The last few months have been “challenging” to say the least, whether you’ve been home schooling, full-time parenting little ones, or juggling a bit of everything. I think we can all agree it’s certainly taken its toll. For many of you (myself included), this probably means your business has taken a back seat. With the […]

by Amanda Badger ‘This is the Royal Free Hospital, you recently came in for a chest x-ray’ said the voice on the phone. ‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Can you come back in right away? We think you may have TB.’ I began to see stars as the information sunk in. What do I tell my fiancé? […]

I’m sure I’m not the only person who wishes they’d bought shares in Zoom back in February…whether chatting with family and friends, conducting meetings or joining a fitness class, the demand for, and use of, this online meeting platform has been huge. In the past week, with shops reopening, social bubbles expanding and some children […]

One of the most difficult aspects I found about my divorce was the change from a family of 4 to a family of 3. Yes, after divorce you are still a family, just a smaller one. So things are going to be different but that doesn’t mean they have to be negative. Here are some […]

This week sees the re-opening of many of our favourite high street and retail businesses.  Whilst many businesses have adapted to offer online, postal, or adapted services, re-opening of physical stores is probably the biggest step towards normality we’ve seen since lockdown started. We are thrilled at the boost it will give these businesses and […]

Meet Hannah and Oli from Home County Candle Co. and hear about their passion for making their beautiful UK inspired scented candles and reed diffusers.   MEET OLI WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU STARTED THE HOME COUNTY CANDLE CO.? My background is in sales management and just before we started the business I was […]

Make-up and Nail Artist Remy Morris shares with us her how-to guide to create leopard print nails   Step 1: BASE COAT / COLOUR Apply your base colour over the whole nail making sure you seal the free edge of the nail to avoid chipping, next apply 2 coats of your base polish for a […]

It’s that time of year when we get to celebrate the men in our lives and treat them with thoughtful, carefully selected gifts.  I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I find men so much harder to buy for…they just seem to come with less “stuff” than us ladies! I’ve loved watching the Father’s […]

by Dania of Moo Boutique, Tring A lot of things have changed during this period of lockdown – some of us have stayed working as normal, some of us have had to completely re-think how we’ve been working and some of us have sadly lost a lot of work. whatever our circumstances we need to […]

We are living in a moment of huge change, where society as we know it may never be the same. Many are predicting a very different world post Covid 19, history serves us as a reminder that global events can be a catalyst for a better future. With most of us staying at home we […]

by Nat Aubry 10 years ago we moved to Hertfordshire, a couple of weeks before our wedding. We sold a flat in London and packed one in Amsterdam to move in together before the big day. I did not move by choice, Marc got a job offer in Luton when no one else was really […]

by Jamie Smith of Tring Winery It’s that time of year! Sun is out, windows are open, and BBQ’s across the country are getting fired up. Whether you side with gas or charcoal, fish, steak or veggies, there is always the question – what should I be drinking?   So here at Tring Winery, Jamie […]

by  Claire Gillespie from Oglee Poglee   At Oglee Poglee HQ, you’ll often hear us raving about the power of creativity and just how vital it is to help our children unleash theirs! But when traditional education pushes the arts to the sidelines, how can you know creativity is something worth nurturing in your kids? Let’s take a […]

Pesto Flatbread Pizza by Neleta Winter from Nourish & Flourish Nutrition Flatbread   Ingredients 200g spelt flour 2 tsp baking powder Salt to taste Approx 200g yoghurt   Method In a bowl add the spelt flour, salt and baking powder and stir through Add the yoghurt in small amounts stirring as you go to form […]

by Margarita Salomó – Personal Stylist Let’s talk about the benefits of clothes, fashion, style, accessories, a dash of make-up and getting properly dressed every day during this lockdown If I have learnt one thing while being isolated at home, it’s the value of the small things that we take for granted, like: preparing to […]

  1. Look at the light Phone cameras perform best in bright, natural light. Open shade is ideal. Stand your subject in the shade (eg. cast by a building or trees) so direct sunlight is not hitting him/her causing squinting and/or harsh shadows. Ideally your subject is looking out of the shade toward the open […]

by Natalie Halliwell-Jennings With many Ashridge House staff working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked Ashridge House Events Sales & Marketing Manager Natalie Halliwell-Jennings how she has adapted to working from home… “Ashridge House is a former royal palace to Kings and Queens, a grade II listed stately home with 190 acres of beautiful […]

Dunsley farm egg, asparagus, wild garlic pesto, and Culture Bakery sourdough Recipe by Scott Barnard of Crockers Tring Serves 4  For the wild garlic pesto  The following quantities makes plenty of Pesto – save what’s left for a pasta dish: INGREDIENTS: 250g wild garlic  25g raw wild garlic  75g olive oil 75g vegetable oil 120g […]

By Susanna Fraser from Boom Event Planners VE Day Celebrations across the country will no doubt be very different to what was anticipated earlier this year, I for one should have been working – decorating a marquee for a client’s big birthday party on Saturday but sadly all that has changed. However, we must put […]

By Sarah Clarke from Shine Brighter Consulting If you’re anything like me, your working day is now punctuated by endless demands for snacks and refereeing. Working at home, be that in your own business or working remotely for a corporate, can be really tricky right now. Particularly if you have small people to care for. […]

by Lisa Pantling of Clutter Free Living All of a sudden we are spending an awful lot more time at home, some of us are also working at home, possibly while also entertaining (teaching?!) our children. For many, this set of circumstances has highlighted an issue they hadn’t really acknowledged before…… stuff! And far too […]

by Natalie & Helen Gerrish from Hiya Bucks Authentically local, trusted and valued, hiya bucks is written for, and about, Buckinghamshire. Buckinghamshire is our home. It’s where we live and do business. With hiya bucks we support and nurture the local business community and want to see the county thriving in all areas. Our passion […]

…and other crazy things our kids made us do! By Emiliana Hall from The Mindful Birth Group Having 2 young children and sending them to childcare for roughly 60 hours of a 90 hour waking week didn’t sit well with us. Especially as neither my husband or I were in love with our jobs! When […]

  I saw a meme this week that showed a lockdown budget where all items in the budget were £0, but food was about £2k a month. It’s a pretty fair assessment of lockdown life, isn’t it?  Suddenly our main preoccupation is getting food and what to have for our next meal…and actually constantly feeling […]

by Anna Horne. Baking is my first love and having kids has given me the perfect reason to tinker in the kitchen and indulge my passion. Of course it’s all for them. In my quest for the ultimate cookie and having tried and tested many a recipe these are up there as striking the balance […]

by Amy Overy. A month ago, I flew to Australia for four days. I really wouldn’t recommend it as a mini break destination…the jet lag is awful. I work as a freelance TV producer covering Formula One, and Melbourne was to be the opening round of the 2020 season. Except it didn’t happen. A member […]

by Lucy Williamson Nutrition I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to just step off the busy-ness of life for a while, catch up on my ‘to do’ list and come back where I left off, all refreshed and ready to go… In these challenging times, I find myself feeling rather guilty about these […]

I’ve been asked a few times about local delivery services for food to support those in self-isolation, so here is a  quickly put together list, which I hope helps those in need. I’ve tried to capture as many as possible, but if we’ve forgotten your business, please let us know as we will keep the […]

You know that time between lunch and dinner when you don’t quite know what to do with yourself? It’s too early for one but too late for the other, but actually it’s the perfect time to just chill out, relax and take in the world. Well, it turns out we know the perfect place to […]

In modern society it can be hard to find community. Families are often disparate, with children and siblings working in geographically different locations. Older and younger generations lose touch and it’s uncommon for full families to live together. It can be easy to live side by side with people in your town or village and […]

By Olivia Church It’s amazing to think that OPEN Hairdressing Hemel Hempstead has only been in business for just over a year. It may be the baby of the family, but it has a loyal and ever-growing clientele.  For those of you who haven’t heard of this business, OPEN Hairdressing is a chain of independent […]

We thought we would catch up with one of our favourite local personalities and all round spiritual & colourful being Angie Litvinoff.  Angie talks all things wedding and also about her unique talents and skills.  If you want a wedding with a difference or just some spiritual healing, Angie is your woman, so find out […]

Woodland Trust interview with Hannah Burgess – Visitor Experience Officer Hi Hannah lovely to meet you.  Can you tell us a bit more about what you do for Tring Park? My role covers all sorts of jobs across the park, designing leaflets, running events, visiting scouts groups and answering public enquiries. I generally aim to […]

So what is it exactly that Hector’s House do?  Well their aim is to help everyone have access to the mental health support they need. They do this by talking about mental health, therefore normalising it so that people don’t feel isolated or alone.  They get out to schools and talk directly to those most […]

My message of hope from Hector’s House as Hector’s sister. Hector took his own life in 2011. We set up Hector’s House initially as a signposting website and it has evolved organically. We now provide a crisis line, educational talks on living well-focused holistic prevention, Rapid Transformational Therapy, as well as raising awareness by sharing […]

On the 18th April 2011 Hector Stringer took his own life. Hector, the beloved son and brother was colourful light in the world and he led a life filled with friends, music and gigs often playing in pub and also spending many hours playing music in the green hed at the bottom of their garden.  […]

How lucky are we to have been invited for a sneak peak of the lovely new Rosanna’s bar and restaurant in Berkhamsted? It’s another venue to open in Berkhamsted that brings Hertfordshire up a notch with exquisite decor and oh so yummy food. Alessia and Rosanna (sisters no less) have poured their heart and soul […]

When I think of Crockers and the places they’ve gone and are yet to go, it makes me realise just how long we’ve been blogging!  Although it was still only just over a year ago they were out at Potten End in their first and somewhat petite chef’s table venue.  Driving through Potten End it […]

Earlier this year we were blown away by the arrival of the Copper House to the Berkhamsted High Street.  Taking over the beautiful old listed building previously occupied by Carluccio’s, the champagne, cocktail & fine dining bar were a much longed for addition to the cosmopolitan community of Berko. From the moment we saw the […]

It’s always a tough gig when a high street favourite disappears and is replaced.  Jack & Alice was a highly popular Tring venue for it’s casual dining, laid back vibe and vintage inspired décor.  We were so sad to hear of it’s closure….but news of it’s immediate transformation to “Coluco” meant that we didn’t have […]

As you probably know we love a bit of Chilfest. So we were excited to hear that Steve Butcher, the creator of Tring’s very own slice of 80’s heaven was back with a bright new shiny festival to shake up the Chilterns. What’s it all about? Well this time he’s sourcing the 90s & 00s […]

I have a few soft spots, and definitely among those are Peterley Manor Farm and foodie pop-ups by talented local chefs. Of course it was a no brainer when I saw Native Feasts were back at Peterley for a Spring Supper Club – we were right there!  We’ve been keen to get back to doing […]

It had been the perfect day a couple of weeks back when the sun came as a surprise, but there was still that chill in the air.  The skies said shades, but the air said keep your coat on! I couldn’t think of a more welcoming site than the Lazy Pig that night.  Set against […]

by Ruth Buckingham from Kandu Marketing This is partly a blog about networking and partly about presenting as I feel the same way about both.  I recently had a birthday party for my “big” birthday. It came to the time when one might be expected to make a speech.  I have to admit it, I […]

Isn’t it funny how before kids you really think you know what it will be like to have kids.  I mean I bought a dog that I shared with a girlfriend and we thought we understood what it would be like to have that responsibility?  Boy, were we wrong! Having a dog and having a […]

What better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than by chatting to a local female Entrepreneur – Sarah Cooke.  Sarah did what many of us dream of doing and found inspiration in her motherhood for a business that helps mothers look and feel great.  Halia Rose has achieved both local and national recognition and has […]

Yes I know it’s been a while!  Sorry guys the summer of work has taken it’s toll but I promise to get back to some great inspirational blogs and reviews!   We’ve had this lady’s story for a little while and I’m super keen to get it out there.  I genuinely feel privileged to meet so […]

Just a couple of weeks now until we’re back at the Autumnal foodie extravaganza that is Feast on the Farm. Excited? Just a bit! We loved this event last year, so we were thrilled to hear it was coming back for a second helping at it’s Peterley Manor Farm home. Of course we’re a nosey […]

By Emily Turnbull, Personal Trainer and Energy Coach, www.sweatandglow.co.uk Having more energy is almost always near the top of my clients’ wishlists when they first come to see me. For most of us, life is very busy and at times stressful, and after a while, our energy levels can start to suffer But you don’t […]

We love to see the signs of nature revitalising and coming into bloom ready for the summer months. So now is the perfect time to revitalise your health too, starting from the very beginning and getting to know how your body is performing so you can make the necessary changes to keep your health on […]