Poppy’s doggy paddle will make a splash for charity
July 2022
Poppy’s charity doggy paddle – Swimmers taking part in one of the swim calendar’s most popular events will once again have a four-legged contestant to compete against.
Because, alongside the many two-legged entrants in the Henley Swim Festival on July 10 will be black Labrador Retriever and swimming enthusiast Poppy. And Poppy’s doggy paddling to help raise funds for SwimTayka!
Poppy belongs to the charity’s founder, Bryan Avery, and she’ll join him for the mile-long swim. This will be the third time Poppy has taken part, and she hopes to beat her personal best of little over 30 minutes.
Poppy is getting sponsorship to raise funds for SwimTayka. SwimTayka runs programmes around the world, teaching children to swim. All to help combat the alarming annual statistic of 360,000 global deaths from drowning.
Poppy’s charity doggy paddle – Bryan Avery with Poppy
‘This is the third time Poppy has taken part and we’re grateful to the organisers of Henley Swim Festival for allowing her to do so,’ said Bryan, from Swindon.
‘We’ll join the last wave of the event and ‘m sure she’ll love it. She loves the fuss people make of her and it’s a great way of raising awareness of SwimTayka too.’
Five-year-old Poppy will swim behind Bryan, wearing her special dog float coat. Bryan himself is a keen open water swimmer. He swims often at Lake 32 on Cotswold Water Park and is often accompanied by Poppy.
Bryan said: ‘She’s done soooo well the last two years, and I’m sure she will again. We’ve been training hard, and are all set. The fact that we are raising money for SwimTayka gives us even more incentive.’
So! The Swindogs are coming! ‘What are?’ I hear you cry. Swindogs is what! Like the one you see below:
The swindogs are coming
Well – when I say like the one in the image – not quite. For a start, the scale of that one is not unlike the Goodie’s Kitten Kong. Yep – there I go again with my antediluvian references.
As it says in the brochure:
The summer of 2023 will see over thirty larger-than-life balloon dog sculptures – the eponymous Swindogs – let off the leash, right across Swindon.
An artist will adopt each of the dogs and they’ll paint a unique design on it. Then you, the public will discover them along a free, family-friendly big dog art trail. The trail will take you around some of Swindon’s finest landmarks, streets, parks and public spaces. And no poo in sight!
WIA are a commercial organisation employing a core team in the north and south of England. They’re aided and abetted by a pool of specialist freelancers working across the country and overseas.
They’ve got expertise, insights and a network formed in over a decade involved in creating popular art events across the globe.
A bit about Julia’s House
From their website: ‘Julia’s House is not a typical children’s hospice. We provide practical and emotional support for families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, providing frequent and regular support in their own homes, in the community or at our hospices.’
How you can get involved
Here’s one they made earlier
Swindon artist Hannah Dosanjh has already painted one of the dogs and it’s amazing. I saw it at the launch event the other night and I LOVE what Hannah did with it. In particular I love how she highlighted Sir Daniel Gooch rather than Brunel! IMHO Brunel gets over-stated somewhat. So you can read more about all that here in the Swindon Advertiser.
And now for some photographs of Hannah and her amazing dog! it features, in no particular order:
Limoncello Italian Liqueur – seen here in DaPaolo’s deli in Swindon
Only a few days ago I covered Jamaican rum punch in this post here.Now we’re looking at Limoncello. So from the Caribbean to Capri we go! Clink your glasses and we’re off!
I’m not going to lie, I’m not keen on this stuff at all. A shot of grappa I’m partial to but not Limoncello Italian liqueur. Anyway, the bottles of the yellow, lemony stuff you see here are on the shelves in DaPaolo’s deli on Commercial Road in Swindon town centre. But I’m sure you’d get it in any of the many Italian eateries dotted around Swindon.
Limoncello – pronounced Lee-moan-cheh-lo – is a lemon liqueur. It’s made from lemon zest, sugar and a neutral alcohol – most often vodka, but it can be grappa or rectified spirit (highly concentrated ethanol). After Campari ( and I can’t stand that either) it’s the second most popular liqueur in Italy.
The drink carries strong associations with the Amalfi coast and the island of Capri. But it’s made all over Italy by producers large and small.
So how do you drink it? Well, diners tend to enjoy it after a meal, neat and chilled, as a digestif or digestivo.
The origin story of the liqueur is, it seems, open to debate, but it originated in the early 1900s. According to ‘A couple of cooks’, explain that the Capris natives claim the recipe stems from a woman by the name of Maria Antonia Faraceha. It seems that her grandnephew trademarked the Limoncello term in 1988. All of that said, the city of Sorrento has differing origin stories. Whatever the ins and outs of all that, it’s a common European drink.
Maureen and the girls are having their hair done. Barry and the lads are getting a few drinks in down at the pub. And Ralph, Les, Judd and Lucky Eric are readying themselves to man the doors at the town’s hottest nightspot … Mr Cinders.
This great play comes complete with sharp one-liners, 80s dance floor classics and a host of extraordinary characters. And all played by four amazing actors. This promises to be an unmissable evening.
It’s funny but with a touch of pathos and a whole load of nostalgia. This comic drama takes an irreverent look at the ups and downs of urban nightlife through the eyes of its eponymous ‘heroes.’
Get your tickets for Bouncers at the Town Gardens Bowl on Friday 1 July at 7.30pm here: www.theatreatthebowl.co.uk
Any classic drink you care to mention has a history – and the rum punch is no exception. And this blog, Deeper than the Punch Bowl: A Brief History of Rum Punch – tells it. According to the article, the history of punch stretches back over four centuries. Further, it’s intertwined with the civilizations of the East Indies, the huge fortunes of kings and merchants and Europe’s expanding empires.
You need to travel back to 1632 to find the first mention of punch in the western canon. This was a time before Peter the Great became the Czar of Russia, before William Penn founded the colony that took his name and before Sir Isaac Newton was a twinkle in his mother’s eye.
The rule of five
All that said, it appears there’s no definitive confirmation of the origin of the word punch. It might come from Sanskrit. Or it might originate in the Indian dialect of Hindustani. Others still, argue its root lies in ancient Persia. But whatever the truth of all that – every language’s term for it translates to five. That being the five elements that define a true punch:
Sweet
Sour
Alcohol
Water
Spice
Most common to punches of days gone by was nutmeg. European aristocrats so desired this space that punch journeyed from the shores of the Indian Ocean to London and Paris. In the 17th century, nutmeg was the most valuable of substances.
When the beer went flat
Western sailors of the time were in it for adventure, the possibility of finding fortune – and the drink! They prized their daily ration! Every ship’s belly held barrels of ale to keep the sailors … refreshed. But, as their ships entered warmer waters, their ale went flat and spoiled. Searching for a replacement libation they found … rum! More to the point – rum punch.
It only needed British sailors to discover it, for punch to travel and conquer the world.
By 1655, the rum punch as we know it, was born when Jamaican rum from the West Indies became the alcoholic tipple of choice for a chunk of the western world. As British imperialism crossed the pond to the Americas, the taste for this popular dink grew. So what Jamaica that?! Boom!
Angela Atkinson (looking rather demonic! and the lovely Caroline Davis Khan – not looking demonic!
Epilogue
Yes it was a delicious punch. And yes, the food was amazing!
