Tag Archives: Events
03 Jan |
2017 World Sporting Events Calendar |
Although 2017 is not an Olympic or World Cup year, there are still plenty of events happening throughout the year from athletics to boxing and horse racing. Here is a 2017 world sporting events calendar listing the major sporting events for the year with other key holidays.
Aside from the domestic events, there are also many sporting treats around the world, including the World Baseball Classic, the Winter Military Games and the Invictus Games.
Date(s) Sport Event Location
Jan 14-Feb 5 Football African Cup of Nations Gabon
Jan 16-29 Tennis Australia Open Melbourne, Australia
Jan 26-29 Extreme Sports Winter X Games 21 Aspen, Colorado
Jan 28 Boxing Carl Frampton v Santa Cruz Las Vegas
Feb 4 Rugby Six Nations Scotland v Ireland, England v France
Feb 6-19 Skiing World Alpine Ski Championships St. Moritz, Switzerland
Feb 11 Rugby Six Nations Wales v England,
Feb 12 Rugby Six Nations France v Scotland
Feb 25 Rugby Six Nations Ireland v France, Scotland v Wales
Feb 26 Rugby Six Nations England v Italy
Feb 22-28 Multi-sports Winter Military World Games Sochi
Mar 9-22 Baseball World Baseball Classic USA
Mar 10 Rugby Six Nations Wales v Ireland
Mar 11 Rugby Six Nations England v Scotland
Mar 14-24 Multi-sports Special Olympics World Winter Games Austria
Mar 14-17 Horse racing Cheltenham festival Cheltenham
Mar 18 Rugby Six Nations France v Wales, Scotland v Italy Ireland v England
Mar 26 Mothering Sunday
Apr 3-9 Golf Masters Augusta, USA
Apr 8 Horse Racing Grand National Aintree Racecourse
Apr 12-14 Cycling World Track Championships Hong Kong
Apr 16 Easter Sunday
Apr 29 Boxing Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko Wembley Stadium
Apr 21-30 Multi-sports World Masters Games (Summer) Auckland, New Zealand
May 3-7 Equestrian Badminton Horse Trials Badminton
May 5-21 Ice Hockey IIHF World Championship Germany, France
May 6 Horse Racing Kentucky Derby Louisville, Kentucky,
May 7 Cricket England v Ireland Lords
May 12-22 Multi-sports Islamic Solidarity Games Baku, Azerbaijan
May 27 Football FA Cup final Wembley Stadium,
May 28-Jun 11 Tennis French Open Paris, France
May 29 Spring Bank Holiday
Jun 2 Horse racing Epsom Derby Festival Epsom
Jun 3 Football UEFA Champions League final Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Jun Basketball NBA Finals USA/Canada
Jun 26-Jul 23 Cricket ODI World Cup for Women England
Jun 13-16 Extreme Sports Summer X Games Minneapolis,
Jun 15-18 Golf US Open Erin Hills, Wisconsin
Jun 17-27 Sailing America’s Cup Bermuda
Jun 17-Jul 2 Football Confederations Cup Russia
Jun 20-24 Horse racing Royal Ascot Ascot
Jun 30-Jul 5 Horse racing Goodwood Festival Goodwood
Jul 1–23 Cycling 2017 Tour de France Germany / France
Jul 3-16 Tennis Wimbledon London, England
Jul 16 Motor racing F1 Grand Prix Silverstone
Jul 14-30 Swimming World Aquatics Champs Budapest, Hungary
Jul 18-30 Multi-sports Deaflympics Samsun, Turkey.
Jul 18-31 Multi-sports Maccabiah Games Israel
Jul 20-23 Golf British Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club Southport
Jul 20-30 Multi-sports The World Games Wroclaw, Poland
Jul 21-30 Multi-sports Francophone Games Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Aug 4-13 Athletics IAAF World Championships Olympic Stadium
Aug 5-18 Multi-sports World Police and Fire Games USA
Aug 7-13 Golf US PGA Quail Hollow Club Charlotte, North Carolina
Aug 9-26 Rugby Women’s World Cup Ireland
Aug 21–27 Badminton BWF World Championships Glasgow, Scotland
Aug 28-Sep 10 Tennis US Open New York, USA
Aug 28 Summer Bank Holiday
Sep 17-24 Cycling UCI Road World Championships Bergen, Norway
Sep 23-30 Multi-sports Invictus Games Toronto, Canada
Sep 23-Oct 1 Rowing World Rowing Championships Sarasota U.S.A.
Sep 27-Oct 9 Gymnastics World Championships (Artistic) Montreal Canada
Sep 28-Oct 1 Golf Presidents Cup Liberty National Golf Club New Jersey
Sep 30 AFL Grand Final Melbourne, Australia
Nov 7 Horse Racing Melbourne Cup Victoria, Australia
06 Dec |
BBC Good Food Show 2016 Birmingham |
It was Birmingham’s turn to host the latest BBC Good Food Show and the halls of the NEC were filled to bursting point with visitors and exhibitors.
The show itself travels the length and breadth of the country, with venues at Glasgow SECC, London Olympia, Hampton Court Palace and Birmingham. The NEC hosts the show twice a year in the winter and in the summer.
Even the bitter cold spell didn’t discourage visitors. They flocked in their thousands to mingle with TV celebrity chefs and take away inspiration from the demonstrations and vast amounts of delicious food on display.
As usual, the stars were out in force. TV favourites Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood kept the crowds entertained as did the Hairy Bikers, Raymond Blanc and the winner of the 2015 Great British Bake Off, Nadiya Hussain. Other celebrity chefs included Tom Kerridge, James Martin, Michel Roux Jr, Barney Desmazery and Marcus Bean. Also spotted in the lineout was Eddie the Eagle Edwards!
For all food lovers, there was plenty of action at the show. Wherever you looked, something food-related was happening. The ever-popular Supertheatre was standing room only for most of the event, with celebrity chefs showing their culinary skills over the three days. There were cookery demonstrations ranging from baking to roasting to the more exotic. Both hosts and guests enjoyed the freedom of the dedicated area to create traditional and innovative food.
Staged Events
Another popular event was the BBC Good Food Stage where live interviews and demonstrations with the nation’s favourite chefs and experts took place. Similarly, the BBC Good Food Kitchen enabled visitors to dine on dishes inspired by recipes by bbcgoodfood.com
For those just wanting to browse and experience different foods, there were shopping opportunities at every turn, from local producer markets to international food pavilions where food from all continents was available for purchase. With November being ‘World Vegan Month’, the BBC Good Food Show revealed tasty treats and food for all vegan palettes, with some exciting new flavours and brands.
New products included additive free handmade breads and patisseries from Hedonist Bakery like the Farmers Country Grain loaf which was packed with grains and nuts. Munchy Seeds provided various flavours including honey, chilli and even sweet varieties like choccy apricot enriched with omega 3.
The BBC Good Food Shows are all about live entertainment, cooking inspiration, shopping and tasting in combination with award-winning UK’s chefs and experts cooking live. The NEC will be hosting next year’s summer spectacular, but there are shows taking place everywhere around the country. So go along and be inspired.
Published Date: 6th December 2016
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Events, Show report
08 Nov |
Poppy Day Legacy |
Armistice Day has hit the headlines, at least on the back pages of the tabloids, thanks to the Prime Minister’s intervention in the debate over whether international footballers should wear the poppy emblem on the field on 11 November.
Calling the ban decision “utterly outrageous”, Theresa May has backed the FA and SFA’s rejection of the ban on England and Scotland’s footballers wearing black armbands bearing poppies in their 11 November World Cup qualifying match.
Football Ban
Although FIFA insists that the football laws prohibit political or religious messages from players’ kit, many, including the FA believe that displaying poppies represents respect for the fallen. In a statement, the FA said: “The FA intend to pay appropriate tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by having the England team wear black armbands bearing poppies in our fixture on Armistice Day.”
The strength of feeling echoes the sentiment around the country about remembering the Great War. Events are taking place this weekend across the nation, with many centred in the South West and Wales. On Saturday 12 November 2016, the University of Worcester’s annual Women’s History Conference is taking place with debates about the significance of the First World War as an agent of social change for women. This conference will focus on women’s voluntary involvement in charities, organisations and local politics.
Tanks and Poppies
Moving further south, the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset is continuing its exhibition of the story of the tank, from its invention in 1915 through the 20th century and into the future. On 13 November, a commemorative service will take place, attended by serving soldiers, veterans and their families and members of the public. The service will take place in the Cold War Hall with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Royal Armoured Corps Memorial, followed by a unique display of poppies dropped from planes. The service is free to attend on a first-come, first-served basis.
In Wales, Caernarfon Castle is the first location in Wales to host the ‘Poppies: Weeping Window’, a display by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper. The concept is a cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies, originally seen at the Tower of London as part of the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’. Caernarfon Castle is hosting a number of WWI commemoration events, as part of the Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 national centenary programme of remembrance.
The Devon Remembers Heritage Project is giving local people a chance to explore the county’s experience in the First World War, led by the South West Heritage Trust. There will be a programme of high profile events, talks and activities around Devon as well as First World War learning events.
At the core of the project is the establishment of the Devon Remembers Collection within the Devon Archives and Local Studies Collection, a collection of archive material related to Devon’s contribution to the Great War, which will permanently available to all those interested.
Whatever the event, here at AC Services (Southern) we will be on hand to help with caterers, restaurants and pubs who may be staging commemorative events. If you need any advice or have any problems with your Rational ovens, contact us and we will be more than happy to help you.
30 Aug |
Gloucestershire’s Puppy Dog Pies and Onions |
England is renowned for its quaint traditions, especially Gloucestershire, where strange and ancient events take place annually. Where else can you see cheeses rolling down a hill, football matches in rivers or burning tar barrels carried on the backs of local townsfolk?
Here at AC Services (Southern) we relish the unusual and the quirky and the town of Painswick in Gloucestershire is up there amongst the best. Every year, on the Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of St. Mary (in everyone’s calendar, surely), there is the Painswick Clypping Ceremony.
This year taking place Sunday 25 September, the event is still going strong since it was revived in Victorian times. The Clypping ceremony involves the parishioners of St. Mary’s at Painswick joining hands around the church exterior and dancing around it singing their Clypping Hymn as part of a patronal festival.
Puppy Dog Pie is an integral part of the festival. Although myth has it that a local innkeeper served up his pet pooch when he ran out of meat, today the only meat that the Puppy Dog Pie contains is chunks of beef! However, in keeping with the old tradition, china dogs (neither too small to be swallowed nor too big to detract from the flavour) are symbolically baked in the pies.
Ducks and Giant Otters
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, make your way to the Slimbridge Wetland Centre where there is the launch of a new Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail this year to celebrate its 70th anniversary. The trail features six-foot-tall Dusty along with 14 giant models designed by celebrities. The event is on until 1 September but if you miss out, there is always the Giant LEGO® Trail at the same venue from 17 September to 6 November. The LEGO® brick models include a giant otter and a huge twelve-times life-sized dragonfly!
If you can’t think of anything else to do on 11 September, try the Speech House Vintage Show, a steam and vintage machinery family day out in the Forest of Dean. Children’s amusements, trade stalls, live music, falconry displays and duck herding are just some of the events taking place in Coleford.
Also at Speech House on 2 October is the Forest Showcase Food & Drink Festival with a wide selection of over 100 local food stalls ranging from handmade scotch eggs, artisan breads, local beers, preserves, farmhouse ciders, cheeses, homemade cakes and pastries. Not to be missed is the turnip tossing competition.
And don’t miss the Newent Onion Fayre on 10 September 2016. Hazarding a wild guess, this show is presumably focused on onions: apparently there’s a traditional onion eating contest, best onion and other competitions and even the opportunity to enjoy some onion soup! There’s also live music, a dog show and a funfair for those who really don’t like onions.
It’s never dull in Gloucestershire so take advantage of the events at the end of the summer. Do something out of the ordinary and eat whatever takes your fancy!
Published Date: 30th August 2016
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News
Tags: Catering business, Events, Food producers
23 Aug |
What’s on in Somerset 2016 |
Now that the summer holidays are drawing to an end and the summer sporting extravaganzas have come to a close, people may be wondering what to do. If you are in or near Somerset, worry not: there are still plenty of events to tickle the taste buds.
Geographically Somerset is the county bordering Gloucestershire and Bristol, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset and Devon to the South. It is best known for cheese, cider and the Cheddar Gorge. Rurally it comprises the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park. Perhaps its most famous city is the UNESCO World Heritage Site Bath famed for its Georgian architecture and, obviously, its baths!
Boats and Bishops
The region plays host to many events annually. The Bank Holiday sees the Wells Moat Boat Race on 29 August 2016 traditionally held every August Bank Holiday Monday starting at 11.00 am.
Visitors are urged to come and see the flotilla of homemade rafts racing on the moat of the Bishop’s Palace while those who enjoy a musical interlude can sit in the adjacent park for the brass band performing throughout the day. Dependent on the weather, there will also be hot air balloons and a vintage aircraft flypast.
Food, Glorious Food
Also in Wells is the Food Festival taking place a little later this year on Sunday 9 October 2016. This is an eagerly anticipated event, celebrating the best of Somerset’s wonderful local produce from 150 of the area’s best artisan producers. There are three ticketed events in the Town Hall: cider tasting, wine tasting and a curing demonstration from Somerset Charcuterie.
The event will feature the first ‘Food for Thought’ marquee on the recreation ground. It’s “stuffed full of delicious bite-sized pieces of information, which will benefit your body, mind, family, wallet, the local food-producing economy and the planet” claim the organisers.
Music and Trains
Last but not least, there is a treat for music lovers of all genres at Vivary Park, Taunton where Somerset Rocks! Icons such as Status Quo, Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel, Will Young and Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra will be performing for a few days from Friday 26 August. Check the ticket office for returns.
When you’re in Taunton then only a short stop away is the West Somerset Railway . This is the longest heritage railway in England. It goes from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead with trains and events running most days through to the end of October. Best to check the timetable to see what’s on.
We have been promised yet another Indian summer. So it makes sense to make the most of the events taking place in Somerset and South West of England. If you are a caterer, make sure that your Rational appliances are still functioning as well as they were at the beginning of the summer. If not, call us here at AC Services Southern on 01454 322 222 and we will dispatch a solution!
Published Date: 23rd August 2016
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News, Rational
Tags: Catering business, Events, Rational Ovens
09 Aug |
What’s on in South Wales This Summer? |
A little known fact about South Wales is that it is the most densely populated region in the southwest of the UK, containing nearly 75% of the Welsh population.
The region embraces the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport with the Brecon Beacons national park covering about a third of South Wales. That’s the geography … now what happening in South Wales in the summer?
There is always plenty going on in South Wales, with the holiday season drawing hordes of visitors to the coast and August is jam-packed with events and occasions for everyone. From the 12 to 14 August, the Brecon Jazz Weekend 2016 is taking place with more than 20 concerts held at major venues in the town, namely Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon Guildhall, Castle Hotel, Brecon Cathedral and The Muse. A veritable treat for jazz fans, the event will also feature a Food Feast and Brecon Farmers Market for anyone who gets peckish during the performances.
Festivals and Feasts
If it’s a big and diverse event you are looking for, head for Coopers Field, Cardiff on Saturday 13 August 2016 for the annual Pride Cymru. The Pride Cymru parade returns for a fifth year followed by a main stage line-up that includes the first ever PugFest Pride! The emphasis is on fun and enjoyment so there will be fairground rides, food and drink and an assortment of market stalls.
If you go down to the woods…
Fancy something a little more diverse? Then make your way to the Brecon Beacons between 18 and 21 August for the Green Man Festival. “Where mystical ley lines converge amid ancient Welsh oak trees, something magical is stirring” according to the website. So if you want to drink, make merry until dawn, then Green Man is the place to be. Or if you want to sample some excellent Welsh food, then this is also a good place to do it. From beefburgers to caviar and laverbread, there is a feast for all. The venue also promises crab meat burgers and mackerel masala dahl!
And keeping with the food theme, 20 August sees the Menai Seafood Festival taking place in Anglesey. The event is being held to “celebrate North Wales’s coastal heritage and the abundance of seafood and fish available around the shores of Anglesey”. There will be cooking demonstrations from acclaimed Welsh chefs as well as a local produce market. There will also be interactive educational activities including seafood safaris.
Being Wales, the summer itinerary has to have a sporting theme and so the 21st Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival is taking place between the 21 and 28 August in Cardiff. Billed as the most popular and longest-running veteran rugby tournament in the world, Golden Oldies is for all rugby teams and groups of mates over 35 who want to be involved in the world’s premier rugby event. Over 100 teams from 25 countries have already entered for the week-long celebration of rugby.
And finally, try something completely different or at least go along and watch the World Bogsnorkelling Championships on 28 August in Llanwrtyd Wells. The championship has been heralded by Lonely Planet as one of the top 50 “must do” things from around the world in 2014. The event attracts entrants from around the world and to accommodate all visitors, the town puts on a huge welcome with food and drink stalls, crafts, a bouncy castle, live music and a real ale and cider bar on the site.
So there’s plenty to do in South Wales this summer, and plenty of opportunities to taste some good solid Welsh food. Which is why AC Services is happy to support its South Wales clients keeping people fed whatever they do!
Published Date: 9th August 2016
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: AC Services, Catering business, Events, Hotel, Pubs, Restaurant
26 Jul |
Are you ready for Rio? |
It’s been a rocky road so far for the Brazilians with the Olympic Games now only days away. From the announcement of the venue, the authorities have been plagued with financial problems, scandals and scaremongering. And the world’s media are loving it!
The latest news involves the entire Russian team, which is desperately trying to overturn a ban from the Games for widespread, long-term doping allegations. So far, only the athletics team is banned, with a few exceptions and 68 other competitors from various sporting disciplines are awaiting their fate from the International Olympic Committee and individual sports bodies. Russian sports ministry officials are also banned from the Games.
But away from the events, other issues are being raised, the most recent being the revelation that the Olympics media village has been built on ‘sacred’ mass grave of African slaves destroying archaeological remains at site. The media village, Grand Club Verdant, will be sold to private buyers after the Games. The land was acquired in 2013 and the site was cleared of hundreds of trees, destroyed a community football pitch and the remains of the old slave owner’s house and the slavery-era sugar mill. Brazil was one of the most prolific advocates of slavery, and by 1888, between four and five million Africans had been sent to the country.
Environment
We are all aware of the Zika virus threat but there has just this week emerged another potential problem. Brazilian scientists discovered that a drug-resistant “super bacteria” is lurking in the waters off some of Rio’s most popular beaches and some Olympic sailors have already reported “severe” skin irritation during practice runs with the white sails of their boats turning brown due to an oil slick in the water.
Hail the Hero
However, every Games has a hero, an underdog. Remember Eddie the Eagle and Eric (the Eel) Moussanbani, not forgetting the Jamaican bobsleigh team? This year, an Indian man Dattu Bhokanal who up until recently had no idea what the Olympics were will be competing in the rowing competition, the only Indian rower to make it to Rio. He picked up an oar for the first time in 2012, having been encouraged to attempt the sport by his army employers. “When they told me I’d qualified for the Olympics and that I was going to Rio, I didn’t even know what it meant,” he says.
It is worth remembering that every Olympics is beset with problems. Preparations for London 2012 were literally only finished hours before the opening ceremony. And it didn’t stop the wrong Korean flag being hoisted during the first medal ceremony. All the world can do now is wait and see what happens. The infrastructure is in place and the competitors are booking their flights.
With the good weather in this country expected to last for a few more weeks, there will be plenty of communal places to relax and watch the sport. If you are hosting an event this summer, make sure that your ovens and appliances are in full working order. If you want us here at AC Services (Southern) to pop round and check them out, simply give us a call on 01454 322 222
Published Date: 26th July 2016
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News
Tags: Events
19 Jul |
South West Food Festivals Galore |
Summer is officially here and thoughts turn to holidays and food festivals. Every year, a hearty percentage of us brave the M5 and head south. This year will be no different and now is the time to be looking at alternative events to whet our appetites and possibly new suppliers of local food.
Lobster and Crab Feast
One event that should not be missed is the Clovelly lobster and crab feast, which celebrates the crustaceans sustainably caught by its fishermen and combines it with a great day out for all the family. The event will feature a variety of crab and lobster dishes cooked on the quay together with live folk music, chef cookery demonstrations, a prize draw for a magnum of champagne, local food and craft stalls, including plenty of freshly cooked lobsters and crabs, and beer tasting. There will also be entertainment in the form of street theatre, walkabout magic, balloon modelling and event-themed craft activities provided by The National Trust.
At the end of the event, baby lobsters will be released into Clovelly Bay in aid of the National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow whose lobster restocking project allows local fishermen bring pregnant female lobsters to the hatchery where their offspring are raised in captivity without predators. These young lobsters are raised to a size where they can be released back into the sea and look after themselves.
Even further south is the 2016 Liskeard & District Agricultural Show taking place on Saturday 9th July 2016 at The Showground, Merrymeet. One of the biggest events of its kind in the South West, there is plenty for everyone to see and do with the emphasis firmly on animals and a whole variety of fruit and vegetables.
If you are looking for something to end the summer with, try the Plymouth Seafood Festival which every year brings the area around The Barbican and Sutton Harbour alive with entertainment, activities and dishes. Plymouth is proud to be the first city in the world to be awarded the Fish2Fork Blue City status for its commitment to sourcing sustainable fish and will be celebrating its fishing heritage from 24 September 2016 – 25 September 2016.
A new event has been added to the calendar in Teignmough. Taste of the Teign is a new Estuary and Food Festival celebrating the provenance and local flavours of the Teign River Estuary and the event will last a week, from 19-25 September 2016. Local restaurants and cafes will feature special menus based on foods available from the Teign estuary and its environs. There will also be demonstrations including being shown how to shell and dress crab, to pressing your own apples to make cider.
There are too many food festivals to list individually across our region such as the Shaftesbury Super Sunday every 3rd Sunday; Bristol Multi and Thai Cultural Food 30-31st July; or later in the year Sturminster Newton Cheese 10-11th September and the Forest Showcase 2nd October.
Wherever you decide to go, enjoy the great food that producers around Britain have to offer and consider how you can offer more to support local producers. If you are catering at a food festival, don’t forget to check your appliance and equipment to make sure nothing goes wrong on the day.
Published Date: 19th July 2016
Category: Blog, Events, News
Tags: Events, Food producers
05 Jul |
Wales, the Last Great Hope |
As this is being written, we are basking in another of the world of sports’ underdog story. The national football team of Wales (repeat WALES) has not only secured, but deservedly earned, a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
The defeat of Belgium was a joy to watch from start to finish, even for those who see sporting events as an annoying interruption to their daily soap schedules.
The achievement has inspired a nation currently rocked and disorientated by political unrest. We left the EU; the youth are blaming the elders for wanting to ruin their lives; and it seems that all major political parties are now leaderless.
And to top it all, the English football team embarrassed itself beyond expectations by losing to the part-timers of Iceland, another of sport’s underdogs. We have all seen the cruel and savage but accurate jokes and comments on social media and drowned our sorrows. All in all, we haven’t had much to cheer about over the past month but now we have an opportunity to all share in Wales success.
Wales Go Down in History
Wales, the football team, has evolved quietly. 1876 saw the Wales national football team playing its first international match and since then, the team has struggled to find success at international level. Its only appearance in the World Cup happened in 1958.
Then along comes Chris Coleman and the country suddenly has a chief to believe in, a man who whatever happens tomorrow night, will forever go down in history as the leader of a team of unlikely and passionate heroes. A manager who in his own words has had more failures than success, but still believes you should not be “afraid to have dreams”.
And it’s not just our nation gripped by the story: the epic performances of Aaron Ramsey, Ashley Williams – the man who refused to go off even though his left arm was seemingly hanging on by a thread – and Gareth Bale at Euro 2016 have prompted Budweiser to offer every adult in Wales a free bottle of Bud! According to the local press “so impressed has the brewing giant been by the march to the semi-finals of Chris Coleman’s team it wants to show their support ahead of the next big game by “raising a Bud” to Welsh football and the fans ‘who always believed’.”
The semi finalists are France, Germany and Portugal. Each national team has its patriotic supporters, but the rest of the world is rooting for Wales. The team is doing the United Kingdom and all true football and sporting fans proud and the players are being recognised as passionate, ambitious, incredibly professional and inspirational in their pursuit of the dream.
The question for all catering businesses is how they can think like Bud and take part in the dream from offering a simple Welsh rarebit menu special through to a full-blown event.
The message of support from all at AC Services (Southern) . . . we believe in helping others turn dreams into success!
Published Date: 5th July 2016
Category: Blog, Events, News
Tags: Catering business, Events
28 Jun |
Battle of the Somme Remembered |
This week marks a new era for the UK, which will be parting ways with the European Union. This historic and unprecedented event has already led to a furore of uncertainty and fear over our role and relationships with Europe.
This week also marks another historic event that involved a European alliance: 100 years ago on July 1, 1916, the Battles of the Somme began in France and raged until the end of the war, two years later.
So many people lost their lives at The Battle of the Somme that over the years, it has come to symbolise the tragic futility of World War I. The first day of the conflict remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army, where too many young, eager and impressionable men from the UK lost their lives. There were over 420,000 British casualties in the 141 days of the Somme including nearly 60,000 on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000.
Lost Generation
While we are enjoying a year of sport with the Euros and the Olympics, it is interesting to note that the sporting ethos also rose during the Battle, with athletes and players from sports at all levels volunteering to enlist.
Entire teams formed ‘Pals’ Battalions serving alongside each other with battalions dedicated to athletes, footballers, and individual clubs and teams. From cricketers to boxers to footballers to Olympic stars, the sporting elite signed up to fight for their country. Many lost their lives and so the phrase the Lost Generation was attributed to them.
WWI Events
Events are, and have been taking place around the UK to remember the fallen. If you have the chance, visit Exeter Cathedral on July 1st where actors Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton are to feature in a Devon concert marking the Battle of the Somme centenary. The concert is a conclusion to a day of commemorations beginning with the unveiling of a major art project remembering every man killed at the Battle of the Somme.
On the same day, an all-night vigil will be held in Wales to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, taking place in Cathays Park, Cardiff . At Bristol Cathedral, the South Quire Aisle of the Cathedral is now home to a display, which includes two touch-screen PCs for viewing the online book of remembrance. The venue is also hosting a World War I exhibition until 31 August, entitled No News of Fred.
The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford is staging a walking tour of Oxford’s contribution to the Great War on 3 July. The tour will highlight the many well-known colleges and public buildings which were converted into hospitals and for military use as well as the experiences of famous historical and literary figures, including Siegfried Sassoon and T E Lawrence.
Then as now, we are entering a period of insecurity and unfamiliarity. The mistakes and tragedy of the First World War are highlighted and remembered a century on in local events across the nation with people coming together to reflect rather than celebrate the Battle of the Somme.