Bucks &amp; Oxon

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New coffee spot alert! And it&#8217;s next to a <a href="https://stables.longcrendonmanor.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">farm shop</a> and with great walks nearby &#8211; what more do you want from your latest caffeine stop? <a href="https://basecoffee.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Base Coffee &amp; Kitchen</a> at Manor Stables Cafe opened in Long Crendon in December. It&#8217;s already garnered loyal fans for its superb coffee (featuring multiple roasteries including Newground, Plot and Origin), toasties and brownies, but with spring around the corner, it&#8217;s good to know it also has outdoor space and a license, offering a tempting line in craft beers and low intervention wines.&nbsp;Brunch was introduced last month so head there for chorizo and potato hash or mushroom and spinach on sourdough and the like. Form an orderly queue! Open Wed-Sun 8:30-4pm.



And while we&#8217;re on the subject of coffee pitstops, there&#8217;s a new cafe opening in Thame called Monkey Puzzle. Details are still very much under wraps but owner Amy Hutton has been advertising for staff &#8211; stay tuned for updates! 



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A boutique cinema is opening in Chipping Norton later this spring, which will include two screens showing new releases, classics and art house films as well as live concerts, opera, ballet and theatre. It&#8217;s the second <a href="https://www.thelivingroomcinema.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Living Room Cinema</a> &#8211; the first was in Liphook, Hants. It&#8217;ll occupy the site of former DIY store Harpers, which has been vacant since 2016, and will be a cafe and co-working space by day and offer a cocktail, wine and snack bar by night. The cinema is big on accessibility and inclusion with subtitled and audio described films planned as well as autism-friendly and parent and baby screenings. Special guests to the Liphook cinema have included Downton Abbey&#8217;s Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, and writer Julian Fellowes, so keep your eyes peeled for celeb visitors to the Chippy outpost.



The filming crew and stars of The Crown Season 6 have been spotted filming in Bucks, in a film near Chesham, and in Oxfordshire. The season, mooted to be the final one, opens with Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Dominic West as Charles and, in a seriously eye-opening casting decision, Jonny Lee Miller as John Major. The episodes are expected to air at the end of the year &#8211; look out for the Bucks &amp; Oxon backdrops!



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There&#8217;s also been celeb sightings at Nether Winchendon House, near Thame, which has been transformed into a scene from Jacobean England (check out the capotains and capes) for new Sky TV series Mary and George. Julianne Moore has been spied (playing Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham) as well as Brit breakthrough star Nicholas Galitzine as her son George. 



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Muddy Award-winning Amersham restaurant <a href="https://www.artichokerestaurant.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Artichoke</a> is planning to sell local artisan products alongside serving its beautifully prepared and presented dishes. The restaurant is planning to sell homewares including ceramics and woodcraft from local makers and an Artichoke ale from Chiltern Brewery. It&#8217;s also launched its Midwinter Tasting Offer which runs Weds evening to Fri lunch time and includes five courses and a seasonal cocktail &#8211; a Spiced Pear Bellini, from £50pp.



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A new womenswear, accessories and homewares store has opened this week which sees two local female entrepreneurs join forces. Jo Louis (formerly of the Aylesbury fashion store, Chocolate Boutique) and Jac Hodges (a digital mentor and success coach) have opened <a href="https://www.goodforthesoulproducts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Good for the Soul</a> in the Bucks village of Aston Clinton and filled it with clothing and gifts that are uplifting and mood-boosting &#8211; now this is the kind of retail therapy we like!



It&#8217;s all change across the counties! In Henley a slew of closures (Drifters, Crockers, Watercolour Arts &amp; Play Cafe&#8230;) has been followed by yet another one &#8211; <a href="https://www.sageandsquash.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sage and Squash</a> has closed its cafe though continues its catering business, meanwhile over in Dorchester-on-Thames, the popular riverside pub and hotel, The White Hart Hotel, is on the market as a going concern. Time to live out that dream!



Just over the border in Berks, a new opening in Caversham has got the thumbs up from local fans who have been struggling to bag a table. After a successful crowd-funding blitz, <a href="https://www.clayskitchen.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clay&#8217;s Kitchen</a> has opened this week in Caversham in the old Baron Cadogan pub site. It&#8217;s got a more casual small plates eatery with open kitchen on one side and a more formal dining area on the other as well as a larger kitchen to continue fulfilling its nationwide delivery service.



<a href="https://south.rewindfestival.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rewind South</a> festival has been filling the streets of Henley with leg warmer-clad retro rockers for 13 years now and it&#8217;s going as strong as ever. It&#8217;s just announced the headliners for this year &#8211; Squeeze on the Saturday and Erasure on the Sunday, joined by the likes of UB40, Tony Hadley, Heaven 17, Sonia and more crowd-pleasing crooners (18-20 Aug). 



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If you&#8217;re a fan of the coiffures at Wallingford&#8217;s <a href="https://www.maryhandy.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mary Handy Hair and Beauty</a>, with its complimentary hand massages, fizz and THAT crystal candelabra, then you need to know that they&#8217;re relocating to Henley later this week to a larger salon with space to offer body and beauty treatments. Jury&#8217;s out on whether the chandelier is going too.

Superflashy newsflash: new cafés and restaurants on our patch

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