Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park |   Guests flock to open-air performance of ‘Conference of the Birds’ held on Saturday 12th September, the grounds of Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park were awash with the vibrant sounds and colour of Conference of the Birds, a new song-cycle for singers, instrumentalists and dancers by Danyal Dhondy, presented by the charity Cantata Dramatica.

Tickets sold out in advance, with a waiting list, and by 4.30pm the lawn at the back of Cumberland Lodge was full of socially distanced groups enjoying picnics. The show started at 5.30pm, as the sun was starting to set and birds flying back to roost over the Great Park.

The open-air performance was a fundraiser for the charity at Cumberland Lodge, which specialises in bringing people together, in dialogue, to tackle social divisions and help build more peaceful, open and inclusive societies.

Conference of the Birds is a newly commissioned work, based on the 12^th-century Persian poem of the same name, by the Sufi poet Farid ud-din Attar, ‘the Attar of Nishapur’. The music is inspired by Sufi mysticism and the improvisational styles of Indian classical music.

Call for immediate action following waste collection issues | The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is bitterly disappointed in the waste and recycling collections service provided by Serco and is calling for immediate action to be taken.

Senior council officers held talks with Serco’s senior management this week to make it clear that the level of service has been unacceptable, and a drastic improvement is required immediately.

Councillor David Coppinger, lead member for waste, planning and Maidenhead, said: “We are incredibly disappointed in the level of service that has been provided since the return of weekly collections and insist that urgent plans are put in place to complete the rounds more efficiently, as the delays are unacceptable for our residents.

“We’re committed to providing an effective weekly collection service to our residents and will work with Serco in their review the current routes and make adjustments so that these issues do not continue in the future but we do need them to make the changes to their business in order for this to be resolved.

https://www.thameshospice.org/santadash 

Thames Hospice is calling on all supporters to kick off the festive season in style by donning a Santa suit and taking part in their own Santa Dash on Sunday 6th December 2020. 

Berkshire’s longest running Santa Dash is one of the highlights in the Hospice’s fundraising calendar and raises significant funds each year to support local people who need urgent hospice care over the Christmas period.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic the Santa Dash is unable to take place in Swinley Forest this year. Instead the Hospice is inviting supporters  to ‘do it their way’ and take on their own local walking or running route, covering a distance of either 3k, 5k or 10k, whilst adhering to the UK Government’s social distancing guidelines.

Click on the Link for more information on the Macdonald Berystede Hotel & Spa Weddings

Macdonald Berystede Hotel & Spa in Ascot has seen a 25% spike in enquiries after launching a series of flexible wedding packages created specially to help couples tie the knot following lockdown.  

Following its re-opening last month, the four star venue had responded to significant pent-up demand, and has re-shaped its offering to accommodate a range of wedding requests, creating a magical experience in a romantic and safe environment. 

In line with government guidelines, intimate ceremonies can now be held in front of a small group of family and friends, and the venue is offering the potential to hold this small ceremony now with a larger reception at a later date. These ‘Sequel weddings’ have been particularly popular with the venue, with wedding co-ordinators working closely with couples to plan not one, but two special days.  

Demand is also growing for ‘shift weddings’ which mean couples do not have to compromise on guest numbers, hosting one group of family and friends for the ceremony and another for an extended wedding breakfast the following day. 

Bookings for larger weddings in 2021/2022 are also on the rise, and the hotel is seeing increased bookings for up to 400 guests in its Windsor and Eton Suite. 

The Ascot Ex-Serviceman’s Club - a familiar local building owned by Ascot Racecourse,  near the Ascot War Memorial and now Storybook Nursery, closed its doors in 2010. At this point,  some memorabilia - in the form of wall mounted wooden trophy boards for snooker, billiards, cribbage and darts, going back to 1941, were put in storage for Cranbourne Royal British Legion. The Legion  had been planning a snooker room extension for the Cranbourne building, where the boards were to have found a new home. However, this building has now closed and the memorabilia are being held at Ascot Racecourse  until they find a new home.   The champions listed on the boards are all local people with a long association with Ascot. Perhaps a friend or relative of yours is among them! Or perhaps you have a sports room or bar,  which could benefit from additional character !  See below...

Anyone interested should contact Jacqui at jacqui.greet@ascot.co.uk  or 01344 878516  by September 30th