No Plan A, but roughly 25 Plan Bs

Hello Cotswolders,

I hope you've had a good week.

Do you ever reach Thursday, look at everything happening over the weekend and somehow end up with no actual plan?

That is roughly where I am.

I do have one firm plan for the week. I am off to see Yes, Prime Minister at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester. It runs until 3 October, and I will tell you what I thought once I have actually seen it. A small detail, admittedly, but quite an important one when reviewing theatre.

The weekend itself is less organised.

Last week I said I was thinking about the Buckholt to the Mansion and boathouse trail at Woodchester Park. Did the dog and I make it to Woodchester? No. The weather had other ideas, so the boots and dog towel stayed at home.

Woodchester is still in contention for this weekend if the weather behaves. The Cirencester Vegan Market on Sunday is another possibility. Both are somewhere around Plan B or C, mainly because I still do not have a Plan A.

Then there are all the farm shops and Sunday lunches I want to try. The list is growing much faster than either my free time or bank balance can handle, so one decent outing and a good lunch may have to count as a successful weekend.

And yes, more walks are still coming to the website. I would rather walk them first than give you directions based on a hopeful look at a map.

Right, what can you actually do this weekend?

Things running all weekend

If you want to choose one thing without reorganising your entire weekend, start here.

• Yes, Prime Minister is at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester and runs until 3 October. This is the one I am seeing.

• Salmonsbury: An Exhibition of Art and Archaeology continues at the Corinium Museum until 11 October. Museum entry applies.

• Charlotte Aiken: Paintings is free to visit at Tetbury Goods Shed and runs until 25 October. Skies photographed over Rodborough Common have made their way onto canvas.

• Hidden Notes runs across seven Stroud venues on Saturday and Sunday, with Yann Tiersen and Adrian Utley on Saturday and Dame Evelyn Glennie and Catrin Finch on Sunday. It is ticketed, and worth checking what is left.

• Giffords Circus: Waterfield has performances at Fennells Farm near Stroud on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Stroud run finishes next Sunday, so there are only two weekends left.

Friday: a walk, art, books, music or a quiz?

Friday has produced a surprisingly useful little selection.

• The Forgotten Past of Cleeve Common is a free three-hour Heritage Open Day walk starting at 10am from Quarry Car Park on Cleeve Hill. Booking is needed, and the route includes gentle and moderate slopes.

• STUDI0 MCGUIRE: Fairies & Filth has free public viewing at Lansdown Hall and Gallery in Stroud from 10am to 5pm. Weekend access is for Hidden Notes ticket holders, so Friday is the one for the rest of us.

• The Orbison Project is at the Cider Mill Theatre in Chipping Campden.

• Authors Kate Riordan and Claire Quinn are at St Edmund's Church for an evening at Shipston Bookfest.

• Or you can discover exactly how much useless information your brain has retained at September Quiz Night in Witney's Corn Exchange.

Saturday gets slightly ridiculous

This is the day when choosing becomes the problem.

• Walk for a Cure Cotswolds takes place at Ditchley Park in support of Alzheimer's Research UK. Registration has closed, so this is one to know about and support rather than a last-minute booking.

• The Cotswold Way Century and Cotswold Half Way ultra runs set off from Chipping Campden on Saturday and carry on through the night. The full race is 102 miles non-stop to Bath, while the Half Way is 47 miles to Painswick. This makes my unfinished Woodchester walk look particularly feeble.

• There is a tea time piano and violin concert at St Mary's Church in Fairford, with tea and cake included in the ticket price.

• Swing from Paris is at the Cider Mill Theatre in Chipping Campden.

• Shipston Bookfest has a Local Author Showcase with Community Book Swap at Townsend Hall.

• Cellist Liz Hanks performs in Northleach at the Church of St Peter and St Paul.

• Very Santana is at Tetbury Goods Shed.

• Caroline Quentin is in Shipston-on-Stour for Drawn to Nature. Tickets were still available at the time of writing, but going fast.

Sunday, if you still have energy

Sunday is a little calmer, which may be useful by then.

• Cirencester Vegan Market runs in the Market Place from 10am to 3pm and is free to browse.

• Don't Look Back in Anger is showing at The Barn in Cirencester.

• Nicola Baker is at St Edmund's Church in Shipston-on-Stour at 2:30pm for On Whistledown Farm. It is a free family event, but booking is essential.

• Poetry Live with Bassie Gracie is at The White Horse in Shipston-on-Stour.

Two that got away: the Chocolate Truffle Workshop at Bampton Village Hall has sold out. Jeneba Kanneh-Mason at Tetbury Goods Shed is also sold out, although there is a waiting list.

That is still nowhere near everything happening this weekend. If none of those quite work for you, have a look through the full Cotswold events calendar.

Win a family ticket to South Cerney Fireworks

A quick reminder before this gets buried under all those weekend choices.

We are giving away a family ticket for four to South Cerney Fireworks Spooktacular, including parking at the airfield.

It takes place on Saturday 31 October. Gates open at 3pm, followed by an early low-noise children's show. The main fireworks and laser display begins at 7:40pm, with the bonfire lit at 8:10pm. There are fairground and monster truck rides too, plus food and a Halloween fancy dress competition.

The date may look comfortably far away. The competition deadline is not. Entries close on Wednesday 30 September and the winner will be picked on Thursday 1 October.

It is free to enter. If you fancy it, enter the South Cerney Fireworks competition here.

And then there is next weekend

Apparently the calendar has no intention of calming down.

• Cirencester Park Unaffiliated Horse Trials runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September.

• Alexander Armstrong is at Shipston Bookfest at 3:30pm on Saturday 26 September. It is a children and families event about his Evenfall series, with tickets from £8.

• Tetbury Music Festival: Ensemble Oblique, A Soldier's Tale has performances at 6pm and 8pm on Saturday 26 September.

That should be enough to make choosing difficult.

If you know of an event worth featuring, a farm shop I should visit, a Sunday lunch that deserves a proper review or a walk I should try, reply to this email or write to hello@cotswolddigest.com.

Until next Thursday,

Alex

Details listed for information only. Dates and times may change, and ticketed events may sell out. Please check directly with the organiser or venue before travelling.