The Wine Tipster will be back in action on Friday 10th March at Chadlington Memorial Hall near Chipping Norton at 7.30pm for an evening of wine tasting, horse racing tips for the Cheltenham Festival and opera with Clare Bradshaw, Mezzo Soprano and Richard Coxon, Tenor.

A selection of wines from both the New World and Old World will be available to taste. Neil will feature the ever popular and successful Prosecco specifically from the DOC regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. In addition, you can try the quintessential Rioja, Beronia. The winery was founded in 1973 by a group of business who enjoyed the gastronomic delights of the Rioja regions when they were on holiday.

In the build up to The Cheltenham Festival, you can follow Neil’s top racing tips in his Racing Plus column and daily during Festival week. We will also get the latest news on the chances of our local trainers Charlie Longsdon and Ben Pauling. This meeting is truly the highlight of the Jump season which takes place from 14th to 17th March. Over 260,000 people enjoy the electric atmosphere at The Festival epitomising everything that is great about Jump racing. Watch the finest horses, jockeys, owners and trainers battle it out for the highest racing honours, their reputations and over £4.1 million of prize money.

Local opera singers Claire Bradshaw  and Richard Coxon, Festival Director for the Dean & Chadlington Summer Music Festival  will provide the musical entertainment.

Light bites will be provided by Café de la Post and Chadlington Quality Foods. Tickets are available from Café de la Post and Chadlington Quality Foods or contact Judi Parker, judi@phillips-hill.co.uk or tel: 01608 676 830. Tickets are priced £10 each with all proceeds going to the Village Hall Project.

For more information and to book tickets, click here.

Raffle & Spot Prizes to be won!

Big thanks to Adam Engberg and James Keelly, who whilst having a couple of pints of ale responsibly in their local The Tite Inn, created the concept of The Great Brook Run. Today, was the sixth edition of The Great Brook Run, with a record breaking 148 runners deciding to burn off some of those calories piled on over the Christmas period. Although The Great Brook Run isn’t a marathon, it is a challenging one mile race starting at The Tite Inn in Chadlington, with the first half mile run across very muddy fields before entering the mighty brook to encounter rushing water, obstacles and a tunnel which requires you to get on your hands and knees. Once out of the tunnel you muster the energy to sprint up the hill to the finish and collect your medal for completing. There is really nothing quite like it as you stand around afterwards dripping wet and getting colder by the minute. There was also nothing like the speed of the winner Ben Chapman, who won the race for the fifth time and the first lady finisher Amy Turner who was ninth.

On a serious note, all profits are being donated to the Chadlington Memorial Hall, with a big thank you to all organisers, runners, helpers, supporters and the sponsors House & Carriage, Cotswold Cycles, Slatter’s Family Butchers, Chadlington Quality Foods, The Cotswold Brewery Co, The Tite Inn, Fete Game Hire, RunningImp and of course The Wine Tipster!

Thanks also to BBC Radio Oxford for their support and interest.

See you all in 2014.