Little things – with big impact

February is here and 2024 is in full swing. It has been a festive and bustling wine village over the summer holidays!

Thanks to all those who commented or reached out to comment on a solution that has had a big impact during the holiday period. The coffee fix chalkboard was a simple solution to an ongoing conversation to support our visitors in knowing where to get their coffee and we seemed to hit a winner!

No fancy app or online requirement just a simple chalkboard sign. It proved that sometimes simple is best. This a message we often come back to time and time again here at Martinborough Business Association _ along with stick to your knitting. 

We know what we do well, Martinborough is a tourist destination built around its world-class wine which is accompanied by great food, award-winning olive oil, gin, chocolate _  the list goes on and on.

The Martinborough Business Association is excited about the potential that 2024 holds for local businesses through tourism, both domestically and internationally. With its unique charm, exceptional producers, accredited dark sky and a passionate community driving it all Martinborough is set to shine on the global tourism stage.

The association encourages businesses to embrace this opportunity, collaborate, and collectively work towards making Martinborough a premier destination.

Here’s to an exciting year ahead.

First church News

So, another ecclesiastical year has bitten the dust with the new one well under way. 2023 at First Church was deemed to be a success – whether judged by the performance of the dedicated team responsible for church admin, the credit balance from fundraising activities or even the quality and venue of each Sunday’s choral cacophony. 

The efforts and delivery of our pianist/organist Bob Bargh deserves special note (literally and figuratively!)

Firstly, on account of the continuing dexterity of his venerable playing fingers given their (and his) age of 94, and then for his willingness to turn up rain or shine and deliver every week at the keyboards. We the congregation respond by singing or shouting as lustily as we dare, even if the psalmic melody we hear is a complete mystery.

Church attendance without music would be a drab affair and as rank amateurs we don’t do too badly. Due to their familiarity the organ – assisted Christmas carols verged on the professional (not confessional!).

As you know Sunday services are normally conducted in the community hall adjacent to the church. This is in keeping with the relative informality of these occasions (minus any clapping or shouting) because lively conversations both before and after the service are the First Church way and are evidence of its tight communal spirit.

It is a well-known fact of contemporary church life that congregations are dwindling in size and tending towards the geriatric. You could say that this just confirms that age and wisdom go together!  … Continue Reading

Country Dog City Dog

Book reviews for hot summer days

By Brenda Channer – Martinborough Bookshop

The hot days of summer are prime reading times for me. 

Rebecca Yarros’ ‘Fourth Wing’ is a science fantasy novel pitched at 18-25yr olds _ but a ripping good read for anyone over the age of 16. 

The story of Violet Sorrengail, a candidate striving to become a dragon rider, an elite group tasked with keeping the borders of Navarre secure from known and unknown forces who would invade and destroy them. 

The obstacles – physical, mental and romantic that she must overcome are considerable and Yarros does a good job of pacing the story to maintain tension and of introducing twists and turns in the plot. 

It’s great summer reading for those who like world building, action, a bit of romance and getting in on the first of what promises to be a good series.

A good crime thriller is never far from my chair. 

‘Days of Innocence and Wonder’ by Lucy Treolar is not your typical thriller. It is told mostly in the first person as a narrative tale with occasional sidebars from an unknown narrator. An interesting device which is a little unsettling as I am sure it was intended to be. 

‘Till’ is a young woman on the move. Not exactly on the run but not wanting to be found. She tentatively settles in a disused railway station in a small town, desperate to belong but always poised to run. 

When she was 5 years old, her best friend was taken by a stranger and never seen again. This event has coloured the following 18 years of Till’s life and it is this trauma that is eventually resolved in a brutal and final showdown. 

The story jumps about in time and reveals the clues the reader needs to put the events into perspective in a piecemeal fashion, but it is moody and dark which appealed to me. Curl up at night to read this one.