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  1.  

    If you know of someone who'd love to visit Chester Zoo (having watched Secret Life of the Zoo on TV, for instance), but who doesn't live in the area of Chester, you could give them the opportunity to both visit Chester Zoo AND have a night away!

    Come and have a roaring time at Chester Zoo!

    Activity Superstore has an "Entrance to Chester Zoo for Two with Overnight Stay" experience for £239.00. 

    It gives you the opportunity to visit Chester Zoo - there are 21,000 animals there representing 500 species.  The Zoo has 1.9 million visitors every year and is one of the UK's top tourist attractions.

    A night in Chester will give you the opportunity to enjoy another day!

    The beautiful city of Chester includes landmrks such as Chester Castle, the grand Roman ampitheatre and the thousand year old cathedral - perfect for history lovers!  And you can also have fun with retail therapy at Chester Rows' shopping experience.

    A night's sleep will give you the chance to enjoy the second day of your mini-break. 

    Waddle off to Activity Superstore to find out more! 

    Waddle off to Activity Superstore to find out more!

     

  2.  

    It’s National Allotments Week from 7th to 13th August 2023.

    The National Allotments Society (NAS), which organises the week, is a charity which works to support the needs of all allotment holders in the UK.   The membership scheme it runs is vital because it raises funds to make sure that allotment gardening has a future.

    The NAS has used this period over the last 20 years to get people involved in the world of allotments! 

    The week is also a great opportunity to grow the seeds and spread the words about the benefits of allotment gardening for everyone – individual people, communities and the planet!

    Some benefits of allotment gardening for people include:

    • Mental health – there’s a report on the website about how allotment gardening can help mental health
    • The chance to connect with nature
    • The opportunity to meet people with a like-minded interest
    • The benefits of sharing – your knowledge, left over produce and more!
    • The ability to grow your own produce
    • It’s a good healthy activity outside in the fresh air!
    • A sense of achievement

    There's a short film on the joys of allotment gardening called Plotting for the Future, and you can watch it here.

    In 2023, the theme of National Allotments Week is Soil Health.   Good soil health improves the yield when you’re growing your goodies, but actually is also contributes to the environment and biodiversity.   So this coming week, the NAS wants to educate us all about the benefits of caring for our soil – and the animals living in it.

    What does the NAS do?

    Well, it does a number of things:

    • it campaigns against government legislation which threatens allotments
    • it works with local authorities to make sure that they reach their statutory obligations
    • it educates plot holders with growing advice
    • it supports schools into growing allotments
    • it’s the voice of allotmenteers, as they are called, around the UK

    Needless to say, to do all this they need support – and this is where their membership programme comes in.

    Give a National Allotment Society Gift Card here.
    Give a National Allotment Society Gift Card here.
    Image © National Allotment Society

    Why not give a NAS Gift Membership Card?

    Membership fees are listed here and there is also an NAS Gift Membership Card which gives lucky recipients a number of benefits you can find here – click on these links to gift a membership.  You’ll see when you go through to these links that you can also gift a magazine subscription, if you prefer.

    More information about allotments

    The  NAS website has lots of helpful information on allotments including hens on allotments, wildlife on allotments and bee-keeping and there’s also information on how to get an allotment in the first place.

    There’s also tips and advice on growing including monthly jobs, water used on allotments, designing an allotment for children, and how to plan an allotment.

    Visit the National Allotment Society’s website here.

  3.  
    Activity Superstore have a number of subscription gifts for all the family (including dogs - they have a couple of dog subscriptions for adult dogs and puppies!) and they've also got some subscription gifts for people who like hot stuff!  

    They can make the most of your gift over anywhere from 3 to 6 months, depending on how long the subscription is for. 

     

    How about a 3 Month Hot Sauce Bottle Subscription?

    How about a 3 Month Hot Sauce Bottle Subscription?
    £44.00

    The world of chilli sauce is yours to discover with this three month subsciprion from the Wiltsure Chilli Farm!  You can use it for dipping, or livening up sandwiches, burgers and wraps.  Use it to add something extra to stews, casseroles and curries.  Each month, you'll be sent a Chilli Saunce Gift Set - made from some of the hottest chillies in the world!  Find out more here

    There's also the The Avid Adventurer - 3 Month Spice Subscription
    There's also the The Avid Adventurer - 3 Month Spice Subscription
    £39.00


    The Spice Kitchen is a mother and son team, Sanya and Shashi Aggarwal.  They produce award winning spices, spice blends and gin botanicals!  This family business donates to The Akshaya Patra Foundation to support children in India to receive nutritious mid-day meals.  The Avid Adventurer is a three month subsciption and every month, you receive the spices you need to make meals for everyone to enjoy!  There's a free recipe guide with 12 recipes each month from around the world. The 3 months subscription will make over 100 meals to go with your fish, meat or vegetables!  Find out more here.

    This is the Six Month Recipe Kit Subscription with The Spicery
    This is the Six Month Recipe Kit Subscription with The Spicery
    for £49.00

    You'll be sent a spicebox each month, with recipe cards and freshly ground spices.  They're all measured to make two delicious meals with side dishes for two!  And the first box has a gift card with your personal message and a voucher - and the recipient just activates the subscription to receive the rest of the boxes.  Find out more here.

  4. The 23rd April (St George’s Day) is Shakespeare Day, traditionally the birthday of William Shakespeare.  He was baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon three days later.

    William Shakespeare wrote a great many plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Merchant of Venice.   Today, most young people will still study one or more work of Shakespeare in schools.

    The 23rd April is a good opportunity to give you an idea of the possible gift memberships you could give someone who loves culture, Shakespeare, plays, the theatre and reading.

    The Royal Shakespeare Company perform plays by Shakespeare and also his contemporaries, whilst also commissioning a wide range of work from contemporary writers.  Its purpose is to make sure that Shakespeare is for everyone across the world.  It nurtures future talent, trains theatre makers, and reaches over half a million people every year through learning programmes.  It also creates projects for communities which have not previously engaged with its work.  It has a number of ways you can support its work, including giving a membership.  You can find out about visiting its Stratford upon Avon venue here.

    Guided Tour of Shakespeare’s Globe and Afternoon Tea with a Theatrical Twist for Two

    How about a Shakespeare related experience?
    There's a Guided Tour of Shakespeare’s Globe and
    Afternoon Tea with a Theatrical Twist for Two
    £112.00 from BuyaGift
    Our exclusive code AHW2023 will give you a further 15% off!**

    The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is in Stratford-upon-Avon.  It cares for the world’s greatest Shakespeare heritage sites there, and also promotes the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare’s works, life and times.  You can visit William Shakespeare’s childhood home in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it all began, and visit Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the family home of Shakespeare’s wife-to-be, where Shakespeare would have visited her during the early times of their relationship.  And you can walk in Shakespeare’s footsteps at Shakespeare’s New Place, the site that was William Shakespeare's family home for 19 years. You can Become a Friend of the Trust to help support its work and enjoy exclusive benefits.

    Shakespeare’s Globe is a world famous performing arts venue.  It’s also an education centre and cultural attraction and it sits on the bank of the River Thames.  Its programme of work seeks to harness “the power of performance, cultivates intellectual curiosity and excites learning to make Shakespeare accessible for all.”  It has two theatres, one indoors and one outside, and you can take a virtual tour of the Globe here.  The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse opened back in 2014 and it has plays, concerts, events and education workshops.

    Back in 1623, a book with 36 of Shakespeare’s plays was finished.  It was compiled by two of his acting colleagues, and printed over the river from the Globe.  It’s the 400th anniversary of this book – which was first known as the First Folio – and Shakespeare’s Globe is a custodian of one of the copies that has survived, thanks to a private owner.  The book is displayed in the main foyer.

    Tickets for Two to Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall
    Tickets for Two to Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall.
    Learn about Tudor school life in the fifteenth-century building
    £25.00 from BuyaGift
    Our exclusive code AHW2023 will give you a further 15% off!**

    Give a gift membership to Shakespeare’s Globe Members can enjoy priority booking, a Digital Member’ Room and exclusive member discounts, and the knowledge that their membership is supporting the Globe in all its work.

    You can also give someone a gift experience related to Shakespeare, such as a visit to Shakespeare’s Globe and Shakespeare’s School Room. 

    **The code AHW2023 is valid site wide until 31 December 2023, and it does include special offers and 2 for 1s ((some products are excluded)