From 1st June, Boston Tea Party are banning disposable coffee cups in their cafes.

This is just another change that the family owned independent small café chain have made to move away from plastic. They have already switched to paper straws and replaced all their plastic water bottles to glass ones. 

They have currently been offering a 25p discount to people bringing their own coffee cup to takeaway but the take up of this offer is painfully low, at around 3% which is why they have taken the move to ban disposable coffee cups in all of their cafes. 

People will now have to bring their own cup. They will be selling the wonderful Ecoffee cups at subsidised rate which are made using the world’s fastest growing, most sustainable crop – bamboo fibre. 

We are regulars to BTP Cheltenham and absolutely love and support this move. Let's change a habit of a generation and start #makingthingsbetter. 

You can find out more on the Boston Tea Party blog here - bostonteaparty.co.uk/blog

We absolutely love the new treehouses at The Fish Hotel.

These are no ordinary treehouses though, these are grown-up treehouses which sleep up to 4 people (a double and a twin room) and include ensuite bathrooms, underfloor heating, Nespresso machines and a remarkably well stocked minibar.

Did we mention that one is dog friendly all of them have two outdoor bathtubs too?

They are available from May 1st. 

www.thefishhotel.co.uk/sleep/treehouses/

Fear not folks,  BBC Three has commissioned both a one-off special and a third series of the award-winning This Country. 

Series 2 ended on a cliff-hanger as we were left wondering if Kerry was going to take the blame for that nasty bastard Martin Mucklowe's crime. 

Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, said “Once in a while a show lands fully formed and audiences take it to their hearts immediately. Daisy and Charlie’s characters and world have struck a chord with viewers of all ages as their sharp writing delivers a winning mix of heartfelt moments and punchy belly laughs, all performed to comic perfection.”

​Filming will begin on the 40-minute special this summer, with a six-part series to go into production next year.

The Big Feastival has added more acts to its line-up for the festival in August. 

Tom Odell, Rak-Su, The Bluetones and The Undertones were announced on the bill today. 

It's not just about music though as the food and drink side of the festival is just as popular. Chefs Pierre Koffmann, Gizzi Erskine and local bothers Tom and Henry Herbert are all appearing. 

The festival takes place at Alex James' Farm in Kingham from 24th-26th August. 

Tickets are available here thebigfeastival.com

We were up bright and early this morning to watch Chris Hughes on the gallops at Jonjo O'Neill Racing.

Chris is taking part in the Macmillan Cancer Support "Race of their Lives" at York Racecourse on June 16th and is training at Jackdaws Castle here in the Cotswolds.

To support Chris in the race you can donate by clicking the link below.

 www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrishughes-loveracingwww.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrishughes-loveracing

Local artist Jeremy Houghton is the new Artist in Residence at The Lygon Arms in his home village of Broadway. 

His work is available to view in his studio inside the hotel. 

He will also be holding talks at The Lygon Arms covering many topics including Broadway's art history and the story of the Lygon family, as well as taking tours of the village. 

Pop by and take a look. Jeremy will be working there at various times so you might be lucky see him at work.

​www.jeremyhoughton.co.uk

Let's face it, the weather is pretty crap at the moment and the only thing that cheers us up is food and alcohol, correct? 

Last Wednesday was no different, rain in the morning, grey skies in the afternoon. The only thing keeping us sane was an evening with the Cotswolds Distillery taking place that night at The Churchill Arms in Paxford. If you are familiar with the pub then you will know that the food is always of the highest quality. If you have never been then we suggest you try it soon.

Chef and proprietor Nick Deverell-Smith had created a menu featuring some of the distillery's finest tipples. For starter there was Cornish Pollock cured in Cotswolds Dry Gin, grapefruit and black pepper salad and some grapefruit bitters. I really don't like grapefruit. I thought it was just it was just my immature palate as a child but I have tried and tried and still find it utterly repulsive. Luckily there were some orange segments on the plate whose sweetness worked perfectly with the slight sharpness of the fish. There was also a slug of the gin to wash it down with which again, if you have yet to try it you are really missing out. You can always tell a good gin when you can drink it on its own over some ice. This is one of those gins. 

The fact I love beef meant that I was looking forward to the main course. Local Todenham Farm beef, local broccoli, broccoli puree, Cotswolds single malt whisky oat crumb. The beef was perfectly pink (unless you wanted it a little more well done) and the crumb was packed with whisky notes. This was "The Cotswolds" on a plate with all the ingredients being sourced within a 10 minute drive of the pub. The whisky is the first ever single malt made here in the Cotswolds and if you don't think you like whisky then give this one a go. With notes of butterscotch, apricot and a hint of treacle, it is a fabulous introductory dram and truly exceptional for a 3 year-old.

For dessert there was The Churchill's take on an Affogato served with the distillery's Figgy Liquor. Now this stuff is the difference between remembering your night and not. It's made in small batches and sold exclusively at the distillery, apart from 4 bottles that are at The Churchill. It's 41% ABV and absolutely delicious. It literally is, as described, a "figgy fruitcake in a bottle". It should however have a warning on the bottle like you get when you go on long-haul flights to take a lap of the pub every now and again to make sure your legs still work. The dessert was light with one scoop of ice cream. We were recommended to pour our figgy liquor into it but that would have been a waste! 

When you're passionate about supporting local, it is wonderful when two fantastic businesses come together to create something special. The Churchill Arms is the only pub to stock a full range of Cotswolds Distillery spirits and liquors. You can also try these on a tour of the distillery that you can book on their website. If you are thinking about doing either of these, we highly recommend getting somebody else to drive!

www.churchillarms.co
​www.cotswoldsdistillery.com

BBC 3's This Country has been nominated for two Bafta Awards. 

Daisy Cooper who plays Kerry Mucklowe in the comedy hit is up for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme and the show itself is up for Best Scripted Comedy. 

Charlie Cooper, who plays Kurtan said "Daisy and I are over the moon to receive our Bafta nominations. It's a huge honour to be recognised by such a prestigious organisation and we're excited to be part of it on the night"

The event will take place on Sunday May 13, 2018 at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank.