Good morning, Wycombe!
I’ve spent the past four weeks mooching around Thailand and have come back to… the exact same heatwave I left a month ago. This time with more feral children (mine included) and scorched grass. The Rye’s doing a solid impression of a spaghetti western set.
But there’s plenty on to distract from the heat:
🖼️ Brand new exhibition opening from world-renowned Derek Ogbourne
🏛️ NEW: Council happenings this week
🕺🏻 Dance Fitness classes kick off on The Rye
Plus how to keep the kids entertained this week (3.5 weeks to go ), wellness and creative events, live music, and much more.
Back for its third year at Lacey Green, and this time with a TV star headliner.
Elliot Wengler (he of Wycombe’s Select Comedy Club fame) is bringing an absolutely cracking line-up for this charity night in aid of local hospices.
🎤 Headlined by Ria Lina — Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, Have I Got News For You, and a regular on Pointless
🎭 Plus Chris Norton Walker, Andy Gleeks and Sally Firth, MC’d by Elliot Wengler
📅 Saturday 26th September — doors & bar 7pm, show 8pm
📍 Lacey Green & Loosley Row Village Hall, Main Road, Lacey Green HP27 0PL
🎟️ £20 per person (no booking fees!)
All profits raised go to Helen & Douglas House, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care and Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity — Speen Helping Hospices (SHH) has raised over a massive £200,000 for local hospices since 2001.
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Editor’s Highlights
📍 Hughenden | 🗓️ Weds 19th August, 10am
Get hands-on at this free family session led by the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project — dip for creatures in Hughenden's stream and discover what's hiding beneath the surface.
📍 Chutney | 🗓️ Wed 19th August, arrival from 6.30pm
In aid of the Mayor's chosen charities, Wycombe Youth Action and Wycombe Mind — £25 gets you a selection of starters and mains at Chutney on Easton Street.
📍 Penn area | 📅 Fri 14th Aug, 2pm
A guided walk weaving together wildflower botany, folklore and myth — discover how familiar blooms were once used for healing, protection, love spells and seasonal rites.
📍 We Make Wycombe Hub | 🗓️ Sat 15th - 23rd Aug
A rich retrospective from internationally renowned, local artist Derek Ogbourne, spanning 40 years of drawing, painting, photography, film, sound and installation work. Free to visit, plus a full programme of talks, workshops and even a film screening.
📍 Patch | 🗓️ Wed 19th August, 6.30pm
A relaxed, welcoming sketching workshop open to all abilities, starting at Patch before heading out onto the streets of Wycombe with tutor Rory Neary to capture the sights.
🔍 Family Fun Finder
⏸️ We’re about halfway through the summer holidays, and I know I’m not the only parent who oscillates wildly between joy at spending time with the kids and complete overwhelm at spending time with the kids. Our parenting contributor, Jodie Brown, is back with a top tip that might just save your sanity — The Art of the Parental “Time Out”.
🎨 Paint & Sip Kids: Cool Cats
📍 Patch | 🗓️ Fri 14th August, 10am–12pm
A fun paint session for tweens and teens — create your own diamante-studded "Cool Cats" masterpiece to take home. One drink for you or your grown-up included.
🦸 Big Bale Adventure
📍 The Walled Garden | 🗓️ Fri 14th–Sun 16th Aug, 10am–3pm
A new straw bale playground — hundreds of bales built into a climbing course with a crawl tunnel, three pyramids to scale and maze elements to explore.
🎶 Discover & Make: Music Mayhem
📍 Wycombe Museum | 🗓️ Tue 18th Aug, sessions 10:30am–3:15pm
Make your own musical instruments from everyday household items — choose from maracas, guitars, monkey drums, rain sticks and harmonicas. Ages 4–11, £4.50 per child.
🎨 Fabulous Fridays – Free Kids Crafts
📍 All Saints Church | 🗓️ Fri 14th August, 10am–1pm
Free summer crafts for primary age children, run by Wycombe Environment Centre. All materials supplied. Also running every Monday 12.30–3.30pm at Refresh Shop, 16 Church Street.
🌳 Rebel Rangers: Woodland Warriors
📍 Kingsmead Depot | 🗓️ Tue 18th Aug, 9:45am–2pm
A free woodland conservation session for 11–16 year olds, with hands-on tasks and a creative activity. Free, and lunch included.
Wellness Moments
🎵 Sound Sanctuary
📍 St. Paul's Church Hall, Wooburn Green | 🗓️ Tues 18th August, 7pm
A deeply immersive 1.5-hour sound healing journey — crystal singing bowls, gongs and more.
🔔 Gong Bath with Shinrin of Sound
📍 Penn Street Village Hall | 🗓️ Fri 14th Aug, 5:30pm or 7:20pm
Immerse yourself in the healing vibrations of six gongs in a candlelit sound meditation.
🧘🏻♀️ Family Pilates
📍 Flow Marlow | 🗓️ Wed 19th Aug, 2pm
Something active to break up the summer holidays — a fun, all-ages Pilates class built around movement and balance.
🎨 Get Creative
🎨 Art Drop-in: Roots and Rituals
📍 Great Missenden Library | 🗓️ Sat 15th August, 10am–1pm
A free, relaxed drop-in art session for all ages, exploring the theme 'roots and rituals'. Try out a variety of materials and help build a community artwork or make your own family tree.
🎭 Summer Sunday Adult Workshops
📍 Fitworks Gym, Beaconsfield | 🗓️ Sun 16th August, 10am–4pm
Dance, sing and act with Infinity Performing Arts — from Hollywood golden era routines to modern pop. All levels and genders welcome.
Entertainment
🔥 Homage du Fromage
📍 B'Hive | 🗓️ Sat 15th August, 7:30pm
An evening dedicated entirely to cheese — a curated selection of specially chosen cheeses and accompaniments, all unlimited, plus a free glass of port or house wine to wash it down.
🎵 Music & Cake Afternoon
📍 St Paul's Church, West Wycombe | 🗓️ Sun 16th Aug, 2pm–4pm
Live music, sweet treats and a friendly afternoon for all ages at St Paul's Church.
🎷 Summer Evenings at Cliveden – Swing Blue
📍 Cliveden, National Trust | 🗓️ Fri 14th August, 5pm–7:30pm
Spend a summer evening in the grounds with live jazz and swing from The Grand Central Trio. No booking required and free with normal NT admission, last entry 7pm.
🧠 Quiz Nights
Belle Vue | Tonight | 8pm
Bricklayers Arms | Fri 14th Aug | 8pm
Sports & Activities
🏉 High Wycombe RUFC's minis are recruiting
Got a rugby-curious kid? HWRUFC’s minis section trains every Sunday, with regular parties, an annual club tour and an end-of-season awards day thrown in. New starters get a 4-week free trial — sign up here.
💃🏻 Dance Fitness at The Rye
📍 The Rye | 🗓️ Tue 18th Aug, 6:30pm (running through to 3rd Sept)
Low-impact, energising outdoor dance fitness in the beautiful surroundings of The Rye. Suitable for all fitness levels.
🥋 Caio Terra BJJ Seminar
📍 Positive Strength BJJ | 🗓️ Sat 15th Aug, 11am
Train with Caio Terra — 10x World No-Gi Champion — at this exclusive BJJ seminar hosted by Positive Strength BJJ.
Business News
🎉 New opening: ML Pottery is taking up residence opposite All Saints Church on Church Street, due to open in September. Expect hands-on time at the wheel and classes for all levels — I’m hoping for kids’ classes too!
🚪 Closing: Clip ‘n Climb in Eden have gone into administration. We’ll be sad to say goodbye — I’ve been to many great parties here.
🚪Another one to note for the diary: Clarks Shoes in Eden will shut for good on 3rd September, according to a sign now up on the shopfront. No word yet on what's moving in next — I’ll update if we hear more.
Community Notes
🏛️ Fancy helping run the Museum?
Wycombe Museum needs new trustees — including a Treasurer — for the charity that's kept it free and open since 2016. Voluntary, around eight hours a month, steering strategy for a 150-year-old institution.
👉 General trustee roles | Treasurer
🌿 Get stuck in with the Chiltern Rangers
Check out these sessions in town this week — kit and training provided:
🌻 Nature at the Heart of White Hart Street
📍 White Hart Street | 🗓️ Fri 14th Aug, 10am–12:30pm — planters and pollinators with Ranger Ingrid.
🌊 Town Centre River Clean
📍 Town Centre | 🗓️ Mon 17th Aug, 10am–1pm — waders on, into the river.
🚂 Train Station Transformation
📍 High Wycombe Station | 🗓️ Weds 19th Aug, 10am–4pm — tidying the station gardens.
🗓️ Dates for your Diary
🎨 West Wycombe Art Group Summer Exhibition
📍 West Wycombe Village Hall | 🗓️ Fri 28th – Mon 31st Aug
The annual summer exhibition returns — 25 local artists showcasing a variety of work from contemporary paintings to drawings, landscapes and portraits. Free admission.
🔍 Family Fun Day: The Mysteries of Wycombe
📍 Wycombe Museum | 🗓️ Sun 30th Aug
Uncover the hidden secrets of our town and capture them in art at this free family fun day. Best for families with primary school-aged children. Free entry.
🎡 Summer on the Farm
📍 Peterley Manor Farm | 🗓️ Sat 29th–Mon 31st August
A three-day summer market from Cooper's Markets, with artisan stalls, street food and family-friendly farm fun over the bank holiday weekend.
The Wycombe Wordle
Six guesses. Five letters. One Wycombe connection. Let me know if you get it!
🟩 Right letter, right spot
🟨 Right letter, wrong spot
⬜ Not in the word
That’s a wrap for this week’s Pulse!
Have a super weekend — but before you dash…
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See you next Thursday,
Steph
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