16th July 2026 • The HERALD • Page 55 v INDEPENDENT, LOCAL AND PROUD v FOOD FOR THOUGHT SUMMER IS ON ITS WAY! from Longdown Farm Shop Well, there can be no doubt that summer is de nitely here! No, not because of the high temperatures or brilliant sunshine, but because of the constant stream of tra c (mainly caravans and campervans) queuing to get in and out of Lyndhurst. Still, you can’t blame them for wanting to visit to the beautiful New Forest and hopefully a few will pay Longdown Activity Farm and Farm Shop a visit over the next few weeks. With the warm weather comes the onset of the barbecue season. As always, our butchers Nigel and Matt Collins of New Forest Bacon, have a wonderful selection of meats suitable for cooking on the barbie. Choose from a selection of burgers, ribs, sausages (including gluten-free varieties), avoured chicken breasts, drumsticks, and some deliciously avoured pork steaks too. Don’t forget that you can always preorder - just let us know by Tuesday morning and you’ll be able to pick up your order from midday ursday. New House Venison also supply us with a great variety of traditional venison sausages, wild boar sausages, meatballs, traditional venison burgers, and wild boar burgers. ese packs are all individually priced, but throughout the summer they will be available at any three packs for £12. All our meat is suitable for home-freezing, which makes the three packs for £12 even more appealing. So, if you’ve got a barbecue or family gathering planned (or just want to ll your freezer) do let me know. If you are in need of charcoal, please do consider our Pondhead charcoal which is sourced using the centuries-old method of coppicing by the Pondhead Conservation Trust. eir environmentally friendly work supports a unique area of untouched Crown woodland that houses an abundance of wildlife and owers. While fruit lovers are still spoilt for choice throughout the summer months with peaches, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and melons all at their best, new season salad and vegetables are also at their peak. New season broccoli, carrots, beetroot, courgettes and beans all make a welcome appearance, along with English tomatoes, radishes, spring onions, cucumbers, and celery all at their very best. Next time you prepare a salad, really go to town and chop up some of these local English delights. Try adding a sliced apple, such as a Granny Smith or Pink Lady, garden peas or a handful of nuts. Finish with a ourish by sprinkling on a delicious salad dressing or avoured oil - the perfect accompaniment for those adventurous salads. Talking of which, a big success in the Farm Shop over the last couple of months has been Wild Island Dressings from the Isle of Wight. e producers of Wild Island take great care to use the best local ingredients, always with provenance, quality and taste in mind, and the end results are truly great. Flavours include a delicious chilli oil that will liven up any dish, a raspberry vinaigrette, a blackberry and balsamic dressing, and my personal favourite, a spiced g dressing which tastes simply perfect on a prawn or halloumi salad. Now, we all know that New Forest Fruit at Beaulieu supply us with the best tasting strawberries, amazing blueberries, delicious asparagus and wonderful raspberries, but have you tried their very popular addition of Strawberry Snacks? e delicious snacks are hand-picked from their own fresh strawberry crops and pulse dried. is removes any water and locks in all the delicious strawberry avour. ey are then packed for freshness ready for you to enjoy when you’re on the go. Other winning ways of using this sweet snack is to drop them into a cocktail of glass of zz, sprinkle on cereals and desserts, or a fruity twist to baking. Vegan-friendly, no preservatives, glutenfree, sugar-free and 100% strawberries. To nish - a tale about co ee! Lyndhurst-based Forest Edge Roasting Co has been a major success over the last couple of years, with exceptional co ee at the heart of what they do. e journey begins with the sourcing of a high-quality bean, lovingly grown in a sustainable way, and then roasted in their New Forestbased roastery/co ee shop. With renewable energy powering the roastery, recyclable retail co ee bags, and an o set carbon footprint, Forest Edge Roasting Co are the future model of co ee production. And with great taste too, you’ll enjoy supporting this visionary local business. Roasted co ee beans are available in the Farm Shop or in their Lyndhurst café. AO by Daniel Rogan Enters a New Chapter with Redesigned Interiors and New Accessible Menus AO by Daniel Rogan, the established restaurant in Southampton, has entered a new chapter following an extensive refurbishment and relaunch. e restaurant has been redesigned to create a dining experience that feels ambitious yet approachable and welcoming, while remaining deeply connected to Southampton and the wider Hampshire region. Located just o Southampton’s Oxford Street, AO now features a brand-new open kitchen, updated interiors and a refreshed menu o ering designed to give guests greater exibility across di erent occasions and price points. e new three-course lunch menu is priced at £39 and is available on ursday and Friday. Alongside this, guests can choose from a ve-course menu (£65), seven-course menu (£85) or the full tencourse experience (£125), available across selected lunch and dinner services. All menus are available with wine and non-alcoholic pairings, carefully chosen by sommelier Brooke Lawry. e relaunch follows the sold-out Rogan x Rogan event, a ve-day collaboration between Daniel Rogan and his father, Simon Rogan MBE, founder of Umbel Hospitality and chef owner of three Michelin-starred L’Enclume. e event celebrated AO joining Umbel Hospitality earlier this year. Named a er the initials of Daniel’s children, AO has always been a deeply personal restaurant. e new upstairs dining room seats 32 guests and features an open kitchen, allowing guests to watch the chefs at work, alongside darker interiors, atmospheric lighting, stand-out artwork and handmade tableware. Centred on ingredient-led cooking, AO rst opened in 2022 and quickly earned recognition from the Michelin Guide, alongside accolades including Best Newcomer and Best Restaurant in Hampshire. In November 2025, AO moved to its new home on Oxford Street, and has now o cially re-opened following its refurbishment. AO prioritises seasonality, sustainability and close relationships with suppliers, with a particular focus on ingredients and producers from the South Coast. Current suppliers include Chalk Stream trout from the River Test and River Itchen, as well as Country Fare and Aurox, all chosen for their commitment to quality and provenance. Current dishes re ect both the season and the surrounding coastline, with Chalk Stream trout served with wild garlic, cucumber, dashi and dill, alongside Brixham monk sh with kalettes and chicken butter or Milk Cured Beef from the New Forest, Our Farm’s purple sprouting, barley. Desserts include New Forest strawberries and sweet cicely. AO by Daniel Rogan Community Cinema Listings Tuesday 28th July, Hythe Cinema is showing Hamnet at Hythe and Dibden Parish Hall, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and available from Lovells or on the door. Tuesday 4th August Hythe Cra Cinema is showing e Peanut Butter Falcon at Hythe and Dibden Parish Hall, doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start, tickets £6 from Fully Woolly or on the door. Friday 7th August Calshot Community Cinema is showing Rental Family at St Georges Hall in Calshot, 7.30pm, £5 on the door. Saturday 8th August Fawley Community Cinema is showing Rental Family at Jubilee Hall in Fawley, 2.30pm, tickets £5 available from Jubilee Hall. Tuesday 25th August, Hythe Cinema is showing Save the Cinema at Hythe and Dibden Parish Hall, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and available from Lovells or on the door. 10 Anonymous People Who May Have Changed your World Fawley and Holbury u3a’s next meeting takes place on Tuesday 28th July for a talk titled ‘10 Anonymous People who may have changed your World’ by Neil Nixon. Fawley and Holbury u3a are a friendly group of retired or semiretired people who meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month, 2pm at Black eld British Legion Club, Exbury Road Black eld, when they have an interesting speaker on a great variety of topics. Various sub groups are run by members including Book clubs, play reading, handicra s, a quiz a ernoon and photography. Go along to a meeting, phone: 023 8084 5883, or visit: fawleyholbury. u3asite.uk for more information. ey look forward to seeing you.
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