Out & About:

In My Free Time ...

Yay! We’ve had two days of gardening weather at last! I have been longing to get out and tidy up my garden for weeks and last weekend we set-to and blitzed and pruned almost everything. Now we have to sit tight and cross our (green) fingers and see if we have done it at the right time and amount: like my cooking, I am an experimental gardener!

I have also enjoyed my final week of a sewing evening class at Brine Leas school. I have fiddled and faffed about and am really pleased with my cushion, eight metres of bunting and wonky bag. I thoroughly recommend looking at the Brine Leas evening classes: great facilities and a super range of courses. I think Garden Design or Cookery is next on my hit list.

Nantwich Show 2018

The Nantwich Agricultural Society’s AGM took place last Monday at Dorfold Hall. About 60 people attended and heard a full summary from Michael-John Parkin and his team of volunteers. Unfortunately, gate entries were down by about 3,000 people on the day last year due to the weather, so can we all start the sun dances a bit earlier this year as I am convinced we are due a good one!

On a serious note, the Nantwich Show relies heavily on volunteers and sponsorship from local companies and I am helping to recruit both. If you can offer any kind of assistance, either in the run up to, or during the event, please get in touch via hello@redshiftonline.org or call me on 01270 440 750.

Big Day Out 2018

On Tuesday we had a Big Day Out meeting and I am delighted to say that we have some exciting news to share. This year, the family day out will take place on Sunday 29th July from 12 - 8pm and there will be lots more music in the schedule. We can also announce that the two charities who will benefit from the fundraising activities on the day are Hope House and RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution).

Once again, we are seeking volunteers and sponsors for this event and I would love to hear from you if you would like to help. We are also hosting a Big Day Out launch night, creatively called the Big Night Out at The Studio in Nantwich on Friday 8th June. More details to follow but do save the date: it's going to be a great night of live music for all to enjoy.

RedShift Radio: #ListenOnline2018

Over the last week I have interviewed Sarah Callander Beckett, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, Sarah Hunter from the Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life team and a Valentine's Day special chatting to Anabel Hannam from introductions agency Intro North West and her associate Andrea Crump who coaches women in confidence and communication skills to improve their dating success.

My favourite show of the week however had to be another of our Junior School Run Taster sessions, funded by the Baker Wynne and Wilson Community Grant we received last year. I spent a rather warm, and snug, 1.5 hours in the studio with 10 children from Pear Tree Primary School. We had a great time: I love how chatty and relaxed children are in the studio, usually after the first five minutes!

The children shared their experiences during their special STEAM week (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). You can “Listen Again” to this, and most of our community radio shows via www.redshiftonline.org/listenagain.

Obituary: Peter Bebbington

I will finish by dedicating my article this week to Peter Bebbington about whom I wrote a few months ago. Sadly Peter lost his battle with cancer and was buried at St Margaret's Church in Wrenbury last Friday. It was a lovely service and so nice to hear all about Peter’s life, his achievements and his dedication to his community.

As Captain of the Tower, I think Peter would approve of my invitation on behalf of the St Margaret's Bell Ringers to anyone who may be interested in having a go at bell ringing. My fiance Michael-John would be happy to show you the ropes (literally!) and introduce you to campanology in memory of Peter. If you are interested, then please email me on hello@redshiftonline.org or call 01270 440 750.

Out & About: It's Been Full Steam Ahead for Christmas All Week This Week!

Volunteer of the Year: Steve Bebe
RedShift Radio's Production Manager

I am writing this on Monday morning, looking out at a stunning landscape, trees covered in inches of snow with the sun glistening. I have decided to have a snow-day and enjoy the view from my warm house while I plough through lots of catch-up computer jobs. Topping up the bird feeders and having a snowball fight with my snow-loving dog Jasper will be my only reason to leave the house today!

Wingate Winter Wonderland

On Saturday Michael-John took one of his Dad's donkeys to the Wingate Centre Christmas Fair which was lovely, Betty enjoyed meeting lots of children and having her photo taken dozens of times! Ann, the other donkey was being a little madam and wouldn’t get in the trailer … hopefully they will both be feeling more festive this Sunday as we will be taking them to St Mary’s Church in Nantwich for the nativity service.

Acton Christmas Tree Festival

I have decorated two trees as part of the Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary’s in Acton; one for RedShift and one for my Tropic skincare business. The latter is covered in Hawaiian garlands rather than tinsel, but it works! Please do pop up to Acton Church and enjoy the trees, they look (and smell) stunning!

Tatton Yule Yomp

On Sunday I crawled up to Knutsford for the Tatton Yule Yomp, an event organised by Stewart Bailey from Hibberts Solicitors, and one for which we have provided the PA Kit for the last six years. Initially it was a really hairy drive from Burland but by the time we approached Middlewich the snow seemed to disperse and upon arriving at Tatton, we had nothing more than a light dusting of the white stuff. The cold weather certainly didn’t put off the 1,500 Tatton Yule Yompers who came dressed for the festive 10km dash through the park.

Nantwich Round Table Float

I will be out with the Round Table Float on Friday night in Nantwich, so if you see us please bring out the port and mince pies! On Saturday our friend Chris Meredith will be leading Santa around Wychwood Park and I know both evenings are in need of some extra volunteers. Please call me on 01270 440 750 if you can help from about 5.30 - 9pm on either Friday or Saturday.

Christmas Parties

It’s been a week of Christmas parties, with the annual festive networking event hosted by the South Cheshire Chamber and sponsored by Rookery Hall again last Friday: always a great event. On Saturday night, MJ and I enjoyed the 41-Club Christmas party and I even coped with sitting next to Dave Birchall all evening (he dared me to mention him in my article!)

Last Wednesday we hosted our RedShift Christmas Jumper party and our guests of honour were the Kilimanjaro Walkers who helped to raise funds for our youth activities. The evening was completely organised by five of our young volunteers, Orlanda, Harvey, Daniel, Ben and Lauren and they did a superb job. We enjoyed a quiz, buffet, awards and competitions and it was lovely to see my fellow walkers again.   

Volunteer of the Week

I presented some of our volunteers with awards and this week, my Volunteer of the Week has to go to our “Volunteer of the Year” the fabulous Steve Bebe. Steve splits his time between RedShift as our Production Manager and the NeuroMuscular Centre in Winsford and I for one, couldn’t do without him. Steve is always a breath of fresh air. His (occasionally dodgy) humour and positive attitude always makes me smile and it's fabulous knowing that I can rely on him to manage our playout system, that he has pretty much taught himself how to use.

Steve often logs in remotely from home to fix problems and beavers away editing our shows and interviews so we can sell one of our great products, an AudioCast. This is an edited interview where Steve will removes guests um’s and er’s to help them sound as confident, clear and concise as possible. This is a really popular service for our local businesses and charities to use on their websites.

Hungerford Academy on the Radio

My final shout-out (and photo) of the week goes to the lovely children from Hungerford Academy who joined me in the studio for a Junior School Run taster session, kindly paid for as part of the Baker Wynne & Wilson community grant we received for our youth activities.

The children were superb. All nine of them were squished into the studio and spoke clearly and politely about a broad range of topics. We even had them all playing their ukuleles. Please do have a listen here to the AudioCast of the show.

This article appeared in Crewe Chronicle on 13th December 2017.  Please look out for my "Out and About" page each week in the Crewe Chronicle. For more information about any of the items in this article, please email us here at RedShift or call us on 01270 440 750. 

Revamped Cheese Room Opens at Nantwich Museum

Let Mr & Mrs Mouse and their family guide you through the local history of cheese making

Thanks to a generous grant from Nantwich estate agents Baker Wynne & Wilson, the Cheese Room at Nantwich Museum has been redecorated and redesigned. 

A team of volunteers, led by Museum Manager Kate Dobson, cleaned and repainted the room and researched and designed new display boards plus labels for a wide range of artefacts. 

Kate praised their work commenting: "The project was only made possible as a result of the hard work and dedication of a group of volunteers".

Mr and Mrs Mouse and their family help to guide visitors through the information panels, which describe the history of local cheesemaking. A timeline identifies when at one time the Navy only used Cheshire cheese, the first dairy school was established and the first annual cheese show in Nantwich took place which went on to become the most important cheese show in the country.

The secrets of making Cheshire cheese are revealed through the displays and a film illustrating the supply of milk from Higher Farm, Byley to local cheese maker Joseph Heler Ltd.

The range of artefacts brings the display to life and includes a milk cooler, churns, cheese vat, curd mill and cheese press. Of particular note, and in pride of place, is the magnificent silver Dutton Cup presented in 1895 to farmer John Dutton by the Cheshire Dairy Farmers Association at Nantwich Dairy Show.

Throughout the exhibition the Mouse family pose questions about cheesemaking and the exhibits, whilst visitors can also test their knowledge of cow breeds!

Admission is free to the museum and exhibition.  For further information:

Email: enquiries@nantwichmuseum.org.uk 
Phone: 01270 627104
Website: www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical
Twitter: @NantwichMuseum