Category: News

Mum, Marie O’Riley, 57 from Leamington Spa has just returned from a life changing journey sailing on “Dare to Lead” one of 11 boats circumnavigating the globe in the 2019-20 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Warwick Rotarians had heard from her in March 2020 before she was due to set off and welcomed her back.

The Race was established by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1996, Marie who had never sailed before booked a place having seen the boats in Liverpool dock in 2017. This twelfth edition of the race started in London on 1^st September 2019 and participants had to self-fund costing her around £15,000.

The Clipper Race is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and an endurance test like no other. Crewed by amateurs (many like Marie have never sailed before) the eleven teams each have a professional Skipper and First Mate. A quarter of the 20-crew sail the full 40,000 miles around the world while the rest join for one or two legs. Marie joined Dare To Lead for the Atlantic Homecoming Leg.

Marie had to train hard for two years in all aspects of sailing a 70-foot racing yacht – including the catering, helm, rigging, navigation, and had to conquer her fears to climb the mast! All participants must be able to undertake any of the tasks on board, with crew split into two watches, racing around the clock, day and night.

With the race already in progress, the fleet was in the Philippines in March 2020 when Covid struck and everything stopped for two years. Eventually Marie was able to travel down to Bermuda in June this year to join the boat and had to remember everything she’d learned before setting off for New York.

Marie told about her crew who ranged from 73 years old to 22 and hair-raising seas as they approached Ireland. The relentless sequence of watches, 6 hours during the day then 4 hourly during the night, sleeping through whatever the weather with exhaustion, preparing meals in the galley, the inability to shower, lack of privacy, using the bunk bed in shifts, and magic of coming on deck in a starlit night. Torn sails had to be patched on the go, until reaching Derry in Northern Ireland where a sports centre had the space to repair their huge spinnaker.

The boats arrived into London on the 30th July this year and Marie had covered 4,870 nautical miles, experiencing 50-knot winds which took the boat up to a speed of 28 knots. The Yachts were each raising money for “UNICEF – For every child in danger” the Charity partner. By the end of the race Dare to Lead had the 2^nd highest total of £39,000 and Marie’s personal contribution is now £4,040.

Thanking Marie for her presentation Rotarian Alan Bailey said his audience was in awe her achievement and presented Marie with another cheque for Unicef.

Asked what she had learned – Marie said that “I can do anything now!”

An enterprising husband and wife from Leamington who both walked away from their successful careers to set up a balance bike business, are celebrating their latest triple national awards success.

Kidvelo Bikes, run by Karen and Gary Wood has been named the winner at the 2022 British Business Awards in the Start-Up Category as well as scooping Gold for the Best Balance Bike in the Made for Mums 2022 Toy Awards and Best Bike in the Organic Baby Awards.

Kidvelo specialises in manufacturing top-quality, but affordable, balance bikes designed to help children learn to ride, from their base in Warwick Street’s Chandos Business Centre.

Karen, who received the latest accolade at the prestigious British Business Awards ceremony last week, said: “We were honoured even to make the shortlist. From concept to the finished bikes in stock, meant we have had to dig deep and overcome countless challenges over the last two years.

“To win is very exciting and testament to our high standards of customer support, the quality and design of our bikes and I’m delighted that our mission to get more children riding top-quality well-designed affordable bikes has been recognised by our peers.”

Bex Barnett, Senior Director at award sponsors Sage, said of Kidvelo Bikes: “This start-up turned their passion into a business just before the world shut down. Judges were super impressed by the brave steps they took to continue developing their product and commend them for their persistence.

“Despite uncertainty and restrictions in manufacturing and distribution, this start-up made it through the pandemic successfully and with a product that has had impact on their customers’ lives. This organisation has born the fruits of organic marketing and has engaged with their clients and gained incredible customer feedback. So well done on powering through.”

 The latest successes follow hot on the heels of awards received earlier in the year – the coveted Platinum Best Buy Award and the Platinum Best Ride on 1-3 years at this year’s Loved By Parents Awards.

 Launched in November last year, the founders set out to improve the performance and quality of children’s bikes and make them available to parents at affordable pricing, using their combined 40 years of knowledge gained from specialist balance bike distribution, teaching thousands of kids to ride and hosting balance bike racing.

Their smallest balance bike for toddlers, the Rookie 12 Balance Bike won Gold in the Made for Mums 2022 Toy Awards for the Best Balance Bike and The Organic Baby Awards for Best Bike.

To make the shortlist of the MadeForMums Toy Awards a toy must undergo several rigorous rounds of testing and judging – including more than 600 child testers – with a focus on ‘kerb appeal,’ value for money and consistency of good play potential.

Karen added: “To win the coveted Gold place for the Best Balance Bike, with our first bike into production is astounding. We knew the changes we needed to make to bike design, to ensure they are perfect for every child and last through years of growth and our determination to keep the bikes affordable for parents has been quite the challenge.”

Balance bikes are little bikes without pedals, drivetrain or cranks, which allow children as young as 18-months to ride on two wheels. By learning to balance the bike, with their feet safely on the floor, kids develop the balancing skill required to move onto a pedal bike, without ever needing stabilisers. Kidvelo took balance bike design further still by making larger balance bikes for the older beginner, for whom balance bikes aren’t available.

Kidvelo’s clever design allows parents to bolt on the pedal-kit onto the same frame and convert the balance bike into a superlight ergonomic pedal bike for ages 3 years-plus, saving parents money as they no longer need to buy two bikes for their child to develop into a confident pedal bike rider. Bikes that have been designed to ride perfectly in either mode. Designed to help every novice that hasn’t as yet experienced the enjoyment of cycling.

https://kidvelobikes.co.uk/

Two enterprising young siblings are enjoying huge success after launching a green business from their family home on Upton Estate Farm, Edgehill.

Chloe Paynton,14 and Lewis Paynton, 12, established CL Country Shed, cutting, making and selling eco-friendly kindling from recycled pallets.

The Kineton High School students have sold hundreds of the boxes from their home at Upton Estate and through eBay, to help fund their hobbies, including Lewis’ passion for motorsport.

He said: “One weekend we were throwing away an old pine wardrobe and Dad got us to cut it up and split it into kindle. We put it in bags out the front of our cottage with a cardboard sign saying it was for sale and it sold in literally minutes.

“Our Dad works for Upton Estate and we get loads of pallets from deliveries of materials and stock. We’ve just started selling boxes of kindle wood made from these pallets that would otherwise go to landfill or just be put on the bonfire. The boxes we pack it in are 100% recycled cardboard and even the tape on the boxes is a paper tape so it can be recycled. We even use the sawdust from cutting up the wood as bedding for our chickens and ducks and any nails are recycled as scrap metal.

“We started by selling out the front of the cottage but now Dad has got us a little log store shed.”

The promising young racer, who is named after Lewis Hamilton, competes and coaches at Shenington Kart Racing Club, and is hoping his share of the business profits will help drive his ambition to race in endurance competitions.

He said: “In 2023 I am aiming to do Shenington Club Championship and Little Rissington Championship with Tim Wilson Motorsport but this is going to need sponsors. I have been lucky this year to be sponsored by Upton Estate for my transport, United Fresh Consortium with tyres and ACS Customs for my in-ear comms. Everything else our business has paid for. Next year will take some doing but I am hopeful we can achieve it.”

Chloe’s share of the profits help fund her hobbies, including her collection of crystals – some of which, Lewis says, he keeps in his pocket on race days – to help keep him safe!

The eco boxes have also proved popular with local businesses, including Winchcombe Farm in nearby Upper Tysoe where the wood is provided for guests’ use.

Co-owner Jo Carroll said: “Being a small, independent family run business ourselves, we maximise the use of local suppliers wherever possible to help support the rural economy and reduce our carbon footprint.

“Lewis is a very enterprising young man and we are delighted to be working with him and his sister Chloe, who offer a wonderful kindling wood delivery service to local businesses.

“They provide an eco-friendly product, which fits in extremely well with our business ethos and will help us in our application for a Green Tourism Award.”

Julian and Olivia Paynton said of their children’s enterprise: “We are very proud of them both – they work very hard with their little business as well as at school.”

More about Winchcombe Farm

The remote family-run retreat nestles on a private estate in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and beneath the famous battlefield landmark of Edgehill on the Warwickshire and Cotswolds border. It’s an oasis of tranquillity with just sheep, chickens, moorhens, ducks, ponies and alpacas for company.

Designed with outdoor living in mind, this unique collection of six beautiful holiday homes – includes Warwickshire’s only treehouse – offering the height of luxury and nestling in four sycamore and ash trees – three of them growing through the outside deck and one even growing through the kitchen!

Luxury features across the properties range from his and hers rolltop bathtubs, private hot tubs, hanging chairs, hammocks and outside shower, pizza oven, BBQ hut, firepit for toasting marshmallows and even heated geodesic domes with king size circular bed plus personal telescopes for a spot of stargazing – one of them floating on a pond! Guests even receive a luxury welcome hamper on arrival to start their holiday in style.

Inside, the properties are well equipped with all the latest technology including 55-inch SMART TV and DVD and, in the kitchen, a range on lush josephjoseph and SMEG accessories plus all the mod cons.

They have more recently opened their latest lodge Jess’s Tree Bach, which sleeps four – and which offers tube slide access to the garden!