Cotswold Chatterblog

Wednesday 25th June Full day visit. Meet at Ebrington Village Hall 9.30 am 
Broughton Grange Gardens are an impressive 25 acres of garden and light woodland in an attractive Oxfordshire setting. The centrepiece is a large terraced walled garden created by Tom Stuart-Smith in 2001.
Broughton Castle nearby is ”about the most beautiful castle in all England….for sheer loveliness of the combination of water,woods ands picturesque buildings.” – a generous tribute from historian Sir Charles Oman in 1898.

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A 300 strong band of volunteers will take part in an event this weekend to celebrate their 40th anniversary. The Cotswold Voluntary Wardens were established in 1968 and have spent the past four decades working to conserve the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

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Fly-tipping in the Cotswolds will not be tolerated.

That is the message from Cotswold District Council following yesterday’s (Mon 16th June) successful prosecution at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court.
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Wednesday 9th July – Sunday 20th July – Prinknash Abbey Park, Cranham, Gloucs. GL4 8EX
Cotswold Art & Artists, an exhibition of some of Gloucestershire’s most established artists and craftsmen spanning the last 100 years.

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Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has given a cautious welcome to the long awaited announcement from the Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) that UK Specialist Hospitals (UKSH) will carry out a range of routine, planned operations at Cirencester Hospital from Autumn 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Come to the Moreton Area Centre and hear local historian Tim Porter tell the tale of how 14th Century England drifted into the devastating Hundred Years War.

The three nations involved – England, Scotland and France – fought the war primarily on French soil from 1337 to 1453, and Tim Porter will hold talks at the High Street centre in June and July to explain the complex causes of the conflict.  Read the rest of this entry »

Leaving no stone unturned in Cirencester’s archaeological past is the theme behind a two month exhibition which will open at the Corinium Museum in August.

The ‘Digging the Dirt’ exhibition will tell the tale of the town’s past as it celebrates the archaeological exploration which took place across Cirencester in the latter half of the 20th century.

The event – which starts on August 9th and continues until September 21st – is being held to celebrate 50 years of the Cirencester Excavation Committee, a group which was formed in 1958 to conduct archaeological digs in the town. Read the rest of this entry »

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) yesterday published their Periodic Review for 2008 and the results are a mixed bag for the residents of the Cotswolds.
The good news is that the ORR is in support of the scheme to re-double the Cotswold railway line. Unfortunately the plan to re-double the Swindon to Kemble line has not been included.  Read the rest of this entry »

Whilst welcoming the news that Colesbourne is to receive extended outreach hours and the ongoing consulatation on the hours of outreach at Rendcomb, Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown believes this is a tacit admission by Post Office Ltd that the consultation was flawed. Read the rest of this entry »

In a debate yesterday Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown intervened to try and procure better helicopter cover for both the police and ambulance service in Gloucestershire. Read the rest of this entry »