentWayand Stuff Happens. He has received twoAcademy Award nominations forThe Hours and The Reader.Jeremy Herrin directs this new

production and is Artistic Director ofHeadlong. His recent work includes theRSC world premiere of Hilary Mantel’sWolf Hall/Bring up the Bodies; TheNether (Headlong/Royal Court) and ThisHouse (National Theatre). Headlong’s

recent productions include 1984;Chimerica; Spring Awakening and TheSeagull.The Absence of Warwas originally written

as part of Hare’s trilogy of state of thenation plays which includes Racing DemonandMurmuring Judges.

THE ABSENCE OFWAREveryman Theatre, CheltenhamTuesday 17th – Saturday 21st MarchEvenings: Tue – Sat 7.45pm,Matinees: Thu & Sat 2pmTickets: £13 - £28 available from theBox Of8ce on 01242 572573 or online atwww.everymantheatre.org.uk

THE ABSENCE OFWAR

THE LIVELINE UPSA POTENTIAL star of the future playsatThe Frog & Fiddle in Cheltenham onFriday 20th January. Misty Miller, whohas recently been gathering plays byFearne Cotton, Zane Lowe and HuwStephens on BBC Radio 1, stops off inCheltenham as part of a tour topromote her new EP 'Sweet Nothing.'Misty Miller is a 19 year old singer-

songwriter from South London whohas been compared to the likes ofLaura Marling and Patti Smith.Inspired by Iggy Pop, Lou Reed andTheVelvet Underground, she released herJrst albumwhen just 16 years oldwhilst dying for her GCSE exams. Herstark guitar sound is edgy and raw,perfect for a cold February night atTheFrog & Fiddle. It'll be worth you whileto head down and catch her beforeshe's playing bigger venues in thefuture.Support on the night comes from

H.Longsail, one half of local garageblues duo Hard Stairs, and MaxineStacey, a 19 year old singer-songwriterfrom Cheltenhamwho attends theUniversity of Gloucestershire. Entrycosts £5 and is payable on the door.Also on Friday, the Joe CorbinTrio are

due to perform at theWhite Hart inWinchcombe. Hailing from Guernseybut now based in London, Joe wasnamed as 'OneToWatch in 2015' byThe Blues Magazine. His intricateguitar playing and gritty yet soulfulvoice makes him a standout act on theblues circuit. If you can't make it to thegig on Friday thenWinchcombe Livehost blues andAmericana music atTheWhite Hart on the third Friday ofeachmonth throughout the winter.For more local music news visitwww.behindthesceneglos.com


QUIRKYNEWS SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT...A selection of the strangest stories from around the globe

A RMED POLICE will nowpatrol GCHQ on a full-time basis and I haven’t

applauded a decision this muchsince Waitrose >rst opened itsdoors in Cheltenham.The shoot-to-kill gunmen will

be provided by the Ministry ofDefence in response to the veryserious and real threat ISIS havebecome to every citizen in theWest.Of course the liberals of this

town have tried to lambast themove as ‘over the top’ and‘unnecessary’ but with respect,they’re not going to stand in frontof you or I when some terroristloonie sprays an array of bulletsfrom a Beretta M12submachine gun.It’s also this lot you can

thank for how easyit is to now cross

through our borders unchecked,unchallenged and uncapped. It’sthanks to these limp liberals we>nd ourselves in this unhappyposition today. Until we leave thetight grip of the EU, we’ll never beallowed to fully control our ownborders; instead we’re forced toallow in any and every Europeancitizen who choose to reside here. Iobviously don’t need to stress howvulnerable this has made oursmall island nation.An extremist Muslim could pop

up at any moment. Some nut jobfrom France, Bulgaria or

Romania, can justwaltz in and wedon’t know a ruddything about them.Well, I say we don’t

know a thing, butactually it’sthanks to thequick thinking

employees of GCHQ that we havethe clues to go by to successfullythwart the sinister plans of thesecriminals.Apart from the cooperative

support we receive from our allies(such as the US), it’s only ournation’s listening post that’s goingto provide our country with theintel our forces need to apprehendthe next attack.GCHQ is so pivotal to our

nation’s security that defendingtheir station with a few armedguards is the very least we can do,because should the terrorists eversucceed in disrupting it, we’ll nolonger be one step ahead of thosemoronic extremists.Now, let’s end this week’s

column on the note of SimpsonsFish & Chips. I did write a ratherscathing review of the UK’s No 2chippie, but I’ve since beeninundated with commentschallenging my opinion. Hell –even my Nan scolded medown the phone and asked whatwas wrong with my taste budsthat week.

Receiving this sort of feedbackwould usually frustrate me, butactually, I just feel confused. I’mworried in a moment of madnessmy sense of good taste wasimpaired. So I’m making a publiccall for the owner of Simpsons toget in touch and invite me back (ifthey dare).I want to put the matter to bed

once and for all and give the goodfolk of Cheltenham the >nal

verdict on whether this is thetown’s best chippie. Don’t beunder any illusion that I’ll beeating the >sh & chips for a freemeal; oh no no no. I’m puttingmyself through this in the nameof knowledge and for thewellbeing of my readers.

Get more of Tom’s insightsby following him onTwitter @thurlow

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these articles are theirs alone, and do not necessarily re�ect the views, opinions or positions of The Cheltenham Standard

VENTING SPLEEN… Local man about town, Tom Thurlow lets loose

A VIDEO of a robot dog with amazingmobility and balance is proving a huge viralhit online.Spot the electric canine is the latest

creation by Boston Dynamics, the roboticscompany owned by Google.It is a miniaturised version of its BigDog

quadrupedal bot. But while BigDog is

planned for military use, Spot seems adifferent beast.A video of it being put through its paces

has notched up 2.4 million views in just twodays on YouTube.Its smaller weight gives it the ability to nip

along the ground at a light jogging pace,and easily run up and down steep hills.

It is also amazingly sure-footed –demonstrated by how quickly it regains itsfooting when given a less than friendlysideways kick while walking on ice.The video also shows how the dogs can

operate in pairs, with one Spot gentlynudging another out of the way as theyboth climb up a steep slope.

A MAN dressed as a woman, complete withblonde wig, high heels and ;shnetstockings, has threatened to blow up aMcDonald’s in Australia.The man, who also had heavy stubble on

his chiselled jaw, was caught on CCTV inthe Melbourne fast food restaurant.

It is allegedhe entered thepremises ataround7.45am onSunday 8thFebruary andwarned staffhe had adetonatorinside a plasticcup.

According to reports in Australian media,he demanded cash from the staff.He apparently dropped some of his stash

as he <ed the scene, throwing off his wigon the way out.Police searched the area, but did not ;nd

a bomb.They have appealed for information,

describing the suspect as white, of thinbuild and about 183cm (6ft) tall.

Cross dressing robberholds up McDonalds

ROVERTHEROBOT


CRYPTICCrossword

CoffeeBreak

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

9

11 12

13 14 15

16

17 18 19

20 21

22

23

10

BOOK

PAGE

GOLF

SHOT

WordLadderConvert the word at the topof the ladder into the wordat the bottom of it, usingonly the four steps inbetween. Every word mustbe a valid four letter word.

Last week’s solutions (12th January 2015): Across: 7 Enacts; 8 Capped; 10Tumbler; 11Terse;12 Rink; 13 Avail; 17 Feint; 18Weep; 22Tread; 23 Anytime; 24 Chains; 25 Reward.Down: 1 Heaters; 2 Raiment; 3 Still; 4Wagtail; 5 Apart; 6 Edges; 9 Provençal; 14 Dead-end;15 Pelican; 16 Spreads; 19 Stock; 20 Sepal; 21 Lyres.

A STAR Wars fanatic who died from cancerwas given the perfect send-off by having anhonour guard of stormtroopers lead hisfuneral procession.Gordon Deacon, 58, from Llanedeyrn in

Cardiff, passed away last month afterbattling pancreatic and liver cancer, reportsWales Online.He was obsessed with Star Wars and so

mourners were asked to wear costumesfrom the sci-D Dlm or red for Liverpool -the football team he supported.One mourner wore a top saying “may

the force be with you” and another waskitted out in a Steven Gerrard shirt, whilethe cofDn was adorned with a LiverpoolEag and Star Wars Eoral tribute.As the horse-drawn carriage pulled up

outside St Margaret’s Church in Roath, thefour stormtroopers marched in a solemnprocession to the door.Mr Deacon’s widow, Marilyn, 54, said:

“He was mad on Star Wars. We went to seethe Drst Dlm in 1977 and ever since thenhe was Dxated with it.“We used to go to shows and he had a

signed photograph of Boba Fett on thewall. He had Star Wars lightsabers,Dgurines, cookie jars, the lot.“My husband didn’t want people to wear

black, his wish was to have a differentfuneral. People could wear Star Warscostumes, but not Darth Vader, or red forLiverpool.”

8 42 3 1

3 5 6 1 29 1 4

34 1 7 5 6 8

4 6 1 2 98 5 4 6 7

2 5 6

StandOKU!Dif:culty rating: Moderate

TARGET

B T EP WR N O

O

Make as manywords of four lettersor more as you can.Each word mustcontain the centerletter and eachletter must onlybe used once.

Target:25 words good;35 very good;40+ excellent.

ACROSS

1. I’m eating out with Charles I -that’s mysterious! (9)

8. May changes her name (3)9. News of how the Red Arrows Iy(11)

11. Does pie get cooked in oneinstalment? (7)

12. 1, 11, 0, 1000 is amathematical statement (5)

13. Change this for the right top(1-5)

15. Party on sea or land (6)17. I do business – that’s perfect!(5)

18. Nastier concoction of Greekwine (7)

20.Mail printer produces atextbook (5,6)

22. Some sympathetic article ... (3)23. ... about the way notes fadewhen unable to hear (5,4)

DOWN

2. Religious woman starts theCanticle of Simeon (3)3.Moira’s new man (5)4.What remains when the estateis divided up? (3-3)5. Stylish silver ring from a city inIllinois (7)6. Driving Al’s minicab around thenorth to Hnd evidence of Iesh-eating (11)7. A burning desire? (9)10. Does Adam’s doctor practisealternative medicine? (5,6)11. Disentangle from a mangledCrete taxi (9)14. Is concerned with the travelsof Laertes (7)16. The English-speaker has toleave without the band (6)19. Brief to cut down trees (5)21. Age of the older generation (3)

ARIES (March 20 – April 18):You spent too many weeksbeing sidelined. Over thenext few days, you'll beblocked, tackled, and mayeven fumble the ball butat least you’ll be movingon to better things.

TAURUS (April 19 – May 19):It's what two sides don’thave in common thatwinds upmaking themalike.Approach from thisangle and you'll soon havethem talking.

GEMINI (May 20 – June 20):The key person in anegotiation won’t beshowing up.Always one tohelp out in a pinch, you gofrom bystander to player.

CANCER (June 21 – July 21):Hold your head high whenyou’re the center ofcontroversy. A downcastgaze only invites sticksand stones.

LEO (July 22 – Aug 21):What’s supposed to be anew situation looks morelike “old home”week.Many names and faces

will be familiar.Perhaps it really is asmall world after all.

VIRGO (Aug 22 – Sept 21):Your talent formatchmaking goesbeyond the romantic.It extends to businessalliances as well. AproHtable pairingbeneHts you.

LIBRA (Sept 22 – Oct 22):Sometimes just doingsomething is all it takesto get mental wheelsturning. Insights pick upmomentum over the nextfew days.

SCORPIO (Oct 23 – Nov 21):That closed door creaksopen. But you have to actfast because the otherparty won’t remainundecided for long.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov 22 – Dec 20): You’re inthe right, but you need tomake a concession to theother side.This is thequickest way to settledifferences and move on.

CAPRICORN (Dec 21 – Jan 18):Focused on stretching abuck, it doesn't occur toyou till now that you mayhave been a little toosuccessful. Redress thebalance in the next fewdays.

AQUARIUS (Jan 19 – Feb 17):Your job is to get twopeople talking. Once youaccomplish that then youcan step out of the picture.Where they go from thereis their own business.

PISCES (Feb 18 – March 19):You know there's amissing piece to thepuzzle, but can’t Hgure itout.You're trying toohard. Do something elsefor a while and it willcome to you.

YourWeekly HOROSCOPES

DEATHVADER

SKIERS have been taking advantage offreak weather conditions to enjoy theirsport - in the heart of England.An adventurous trio travelled to Mam

Tor, a 1,695ft hill in the heart of the PeakDistrict, after the country was covered insnow.When they arrived they were delighted

to Dnd the steep hill completely white andcoated in fresh powdered snow.The rare moment, which happens ‘once

every 20 years’ because of the winddirection, was caught on camera in -5°Cconditions.Photographer Alex Messenger, 41, from

Manchester, said: “It often snows in thePeak District but it is very rare to havesnow like this on Mam Tor - we were luckybecause of the wind direction.

“It was fantastic being there, it was likewe were in a little corner of the Alps,whereas in reality we were just in the PeakDistrict - 30 miles from home.”Mr Messenger and pals John Roberts, 30,

and Chris Lockyer, 42, went up and downthe hill four times, making a 40 minutetrek up to the summit each time.Mr Messenger, a photographer form the

British Mountaineering Council, added:“The hill is really steep, it's the equivalentof a black run in the Alps.“We didn't know what was underneath,

though. There could have been rocksunder the snow, or even sheep!”

The English Alps?

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SO you are thinking of movinghouse, then the realization of whatthatmeans can sometimes hit homewith a bang.New schools for some, the everpresent solicitor costs and agentsfee’s, the removal =rm or even stor-age.The list can be exhaustive and insome cases costly. More andmore ofus are choosing to make our familyhome bigger better and brighter. It’sall about using the neatest andcleverest ways tomaximise the spaceand footprint we have in the homewe live in. Garden of=ces, gardenrooms, changing layouts, movinginfo lofts and extending out into thegarden are just a few ways of ex-tending your home and giving your-self some room to breathe again.Smile are =nding their clients canbene=t from increasing their leisurelifestyle whilst spending less thanthe cost of move with a lot lessstress.Jon Burke managing Director ofSmile Conservatory & Leisure Vil-lage says, “Interest rates are going

down and so are the saving rates,1.75% if you are lucky, so I =ndmoreand more people want somethingmore for theirmoney.’’ He also wentto add, “Spending it on the familyhome or garden is a great way to im-prove the way a family functions

and brings real joy and happiness atthe same time. One ofmy customershave two young children and byconverting the garage to a play roomhasmeant that the stress of where toput those toys is a thing of the past.’’He also goes on to say, “Now the

place that once housed the old toolsand clutter are gone and the kidshave a wonderful space to play andcreate memories they can all con-tinue to share into the future.”With the rise of TV programmessuch as Don’t Move Improve, there

seems to be a realmovement all overthe UK that the race to climb thatproperty ladder has changed some-what. It now seems that some peo-ple want to invest that money intotheir own home and staying put ismore of an option that it used to.It also seems to be the case thatmost people who are thinking abouta conservatory want to go to onecompany for a one-time solution,without the need to trawl round ahost of different trades to get theproject done.Jon says, “People want to dealwith one company, not multipletrades, so it’s less stressful, worry-freeand more convenient.”He =nally comments, “It’s hardenough to =nd a builder, thensource an electrician plumber and soon. Here at Smile we have it all cov-ered under one roof so it’s straightforward from start to =nish!”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T F E A T U R E

THE GRASS ISN’T ALWAYS GREEN


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PROPERTY&HOME

WHERE best to raise a family? It is a subjecton which every parent in the land has aview. The criteria is both demanding anddif8cult as the choices can often be bothlimited and in some cases extremelyexpensive. Cheltenham has now beendeemed the most family-friendly place inthe UK, according to the Telegraph.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

have however plumped for Norfolk. Theyhave a country retreat there, Anmer Hall, inwhich Prince George and the expectedsibling will spend a signi8cant portion oftheir childhoods. From next year, William

will be working as a helicopter pilot withthe East Anglian Air Ambulance.For ordinary homebuyers according to

the people who should know best, theactual estate agents, the number onepriority is the supply of decent schools witha good reputation for delivering results. Theother consideration is the provision of goodparks and playgrounds, museums andlibraries. And does the prospective townhave kid-friendly cafés, woodland walksand cycle paths, theatres or cinemas?Swimming-pools and other sports facilitiesalso feature as must have. Outside a

children’s book, there is no such thing asthe perfect spot to grow up. But it’s anenvironment we all yearn for. The searchfor Nirvana is for some, at the very top oftheir lifestyle choices.Cheltenham scored top of the list when it

came to delivering the overall infrastructurethat parents and the upwardly mobileswanted.“Excellent schooling, low crime rates, a

thriving sporting culture and a bustlingtown centre all make Cheltenham a naturalplace for families with children,” says LynnSimmonds of Hamptons International.

We are a festival town, so there alwaysseem to be special children’s events to lookforward to. Both the lido and the delightfulPittville Park are deservedly popular. Houseshere aren’t cheap and can get pricier awayfrom the centre.The paper turned to estate agents to sift

through the details of countless towns,cities and villages to come up with a top 20list of the best places to bring up children.The property experts looked at the

availability of parks and playgrounds, child-friendly cafes, and museums and libraries.And top of the tree came our spa town.

CHELTENHAM TOP OF THE RANKINGS

WELLINGTON SQUARE £325,000A handsome and beautifully presented Grade II listed first floor period apartment overlooking the marvellousWellington Square gardens and within a short walk of Pittville Park and the town centre. Offered in very gooddecorative order, with a wealth of fine character features, its surprisingly spacious accommodation comprises inbrief a generous entrance hall, a large living room, an impressive fitted kitchen/dining room, two splendiddouble bedrooms with an en-suite shower room to the master and a family bathroom. Benefits include gasfired central heating, useful storage cupboards, lovely fireplaces and ornate mouldings.

APPERLEY £375,000A four bedroom detached cottage with character features, including beams to ceilings, set withinlandscaped gardens with countryside views. Its well presented accommodation is offered in gooddecorative order and comprises in brief a canopy porch, a generous entrance hall, a large living room witha feature fireplace with a log burner in situ, a dining room, a breakfast room, modern fittedkitchen/breakfast room, four bedrooms, a bathroom and a shower room. Further benefits include doubleglazing, off road parking and a garage with a workshop.

CHELTENHAM £395,000A quite remarkable and highly versatile Grade II listed five storey town house with a wealth of fine characterfeatures. It is offered in good decorative order, is in a central location overlooking marvellous cherry treegardens, and is within a short walk of a local park and the town centre. The basement level comprises a hall,double bedroom, utility and a shower room. A charming entrance hall leads into the ground floor and on thislevel there is a dining room with a sitting area that flows through double doors to a kitchen/breakfast room.The first floor offers a marvellous drawing room with a marble fireplace and a wonderful outlook, and astudy/bedroom. Above there is a glorious master bedroom, bathroom and a separate cloakroom. The topfloor provides a further two bedrooms. Parking and a small grilled patio.

GOTHERINGTON £575,000A substantially extended five bedroom detached family house, adjoining fields, in a delightfully tucked awayspot with splendid gardens and far reaching views. Its well-proportioned accommodation comprises inbrief an entrance porch, entrance hall, a downstairs cloakroom, a quite remarkable open plan modernfitted kitchen/breakfast room with sitting and dining areas, a utility, a living room with a feature fireplace, alarge family room, five bedrooms, the master with an en-suite shower room, a 'Jack and Jill' en-suiteshower room serving two further bedrooms and a bathroom. Further benefits of this fine property, foundwithin walking distance of a good local school and shop, include gas fired central heating, double glazing, alarge landscaped garden and off road parking.

CHARLTON KINGS £1,000,000A luxuriously renovated family residence in a very sought after area with highly versatile accommodation over two floors that offers up to six bedrooms. The sheer spaciousness of this property with high ceilings asks tobe explored and on the ground floor comprises a generous entrance hall, a remarkable kitchen/breakfast room that flows effortlessly into a dining room with a log burner and views to the landscaped garden, a utility, adownstairs cloakroom, a large living room with a shared log burner and a similar aspect, three bedrooms, an impressive family room that could be used as a guest bedroom, and a family bathroom. Above there is asplendid galleried landing with a study area, the master bedroom with a dressing room, an en-suite bathroom and double doors to a balcony with hillside views, and a further bedroom or study. Double garage and animpressive rear garden with a wooden summerhouse.

STAUNTON £675,000A deceptively large, high specification, four bedroom detached house, with a separate garden room, on a mature plot in a delightful rural settingwith marvellous far reaching countryside views. Its spacious and versatile accommodation comprises in brief an entrance porch, entrance hall,downstairs cloakroom, a living room, family room, dining room, a 28ft fitted kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, a guest bedroom with an en-suite shower room on the ground floor, three first floor bedrooms, including the master with an en-suite bathroom and a family bathroom.Additional benefits of this impressive property include under floor heating, double glazing, electronically operated gates leading to a largedriveway providing off road parking for several vehicles, a double garage and large landscaped gardens.

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ELLA Hanby, a MINI-mad ten-year-old fromCheltenham, has come up with an imaginative newidea for a MINI key torch to help her mummy see in thedark when she gets out of her new MINI at night.Ella wrote to ‘Mr. and Mrs. MINI’ after her parents

bought a new MINI Paceman from local MINI CentreCotswold Cheltenham, and suggested a way to makeher car ‘just a little better’. Her idea was to add a torch tothe MINI key fob, so you ‘can see where you are going’.Her letter even included a diagram and instructions onwhere to put the torch and how it would work.MINI was so impressed with her idea and design that

they are looking into developing a prototype.Jennie Nattrass, from MINI Cotswold Cheltenham,

said: “Ella’s letter was just so cute and we thought heridea was genuinely clever, so we sent it straight over toMINI HQ. They loved it and have decided to explore heridea. We value all customer feedback no matter what ageand are so pleased to know we have such a youngcreative MINI fan!”Ella Hanby, ten-year-old designer, commented:

“Mummy always has trouble getting the shopping out ofthe car after work. I wanted to help her and thought byadding a torch to her keys, she can see better in thedark.”

To �nd out more about the MINI range or toorganise a test drive contact your local MINI retailervisit at www.mini.co.uk

MOTORING32 CHELTENHAM STANDARD 19 FEBRUARY 2015

MINI REWARDS CREATIVE LOCAL YOUNGSTER

Local SportSPORT36 CHELTENHAM STANDARD 19 FEBRUARY 2015

HUCCLECOTE Panthers notched up a furthertwo wins in style taking on Ferndown,Bournemouth where they ran out comfortablewinners 54-27.They then stormed to another 51-35 victory

against Team Bath 40 minutes later.Panthers’ Crst quarter was sluggish in com-

parison to last's week’s Crst game on court andthis showed with Ferndown staying in touchduring the early phases of play.It was Eve Saunders turn to turn the crowds

as she stole interceptions and rebounds contin-ually, playing her best game of the season so farand this helped to secure a 9-7 advantage by theend of the Crst quarter and then 22-12 lead byhalf-time.This period of play was more dynamic, with

Caitlin Santacroce replacing captain Ella PowellDavies who was struggling with a back issue.Although Panthers went 37-23 up at three

quarter time, it was their Cnal quarter where thebig margin appeared as Jane Taylor stepped itup and netted 13 from 16 attempts in thisquarter alone taking their tally and victory to54-27.The second Cxture against Bath saw a surprise

Crst quarter score where Panthers normal at-tacking line-up of Emme Hale, Taylor, Lucy

Martin and Elisha New absolutely nailed itleaving Bath standing.With captain Ella Powell-Davies on Cre at GD

turning four clean intercepts, and Saundersonce again supporting hard and also turningthree intercepts, Bath had little response.This allowed Panthers to go on a run of nine

goals in nine minutes without reply and it waswell into the 10th minute of the Crst quarterbefore they scored. Izzy Robinson also kept theBath WA off the edge and restricted their playwell.Bath struggled in this period with Panthers

set using a well drilled tight mark on theircentre pass, and this was reDected in the 17-3Crst quarter score which really set them up forthe victory.

This game also gave coachGilly Salter the op-portunity to use all of her squad, and whateverthe combinations, Panthers always lookedcomfortable and in control.Young Under-15s players Hannah Mc-

Coubrie and Ellie Parker both slotted in to thesquad well and with the Taylor /Hale combolooking really slick in the shooting circle,Martin took control of the attack, Hucclecotecontinued to power on taking the win 51-35.This leaves Panthers at the top of the league

and with only two games remaining, they arehot favourites to take the title.

Hucclecote: E Hale, J Taylor, L Martin, E New,H McCoubrie, I Robinson, E Parker, E Powell-Davies, E Saunders, C Santacroce.

Panthers close in on the title with win doubleNETBALL

CHELTENHAM Swimming andWater PoloClub's Crst team, 2015 National LeagueChampions, are currently sitting at the topof their British Water Polo Championshipgroup, with a game in hand over secondplace Lancaster.The town side face ShefCeld on Saturday

night at home, ShefCeld are yet to gain apoint in the Championship and the localside will be hoping to keep it that way.The action will start at 6.30pm at GL1

leisure centre in Gloucester and in honourof Cheltenham's use of the Gloucester fa-cilities, the Crst 100 Gloucester Rugbyseason ticket holders will get in free.The action will be watched by Glouces-

ter rugby ace Charlie Sharples, who willnot only be giving a match side interviewat half time, but will also present a signedGloucester rugby shirt and ball, kindlydonated by Olbas Oil, to the evening'srafDe winner. A licensed bar will also beavailable.

Cheltenham Ladies will also be inaction, with a local league game againstUWIC, which is the start of CSWPC'sdefence of their local league title, thewomen's game swim off is at 5.15pm.So come along and join the crowd in

support of CSWPC at what promises to bea thrilling and action-packed evening oftop-class water polo.Tickets are £2 for adults and £1 for chil-

dren and gates open at 5.15 pm, with themain event starting at 6.30pm.

WATER POLO

Cheltenham ready to take on Shef�eld at home

CROSSFIT Cheltenhammember Mason Symondscame second at the TeenGauntlet CrossFit competi-tion in Manchester.The competition was a

global one for teens aged 14-16, with smaller groups ofteens competing in these in-dividual events and thenputting their score in glob-ally.Symonds Cnished second

against the boys at the Man-chester event, and was posi-tioned fourth in the world in the global league.There weremanymovements tested, ranging

from barbell work to gymnastics such as pullups and handstand walks, which all have to becompleted in the quickest time possible.Symonds’ performance was very consistent,

with a few top place Cnishes throughout theday and his lowest Cnish being sixth.As well as regular CrossFit classes, Symonds

also has personal trainingsessions with coach DavidShorunke, one of the bestCrossFitters in the UK, whois passing on his skills andwisdom to the 15-year-old.Symonds has been Cross-

Fitting at CrossFit Chel-tenham for just fourmonths, so big things are ex-pected from him in thefuture after doing so well inhis Crst competition.CrossFit Cheltenham cur-

rently offer free taster ses-sions and then your Crstmonth free during February

and March, so go along to try a class and seewhat it is all about.The gym caters for all abilities and ages and

has a great community. To book a free tasterclass, please call Steve on 07811332381.CrossFit Cheltenham can be found at Unit39, Cheltenham Trade Park, Central Way,Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 8LX.www.cross'tcheltenham.co.uk

Symonds stars for CrossCt in ManchesterFITNESS

Elisha New set to pass for HucclecotePanthers versus Team Bath

Hucclecote Panthers Lucy Martin defends the side line pass for Hucclecote


Cheltenham 22Chew Valley 20

CHELTENHAM surprised anin-form Chew Valley side,coming from 20-8 down toearn a welcome victory.It pulled them away from

the relegation zone and gavedirector of rugby Chris Scotta welcome birthday present.Within three minutes the

visitors took a 7-0 lead afternumber eight Darren Jeffriesforced himself over thewhitewash for the openingscore with the impressiveTom Bryant adding the con-version.Cheltenham came back

strong with a Josh Herbertpenalty to reduce the arrearsto 7-3.Fourth placed Chew

Valley continued to have theupper hand but found theCheltenham defence in astubborn mood and refusingto be prised open.Valley were reduced to 14

men when try scorer Jeffrieswas shown a yellow card by

referee Chris Thomas forback chat, but Cheltenhamwere unable to capitalise.Cheltenham started the

second half in style withwing Will Scott scoring anexcellent try after SamBrookes, Shaun Gilder andSyd Haskayne combinedwell to put the winger in atthe corner for a unconvertedtry and a narrow 8-7 lead.Sadly as in previous games

this season Cheltenhamconceded a soft penalty fromthe restart with Bryantkicking the visitors into a 10-8 lead after 47 minutes.Bristol side Valley regained

the upper hand and in the55th minute increased theirlead to 15-8 after LeeWedlake scored a wellworked unconverted tryfrom a delicate chip aheadfrom Silas Cox.The visitors looked to have

grabbed the victory in the 63minute when Jeffries scoredhis second unconverted tryafter good work from theirbig pack.But Cheltenham to the

delight of their loyal sup-

porters had other plans,when in the 73rd minuteTom Lait, playing out of po-sition in the centre, com-bined well with wing Scottto score the try under theposts with Brookes kickingthe winning conversion.The result sets up a

fascinating game forCheltenham this weekend atBristol Harlequins.

Cheltenham: S Gilder, JHerbert, M Carter, R Barrow-cliffe, J Milne, J Hillier, JHaskayne, R Athey, AWoodthorpe, S Brookes, JGermishuys, RMorris, T Lait,W Scott, B Delbrooke-Jones.Replacements: S Haskayne, REdwards, B Lockhart.

Chew Valley: W Keel, TDavies, D Eves, R Light, BChase, R Elliott, M Quoi, DJefferies, A Cameron, GWinter, L Wedlake, LSparkes-Brown, C Shallcross,S Cox, T Bryant. Replace-ments: M Hassell, B Mel-huish, A Lloyd.

Referee: Chris Thomas.

Happy Birthday boss! Cheltenhamclaim superb win over Chew ValleyRUGBY UNION

Six Nations 2015 ROUNDUPResults: ENGLAND 47 ITALY 17; IRELAND 18 FRANCE 11; SCOTLAND 23WALES 26Fixtures: Sat, February 28: Scotland v Italy (2.30pm); France vWales (5pm) Sun, March 1: Ireland v England (3pm)

SPORT

Spring/Summer range arriving soon atHouse of Fraser Cheltenham

AFTER their fantastic win at theMil-lennium Stadium against Wales, itwas always going to be difBcult forEngland to reach that same level ofintensity against Italy at Twicken-ham and the start they made wasworrying.Englandmissed a few tackles, lost

some discipline and allowed theItalian side to get off to a Cyer. It’salways easy for Italy coming toTwickenham though, as there is nopressure or expectation on them todo anything.But I thought the way, what is a

young England side, came back intothe game was very encouraging,scoring some really good tries withsome excellent individual perform-ances. Dave Attwood and GeorgeKruis were once again impressive inthe second row, the front-row heldup well against an experienced

Italian pack and George Ford gaveEngland a new dynamic with hiscreativity and attacking presence atCy-half.The player who impressed me

mostwas Jonathan Joseph, whowasthe stand-out player over theweekend. He continued fromwherehe left off against Wales with twotries against Italy, and heworries op-position teams with his pace. Onceteams start to work him out, it willbecome more difBcult for Joseph,but that will create more space forhis team-mates, such as Gloucester’sJonnyMay whowe all know is sucha potent attacking threat but hasn'thad a lot of ball so far.There is so much competition for

places in England's midBeld, butwith his performances so far, Josephhas put his hand up and lockeddown one of those starting places.

The challenge for Stuart Lancasterand his coaching team now is toBnd who the best player to partnerJoseph is.In the other games, Scotland

showed plenty of potential againstWales but the loss was all their owndoing, they gave away stupid penal-ties and made silly mistakes thatallowed the Welsh to get backinto it. Scotland have taken on theirmomentum from the AutumnInternationals and are competing farmore than last year, butthey need to cut out the silly errorsto really progress.

Despite the win, nobody in theWales camp will be particularlyhappy with the way they’ve playedin the Six Nations so far. But they'rea close group who have played to-gether for quite a while, and noalarm bells will be ringing just yet.Win their next game andWales willstill feel they have a chance in thechampionship, while France willstill have a big part to play in decid-ing the winner of the Six Nations.I'm now really looking forward to

England's game with Ireland in twoweeks, it's already shaping up to bethe biggest game of the RBS SixNations with the two favouritesfacing each other. The Irish haven’tplayed particularly well in either of

their games so far, but that is a signof the progress they've made underJoe Schmidt. They have faith in eachother and theway they play, and it'salways a good habit to be winningeven when you aren't playing well.Ireland won't need any extra mo-

tivation for their gamewith Englandand it’s going to be a tight game, butI make England slight favourites. Ididn't think they could go to theMillennium Stadium and win, I ex-pected LeighHalfpenny’s boot to betoomuch for them, but they provedme wrong and England will takegreat conBdence from that.They will now have no fear of

going to the Aviva, despite Ireland’sgreat home record. If England canplay with the same intensity as theydid at the Millennium stadium,being disciplined in defence and notgiving away cheap points, I fancyEngland to just nick it.

England World Cup winninghero Phil Vickery MBE shareshis thoughts on the 2015 RBS

Six Nations, only in theCheltenham Standard

VICKERY’S VIEW

In association with


SPORT Local Sport

Queen Mother Champion Chase,the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, theRyanair Chase and the BetfredCheltenham Gold Cup, plus thenewly-promoted OLBG Mares'Hurdle.The £400,000 Stan James

ChampionHurdle is the highlightof the Krst day of The Festival,Champion Day.There are 16 con-

tenders goingforward for the hur-dling championship,headed by Faugheenwho is top-rated on182p by Timeform.The Willie Mullins-trained

seven-year-old, unbeaten in eightstarts, landed the Grade OneChristmas Hurdle impressively atKempton Park on Boxing Day onhis latest appearance.Rated just 1lb inferior to her

stable companion on 181 is thesuperstar mare Annie Power, whohas yet to race this season, withlast year's winner,the Jessica Har-rington-trained Jezki,on the samerating.The leading British-trained con-

tender is the 2014 third The NewOne on 180 for Nigel Twiston-Davies' Gloucestershire yard, withtwo more from Mullins' stablesnext – 11-year-old Hurricane Fly,the Stan James Champion Hurdlewinner in 2011 and 2013 andthird in 2012 and fourth in 2014,on 179 and impressive front-running novice chaser Un DeSceaux on 179.Annie Power heads the 36

entries remaining in the GradeOne OLBG Mares' Hurdle, alsorun on Champion Day, andwould have an easy task in thetwo and a halfmile race accordingto Timeform, who rate her 12lbclear of closest rival AuroreD'Estruvial (167), followed byGlens Melody (166), PollyPeachum (165), Carole's Spirit(163) and L'Unique (162).Wednesday, March 11 is Ladies

Day, with the £350,000 BetwayQueen Mother Champion Chasethe highlight.The 26 entries going forward

include the most recent twowinners of the two-mile chasingchampionship.

Sprinter Sacre, the imperious2013 victor, who is top-rated on186with Timeform and last year'sscorer Sire De Grugy (181), whounseated Jamie Moore three outon his Newbury comeback on Sat-urday (February 7).Dodging Bullets, who got the

better of Sprinter Sacre in lastmonth's Clarence House Chase atAscot, is joint third-best on 180with Timeform along with the

pick of the 13remaining Irish-trained entries,Don Cossack.St Patrick's

T h u r s d a y ,March 12, playshost to both the

£300,000 LadbrokesWorldHurdleand the £300,000 Ryanair Chase.More Of That (182) and Annie

Power (181) fought out the Knishto the Ladbrokes World Hurdle in2014 and are top-ratedwith Time-form for this year's renewal of thethree-mile hurdling champi-onship, with 2012 Stan JamesChampionHurdle victor RockOnRuby third best on 176 among the27 horses remaining.Menorah (182), trained by

Philip Hobbs, heads the 35 accep-tors for the Ryanair Chase overtwo miles and Kve furlongs, withhis closest pursuers according toTimeform being Irish challengersDon Cossack (180+) and Cham-pagne Fever (178), followed byMaFilleule (176) and Balder Succes(175).The fourth and Knal day of The

Festival, Friday, March 13, is GoldCup Day and there 24 contendersgoing forward for the feature£550,000 Betfred CheltenhamGold Cup.Paul Nicholls, themost success-

ful current trainer in the chasingchampionship with four wins, isresponsible for the current ante-post favourite Silviniaco Conti,who is top-rated with Timeformon 187, clear of Don Cossack(180+) and Champagne Fever(178).Hennessy Gold Cup and Bet-

Bright Cup Chase hero ManyClouds is on 176+, with Roads ToRiches and the mare Ma Filleuleboth rated 176. Saturday's impres-sive Denman Chase victor, theunbeaten novice Coneygree, alsogoes forward.

CHELTENHAM Racecourse has an-nounced today that the award forleading trainer at The Festival willcommemorate the late DessieHughes.Sponsorship will be

provided by The IrishIndependent newspa-per again.The Irish Inde-

pendent DessieHughes LeadingTrainer Award will go to the trainerwho sends out the most winnersduring the four days of The Festival(Tuesday,March 10 to Friday,March13). Willie Mullins has taken thehonours for the past two years.Dessie Hughes, who died on No-

vember 16, 2014, at the age of 71,was a major force at Cheltenhamboth as a jockey and as a trainer.At The Festival, he partnered

eight winners as a jockey andsaddled six winners as a trainerfrom his County Kildare base. Hewas one of an elite band of fourpeople to have both ridden andtrained a ChampionHurdle winner.As a jockey, his biggest triumphs

came in the Gold Cup on Davy Ladin 1977 and aboard the tenaciousMonksKeld in the 1979 ChampionHurdle.

Hardy Eustace provided Hugheswith his greatest success as a trainer,landing back-to-back renewals ofthe Champion Hurdle in 2004 and2005.Hughes’ son Richard has been

champion jockey onthe Flat in Britain forthe past three seasons(2012, 2013 and2014) while hisdaughter Sandra hassucceeded her fatheras the trainer at

Osborne Lodge and already sent outLieutenant Colonel to two GradeOne victories in Ireland this season.Richard Hughes commented:

“Myself, Mum and Sandra are de-lighted that Dad will be remem-bered at this year's Festival with TheIrish Independent Dessie HughesLeading Trainer Award.“He had so many winners at the

course, both as a trainer and ajockey. I will always rememberthose big races he won, includingthe Gold Cup (on Davy Lad) andChampion Hurdle (on MonksKeld)as a rider and the ChampionHurdle, twice with Hardy Eustace,as a trainer.“The whole family are verymuch

looking forward to The Festival andwe would like to thank The Irish In-dependent.”

Dessie Hughes rememberedat The Festival

HORSE RACING

Service knockedoff top spot inCounty League

Key contendersnamed for Festival

HORSE RACING

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE WITH leaders Cheltenham CivilService not in action, King’s Stanleymoved top of the GloucestershireCounty League with a win atEllwood.Service are now one point adrift,

with six games in hand so thenewly promoted side remain oddson to take the title.Bishop’s Cleeve Reserves picked

up another point in their battleagainst the drop, earning a 0-0 drawagainst Patchway Town in what wasa poor spectacle.Cleeve travel to Rockleaze

Rangers on Saturday, while CivilService take on Gala Wilton inthe semi-Knals of the Les JamesLeague Cup.

COUNTY FOOTBALL

DESSIE HUGHESAT THE FESTIVAL8 wins as a jockey

• 1975 Davy Lad - NeptuneInvestment ManagementNovices’ Hurdle• 1976 Parkhill - Neptune In-vestment ManagementNovices' Hurdle• 1976 Bit Of A Jig - Lad-brokes World Hurdle• 1977 Mac's Chariot - Sky BetSupreme Novices' Hurdle• 1977 Tip The Wink - RacingPost Arkle• 1977 Davy Lad - BetfredCheltenham Gold Cup• 1979 Monks2eld - StanJames Champion Hurdle• 1979 Chinrullah - RacingPost Arkle

6 wins as a trainer

• 1982 Miller Hill - Sky BetSupreme Novices' Hurdle• 2003 Hardy Eustace -Neptune Investment Manage-ment Novices' Hurdle• 2004 Hardy Eustace - StanJames Champion Hurdle• 2005 Hardy Eustace - StanJames Champion Hurdle• 2005 Oulart - Pertemps Final• 2013 Our Conor - JCBTriumph Hurdle

Southside Lions U11 4Chelt Saracens U11 0

TWO goals from George Cuznerand one each from Aidan Jamesonand Harry Duncan was enough forSouthside Lions to beat Chel-tenham Saracens in this top of thetable clash.Saracens matched Southside in

the Krst 10 minutes but it was theLions who went ahead after aDuncan throw-in bounced off aSaracens defender's head whichthen fell to Jameson who volleyedit in from distance.Lions’ second came from a Alex

SchoKeld goal kick headed on byCallum Morrissey who foundJameson who deliciously poppedthe ball into Cuzner's path whofound the bottom corner withaplomb.Jameson again found Cuzner for

his second and Lions third with athrough ball that Cuzner controlledand slotted past the on rushingkeeper to Knd the bottom corner.Lions’ fourth and Knal goal

came from Cuzner using his pacefrom the halfway line beating twoSaracens players and cutting theball back from the by-line forHarry Duncan to cooly slot home.

Southside Lions: SchoKeld,Hitchins, Inward, Groom, Duncan,Peck, Cuzner, Jameson, Edwards,Morrissey, Hunt, Recewz.Star man: Aidan Jameson

YOUTH FOOTBALL

Cuzner double ,res Lions to win

GeorgeCuzner

Faugheen

LocalFootball


SPORT

IT MAY have been Valentine’s Day,but the weather was not in a lovingmood in the run up to the weekendwith a number of games being post-poned in the Cheltenham League,sponsored by Bristol Street MotorsCheltenham Ford.The biggest casualty was the top

of the table clash in Division Onewhere FC Lakeside and WhaddonUnited were due to meet in a gamethat promised to give a clear advan-tage to the winner in the chase forthe title.With the <xture likely to be re-

arranged at the back end of theseason it could now turn out to be awinners takes it all game.With the big game postponed the

teams in third and fourth bothpicked up maximum points as RSGand Churchdown Panthers bothwon.Panthers’ 6-1 win at Hanley Swan

sets them up nicely for their gameagainst FC Lakeside.Kev Taylor led Panthers to the Di-

vision Two title last season after adogged <ght with this week’s oppo-sition.After an excellent start to this

season Panthers went through amid-season blimp but recent formhas been impressive and Lakesideknow that underestimating theirhosts could be at their peril.With second-placed Whaddon

United facing third-placed RSG therace for top spot could have a newcomplexion come 5pm on Saturday.At the bottom AFC Kings woes

continued as they were beaten 5-0by Falcons. They are currently eightpoints adrift at the foot at the tableand face AC Olympia on Saturdayknowing they need to start takingpoints if they are to avoid <nishingbottom.With the top two in Division Two

not in action last weekend FC Baro-metrics Reserves took full advantageas they swept aside Andoversford 6-0.The win moved them in to

second place on goal difference al-though the top three team all have34 points.The win sets up Barometrics

nicely for their game againstStaunton and Corse this week, oneof the teams they have drawn levelwith. Corse remain favourites forthe title due to the games they havein hand however a Baros victory onSaturday could really open the titlerace up.

After stunning the leaders lastweekend Northleach Town wereunable to follow up with anothervictory. They went down 2-0 toSouthside and remain bottom,eleven points behind ShurdingtonRovers.Northleach face Tewkesbury

Town this weekend and will belooking to get back to winningways.Welland overcame a tricky <xture

last weekend when they beat third-placed Brockworth Albion Reserves4-0. They remain six points clear atthe top with two games in handand remain on track to continuetheir progression through the divi-sions.They face fourth-placed Dowty

Dynamos on Saturday and whilsttheir opponents are effectively outof the title race Paul Harmer’s teamhave demonstrated time and timeagain that they are capable ofbeating anyone on their day.Shurdington Rovers Reserves

remain rooted to the foot of thetable and face a real challenge thisweekend if they are to pick uppoints, when they travel to secondplaced Leckhampton Rovers.Leckhampton go into the match

off the back of a 3-2 win at CharltonRovers Reserves last Saturday.

With Division Four leadersNorthway not in action lastweekend the second and thirdplaced team, Apperley and Chel-tenhamCivil Service III played theirgames in hand.Both took maximum points and

after 12 league matches Northway

lead the way on goal differencefrom Apperley with Service threepoints behind.Northway have another break

next weekend and should Apperleytake just a point at Bourton RoversIII they will move clear at the top.At the bottom just six points sep-

arate the bottom <ve teams. Star Re-serves are currently bottom ofthe pack but with four games inhand on some of their rivals thepicture could look very different

come the end of the season.Division Five title contenders

Cheltenham Civil Service IV sawtheir championship aspiration takea blow last Saturday when they werebeaten 4-0 at Andoversford Re-serves.Service, CheltenhamAthletic and

FC Lakeside are neck and neck atthe top and slips ups from any ofthem can open the door for theirrivals.With points so tight Service

manager Simon Greenwood will beacutely aware of the importance ofgoal difference and the impact ship-ping four goals last Saturday mayhave.All three teams are in action this

weekend.With Service facing fourthplaced Staunton and Corse Reservesand Athletic hosting Andoversford,conquerors of Service last Saturday,the title race could havemore twistscome the <nal whistles.At the bottom there is a key

game for Sherborne Harriers whenthey face the team directly abovethem, Hatherley FC. Harriers werehammered 9-0 by Staunton last Sat-urday but victory over Hatherleywould see them leapfrog their op-ponents.After taking Malvern Vale’s 100

percent record last weekend FintanReserves <ne form continued with a4-3 victory at Prestbury Rovers Re-serves.The win takes them four points

clear of Vale who drop down tothird following CheltenhamUnited3-2 win at Cheltenham Saracens III.United could give Fintan’s, and

their own, title hopes a boost thisweekend when they travel to Vale.United manager SimonMeadows

has seen his team bounce backstrongly following last seasons rele-gation and he <rmly believes hissquad are capable of taking top spot.To do this they must beat Vale.

CHELTENHAM LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Cheltenham League round-up

This week wefocus onRhodriMorganwhoplays forPrestburyRovers.Founded in

1959, Roversare one of the longest servingmembers of the CheltenhamLeague.With mixed fortunes all the

way through their history theclub are currently runningtwo adult teams, in DivisionTwo and Division Six.Whileboth teams are currentlymid-table they have bothproven they can beat anyoneon their day.

Name: Rhodri MorganNickname: RoddersPosition: Left wingPrevious clubs: Brackla,ChalfordMost memorable game:Playing against Finlay Roversat home in 2006/7 and wewere hanging on for a hardfought goalless draw when Ipicked up the ball on the halfway line ran down the wing,cut inside two defenders andlifted the ball over the on-rushing keeper to score thewinning goalWorst game: Again versusFinlay Away, about 7ve yearsago and I'd given the ballaway cheaply three timesinside the 7rst 10 minutes

and our player manager RichBasham took the decision topunish me for not passingand I was subbed. I thenstormed off to the changingrooms, realised they werelocked and had to come backand wait pitchside!Toughest opponents: Proba-bly RealWhaddon three yearsago, physical and fast, westruggled both times weplayed and lost heavily twiceBest club player: In my timewith the club I would say RichBasham. Strong, committed,won every header, scoredsome key goals and evensome spectacular ones.Always happy to have him onthe team sheetTeam supported: SpursFavourite player: Gareth Bale

Cheltenham Football League, sponsored by Bristol Street Motors Ford Cheltenham

PLAYER PROFILE OF THEWEEK

Michael Winter, Whaddon United


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Key contendersnamed for theFestival 2015

THE Festival is rapidly ap-proaching, with less than amonth to go until the tapes goup at Cheltenham on Tuesday,March 10.The countdown has intensi-=ed with the unveiling of theacceptors for the =ve mainGradeOne championship con-tests: the Stan James Cham-pion Hurdle, the Betway

HORSE RACING

TURN TO PAGE 38 >

PHO

TO:T

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USA

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EDIA

SPORT with JON PALMER, SPORTS [email protected]

RUSSELL Milton willremain in charge ofCheltenham Town

until the end of the seasonalong with acting assistantmanager Steve Elliott.The duo will be supportedby a more experienced=gure and a shortlist hasbeen drawn up, with an ap-pointment expected nextweek and ex-Robins bossJohn Ward among the con-tenders.Milton and Elliott willlead the team for the secondtime at Accrington Stanleyon Friday night, havingoverseen last Saturday’s 2-1home defeat by Bury, whichcame 24 hours after Paul

Buckle’s departure after only79 games in charge.Cheltenham’s board meton Monday morning,giving the matter thoroughconsideration and chairmanPaul Baker said formerplaying great Milton wasthe obvious choice.“The difference atWhaddon Road on Saturday(2-1 home defeat by Bury)was like chalk and cheesewhen compared to the pre-vious home game,” Bakersaid.“The fans were absolutelyfantastic and I would like tothank them because itdidn’t feel like a loss.“We wanted some conti-nuity and we want more ofthe togetherness we have

seen in the past few days, soRussell and Steve will be re-tained until the end of theseason.“Wewill also be recruitinga third person to join then,a football consultant, or po-tentially a director of foot-ball.“The exact title will becon=rmed, but themost im-portant thing is the personwe bring in. Steve andRussell don’t have a hugeamount ofmanagerial expe-rience, so we want someonewho has a lot of it so theycan bring that to the party.”Cheltenham will talk tothe candidates over the nextcouple of days, with a viewon conducting an interviewprocess next week and

Milton will be included inthe panel of interviewers.“Russell and Steve arereally keen to take the teamon and ensure survival,”Baker said.“The added experiencewill help them and we havealso agreed a budget tobring in two or three moreplayers, with a few namesalready identi=ed.”An experienced centraldefender will be amongMilton's priorities, withteenager Lloyd Jones return-ing to parent club Liverpoolafter six weeks on loan atCheltenham.Elliott, who is currentlysidelined with a knee injury,said he was proud to beasked to return to Chel-

tenham, just over a weekafter leaving the club.“I am delighted to cometo an agreement where weall know what we are doingand now it’s all aboutsteadying the ship,” he said.“Me and Russ are both de-lighted and we want tomake sure the team is rightnow and make sure we areup for the =ght and ready togo, starting against Accring-ton on Friday night.“Apart from the result onSaturday, the reaction fromthe fans building up to thegame and the atmospherearound the ground wereboth fantastic.“If we can keep that up allseason I knowwe’ll respondas a staff and as a squad.”

LEGEND MILTON TOLEAD ROBINS UNTILEND OF SEASON

FOOTBALL

Where betterto learn?

www.shaneduffsoccer.co.uk

Visit our website for futurecamps and further details

VICKERY’SVIEWPhil VickeryMBE shareshis thoughtson the2015RBS SixNations

EXCLUSIVE

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Cheltenham Standard 19th February 2015