velvet magazine – New in Cambridge

WONDER Take-over: New You and Dry January Cambridge

As we pack away the Christmas decorations and Dry January rolls around, there’s a new way to party in the city. “WONDER Take-over: New You and Dry January” is happening on Saturday 26 January at Cambridge University Centre on Granta Place, running from 2pm until late. This sober social is an event for everyone and revolves around good feelings rather than alcohol.

Wonder Take-over Cambridge — Image credit: Charlie Snape

Created by friends Lisa Pollitt and Suzie Young, “WONDER Take-over” reflects a cultural shift and the fact that many people are now more mindful of their drinking habits or are avoiding alcohol for a multitude of reasons. Lisa and Suzie are both busy working mothers. They’re conscious of the choices they make about what goes into their bodies and whilst not teetotal, they both have periods of abstaining from alcohol. “We’ve witnessed unhealthy relationships with alcohol and we want to model something different for our kids,” Lisa tells me.

Inspired by the endorphin high they experienced at a 5 Rhythms dance class, Lisa and Suzie wanted to get that feeling again on a night out but when they couldn’t find an event without alcohol, they decided to set one up themselves from scratch, starting with a day event last July and following up with “Winter WONDER: The Alternative Christmas Party” in December.

So what can you expect from “WONDER Take-over”? A plethora of happenings designed to trigger your happy neurochemicals, raise your oxytocin levels and give you a natural buzz. There’ll be plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails with a vegan menu served up by Meatless street food van. Daytime workshops include Uplifting Joy Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Gong Bath. The evening kicks off with quick witted comedy from Cambridge Improv Factory, uplifting club classics, disco, house, funk and soul from DJs Paul Darking, MissChivers and Luna Love, immersive theatre sessions and dancefloor massages.

With an enthusiastic fan base of happy partygoers aged from 17 – 74, Lisa and Suzie have plans for more WONDER Festival events in Cambridge and possibly beyond. For details of “WONDER Take-over: New You and Dry January” and to book tickets, check out the website.

www.wonderfestival.co.uk

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the January issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Christmas shopping in Cambridge

Cambridge is a wonderful city for Christmas shopping with so many beautiful independent shops alongside the big chains. Here’s the low down on where I’ll be shopping this Christmas ….

cracker kit cutout — Image credit: Cambridge Imprint

….. Cambridge Imprint for beautiful Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gift tags, paper chain kits and their brilliant Christmas cracker kit which comes with everything you need to make superb personalised crackers. Just add in your own little gift and a joke (cue pained groans from my nearest and dearest!). And you end up with a gorgeous box to keep for yourself.

www.cambridgeimprint.co.uk

Radmore shopfront — Image credit: Radmore Farm Shop

…… Radmore Farm Shop for Christmas meats, game, free range turkeys, cockerels, geese and all the trimmings from hand made sausages to home cooked ham plus Vicky’s scrumptious Christmas cakes and mince pies. Choose your Christmas tree from the selection of top quality Nordmann Firs (which won’t drop their needles) and, even better, Ben will deliver said tree to your door.

www.radmorefarmshop.co.uk

Cambridge Cheese Company Christmas window — Image credit: Cambridge Cheese Company

….. Cambridge Cheese Company for classic Stilton, local Cambridge Blue and beautifully kept cheeses from all over Europe. Seasonal specials that they’ve been quietly maturing in their cellar include Gumburner (an old, very strong cheddar) and Dragon Slayer (a hard, sharp cow’s cheese). You’ll also find panettone studded with marrons glaces, panforte, stollen, nutty toronne and plenty more Christmas deliciousness here.

www.cambridgecheese.com

….. Cambridge Market for armfuls of holly and mistletoe to deck the halls, holly wreaths (lovely just as they are or add some bling with your own decorations), fresh fruit and vegetables. At award-winning All Saint’s Garden Art and Craft Market, you’ll find a wide variety of local artists and crafts people selling hand made jewellery, ceramics and much more. Perfect for winkling out original gifts.

www.visitcambridge.org/shopping/markets

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the December issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Christmas in Cambridge

I love this time of year. Cambridge looks more beautiful than ever with the Christmas lights twinkling as dusk falls and I still get that child-like rush of excitement in the run up to the big day. And I firmly believe that you’re never too old for a pantomime. One of my fondest childhood memories is my granny treating us to the panto each year … putting on my best dress, meeting up with my cousins, munching a choc ice in the interval.

Snow White Cambridge Junction — Image credit: Claire Haigh/WeThreeClub

I’m sure the ice cream selection, if not the jokes, will be a bit more sophisticated at the two pantomimes running in the city this year. Cambridge Junction brings us Snow White, an original take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, with magic, music and a very shiny red apple. Over at Cambridge Arts Theatre, Aladdin is a classic panto with dazzling costumes and spectacular dance routines. Both productions offer a British Sign Language interpreted performance and a Relaxed performance.

www.junction.co.uk

www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

BALLET CENTRAL _NUCRACKER,Stratford Circus Arts Centre — Image credit: Bill Cooper

Ballet Central are bringing their adaptation of The Nutcracker to the ADC Theatre from 13 – 15 December with performances at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 6.30pm. At 45 minutes long, it’s the perfect way to introduce children to this Christmas ballet with its iconic Tchaikovsky score. Enjoy the fantasy and sparkle as Clara’s dreams come alive and she journeys to the Kingdom of Sweets, meeting her Nutcracker Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy along the way.

www.adctheatre.com

The North Pole ice skating

The North Pole Ice Rink returns to Parker’s Piece for the festive season, with food and drinks available at the cosy undercover Alpine Bar. I hung up my skates long ago after an unfortunate ice rink incident which resulted in a very bruised coccyx but you’ll find me nursing a hot chocolate, maybe a mulled wine, as I watch my family twirl on the ice. Or perhaps I’ll sneak off to have a go on the fairground rides!

www.thenorthpolecambridge.co.uk

King's College Cambridge

For me, it wouldn’t be Christmas without some yuletide singing. Carol services in the city include Carols at Michaelhouse at 3pm and 4pm on 15 December and a traditional Carols by Candlelight at Great St Mary’s on 23 December at 6.30pm. Possibly the most famous Christmas service of all, The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College Chapel, is broadcast to millions around the world on Christmas Eve. To get your hands on a ticket, go to the College early on Christmas Eve morning with photo ID. Ticket distribution starts at 7am. Or grab a mince pie, put your feet up and tune in to BBC Radio 4 for the live transmission at 3pm.

www.kings.cam.ac.uk

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the December issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Coming up in Cambridge …..

Cambridge International Jazz Festival runs from 13 – 27 November, bringing together the many strands of the city’s strong jazz scene and welcoming national and international jazz acts too. With a crammed schedule of vibrant live music at locations across Cambridge and celebrating a wide variety of jazz styles, the programme includes workshops (if you want to learn how to Lindy Hop, now’s your chance!), talks, films, family events and free entry fringe events. For full programme details and tickets, check out the Festival website www.cambridgejazzfestival.info

“Buy less, choose well, make it last” is designer Dame Vivienne Westwood’s message. With this mantra ringing in their ears, Cambridge Carbon Footprint brings us the Sustainable Fashion Festival on 17 November at St Barnabas Church on Mill Road, for all Cambridge fashionistas and for anyone who cares about the huge negative impact that fast fashion has on the environment. You’ll find a clothes swap party, a sewing themed textiles repair cafe, an interactive fashion show, sewing skillshares, a styling zone, workshops, talks and pop up sustainable fashion stalls offering new and vintage clothing. Take a look at www.cambridgecarbonfootprint.org for more.

Sustainable Fashion Festival Cambridge — Image: Sustainable Fashion Festival

So it’s that time of year ….. I’m making a list and checking it twice before heading off to Cambridge Made Christmas Fair which is my go to for original Christmas presents. The Fair is running from 29 November to 1 December at St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church and will showcase the work of forty four designer-makers, artists and craftspeople. You’ll find a huge variety of handmade goodies including ceramics, jewellery, textiles, quilts, botanical toiletries, cards, decorations, toys and homewares. More details on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/927219054144713/

Image credit: Purplespoon Design

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the November issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Cambridge Film Festival

Cambridge Film Festival celebrates film past, present and future, showcases new talent and brings film makers to the city for eight glorious days of screenings and events from 25 October to 1 November.

I met with Kayleigh Barnes, Marketing Co-ordinator at Cambridge Film Trust to find out more about this year’s Festival schedule. Every year (in what sounds to me like a really fabulous job!) the Festival programmers visit major international film festivals – think London, Cannes, Berlin and Venice. Their quest is to discover the best new films and documentaries out there and to bring a varied line up back to Cambridge, giving us a rare chance to see great films that we might otherwise miss.

Cambridge Film Festival film reel — Image credit: Cambridge Film Festival

Kayleigh and I talked about the diverse strands of programming that run alongside the main feature films and documentaries. The Family Film Festival offers daytime film screenings suitable for all ages, with linked children’s arts and crafts activities and a BAFTA workshop while the Short Film programme brings us shorts from around the world. For a film maker, having your work shown in this category is very prestigious indeed; in a lengthy selection process, hundreds of submissions are reviewed by a panel of film industry experts and each film is watched by three reviewers before a final forty films make the cut.

For fans of old movies, there’s a Silence and Sounds classics programme, screening vintage silent film with live musical accompaniment. Experimental film making is showcased in the Microcinema programme while the very popular Camera Catalonia screens a selection of the best Catalan films. Partnerships with the Cambridge African Film Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre enrich the Festival programme with contemporary films from across Africa and Korea.

Cambridge Film Festival live band — Image credit: Cambridge Film Festival

Cambridge Film Trust, a charity founded to promote film culture and education in the East of England, runs this event under the leadership of Festival Director, Toby Jones. The Festival’s main venue is the Arts Picturehouse Cinema in St Andrew’s Street with screenings also being held at Emmanuel College just opposite and The Light Cinema at Cambridge Leisure Park.

Check out the Festival website where you’ll find the full programme of screenings and events and through which you can book tickets.

www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk

This post is part of my October “New in Cambridge” column in Velvet magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Coming up in Cambridge …..

Cambridge Festival of Ideas logo 2018

The University of Cambridge opens its doors from 15 – 28 October for the 11^th annual Festival of Ideas which this year explores the theme of “extremes”. Celebrating the arts, humanities and social sciences, a packed programme of over 200 events includes talks, exhibitions, films, debates and performances held in galleries, museums and lecture theatres across the city. There’s something here for everyone, whether your interest lies in politics, history, the arts, literature or music or whether you just want to open your mind to new ideas and to question the status quo. Most events are free, some need to be booked in advance which you can do through the Festival website.

www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk

Apples in a box — Image credit: Will Greenfield

In this season of mist and mellow fruitfulness, don’t miss Apple Day at the stunning forty acre Cambridge University Botanic Garden on 21 October. It’s a wonderful celebration of all things appley with tastings, advice on cultivation, children’s activities, free guided garden tours and a marquee full of locally produced edibles. Come hungry as you’ll find a wide choice of refreshments from a variety of food trucks and the Garden Café. And if you have a mystery apple tree in your garden, you need the apple identification service. Just bring along a couple of apples with a leaf and stalk attached and who knows, you may bring a lost heritage variety to light!

www.botanic.cam.ac.uk

People apple tasting — Image credit: Will Greenfield

Autumn Botanic Garden — Image credit: Will Greenfield

This post is part of my October “New in Cambridge” column in Velvet magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Coming up in Cambridge …..

The River Cam will echo to the rhythmic beating of drums and splashing of oars on 8 September as the annual Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival returns, with more than forty teams battling it out along a 200 metre course, raising money for Addenbrookes Charitable Trust. Dragon boat racing is a terrific spectator sport so head down to Fen Ditton Meadow from where you can see all the action on the water and enjoy entertainment, food trucks and a bar on the river bank. Read more here

www.cambridgebid.co.uk/events/dragon-boat-festival

Dragon boats on the Cam — Image credit: Vanessa Barton Photography

Bridge the Gap on 9 September is a circular walk through the beautiful grounds of six Cambridge colleges, several of which are not normally open to the public. Starting and finishing at Parker’s Piece, this annual event is wheelchair and pushchair friendly. There’ll be music and refreshments along the way, Blue Badge guides in each college to answer your questions plus entertainment, competitions and a tea tent on Parker’s Piece. Your entry fee goes to Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and Romsey Mill to support their invaluable work in the city. Read more here

www.arhc.org.uk/bridgethegap

Bridge the Gap Cambridge — Image credit: Sir Cam

Open Cambridge on 14 and 15 September sees the University and partner organisations across the city open their doors, offering special access to places often hidden from public view. There’s an extensive programme of tours, talks, exhibitions and events offering captivating glimpses into Cambridge history and heritage. Most events are free, some require pre-booking.

www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk

Trinity College Cambridge

This post is part of September’s “New in Cambridge” column in Velvet magazine. See more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk