🌳 Strictly's Giovanni, Concorde Valentines & Leith Hill Half Marathon! | 17th January

Good morning, Surrey. Simon here! This is Inspired Surrey. Did you know Surrey is England’s most densely wooded county!? More than a fifth of our wonderful county is covered by trees!

In today’s Inspired Surrey:

• Giovanni Pernice’s last dance in Guildford 🕺

• Valentines on a Concorde ❤️

• Leith hill half marathon 🏃‍♂️

• A3 road closures this weekend 🚧

• What’s on Guide for this week 📅

Let’s get to it.

Giovanni Pernice: The Last Dance – One Night Only in Guildford! 🕺

🔥 Strictly fans, brace yourselves—this is BIG.

The one and only Giovanni Pernice—2021 Strictly Come Dancing champion, BAFTA winner, and all-around Italian dance sensation—is hitting the stage in Guildford for one night only.

And this isn’t just any show—it’s The Last Dance, his final tour (cue dramatic music 🎻).

Expect an electrifying, high-energy, and utterly breathtaking performance as Giovanni, joined by a company of world-class dancers, delivers a show that blends passion, power, and that signature Italian charm!

📅 Date: Tuesday, 21st January 2025
📍 Where: G Live Main Auditorium
🎟 Tickets: £46.50 - £136.00 (+ up to £3.95 transaction fee)

💎 Fancy the VIP treatment?

For the ultimate Strictly experience, go for the VIP Meet & Greet package, which includes:

✔️ A premium show ticket
📸 A chance to meet Giovanni himself (yes, really!)
🖊️ A signed print
🎟️ A VIP lanyard (because every legend deserves one)
⏰ Meet & Greet starts at 5:30 PM—bring your best cha-cha energy!

Why You Can't-Miss This:

✔️ It’s Giovanni’s FINAL tour—catch him before he waltzes off into the sunset!
✔️ Stunning choreography, world-class dancers, and a night of pure magic
✔️ The perfect excuse to dress up and feel a little bit Strictly fabulous

If you don’t book soon, you’ll be watching everyone else’s Insta stories with serious FOMO.

🎟 Book your tickets now and see Giovanni light up Guildford one last time! 👇
👉 Get Tickets

@InspiredSurrey 📸

Well, I’ve learnt something!

The Optohedron is a geometric sculpture inspired by an insect’s eye. Made by Will Nash, this steel and hazel log structure is an interactive experience apparently! You can peer inside concealed kaleidoscopes and watch the Surrey landscape transform into dazzling patterns!!

Part of Inspiring Views, it also helps restore habitats, attracting rare butterflies like the Small Blue.

📍 See it: A 5-minute walk from Drove Road car park (GU4 8SE)—just cross Shere Road (A25).

📸 @surrey_snaps | 📍 Newlands Corner, Surrey

Tag @InspiredSurrey to get your photos included!

Valentine’s on Concorde – A Supersonic Love Affair ❤️✈️

This Valentine’s Day, take romance to new heights! ✈️🥂

If chocolates and a takeaway don’t quite cut it, how about champagne aboard Concorde, followed by a luxurious five-course meal inspired by the golden age of air travel?

Brooklands Museum is offering a one-of-a-kind dining experience inside this legendary supersonic jet.

📅 Date: Friday, 14th February 2025
📍 Where: Brooklands Museum, Weybridge
🎟 Tickets: £95 per person

The Experience

• Welcome drink in the Clubhouse

• Champagne flight on Concorde – a rare chance to sit inside aviation history

• Five-course dinner in the Clubhouse, featuring elegant dishes from Concorde’s golden era

Flight options:
🔹 18:30 – BA001: Start with drinks, then board Concorde for a champagne toast before your meal
🔹 19:00 – BA002: Same journey, just a slightly later departure

The Valentine’s Menu

• Amuse-bouche: Artichoke velouté with chive cream

• Starter: Salmon mousse with prawn cream, dill & lemon or Curried butternut mousse with pickled carrot & tarragon oil

• Entre-mets: Gin & lemon sorbet

• Main: Confit duck leg with fondant potato, apple braised red cabbage & plum-red wine jus or Aubergine fritter with vine cherry tomato & truffle oil

• Dessert: Banana & spiced rum tart tatin or Coconut & rum brûlée

Spaces are limited, and this is a truly unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. If you want to impress, now’s the time to book.

📩 More info: [email protected]

🏃‍♂️ Tough Enough? The Leith Hill Half Marathon Returns!

If your idea of a perfect Sunday includes 13.1 miles of hills, mud, and pure determination, then the Leith Hill Half Marathon is calling your name!

Taking place on 16th March 2025, this infamous trail run will push runners to their limits with 1,800 feet of elevation as they climb from Dorking to the summit of Leith Hill, the highest point in South East England, before racing back down.

With stunning views, supportive marshals, and plenty of camaraderie, it’s no wonder this race was once voted Best Race in Britain by Runner’s World.

Plus, all finishers get a reusable medal, a bottle of local beer, and a full English breakfast!

Are you tough enough to take on the challenge? Sign up before it’s too late! 🏅⛰️

We Are Now On Instagram 📸 

If you are on Instagram, please follow @inspiredsurrey if you can. It would be much appreciated. The account was only started recently, so we still barely have any friends/followers, I’d very much appreciate a follow!

Thank you so much to everyone who followed us! You’re the best! 😊

The Digest 🗞️😀

🚧🚧 A stretch of the A3 is shutting down in both directions this weekend to make way for a new pedestrian and wildlife bridge: The closure, running from 9 PM on 17th January to 6 AM on 20th January, affects the section between Junction 10 (M25) and the B2215/A247 near Send and Burntcommon. It’s the UK’s first heathland bridge, designed to help wildlife safely cross the A3 while linking Ockham to Wisley Commons. It’s all part of a £317m project to reduce congestion and improve safety at Junction 10, one of the busiest stretches of the M25. Plan ahead, allow extra time, and if you were hoping for a stress-free drive this weekend… maybe just stay home. 🚗🌿

Stanwell Moor residents are bracing for a massive increase in noise pollution, as Heathrow Airport proposes changing its flight patterns: These changes will allow for more easterly landings, potentially jumping from 36 to over 300 planes a day. The move is meant to spread the noise impact more evenly, but locals and Spelthorne Borough Council aren’t having it. Council leader Joanne Sexton called the jump "quite a shock", and Councillor Sue Doran made it clear that "it doesn’t matter which way they fly, the noise is terrible all the time." Heathrow insists it’s working on noise reduction, but for residents already living under the flight path, it’s not exactly music to their ears. ✈️🙉

Surrey’s roads are taking a beating, and the cost of fixing pothole-damaged cars has hit a record-breaking high: With the UK’s repair bill soaring to £579m in 2024, councils are calling for long-term investment rather than the usual patch-and-hope approach. Surrey County Council insists it's working to keep roads safe, while Kent has poured £50m a year into maintenance—but it’s still not enough. Meanwhile, East Sussex estimates it would take a staggering £300m just to fix the worst sections. With the cold, wet winter making things worse, potholes aren’t just a nuisance—they’re a full-blown crisis. So, while the government is throwing £500m at the problem next year, for drivers dodging craters on their daily commute, it might feel like too little, too late. 🚗🕳️

What’s On This Week 📅

East Surrey

🍔 Little Pickles Market
Reigate Park Church, Reigate, Saturday 18th, 10:00am | More info

🎤 The Neil Diamond Story
Epsom Playhouse, Epsom, Friday 17th, 7:30pm | More info

🛠️ Epsom Repair Cafe
Scout HQ, Epsom Methodist Church, Saturday 18th, 2:00pm | More info

🛠️ Oxshott Repair Cafe
Waverley Road, Leatherhead, Saturday 18th, 10:00am | More info

🚶 13.5km Dorking Hike
Dorking Sports Centre, Dorking, Sunday 19th, 10:30am | More info

🔮 Psychic Night
Stepping Stones Pub, Dorking, Friday 17th, 7:00pm | More info

🏃‍♂️ Dark Skies Trail Run
Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, Saturday 18th, 4:00pm | More info

👰 Wedding Open Day
Gildings Barns, Dorking, Sunday 19th, 10:00am | More info

West Surrey

🚶 Porky Whites Premium Pop-Up Shop
7 Manor Way, Woking, Friday 17th, 1:00pm | More info

💧 SUP Pool Session
Colets Health & Fitness Club, Thames Ditton, Saturday 18th, 8:00pm | More info

🕯️ A Ludovico Einaudi Candelight Experience
Christ Church, Guildford, Friday 17th, 7:00pm | More info

☕ Burpham Community Cafe Meeting
Sutherland Memorial Hall, Burpham, Saturday 18th, 10:30am | More info

👭 Women’s Wellness Walk
Chilworth, Guildford, Friday 17th, 10:45am | More info

🕺 Dean Z - The Ultimate Elvis
G Live, Guildford, Friday 17th, 7:30pm | More info

🎭 Robin Hood Pantomime
Chiddingfold Village Hall, Saturday 18th-19th, 2:30 - 7:30pm | More info

🤘 Women in Rock
Camberley Theatre, Camberley, Saturday 18th, 7:30pm | More info

🎭 Sleeping Beauty Performance
Haslemere Hall, Haslemere, Saturday & Sunday, 6:30pm | More info

Weather

Friday

6° 🌡️ 2° | ☁️ | Friday’s starting off the same as most of the weeks been, light cloud, light winds and a bit chilly, and it’s looking that way for most of the weekend!

Saturday

4° 🌡️ 2° | ☁️ | A misty start to Saturday, there will be light winds but a cold, cloud day today with highs of 4, maybe pushing 5 - wrap up!

Sunday

5° 🌡️ 2° | ☁️ | We could do with a bit of variation in the weather at the moment! Nothing to note for Sunday.

Thank you! 👍

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