stalbanslife

The summer holidays are fast approaching – but don’t panic as Willows Farm Village near St Albans is holding their Summer Spectacular event with plenty to keep children busy from the 18^th July to 6^th September.

Willows’ farmer Andrew Wolfe has planted an A-maize-ing Maze – grown completely from maize. Finding your way around the maze is an exciting adventure the whole family will enjoy, but make sure you don’t get too lost and are out in time to take part in some of the other fun activities that are taking place this summer at Willows.

There will be traditional sports day races, including egg and spoon and sack races, with certificates for all children who take part.

Also returning to Willows this year is the fun Summer Panto which takes place in Woolly’s Showtime Theatre with a new show and the popular Sing-a-long-a Woolly sessions which see Farm Village mascot Woolly Willow the Sheep leading children in well-known nursery rhymes.

Outdoors, there are all the farmyard animals to see, and children can let off steam on Woolly’s Workout agility play trail before trying their hand on the new Frisbee Golf course. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, there is still plenty of fun to be had with Willows’ indoor play barn, Woolly Jumpers, featuring active play, ball pools and three exciting slides.

Andrew Wolfe, farmer at Willows, says: “The nice spring weather we have had has allowed the maize maze to grow really well this year – making it harder than ever and even more fun to find your way around!

“Tristan, our Runaway Tractor, helped me with the ploughing and planting of the maize this year but he is rather forgetful and managed to misplace lots of his things in the field. Visitors can help search for Tristan’s lost belongings and fill in a form as they find their way through the maze. We will draw a winner from the completed forms to win a £100 Farm Shop voucher.

“Farms are wonderful in the warm summer months. There is plenty of space to run around, and the animals are all very relaxed and enjoy meeting the children every day. Now is also a great time to come back to the farm and visit the baby animals from the spring – children will be amazed at how much they have grown!”

The Summer Panto shows are scheduled to take place in Woolly’s Showtime Theatre at 11am and 4:15pm daily. Sing-a-long-a Woolly takes place in the sheep show stand at 12:45pm and 2:45pm daily with summer sports day races at 3pm each day.

For the full programme of events and activities visit www.willowsfarmvillage.com or call 0870 129 9718.

Wednesday 1^st July, 2009 is a date to put in your diaries!  St Michael’s Village, St Albans will be filled with music, dance and fun for all.

Dancing on the Street from 8-10pm

Blue Anchor car park, and in the street by the Puddingstone, Prae Close, Rose & Crown and Six Bells

Music in the Pubs from 6pm onwards

The Six Bells All Stars at the Six Bells Pub

Comhaltas & Thursday night Musicians at the Rose and Crown Pub

Swan Vesta Social Club at the Black Lion Pub

Run of the Mill at the Blue Anchor Pub

For more information on the above, contact www.stmichaelsfolkevening.org.uk

Last year, the coffee and tea addicts of St Albans heard that the lower floor of the Town Hall would be converted into a café with outdoor seating. I was really pleased about this as it seemed the perfect location to sit and people-watch in one of the great historic cities of England.

When it opened I raced in and ordered my latte. Instead of waiting at the counter (where every minute can feel like one hour), I was given a number and told that the coffee would be served to the table. I found this unusual but with this system, I didn’t have to stand around queuing for long.

I had a choice between outdoor seating, indoor and high tables by the large, colonial windows. It was cold so I chose the window seats. I noticed the unusual colonial fans, waving gently, creating a lovely atmosphere of bygone days. The warm terracotta and blue painted walls and the ceiling was a masterpiece in itself. I stared at it for a while, admiring the colonial designs. Gentle jazz music played in the background, adding to the hum of people’s voices. My latte arrived.

Being a loyal fan of good coffee beans, I can only describe this latte as being a meal in itself. It looked good, tasted zesty and rich. Just as important was the froth, which was done to perfection. For the discerning tea drinker, there is an amazing range of loose leaf and herbal teas.

I paid £2.30 for the Latte and £2.90 for a slice of Victorian Fruit Cake. It’s a bit pricey but good quality. A Panini costs £3.60 and a homemade Cornish or Lamb Pasties costs £3.95, which is about average for St Albans.

The café is owned and run by Anil and his wife, Hervisha. I asked Anil about this new business, which has been opened less than a year.

‘We feel more established as we now have a set core clientele. Despite the economic downturn, our reputation was solely built on word-of-mouth and the high standards we maintain. Hervisha and I like to bring our home standards to our business. This is important to us.’

‘We give our personal touch to every cup of coffee even if it means regrinding the coffee beans!’

Anil has established good relationships with the local market and suppliers. The Homemade Pasties and Fruit Crumble are obtained from a local producer and his 100% apple juice comes from Cambridgeshire.

I looked at their new Wine Menu. There was an interesting selection of drinks, ranging from single serve white, red, rose and sparking wine. A bottle of red wine is priced at £10.95. A 187ml glass of Blanc Vin de Pay d’Oc costs £3.75. Spirits like Tia Maria, Irish Coffee (a must-have!), Becks Alcohol Free Lager and Baileys were on offer. Oh to sip cool Rose al fresco……listening to their new range of classical music….

The Merchant Tea and Coffee Company will be taking part in the great St Albans Food Festival so watch out for their offers. See www.stalbansfoodanddrinkfestival.com

Opening hours; Mon to Sat 8am – 5.30pm / Sun 9am – 5pm

Disables toilet; Located in café

Parking; Nearby Maltings Car Park or the Grove Car Park

Address; Market Place, St Albans, AL3 5DJ Tel; 01727 861503

I’ve just found time to add a post about the Alban Opera. I must admit to an interest here as I’m singing in the choir. So very busy for the next week with rehearsals and then 5 performances in 4 days. Great fun to do and it will be quite spectacular. So please do support it by coming along one day. All profits will, I believe, go to the Abbey. Obviously if it isa success then more such ‘community’ events are likely to happen.  See you there?

Alban is a two act community opera involving over 150 performers which has been commissioned by the St. Albans Cathedral Music Trust. It will be given five performances (including a matinee) in St. Albans Cathedral between May 20-24 2009, bringing together a wealth of local talent. Singers, actors, dancers and musicians of all ages drawn principally, though not exclusively, from parish and school choirs across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire will join a core of experienced professional performers. Like all large-scale community ventures it will offer many their first experience of taking part in a professionally-staged theatrical production.

This exciting project will build on the Music Trust’s previous success in staging Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, a major community undertaking which made imaginative use of the cathedral’s setting. Alban will be even more immediate as it has been composed with this particular building in mind. From the start it has been a site-specific enterprise with composer Tom Wiggall and librettist John Mole taking into consideration all the possibilities for music and movement, drama and ritual offered by the cathedral’s architectural design.

Composer and librettist have imagined the last week of Alban’s life – a family man, a successful doctor with a wife and two young children, and the opera will be staged through a combination of intimate domestic drama, and events in the public arena – the former exploring the psychological impact on Alban’s family of his new-found capacity for Christian belief, and the latter dramatising the inevitable consequence of his decision to sacrifice himself in place of the priest to whom he has offered sanctuary.

Alban has been designed to encourage engagement at all levels of musical ability and it involves many different kinds of music ranging from market cries and exclamatory mob interventions through to a closing hymn in which the audience joins with the performers.

The Cathedral Music Trust is working to ensure that Alban will be a high profile event, a celebration of the city’s patron saint and a moving experience for everyone involved, whether as a participant or as a member of the audience.