• Sophie Grigson is holding a pasta course on Friday, August 30, in her new pop-up Cookery School teaching you how to master the art of making perfect pasta. Start by making your own pasta dough and then create beautiful dishes such as potato, goat’s cheese and rosemary tortellini with saffron cream sauce, stained glass tagliatelle with figs and chilli or the basic classic tomato sauce that can be adapted into several other sauces including the tangy puttanesca sauce. Finish the evening by sampling all the dishes you have created with a glass of wine.

The class costs £60 and is held at Teddy Edwards Kitchen Showroom, Woodstock Road Oxford, OX2 6HJ. See sophiescookery school.com/events/

  • On September 5, up to 900 British and Irish cheeses will be judged at the 20th British Cheese Awards in three marquees on Churchill’s village green. Over 75 per cent of British cheesemakers enter the awards, making this the biggest of them all.

The results are announced at an awards dinner on Friday, September 6, and then, the next day, cheese lovers from around the world will converge on the cheese tent to take part in Cheeses On The Green to see and taste as many of the 900 as they want. See thecheeseweb.com

  • There has been lots of excitement around the opening of The Chester, in East Oxford, after it was taken over by Oxfork’s Drew Brammer and business partners Becky Webb and Hamzah Taynaz. If all goes according to plan it should be open by mid-November, fingers crossed.

Drew is also opening another Keen Bean Coffee Club in North Parade, and is in the process of starting a coffee subscription scheme where people get to try coffees from around the world with a delivery every other week (by bicycle), so it’s also pretty eco-friendly. The current Keen Bean Coffee is inside the Truck Store on Cowley Road.

  • National disability charity Motability is calling for supporters to join in with their Tea Party campaign during August. From August 26 to 30, people are being encouraged to hold tea parties at home or in work, clubs and societies to raise funds for disabled people around the UK.

A number of celebrity chefs and bakers have donated recipes to inspire those taking part, including Great British Bake Off finalists James Morton and Brendan Lynch, as well as health and fitness expert Rosemary Conley. Their recipes are available online at motability. co.uk, or supporters can contact 0845 166 8786.

  • Fallowfields chef Matt Weedon has joined forces with head brewer Matthias Sjöberg from the Compass Brewery, to host a rather unusual evening on Thursday, September 12, with a specially created seven course tasting menu designed to match some lovely locally-brewed beers.

Compass Brewery was founded in 2009 by Swedish-born Matthias in Carterton. A glass of beer will accompany each course with a talk from Matthias. The price of the evening is £75 per person (with reduced room rate if you stay). To book, call Michelle on 01865 820416 or email stay@fallowfields.com

  • Oli’s Thai on Magdalen Road now has an opening date of next Tuesday, with bookings currently being taken. Twitter fans can contact them @olisthai