Flush Magazine Issue #8

8 CULTURE

MUSIC

TRAVEL

FOOD

Henry Diltz Global Yodel Julian Bern

Ones to Watch Tom Keifer Matt Berry

The Real Mallorca The Heart of Puglia Ellenborough Park

The Best Burgers in London Roast The Coffiesseur

FLUSH EAT special

COMPETITIONS

WIN ‘Everything This Way’ by Stevie Dacanay WIN A Jelly Belly Jellybean Machine

8

06 The Hotlist

60

08 Henry Diltz Photographing the music

FLUSH EAT Food & Drink special

18 Modern Classic Julien Bern 30 Tanqueray Southside Cocktail recipe

18 Modern Classic Julien Bern

63 Roast of the town Future Food

32 Global Yodel Travel guide website 46 Tom Keifer Living after midnight 52 Music – Ones to Watch 54 Pleasures Matt Berry

76

Paramount Patties Best Burgers

FLUSH EAT 60 Cornish tasties The Rock Oyster Festival 63 Roast of the town Roast restaurant

87

147 WIN - Everything This Way - The debut photobook by Stevie Dacanay

46

Cover Vanessa Sue Smith

Music: Tom Keifer

148

WIN - One of two Jelly Belly bean machines + a kilo of mixed Jelly Belly® JELLYbeans

Beautiful furniture and lighting NOBLE DESIGNS www.nobledesignslimited.com Tel: 01753 655443

8

issue

WELCOME Another action-packed edition of Flush is here to save the world. I’m really proud of this one and after last months extended travel section ‘Flush Escape’ we have done it again. ‘Flush Eat’ is full of (yes, you’ve guessed it) brill food related features, recipes and interviews. Actually, I’ve just realised that we should have called it ‘Flush Drink’ because most of them are actually about drinks. Oh well, it’s too late to change it now, we’ve done a logo and everything.

68 Strawberry and basil smoothie 70 Oaka @ The Mansion House 72 Mister Tea Kusmi Tea 76 Paramount Patties 80 Coffeisseur 84 Agua de Valencia 87 Hmmm Delicious Food of the future 92 Tastes of Home TRAVEL 96 Mallorca 104 Ellenborough Park 110 Masseria San Domenico CARS 120 Vauxhall Mokka 124 SEAT Leon 128 Kia pro_cee’d 132 Alfa Romeo 136 Ford Fiesta ST

Thanks for stopping by‚

GAMING 140 Kerbal Space Program 141 Surgeon Simulator Peter Graham, EDITOR

COMPETITIONS 147 Win - Everything This Way - The debut photobook by Stevie Dacanay 148 Win - One of two Jelly Belly bean machines + a kilo of mixed Jelly Belly® JELLYbeans

CONTRIBUTORS Casey Bowers Phil Blaney Thomas Cairney Steve Clarke Matthew Cooper Hannah Duncan Amelia Harvey Ian Hughes Samuel Law

TECH REVIEW 142 Taktik Extreme 144 Samsung Chromebook

Jason Noonan Paul Martin Kara Mclean Martin ‘Morse’ Jamie Reynolds Vanessa Sue Smith Hannah Summers Frank Turner Simon Wilson

150 My Favourite Movie A Matter of Life and Death

THE SCOFFLIST The stuff of life

Super-good

Hot-Pot

Hemp is back. ‘High’ in fibre and a natural source of Omega 3,6 and 9 it has many well-known health benefits. I tried ‘GOOD’ hemp olive oil, it has a delicious nuttiness that is just perfect with crusty bread and Balsamic vinegar. They also make Hemp Milk, Seeds and Protein Shakes. Just don’t try and smoke it.

For more info on the ‘GOOD’ Hemp range visit www.goodwebsite.co.uk

Fed up of dragging the rusty BBQ out of the shed? Just lift the lid off this plant pot and away you go. Please note this doesn’t count as one of your five a day.

Priced £99 from www.prezzybox.com

This Way by WIN! Everything Stevie Dacanay

< Spiceworld & iBed >

Both of these are from the Science Museum Shop. This scientific spice rack would look great next to your Sous Vide Cooking Bath. It comes with silicone stoppers and a pack of 36 easy peel, re-usable periodic tables herb labels. Meanwhile for that teenage Billionaire internet whizkid, here is the iBed with enough room for a plate, cup and iPad. All you need now is Wi-Fi and someone to cook your dinner. www.sciencemuseumshop.co.uk

Pop Stars

Once upon a time popcorn was either salted or sweet. Now, Joseph Sopher the brains behind Joe & Seph’s Gourmet Popcorn has gone and blown the bl**dy doors off with a new range of savoury flavoured popcorn. Choose from Madras Curry, Auvergne Crémeux Blue Cheese, Walnut & Celery and Smooth Caramel or Mirin and Soya & Sesame popcorn. Of course for those traditionalists there is always Salty Caramel, Peanut Butter and Macchiato & Whisky and the ‘Willy Wonka’ flavour; Caramel, Pepper and Chilli, that changes flavour in your mouth. Weird, but strangely addictive. www.joeandsephs.co.uk

Naked Lunch

Born on the hip sidewalks of sunny Santa Monica, California, Naked Juice is so full of fruit and other good stuff that when you drink it your body actually kisses you from the inside. Available in four flavours with no added sugar or preservatives (including my fav, the GreenMachine) from selected stores now. www.nakedjuice.co.uk

WIN!

One of two Jelly Belly bean machines + a kilo of mixed Jelly Belly beans

Henry Diltz Photographing the music Over the past 50 years Henry Diltz has photographed most of the biggest names in rock n’ roll. He was the official photographer at the original Woodstock festival and as a budding folk musician played on early Monkees recording sessions. He was in town to promote ‘Legends of the Canyon’, a film documenting the amazing musical talent who lived and played in California’s Laurel Canyon in the 60’s and 70’s, a time and place close to his heart.

What was the best thing about being a rock photographer in the 60’s and 70’s?

The best thing was being able to listen to all the music because I was a musician first before I was a photographer. In a way, photography gave me the chance to be around the music that I loved, so I could be right up at the front watching Neil Young and Crosby Stills & Nash (CSN). It was the best seat in the house, and if I just took a few pictures, this gave me the opportunity to be up there having the best seat in the house. I liked to be on the road and being backstage and in dressing rooms, is kind of exciting; I liked watching people, observing people, I am kind of a people watcher, so that gave me the excuse to be sitting there watching people, because you are there with your camera and you are the photographer, so that’s why I liked it.

How did you always managed to seem to be at the right place at the right time?

Well I don’t know. I’m sure I missed a few things. I lived in Laurel Canyon where all these people lived and I hang out with people, we get together and wherever I was, I was taking pictures. So Mama

Cass will have people over in her house, in the backyard and the light was really nice and I started photography what was going on. But I wasn’t in everybody’s backyard, so I’m sure I wasn’t in all the right places at the right time.

Wherever I was, something was happening and I was just taking pictures of it, because I couldn’t help it, it was my hobby and that’s what I did: photographing all the people around.

Much like the golden days of cinema, do you think there are still musical ‘icons’ around these days, or are today’s stars too polished and professional?

First of all ‘do I think there are still musical icons around these days?’ Yes of course.

Some of them died, but some of them

are still alive, CSN are out touring right now, The Eagles are still touring. What about The Rolling Stones? Aren’t Mick Jagger and Keith Richards musical icons? They are still around. Of course we just heard that Ray Manzarek from The Doors died, he was a fantastic musician and a really good friend of mine and he suddenly passed away, which was a surprise, as he wasn’t ill in a hospital or anything, he just suddenly died. So he is not around but there are many musical icons still around. If you wanna be an icon you have around for a while, you cannot be an icon in a year or two, it takes 20, 30, 40 years to become an icon. Secondly, ‘Are today’s stars too polished and professional?’ Well no, if in 20-30 years today’s bands will be still performing, yeah why not?! I’m sure there are people just starting out now and young musicians that will turn out to be

Today you can make a record in your own bedroom and put it out on the internet and if they happen to be really good they can get a million hits every day. the icons years from now. We don’t quite know who they are yet, but somebody you never heard of might become an icon. Today you can make a record in your own bedroom and put it out on the internet and if they happen to be really good they can get a million hits every day. Like Justin Bieber, he had something on Youtube and he got a couple of million viewers and became famous straight away, and now he is kind of a

junior icon, I mean he is very iconic to all of the young girls. I don’t think people are too polished, and I don’t think it makes a difference. Wasn’t Frank Sinatra polished, and still he is an icon. I don’t get what being polished has to do with being an icon, you can be a polished icon or an unpolished icon I suppose. Neil Young for instance is an unpolished icon he is still kind of a grunge guy kind of a funky guy but very successful and popular.

Neil Young for instance is an unpolished icon he is still kind of a grunge guy kind of a funky guy but very successful and popular.

and hang out for a couple of minutes, and pretty soon they forgot I was there they were busy and then I started shooting. That’s what I wanted to see, I didn’t wanna take a picture of them just standing there thinking who are you. So not taking pictures makes everybody relaxed and then you can start taking a few pictures.

Is your technique to take a lot of pictures, or are you selective about when to press the button?

Who was your favourite band or musician of that era and who did you enjoy photographing the most and why?

I am selective, I usually wait. I say it is the pictures that you don’t take that lead to the good pictures. So, for instance, a record label asked me to take pictures of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers on stage and backstage. I remember I went into the dressing room and when you walk in and they see your camera, everybody stops and think what’s going on? But they knew I was supposed to be there so it was cool. And I set on the couch in silence and I didn’t take a picture, I just set there

Well I liked all that music, I think CSN were quite amazing because their harmonies were beautiful and I like harmonies. They were a fantastic group. I love The Eagles, Jackson Brown I love his songs and l love the sound of his voice. Mama Cass from Mamas and Papas she had a great voice and she was a great person to be with. So, I like various people for various reasons. I love James Taylor, I love his music and his voice, and particularly his guitar playing. I love Paul McCartney and

I love The Beatles. There is no one answer to that question. It was very fun going to a Neil Young’s concerts because I could take great pictures while listening to great music. So I loved photographing Neil for the music. I enjoyed photographing Mama Cass because she was so funny and so smart and so hippy and that was a lot of fun. I love hanging out with Paul McCartney because I knew his wife Linda

before they got married. And after, Linda sometimes asked me to go there and photograph them and I loved doing that because Paul was such a fascinating person he had such a great mind and great spirit. First of all he was a Beatle and he created all those fantastic songs, and then to take a picture of him around the pool playing his ukulele and singing a song about his daughters swimming in the pool [Henry sings “… two little sisters swimming in the pool …”]. That was like a Beatles song that no one will ever hear except from me, so that was fascinating.

I am fascinated by people and what makes them act the way they do the differences between people, and I am fascinated by songwriters and musicians.

Who did I enjoy photographing the most?

The Eagles on the road, I went on the road with them a few times and it was so much fun, they were funny. First of all is always an adventure when you are on the road and they just knew how to party right. When you are a musician first of all you start play musical instrument because you wanna get the pretty girls and so that’s why all those guys played

They would give these buttons to their techs and before the concert started the roadies would go out in the audience and give the buttons to the very pretty girls, who eventually came to the party at the hotel.

guitar. So you’re on the road and on stage and there is the audience with all the pretty girls but how are you going to make friends with them because when you leave the stage, they leave the auditorium and you can’t say ‘hey you’ David Cassidy sent his roadie out and said “third row four seat and tell her to come backstage I wanna talk to her”. The Eagles did a beautiful thing.

They had little buttons that said 3E which means Third Encore … and the third encore was later at the hotel. So they would give these buttons to their techs and before the concert started the roadies would go out in the audience and give the buttons to the very pretty girls, who eventually came to the party at the hotel. So I really enjoyed photographing the Eagles!

Was it easy to sell your photos?

Yeah! Well, first of all the first picture I sold was a picture I took of Buffalo Springfield during a sound check, and I was photographing this big painting on the back of the club and they walked up to the door and I said “Can you guys

please stand there?”. And I took the picture and then the magazine called a week later and they offered $100 for the picture. So I wasn’t really trying to sell them, they sold themselves. Then people would called to take their photos. So in the early days I wasn’t so much selling photos as much as I was selling my skills and ability with camera to take pictures.

But now I do have a gallery in New York where I sell my photos.

Do you have a particular image you are especially proud of taking?

Well, I think the album covers that I did are the ones that everyone saw. But I have taken many pictures of many things that I like besides musicians. But among musicians, I think ‘Morrison Hotel’ album cover is the one that many people have seen and I am proud of that; CSN sitting on the couch on their first album cover.

What do you think about digital cameras? Do you use one?

Yes, yes I do. For a long time I didn’t think I’ll ever use a digital camera because I love the film. But then it got harder and harder to get the film processed and the digital cameras really work very well.

They focused themselves, they set the light and it is quite an easy way to take a picture and also in the film days I had to carry two cameras: one for black/white

and one for colour and I had about 5 lenses and that weighted 30-40 pounds.

So nowadays, you can carry those little digital cameras in your pocket and it takes 3000 pictures! SO YES, I THINK DIGITAL IS A GOOD THING… I miss the film, I miss sorting out slides but digital is great and you don’t have to pay money for the process.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into professional photography?

It depends on what you want to do. If you like to photograph people, just start photographing your friends. If you are a young person and you are in high school, bring a camera take pictures of your friends all the time. I learnt

photographing my friends because I wanted to take candid photos and I did it with natural light and natural situation and look for that moment and look for that pose. Now say you wanna become a professional studio photographer, well then you gotta get lights and you have to practice lighting and get people to pose for you with lights and that’s a whole different kind of photography. I think whatever it is you wanna do and you have a passion for it you just do it.

and fascinating. Although we have many pictures of him, so we wouldn’t have needed mine (ahah laughs!). I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind photographing Lady Gaga or Britney Spears (ahah!)

(Special thanks to Chris@duffpress)

Who would you have liked to photograph but never got a chance?

Henry narrates the brilliant movie ‘Legends Of The Canyon – Directors Cut’, the story of how rock music spawned in the garden of the Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon.

Out on DVD/Blu-Ray and digital through Universal Music from 27th May.

I’d say John Lennon, I got to photograph George, Ringo and Paul but never John.

I think he was a fantastic human being

See more of Henry’s great images at www.henrydiltz.com

Modern

CLASSIC photography by Julien Bern

DRESS, HAT & ACCESSORIES KAREN MILLEN

DRESSES, HATS, HEELS & ACCESSORIES KAREN MILLEN

Dress, HAT & heels KAREN MILLEN

Dress, HAT & heels KAREN MILLEN Cape MIGUEL PALACIO

Dress MIGUEL PALACIO heels KAREN MILLEN Headdress yuliaeremia.com

Dress and heels MIGUEL PALACIO

Dress yuliaeremia.com HAT & ACCESSORIES KAREN MILLEN

Corset tocadoyhundido.com Crinoline and pads yuliaeremia.com Dress VILA Heels MIGUEL PALACIO Belt-necklace TERIAYABAR

Cape & heels.

MIGUEL PALACIO

www.cocobay.co.uk

Tanqueray Southside

Try this drink inspired by the roaring twenties, it’s perfect for your (great) ‘Gatsby’ get-togethers. Any dry Gin will do, but for the true experience use Tanqueray London Dry Gin.

Ingredients: 35ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin 15ml Sugar Syrup 25ml Fresh Lime Juice 8 Fresh Mint Leaves Soda Water Frozen Cranberries  Method: Smash a mint sprig, add to the sugar syrup, Tanqueray and lime in a highball and mix together with crushed ice. Top off with soda, garnish with a sprig of mint and add optional cranberries for extra jazz.

GLOBAL YODEL Jesse Weinberg’s brilliant website Global Yodel is a travel guide, art gallery and life journal combined. By sharing personal viewpoints on their surroundings its contributors have created something uniquely special… and it’s growing all the time.

Photo by Jeremy Koreski

I spoke to Jesse to find out more….

What was the inspiration for starting Global Yodel?

It comes from my intense curiosity of the globe and all the slivers of interesting places and cultures out there. There is nothing I love more than to travel to a new place and see it for the first time. I want to go everywhere.

I decided to create a platform where people could see and learn about all different parts of the world, when they weren’t able to travel. The goal is not to replace the want or need to travel, but to create a way for people to learn and be inspired about the world when they can’t be physically out there exploring.

I also thought it was a little odd how the travel industry often uses the perspective of an outsider looking in on a place. A travel writer reports on a city and culture foreign to their native roots. I think that is a limited way to learn about the world.

With a few exceptions I don’t want to learn about a New Yorker’s take on the Maldives.

I want to learn about cultures and places around the world from locals of that area. It takes years to really get to know a neighbourhood, and who knows a place better than a local? I want to hear about the Maldives (and New York for that matter) from a person who has lived there for the last 10 years. They have ingrained expert knowledge of the secret spots and happenings. I thought this concept could flip that old tradition around.

Are you surprised with how popular it has become?

Yes and no. A lot of thought and hard work went into the concept of Global Yodel. I knew that this was a great idea but had to figure out how to execute it properly. Its a constant evolution but we have a lot of exciting stuff in the works.

I have been really overjoyed about all

the positive feedback we have been receiving, humbled by our rapidly growing community of contributors from all over the world and a viewer base that is growing so quickly. Our community is really cool!

How many Global Yodels have you received so far?

We have received thousands of Yodels.

They are flowing in from all over the place.

There are something like 196 countries in the world. We probably have Yodels from half of those so far. My goal is to get a Yodel from a local in every country in the world. I want complete representation across the planet on this site.

Do you have any ideas for expanding the concept?

Yes. We’re relaunching out of BETA. We have been working really hard on this new concept for over a year. We totally re-designed, re-branded, added a web store to sell limited edition photographic prints, optimised search-ability for locating specific destination content and artistic mediums.

We have a new submission element to the site where now people can upload and submit their Yodel right on the site. Basically we looked at every aspect of the site and tried to optimise it to create a more inspiring user experience. 2013 is going to be an exciting year for Global Yodel. We have a handful of very exciting projects that I can’t wait to share with everyone.

Which is your fav one?

I have hundreds of favourite Yodels. I get so pumped up when a new Yodel gets submitted. I think the beauty of Global Yodel is not just looking at one, but seeing all these beautiful Yodels in one place. We really do live in a inspiring and beautiful world. There is so much natural beauty out there and there are so many amazing people doing amazing things. I’m thrilled that Global Yodel gets to celebrate all these good things in life.

Roof Nap

by Natalie Kaplan in Tel Aviv, Israel This is a typical Israeli dog. Dogs in Tel aviv like to take naps on the car roof of their owners.

Trash and Treasure

by Louis Porter in Melbourne, Australia I took this photograph at the Coburg Trash and Treasure flea market. Its held at a drive-in, to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s north. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always thought it makes for a surreal setting to sift through junk , its a quintessentially Melbourne thing to do.

Pewaukee Lake

by Jon Horvath in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA This is an image of my father-in-law.

He has lived in Wisconsin his entire life and embodies many of the customs that have traditionally defined our state.

Fisherman, hunter, snowmobiler, Harley rider. Supper clubs on weekends. Whiskey Old Fashioneds. He worked in paper mills for over 30 years and has since retired.

Much of the manufacturing in the state has greatly diminished as we place more emphasis on developing technologies, with Milwaukee leading the way.

RIP

by Alex Ogle in Hong Kong A cemetery on the western side of Hong Kong island. The graves are Christian but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re laid out with consideration of Feng Shui, rising up the hillside to make a surreal sort of amphitheater in order for the dead to have a good sea view.

Deira Fish Market

by Jeff Vergara in Dubai, United Arab Emirates It was almost noon and the fish vendors were trying to sell their goods before the end of trading day. The guy in the photo urged me to buy his fish as his colleagues were already relaxing.

Hollywood ghost

by Stevie Dacanay in Los Angeles California Think of Los Angeles as a massive turn-style at the gates of the entertainment industry. They come by the thousands every year to capture that elusive deal that propels them to the almighty fortune and fame. Sadly, and not necessarily because of lack of talent, most are turned right around and head back to their respective upbringings. Maybe not their time..

Maybe the planets didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t align.

Some folks stick it out and get their 15 minutes.. some get more. Then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other folks that trudge the road of happy destiny and live this life in Hollywood obscurity.. I call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em ghosts. Aging, fabulous entertainers.. a lot of heart.. and a lotta crazy. Reluctantly stuck in this Hollywood limbo.. convinced that their big break is right around the corner. I shot this right off of Hollywood Blvd., where I see the most ghosts for some reason. I would love to say I planned this moment, but in reality, this was one of those beautiful mistakes. I got out of my car, saw an older grey haired woman (dressed for the Oscars), waving her hands and talking to herself. I just simply waited til she stepped into the light.

All images copyright of respective photographers Š 2013

For more visit www.globalyodel.com Check out our back pages for a competition to win one of three copies of Stevie Dacanayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brilliant new photo book

With US rock band Cinderella Tom Keifer sold over 15 million records. But its been nearly two decades since their last album “Still Climbing” disappeared almost without a trace amidst the rise of Nirvana and lumberjack shirts. Much like punk washed away the indulgence of prog-rock in the 70’s, Grunge made some of the glammed-up posturing of the ‘hair-metal’ bands look rather silly virtually overnight. Major record labels dropped anything wearing a bangle like a hot scotch egg.

Tom and Cinderella were actually a different proposition, caught up in the scene by association their music was always more Rolling Stones than GlamRock, and in Tom Keifer had a proper songwriter with a keen ear for a hookline and a love of the blues. A loyal fan base has kept the band successfully touring ever since, but new material has been thin on the ground. Until now.

After all this time ‘The Way Life Goes’ is actually his first proper full length solo outing, however after hearing the first few bars of ‘Keep Moving’ I can forgive him for taking so long over it. There are shades of The Stones, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith and if any of these bands had released this album it would be their best album for decades. Yes, it is that good. If you like your boots Cowboy, and your guitars black and Gibson it could be your new favourite record.

It could also be the record to make the power ballad cool again as it has at least three, my favourite being ‘Ask

Me Yesterday’, an honest and heartfelt country tinged take on self-doubt and growing up. Sometimes things are worth waiting for.

I caught up with Tom to fill in the gaps between now and then...

FM: Why did it take so long to get the record out?

TK: Well, I started the record on the heels of a record deal for Cinderella that had gone south in the mid 90’s and we ended up in the courts with legal problems and the record ended up not being made. That gave us all a bad taste in our mouth and then we all headed off on planned solo projects. In 2003 I started working on the record again and the idea was to do it independently of a label and just for the music and make the best album we could make without anyone breathing down our necks to finish it. I didn’t actually plan for it to take ten years, but

there were a lot of breaks on the way.

I did tours with Cinderella, I think about half a dozen and they would take me away for 4-5 months at a time. That was actually cool as it enabled me to come back to things with a great objectivity and with Pro-Tools I could just leave it for five months and come back to it and be right where I was. So the approach was different and it was a labour of love for me, I worked with my wife Savannah on it and a great producer here in Nashville called Chuck Turner and we just pushed things along until we were happy with it and the next thing you know it’s ten years later.

end there are some things about my voice that are better now than when I was hit with the problem. I still struggle sometimes, but when everything is firing right it feels better because I’ve learned a lot about how to sing. When I had to write songs for our last Cinderella album ‘Still Climbing’ I basically had no voice, so I had to think about my range a lot then.

FM: You’re originally from Philadelphia but live in Nashville now, was it a musical decision to move home?

TK: Well I’ve been here since 1997, but the thing that attracted to me was the songwriting, I came to get a shot in the arm and some fresh blood and worked with some great songwriters here and loved the scene and the creativity and the insane amount of talent per square inch. Nashville is just crazy for that. From musicians to engineers to songwriters to studios and the inspiration here is incredible. My priorities have always been about creating the best music I can. I can always fly to New York or La and play it to people.

FM: YouR voice seems really relaxed on this record, was that as A result of getting older or were the problems you had related to that?

TK: Well I actually had a partial FM: How has it been playing the paralysis of one of my vocal chords new stuff live? in the early 90’s, and there’s no cure TK: Well we did some shows (with the for it. Most people who it happens to, basically they don’t sing again. My only chance was to retrain my voice and teach that vocal chord to meet the other one and perform symmetrically.

First I was working with speech pathologists just to work on speech and then I developed and start working with vocal coaches on my singing. It’s not an exact science, but I’ve had so much voice training from some of the best coaches for years relentlessly, every day to overcome this problem. In the

new solo band) months ahead of the release just to get the ball rolling and to give the fans an early preview. We did a set of new songs and some of the older Cinderella songs acoustically with some stories about they came about so was a real mixture, we’ll be back out on the road again. It’s been great, I love touring, there’s no better feeling than just going out and walking on a stage to play your music live. It’s just a pure moment, in the studio sometimes it can be a little torturous because you’re trying

to create something, but live you’ve got the map already so you can just go out and enjoy it. I love playing live.

FM: Do you still get on with the other guys in Cinderella?

TK: Yes! Well we’ve been through a lot of things together over the years and we all have our own lives when we’re not on the road together, but I’m proud that we still ride on the same bus together (which has been a lot) and still really enjoy each others company. As the years have gone by we have better understanding of each other. You’re going to have differences as we’re four individuals but we still have a really good time.

FM: I was interested in the story of how you first broke into the music industry, can you tell me the story?

TK: Well just out of nowhere Jon Bon Jovi just happened to come to a club we were playing in Philadelpphia. One of the few clubs where you could do original music called the Empire Rock Club and he was in town recording their second album and he had just finished a session and wandered in looking for something to do. He came backstage afterwards and was really nice and

our manager at the time called a few days later and said we had made a real impression with Jon and he had gone back to Polygram (Bon Jovi’s label) in New York and had got in the A&R guys ear (Derek Shulman) about us.

We had already sent a tape to Derek and he was already aware of us, but our demos were so awful he was on the fence, so anyway Jon convinced him to come down to see us play. He still wasn’t convinced after that, but he did give us a six month development deal that enabled us to live and write more songs and after that they signed us to a proper deal. Who knows how things would have panned out if it wasn’t for that moment of luck, or magic or that x -factor happening, but i’ll be forever grateful to Jon for those words he put in for us as they started the dominos tipping in our direction.

“My parents useD to say I should go to college to have something to fall back on, but I’d say “I only want my ass to fall back on” so that way I wouldn’t give up.”

FM: Did you have a back up plan if things hadn’t worked out as a musician?

TK: Not really, I started out playing guitar when I was really young and was a fan of The Monkee’s and I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and never wanted to do anything else. My parents use to say I should go to college to have something to fall back on, but I’d say ‘I only want my ass to fall back on’ so that way I wouldn’t give up.

FM: Finally - what is your fav song on the new album?

TK: Thats a tough question as they are all so different, it’s hard to pick one.. one of my favourites is the title track ‘The Way Life Goes’, I like all the different changes on that. It starts very broken down and changes to a half-

time groove and kicks into it and then back down again, there is some cool cut bars in the out-section too so I am really pleased how that one came out.

On the fipside I also love the simplicity of the first single ‘Solid Ground’ it’s just plug your hair back simple rock n’ roll.

My good friend Andy Johns (Cinderella’s producer) passed away recently but he used to say to me “We’ve done our job if the listener picks the needle up and puts it back to the beginning of the record again” and I’ve carried that with my through the years so hopefully the people who have waited so long for this record will do just that.

The Way Life Goes by Tom Keifer is out now for more info visit www.tomkeifer.com

Chapel Club

With the highly anticipated release of their second album around the corner if you haven’t heard of Chapel Club where have you been?

With former Hope Of The States and Troubles guitarist Micheal Hibbert, Chapel Club infuse a melodic blend of synth lead pop with the rhythmic vibes of indie into one handy bite size form. Not sitting on the fence Chapel Club are happy to experiment with different sounds, with every listen something new for you to discover. www.chapelclub.com

Beware of Darkness

Los Angeles trio Beware of Darkness have been performing on UK shores recently, last time out ably supporting Skunk Anansie. They’ll be back again with the Smashing Pumpkins in July in addition to a number of European festivals over the summer. Their rock n’ roll, Led Zep/ Beatles hybrid, full length debut album ‘Orthodox’ packs a punch and is out now on Bright Antenna Records. www.bewareofdarknessmusic.com

SIENNÁ

For those people bored of whiney youths singing about their ex-girlfriends washing powder meet SIENNÁ, a ‘contemporary traditionalist, awakewalking daydreamer’ from Japan now living in Norway. She’s writing and producing summertime dreamy electronica like it’s 1994. Brilliant. www.sienna-web.com

One’s to watch London Grammar

Hannah Reid, Dot Major and Dan Rothman AKA London Grammar have been touted in some circles as ‘The new XX’. In truth they’re a touch more radio-friendly, but there is still great substance to their well crafted musical landscapes. London Grammar are the perfect soundtrack to your first ever dinner party / break-up / drugs comedown. Single ‚ÄòWasting My Young Years‚Äô is released on 16th June, the excellent ‚ÄòMetal & Dust‚Äô EP is out now. www.londongrammar.com

Mahoney & The Moment

Born at the dawn of 2011 in New York City, London singer-songwriter Steve Mahoney, and Boston-born troubadour Emily Moment are the core members of Mahoney & The Moment (additional members Dan Bryant, Gareth Thompson often compliment the live line-up). Their folky sound is peppered with melodies and stories about love and other things and is quite hard not to like really.

Now based in the UK their second release ‘Don’t Say No’ is out now, if you like Laura Marling give them a listen. Plus! Look out for an interview coming soon in Flush Magazine. http:// mahoneyandthemoment. bandcamp.com

The Strypes

The Strypes are 4-piece rhythm and blues band from Cavan, Ireland. They encapsulate the energy and excitement of the first ‘proper’ years of rock n’ roll so authentically I’m wondering if they have also invented a time machine. Shades of early Stones, The Yardbirds et al, by the end of the summer (when they’ve played all the festivals) all shall know their name. www.thestrypes.com

Just the other night I stood shoulder to shoulder with a mixed crowd at the Islington Academy to see Matt Berry perform live.He strode on stage as his band (which includes an insanely talented guitar player as well as Mark Morris from The Bluetones) played the opener, Gather Up, from his latest album ‘Kill the Wolf’.

Chest puffed up and with a glint in his eye he locked eyes with audience members, no doubt making the recipient feel like they were the only one in the room...

Here is a man who embraces playing live, telling me afterwards “It was all over the place” with a huge proud and playful smile on his face.

It puzzled me as to whether Matt Berry would take his audience from his TV work (having been involved in cult series such as Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, Snuff Box and Shooting Stars) and there was one lone voice shouting snippets of lines from the IT Crowd where he played nightmare boss Douglas Reynholm. That lone voice was always firmly ignored if it was even heard.

Irrespective of what paths lead them to him as a musician it was evident that (almost) all came to hear Matt’s folk tales.

Old tracks such as ‘Opium’ and ‘Take My Hand’ played alongside ‘Medicine’ and ‘Devil inside Me’. He ends on a cover of ‘Live and Let Die’, perhaps a nod to his

feelings on guilty pleasures (more on this later)...

HD: Kill the Wolf has just been released.

It sounds like the inspiration came from quite a mixture of places?

MB: Yeah, I think it did. It’s about the good and the evil within every one, which one you let win I suppose. The whole imagery of the wolf comes from old English When something awful happened in the villages they’d go on a wolf hunt because they’d blame the wolf [for whatever had happened]. So that’s where that’s come from.

HD: In comparison to 2011’s folk album ‘Witchazel’, which was a lot lighter, did you go to a darker place to write this album?

Pleas Matt Berry

Interviewed by Hannah Duncan

“I don’t dream about comedy, but I do dream about music”

ures

Pleasures MB: No, no. That would make it sound sort of pastiche and that’s not what it was. It’s all done from the gut, from things that I like and feel. I wasn’t trying to make it sound like anything. I was using the instruments I had at that moment, writing the sort of songs I want to write at the moment. It was all set out from the beginning, how I was going to do this. It’s more organic and yeah… just from the gut I suppose.

HD: There’s a vast amount of instruments used on the album. How many did you play yourself?

MB: I played everything. I played everything apart from the drums and the fiddle and the clarinet. Other than that I played everything on it.

HD: What were the lessons learnt from writing your first album to recording Kill the Wolf? Do you feel that your approach was different?

MB: Yeah, I hope I’m a better player than before. A better engineer and technician than before. That’s what you want to get out of these things. I just hope that comes across, you just want to be better all round. You know, because if you play everything yourself you have to be the engineer, technician. You have to be all these things and the more you do it the better, I hope, you get. From a technical point of view I think it’s a better album.

But it being the better album isn’t for me to say I suppose.

HD: You have a very traditional way of storytelling in your music, that historic way of folk music. Do you listen to any new music that does the same?

It feels like what you’re doing is quite unique in comparison.

MB: I wouldn’t say anything that’s

inspiring. New music sounds sort of jaunty, which is fine. But the last band that were sort of working in my area that I liked were Fleet Foxes. Their first album had that sound and atmosphere, you know that I enjoy. I’m not so keen on the fiddle-dee-dee stuff out there. You know what, I think I just like a bit of atmosphere in my music I guess.

HD: Do you have any plans to take Kill the Wolf to the festivals this summer?

MB: Yeah, I’m doing The Green Man. It’s the only one I really have time to do because then I’m going straight on to do Toast of London. It’s quite tight for time but we wanted to do The Green Man because we’re hoping to get some sort of live album out of this.

HD: You’ve been involved in so many iconic TV series (Mighty Boosh, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, And the IT Crowd).

Do you find your fan base follow you over to the music or is it a different set of people?

MB: Well I never know. I think I’ve always got a handle on this and I don’t. It’s best just to step away and let people take from it what they want. We had a minor issue when I first started to tour, whether people would think I was doing stand up or if people would think this was a stand up show. You know, we play these strictly music venues and I’m carrying a guitar on the poster so it should be kind of clear that it’s not going to be that.

So I think across time people know what they’re getting when they come to a show.

HD: Do you feel like because so many people know you from comic acting that when you first started releasing music did you ever think that perhaps

you wouldn’t be taken seriously as a musician?

MB: No. I didn’t care. I would have put the music out anyway, regardless of public reaction so that sort of thing isn’t up to me. I can’t control it. It is what it is and I’ll put it out no matter what.

HD: So you see yourself as first and foremost a musician?

MB: Well, It’s what I did first. I don’t dream about comedy but I do dream about music.

HD: If you had to depart one piece of wisdom to any musicians starting out what would you say?

MB: Well I’m not good at giving advice because I can’t take it. But one thing that I would say is there’s this thing about guilty pleasures. There’s radio shows where you’re meant to come on and play your guilty pleasures. Well I don’t like that term, I don’t think it should exist or does exist. It’s like prog rock for some is a guilty pleasure. I don’t give a monkey about whether that’s naff or how that’s seen. So I think that should be applied to whatever you do. If you like yodeling then put that in. It doesn’t matter how culture thinks about that.

Forget what’s cool and what isn’t. Do what you’ve got in your heart. Guilty pleasure is like a coward’s way of saying they like something. Like you have to say that first before admitting you like it. So you say “My guilty pleasure is Emerson, Lake and Palmer” as opposed to saying “I like Emerson, Lake and Palmer”. Lose the guilty pleasures; just get straight down to it.

Kill the Wolf is out now on Acid Jazz Records.

eat Are you hungry?

>

eat

Cornish Tasties

The Rock Oyster Festival

T

here are hundreds of festivals happening over the Summer, my personal pick is The Rock Oyster festival in Cornwall. Now in its third year it combines three of my favourite things - Music, Food and Camping.

There will be music from the likes of Three Daft Monkeys (above), Martha Tilston and Slamboree, a ‘Food Academy’ with lessons and demonstrations, the Flying Fish Chefs Theatre where local and visiting chef’s share their secrets

and the annual Oyster Shucking Competition (far right).

Billed as a ‘seafood and artisan gastronomic treat’ the organisers haven’t forgotten about the the younger visitors either. Circus acts, juggling trampolinists, face painting and a sea shore scavenge are all planned to keep them happy.

Glastonbury may have The Rolling Stones and Dizzee Rascal, but the Rock Oyster Festival is a real pearl.

Rock Oyster Festival Fri 21st-23rd June.

Standard Adult Weekend - Rustic Family Camping £65 adults £55 (non camping), Kids £15.00 Dinham House, Nr Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 6RH For more info visit www.rockoysterfestival.co.uk

Roast of the town

Iqbal Wahhab knows a thing or two about good food. In the days before he became a restauranteur he worked on the ‘other’ side as a successful food writer and publisher of the well-respected Tandoori Magazine. A passion for adventure lead him into opening The Cinnamon Club, a landmark restaurant and bar that raised the bar for Indian cuisine in the UK. Then after the Cinnamon Club cookbook was published he moved on to open Roast, a restaurant at the heart of Borough Market in London.

Sourcing produce from local suppliers to cook the very best traditional British food, it’s fast becoming something of a local institution...

A role model in every sense of the word, Iqbal is also involved with many projects to inspire, educate and empower young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. He was awarded the OBE in 2010 for public service and services to the hospitality industry. We caught up with him to find out more...

“I wanted to take out the grey image of British food and put it on the international map. For too long we had to put up with the rest of the world making gibes about British food.”

What inspired you to go from writing about food to opening a restaurant?

restaurants celebrating traditional British cooking in a sexy environment; it was all stuffy establishments or Writing about food in the days when country house hotels. I wanted to take newspapers and magazines had out the grey image of British food and expense accounts was a charmed put it on the international map. For existence – I would go to Cannes to too long we had to put up with the review restaurants, truffle hunting in Alba, and review places as far and wide rest of the world making gibes about British food. as Karachi and New York. Everyone said I was crazy to give that up for What do you think is the secret to a good a life of uncertainty like running restaurant? restaurants but it felt like the right According to interior designers it’s the next chapter. toilets. That’s why interior designers should not open their own restaurants.

After your success with The Cinammon In the past you could tell customers Club, what was the most challenging what they should want and that they part of launching Roast? should like it. Now if you don’t know What I didn’t imagine was how what your customers want, they will emotionally attached people are to be vocal in telling you they don’t roast potatoes! A restaurant critic like it. Twitter and Tripadvisor have friend Charles Campion warned me facilitated that. My own approach is about this as they evoked childhood for me to be the customer, not the memories. He said that as an immigrant I wouldn’t have known this operator. and told me to be prepared. He was How do you manage your time efficiently, so right – for months diners would do you ever have a day off? come up to me and compare our I manage my time between all my roasties to those of their mothers or different projects by getting up early grandmothers. That was weird as I hadn’t grown up on my mother’s roast and spending between 4 and 6am looking at everything I am doing and potatoes! setting agendas and plans which I can task people with. I joke that I Was there a definite philosophy or mission statement when opening Roast to can do all the things I do because I don’t do anything, by which I mean I set it apart from other restaurants? delegate to colleagues to deliver and In those days there were no

so carefully pick my managers and sell them by overall vision for them to work towards. I pretty much enjoy all of what I do – you can’t delegate all the horrible stuff which comes not just with business but also my noncommercial work so the notion of a day “off” suggests the need to get away from it. That’s different from being a workaholic. I hope!

Has becoming involved with charities and supporting good causes like the Skills Programme, given you a different perspective on being a businessman and the community?

Definitely. Businesses need to be active in the communities in which they are based. That doesn’t mean just supporting local schools and charities; businesses whose workforces are reflective of the communities they are in are likely to draw more custom from them. It’s therefore good for business.

How important do you think it is for young people to have positive role models in their lives and do you see yourself as one of these people?

I mentor around a dozen young people; one has been in prison twice and is only 19, another is 16 and is the only one on his council estate who doesn’t have a gun or take drugs, another has HIV and finds everything a strain.

What they all say they lack is positive role models and they look to me as that not because I have achieved some success in life, but because I started off as a south London kid with errant ways. I did have role models in my life, even though we didn’t called them that in those days. If they see me as one, that’s great. It’s not something I could or would impose on them.

What is your favourite restaurant apart from Roast?

When not at The Cinnamon Club, I am a regular at China Tang and Bar Boulud, though with the forthcoming opening of Brasserie Chavot I feel I will soon have a new second home.

Who is the best cook in your family?

Well, the one person it’s not is my sister!

But what about the food?

R

oast is one of those places that just works. Informal enough to pop in for breakfast, or classy enough to propose to your partner in. Every inch of the restaurant speaks quality, and the food is a big part of that appeal.

My partner started with ‘Seared Isle of Mull hand-dived scallops with a celery, apple and golden raisin slaw and toasted hazelnuts’ (perfectly cooked with the trapezium of accompaniments adding to the taste diversity), while I went for the ‘lightly cured Loch Duart salmon with chargrilled asparagus, an orange and honey dressing and Neals Yard Crème fraîche’. Delicate but full of flavour too.

By the way, special mention must

be made of the cocktails at Roast - in addition to the regulars, this month there is also ‘Planter’s Punch’, a mixture of Havana club Maestros selection, fresh pineapple juice, fresh orange juice, mango puree, grenadine syrup, angostura bitters and banana liqueur. Or ‘Rock’s Symphony’, Havana club maestros selection, peach puree, cherry juice, amaretto liqueur and fresh pineapple juice. Be careful though, they are deceptively alcoholical, and if that’s not a word, it is after 3 of those cocktails.

I’m not a big red meat eater, but how can you visit a restaurant like Roast and not try their ‘Chargrilled Aubrey’s 28 day dry-aged rib eye steak’?

Served with chips and Béarnaise sauce I ordered it medium rare and well worth a trip across town for. I also sampled my partners ‘Poached fillet of Loch Duart salmon with marinated fennel and foraged herbs’. Where the herbs were foraged from I’m not sure, but whoever found them deserves a medal.

Common sense at this point should have dictated a light dessert, perhaps an ice cream or sorbet, but the Sticky date pudding with toffee sauce and Neals Yard creme fraiche jumped out at me from the menu like the school dinner flashback it was. Equally as full, but no less adventurous my partner went for the Bramley apple and rhubarb crumble with custard. Both

desserts were as old school as you could get, a timeless celebration of honest British cuisine, heart-warming and delicious.

Afterwards, we headed out to nearby London Bridge station. Slightly heavier, decidedly happier we said our goodbyes.

We will be back again.

A three course meal at Roast is around £50, Mon-Fri, Roast is open from 7-10am for breakfast, try ‘the Full Borough’ for £15.

Roast - The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, London SE1 1TL For more info visit www.roastrestaurant.com or call 0845 034 7300

Strawberry and Basil Smoothie

by Vanessa Sue Smith

The hot weather is finally here and I we’re all looking for tasty ways to cool down ourselves. I am a big fan of fruity blends, so I have put together this smoothie recipe which is quite exotic and refreshing.

I took the inspiration from a restaurant in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, serving only natural food. I would have never thought basil could work in a smoothie, but I was pleasantly surprised.

After two attempts, this is the final result. I am hoping you will love it and enjoy the warm season!

Ingredients (makes 700ml smoothie): l 160g frozen strawberries l Juice from 1 ½ lemons l 1 handful fresh basil (around 15 leaves) l 300ml water l 3 tablespoons honey Procedure: In a blender, combine the frozen strawberries, lemon juice, basil leaves and water. Mix until you see that all the leaves have been ground and are well incorporated.

Last thing you’ll add is the honey. Three tablespoons made it sweet enough for me, but feel free to taste a bit and add more if you’d like it sweeter.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

You can find lots more fantastic recipes and ideas on Vanessa’s website http://food.vanevalentine.com

by Hannah Duncan

I

rarely travel south of the river (insert your own passport joke here) but I’ve always been willing to travel to Kennington for the Kennington Tandoori curry house. Now Oaka is another gem in the area. Situated a stone’s throw from the station The Mansion House conjured up a grand old hotel for me and an old refurbished pub for my dining partner.

It’s something in-between. Modern, but warm and lived in. With dark panels and a more private dining area away from the bar.

Now, let me tell you that girls really love Ale. I think it happened around the same time boys started wearing pink shirts but I can’t pin point the exact time.

The concept of a restaurant pairing an IPA with Crunchy Spiced Aubergine is new to me. I happily guzzle Asahi with noodles so pan Asian cuisine with a pint surely must work (and wine gives me such terrible headaches).

An enthusiastic young man talks about the range of Oakham Ales with pride and a fantastic knowledge of how the hops are brewed, which ingredients give the specific tastes. This is a modern ale love, a touch of the nerd. Not the tweed and heavy bristles I picture with the real ale scene. When we first opt to try a Citra he follows up immediately for us to opt for their Green Devil IPA next. You can choose your drink size in measures of thirds, so we get to drink two thirds of a pint. It feels like this is the perfect measure and I’ll be frustrated going back to the standard half or pint. The Citra smells like a Jo Malone perfume (Grapefruit, Gooseberries and Lemons) but has a bitter taste.

We started with the Gap Glam Menu (which translates to Beer Food). The menu is helpfully annotated with which drinks compliment the dishes; however we had greedily and hurriedly ordered our drinks before looking at the menu.

We opted for Heavenly Beef (plentiful

Oaka

@ The Mansion House, London

strips of air dried beef marinated in palm sugar and coriander. Dry but full of flavor) and their signature dish Soft Shell Crab (again, generous portion, lightly stir-fried in chilli).

We took a recommendation from our bar man for our main courses and had the Green Devil IPA which he described as their most outstanding ale.

It didn’t have the bouquet of the Citra, no perfume comparison here, but it was smooth and crisp. It helped wash down our Panaeng Curry and Pad Cha Seafood (fantastically plump Mussel’s for a month considered out of season).

As our glasses remained half full we even managed to cram in pineapple fritters with coconut Ice-Cream and Tempura Ice-Cream with Blueberry Compote (think cold on the inside, warm on the outside, like an updated Baked Alaska). Perhaps regrettable as I felt like there was a distinct waddle to my step as I walked off the meal on the way home, but worth every bite.

If you are tempted to try Oaka Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d recommend sticking to the Gap Glam Menu and work your way through as many of their beer food dishes as possible to experience the breadth of tastes. Washing them all down with their recommended ales, in two thirds of a pint. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fantastic idea and they have the balance of dishes and drinks perfect.

Oaka at The Mansion House 48 Kennington Park Rd, London SE11 4RS T: 0207 582 5599 www.oakalondon.com

MISTER TEA Since buying THE BRAND in 2003, Sylvain Orebi and his brother have transformed Kusmi Tea into a worldwide phenomenon.

Now theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just opened a store in London, I caught up with him to find out more...

history I understood there was a story to be told.

Kusmi Tea as a brand has been around for a long time, what appealed to you about the company before you bought it?

It was basically love at first sight! When I saw the tins with their colours and their baroque look I felt they had a terrific potential. When I tasted their unique blends such as Prince Wladimir or then best selling Earl Grey Anastasia I knew they would appeal to most tea lovers.

When I learned about their 140 years old

When you bought the company what changes did you make?

It took me a bit more than two years to completely rethink the brand and rebuild its basics. I amended the blends in order to remain faithful to the original recipes.

I modernised the packaging to make it 21st century compatible. I built a new production tool, thought of a new price policy and restructured the distribution which was not up to a premium brand standards. I also created new blends like our number one seller Detox and the other 6 wellness teas (Be Cool, Sweet Love, Boost, BB Detox, Algotea and Euphoria) but also more traditional teas such as Green Ginger-Lemon, Spicy Chocolate or Imperial Label.

How did the brand end up being so popular from a fashion and style perspective?

Instead of choosing a PR agency specialising in gourmet food, I decided

MisteR Tea > to trust a PR company exclusively known in the beauty world. They treated Kusmi as a wellness, beauty and glamour products and communicated towards the target I was aiming at: women, 30-50 years old, active and urban. Kusmi soon became favourite of womens’ magazine such as ELLE, Glamour, Vogue and Cosmopolitan. It also became THE exclusive tea of French actresses like Melanie Laurent, Isabelle Adjani or Marion Cotillard. I guess its stylish packaging made it a must in the arts world.

You have over 30 shops all over the world, which one is the most successful?

The most popular is definitely our flagship store on the Champs Elysees thanks to the Café Kousmichoff on its first floor but the store on avenue de l’Opera is very close. Our brand is popular everywhere, especially in Canada, Scandinavia and Central Europe.

Are you planning on opening any more shops soon?

We are opening about 15 stores in 2013 in Paris, the French provinces and abroad. Berlin and Hamburg will be the first ones abroad but a 3rd store in NYC should open this year in SoHo. London bears great hopes as England is THE place for tea in Europe.

There are over 70 varieties of Kusmi tea, which is your favourite?

Well it is difficult to pick one of your children but I guess Imperial Label is my favourite immediately followed by Detox and Russian Earl Grey Anastasia.

What would you recommend someone to try who is looking to try something a bit different?

All of our teas are different from what the British usually drink. Our tastes are a mixture of French and Russian influences and bring lots of surprises to those who discover them. However St Petersburg (with red fruits and caramel) and Bouquet de Fleurs (an Earl Grey with flowers) are the best bets. The British should know that we are world specialists of Earl Greys with about 12 blends (Polish, Smoky, Decaffeinated, Green, Black or just the best plain Earl grey). They are part of our history.

How do you make the ‘perfect’ cup of tea? Is there a secret formula?

There is one special secret to drink the best tea: make it the way you like it!! I hate to tell people how they should enjoy their preferred beverage. Just do not boil the water and steep it for 3 minutes. You will soon find out that our teas are pretty mild, never bitter and do not require

sugar. Those like Be Cool, Boost and Imperial Label have liquorice which give them a very sweet taste.

Pics by Dimitri Tolstoï

Do you ever drink coffee?

Coffee was my first love! I used to travel the world to find the best beans. In our tea room in Marylebone High street you will taste a blend of 6 Arabicas (from South and Central America, Africa and India) that I personally created. I love making coffee blends as much as teas.

Do you ‘dunk’?

Sorry, I don’t like biscuits...

For more info on Kusmi Tea visit http://en.kusmitea.com Kusmi (London store) 15 Marylebone High street W1

Paramount Patties

by Hannah from BurgersAndBruce.com

The days of the sorry looking pub burger are numbered.

Over the past two years thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been an explosion of burger offerings across London and a half-hearted burger patty slapped in a dry bread roll, (if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll pardon the pun) no longer cuts the mustard. Turn over to read more...

With growing interest in ‘dirty’ cheap American food, such as ribs, hot dogs and anything fried, the humble burger has now established itself as the trendy food on everyone’s lips. From street stalls to luxe hotels, the choices in the city are endless. But where are the very best burgers in London?

After extensive research, here are my personal favourites...

Best Street Food: Burger Bear

The London street food scene is booming and food markets are now popular all over the capital, with stalls selling anything from brownies, to burgers to rib rolls. One stall I always return to is that of Burger Bear, run by a young enthusiastic chap flipping meat with a smile for burger loving punters. A short menu makes the choice easy, from a simple ‘Burger Bear’ cheese burger to the spicy ‘Angry Bear’ and my favourite, the ‘Grizzly Bear’.

Burger Bear serves up his burgers in a simple white roll, with

a sprinkling of shredded lettuce, thin pickled gherkins, red onion and a squirt of American mustard and ketchup. His burger patties are thick and deliciously moist, lovingly prepped before being griddled by Tom at his stall. The best choice for me is always the Grizzly Bear burger (£7.00), with the normal lettuce and pickles but then layered with salty, twice smoked streaky bacon and then smothered in generous dollop of Burger Bear’s USP, bacon jam.

Taking the burger to the next level of brilliantness, this sweet sticky sauce complete with chunky bacon bits provides a taste sensation like no other – the sweetness pairing perfectly with the salty crispy bacon slices and American cheese.

Burger Bear has mastered the process of whipping up some of the highest quality and well-priced juicy burgers in London, and at the mere thought of the Grizzly Bear bacon jam burger my eyes glaze over in happiness. Luckily, fans of Burger Bear can now buy a pot of this sweet meaty jam to take home.

Just try to resist eating it on its own by the spoonful, although it’s very hard not to.

Burger Bear Tom has a stall at Red Market and Harringay Market. Visit his website or follow on twitter for location updates. www.burgerbear.co.uk

Best Independent: Patty & Bun

Originally launched as a pop-up, Patty & Bun has now bagged itself a permanent spot in the heart of central London, just off Bond Street. These burgers are so good that they do come with a wait, but boy is it worth it.

Once you’re in its cosy and chilled - with wooden bench seating and a very cool soundtrack, from reggae to electronic 80s classics. Patty & Bun serve up a host of specials but my two favourites on the normal menu include the Ari Gold and the Smokey Robinson.

These burgers are some of the messiest in London, and I’d advise

layering napkins across your lap to avoid any burger juice making a run for your clothes. With a slightly sweet and glossy brioche bun, the burgers are generously sized with a thick chunky patty. If you go for the Ari Gold (£8.00) you’ll enjoy a burger stuffed with American cheese, slices of tomato, lettuce, smokey mayo and pickled red onions. The Smokey Robinson burger (a personal favourite) includes a mound of caramelised onions and several slices of bacon.

Leave room for the crispy rosemary fries, but the must try side accompaniment is the Chicken Wings: smoked confit wings with crispy skin and smothered in sticky rich BBQ sauce. Perfectly cooked and worryingly more-ish, the chicken will fall off the bone at first touch. Don’t be put off by the queue at Patty & Bun, these burgers and wings are worth every minute of waiting.

Patty & Bun, 54 James Street, London W1U 1EU @pattyandbunjoe

Best Chain: Shake Shack

The words ‘burger’ and ‘chain’ don’t always need to mean tasteless processed burgers. Shake Shack is the perfect example of how a chain can produce high quality, incredible tasting food quickly and cheaply.

Shake Shack is the brain child of Danny Meyer and originally started as a modest burger shack in Madison Square Park, New York. Originally spreading across the US, I’m relieved that Shake Shack will now be making its debut in London, opening in Summer 2013 in Covent Garden.

The menu at Shake Shack is short and wonderfully cheap, with a double Shack Burger coming in at around £8.00 without chips. When I first tried these burgers in New York (pre Bruce Springsteen concert of course), I was left speechless at the juiciness of the meat patty and the softness of the buns, combining to create a light, melt in the mouth burger experience. It was then that my burger ‘obsession’ really took off, and marked the beginnings of my blog, BurgersAndBruce.com The burgers here are blissfully

simple; with a special Shake Shack sauce, lettuce and fresh tomato, the burgers produced are some of the most reliable and affordable I’ve tried.

Even better, they don’t leave you feeling sluggish or unhealthy, as you might expect from a typical burger chain.

Whilst it’s tempting to go back for another, it’s worth saving stomach room for the famous Shake Shack frozen custards – ice cream packed with sweet treats including donuts, chocolate or marshmallows, piled up in a tall cup.

Whether you are partial to a weekly burger or a once in a blue moon treat, if you’re looking for one of the best tasting burgers in London – you can’t go wrong with my Burgers and Bruce top three.

Shake Shack, Covent Garden, 24 Market Building, The Piazza, London WC2E 8RD @shakeshackUK

Hannah is author of blog Burgers And Bruce - a Bruce Springsteen and burger lover’s guide to the best burgers around the world. www.burgersandbruce.com you can follow her on Twitter here - @burgersandbruce

As well as being a top music writer for our sister website Flush the Fashion, Phil Blaney is a bit of a coffee guru. So much so he’s created a website devoted to the stuff. www. coffeisseur.com is fast becoming the place to go for information, reviews and latest news from the world of coffee. I asked Phil for the lowdown...

Coffeisseur What inspired you to start a website about coffee?

Well apart from the obvious reason of loving coffee I felt that there was, and still is, a lot of snobbery surrounding coffee that I wanted to try and avoid.

It shouldn’t be inaccessible to people and they shouldn’t feel intimidated when going into a coffee shop about what to order. There is nothing wrong with going into your local Starbucks and ordering an extra hot skinny decaf hazelnut latte if that is what you like, at least you are drinking coffee! Without the likes of Starbucks paving the way and bringing decent coffee to us all it wouldn’t be possible for the small independents to follow in their wake and be able to provide top notch coffee. I wanted a platform I could use to make people more aware of the fabulous coffee that is out there; to introduce them to the roasters, coffee shops and brewing methods available when you look beyond the usual jar of instant.

Why do you think Cafe culture has become so popular in the UK? I think it is the social aspect as much as the coffee itself, people enjoy going into that kind of environment to meet friends, read a book or as an alternative place to work. You can go in, settle into your seat and watch the world go by while enjoying a cake and a drink that is ‘something special’ compared with what you would have at home. The majority of us still drink instant coffee at home so having a cappuccino or latte is a treat to be savoured. It is also a ritual for many people, stopping at their local cafe for a take-out on the way to work and being part of that culture, being recognised by the branded cup you carry and showing your preference, be it mainstream or independent.

What is ‘third wave’ coffee all about (and is it just a storm in a teacup?)

As the popularity of coffee has grown over recent years it has gone from being thought of as a commodity such as wheat to a valued crop more akin to grapes or chocolate. People are starting to recognise that as with the production of wine it is factors like the variety of

beans, the region they are grown in and the altitude of the plantation that impact upon the quality of the end product.

Third wave is an all encompassing term to represent the explosion of artisanal coffee in all its forms; from recognising the importance of supporting the coops and farmers producing the raw product through to roasting techniques and brewing methods that help to unlock the potential in the coffee. Single origin or micro-lot coffee is a big thing at the moment, where the beans come from a specific location or a single farmer as opposed to blending beans from different sources. The advantage of single origin is that it hones in on a specific trait or taste to the bean that could be lost in a blend. Starbucks have just started offering a single origin on their menu in the UK so you know it has arrived!

Some people have turned making a cup of coffee into something of a science, can you tell us a bit more about the new methods - Aeropress, Chemex, V60 dripper etc have you tried them?

There is a dazzling array of methods out there for the keen home brewer.

In the past it was either the humble cafetiere or maybe a filter machine but alternatives have found their way onto the market that all have the same aim, to produce a quality cup of coffee, just done in different ways.

Personally my

Coffeisseur > fave is the drip method using a Hario V60 (pictured left), which looks like a cup but is shaped like a cone with a hole in the bottom. You pop in a filter paper, add your ground coffee, pour the water over and you are left with a clean cup of coffee rather than having sludge at the bottom as you tend to get with a cafetiere. It is also easier to master than the dark art of making a decent espresso on a home machine, there is a reason it takes a highly skilled barista to consistently extract a cracking shot!

inferior cup of coffee.

The alternative is a natural process that uses water to extract the caffeine from the beans while leaving the flavours intact and not introducing nasty chemicals into the end product. This means it is now possible to get high quality decaffeinated coffee that only an expert palette would be able to tell the difference if blind tested. Look out for ‘Mountain Water’ or ‘Swiss Water’ when buying your next decaffeinated beans!

I heard the processing involved in making decaffeinated coffee is actually worse for you than drinking regular Coffee, is that true?

Can you tell where a coffee has come from just by tasting it?

A lot of coffee is decaffeinated using chemical solvents such as methylene chloride or ethyl acetate that strip the caffeine molecules from the coffee bean prior to roasting. Not only is that not ideal from a health perspective but it also strips many of the flavour characteristics from the bean, resulting in an

The short answer is yes, but let me expand a bit on that... There are two main species of plant that are used for the production of coffee; Arabica and Robusta. Arabica makes up around 75% of the coffee grown in the world as it is generally considered superior to Robusta, though the Robusta plant is less susceptible to disease and will grow in a wider range of climate so is becoming more widely used. The coffee you drink starts life as a berry like fruit that is harvested, usually by hand. The outer flesh is then removed and the seed inside cleaned and dried to give the green coffee bean which is then sold ready to be roasted.

While it might be tricky to tell the difference between a Colombian and Guatemalan that are both from a similar region even a newbie to coffee would be able to tell the difference when presented with say an Ethiopian and an Indonesian brewed side-by-side in a taste test. The flavour characteristics or ‘tasting notes’ will really shine through, especially if an expert coffee roaster

Seven Things You Never Knew About Coffee

1

There is the same amount of caffeine in an espresso as a cappucino or latte, they are all made from the same shot of coffee, just with varying amounts of milk added.

In Italy it is highly frowned upon to drink milky coffee of any form after breakfast and never after a meal.

During the roasting process coffee beans pop twice in a similar way to popcorn. Known as first and second ‘crack’ they provide a useful guide to a bean being a light or dark roast.

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, the fruit is eaten by a small Indonesian mammal called a Luwak that can’t digest the bean so it passes through them and is then cleaned and roasted. Enjoy your poo coffee.

Caffeine is the most popular and widely used ‘drug’ in the world Ethiopia is thought of as the birthplace of coffee but it was in Arabia that they first started cultivating and roasting coffee.

Admiral Josephus (Joe) Daniels of the US Navy outlawed alcohol on ships in 1913, with the strongest drink remaining being coffee, or a ‘cup of joe’ as it was known by sailors.

2 3 or barista describes them to you. While it sounds bizarre to describe a coffee having a strawberry and honey like taste with a lingering, buttery finish you really can recognise it once you know what you are looking for.

What is the best coffee you have ever had?

It would probably be a Kenyan Peaberry (pictured above) from Ozone Coffee Roasters that I had at Zappi’s Cafe in Oxford recently. Normally there are two seeds inside each fruit that develop flattened facing sides, which is the bean you are used to seeing. Sometimes only one seed is fertilised and grows alone into a more rounded, pea like shape which is considered by many to give you a better flavour. All I know is that it was a bloody good espresso!

4 5 6 7

What is the latest time of day you would drink a cup of coffee?

Generally I will have my last ‘normal’ coffee mid-afternoon and then switch to decaf after that. As much as I love coffee I have to be careful with the effects of caffeine as they really mess me up! If I had a coffee after dinner I would more than likely still be awake at 3am, though if has differing effects on people so some will be able to drink a coffee before bedtime and it not make the slightest difference!

Visit Phil’s brilliant website www.coffeisseur.com to find out more!

Agua De Valencia

Agua De Valenica was made for the first time in 1959 by Spanish painter, Constante Gil in the Café Madrid de Valencia. Ever since it has been compulsory for all travellers to drink it at least once while in the city. ingredients 1litre Cava - Spanish champagne 3 litres Orange Juice - freshly squeezed if possible 4 dl Cointreau - orange liquer 200g sugar Ice

Add the ingredients into a jug - stir and serve! Thats it!

(This makes enough for about 6 thirsty people - Please note for 100% authenticity you should use a wide cocktail glass, but it tastes just as good in any glass)

Love food and drink?

7 - 16 June 2013 is Restaurant week in Valenica, Chefs at around 50 restaurants across the city are preparing special menus for diners priced at €20 for lunch and €30 for dinner – it’s a great chance to try top class restaurants for a fraction of the usual price.

For more info visit www.valenciacuinaoberta.com/ portada.aspx

Fly to Valencia with Easyjet from Gatwick (11-14th June £135 return) or Ryanair from Bristol, East Midlands, Manchester and Stansted For more info on Valenica visit www.turisvalencia.es

Download the 100% FREE iPad Flush Magazine Newsstand App Receive new editions as soon as they are published

http://bit.ly/flushipad

Hmmm Delicious Where are we going with our food?

By Ian Hughes/epredator Feeding Edge Ltd

Every now and then we get a food scare in the UK, the latest was regarding the quality of some minced beef products. Apparently they were more Dobbin the Horse than Daisy the Cow. Whilst this situation appears to be caused by producer greed and costcutting exercises it may mask a bigger problem; namely the world population is set to outgrow our traditional food production abilities.

A report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, by the Food And Agriculture Organisation, part of the United Nations, in 2006 stated: “Livestock now account for about 20 percent of the total terrestrial animal biomass, and the 30 percent of the earth’s land surface that they now pre-empt was once habitat for wildlife.”

“The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent.

This is a higher share than transport.”

So our global traditional farming of animals, and the crops and water to keep them is having a major impact on the planet as our population grows. We are running out of room to feed ourselves.

long term effects these may have to the entire eco system and food chain.

From its traditional use in crops to make them a higher yield or more resilient, GM food has now climbed the evolutionary ladder a few rungs to Salmon. “AquAdvantage® Salmon” grow faster than their wild cousins and are being raised in fish farms with all female sterile colonies. We each have to consider our comfort level for things like this.

Salmon engineered to grow bigger and faster than normal. Twice as much fish available?

But unable to breed? Just like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park?

Even if we use GM to improve crops and enhance the animals in our food chain they are still taking up the same amount of land and probably emitting the same amount green house gasses. So what is the alternative?

Waiter, there is a fly in my primordial soup!

Pull the Switch Igor Science is looking for answers with the genetic modification of crops. IE Adjusting the structure of living organisms through manipulation at a chemical level, rather than the ‘traditional’ approach of breeding new strains over time. This is much more than adding food colouring into a vase and watching a flower change colour as it draws up the coloured water. ‘GM’ as a branch of science stirs up many emotions on both sides of the argument. Franken-foods is one take, modern marvel the other. We have the science to leap forward ahead of pests and climate change, but we don’t yet know the

One avenue that may help solve many of the world’s food and fuel problems could well be Algae. There are many different types, ranging from a single cell organism that can be cultivated and harvested as a colony to Macro Algae, i.e. seaweed.

According to the industry, Algae can be harvested and refined into bio fuel. The protein and carbohydrates can also be used for human and animal food and other chemical and pharmaceutical products too.

Algae is a more resilient crop and can be grown in places that traditional plants fail to

thrive. They actually reduces CO2 in the same way trees do. They are part of the balance of nature.

Green sludge may not sound overly appetising, but there is another food source that may help us all - Insects.

They might not be to everyone’s taste either but insects could well be the Sunday Roast of the future. Another UN report from this year “Edible Insects - Future Prospects for food and feed security” points out that 2 billion people in the world already supplement their diet with insects.

With over 1,900 different types commonly eaten, there is certainly a large menu to try. Insects offer high fat, protein and fibre content, though that varies depending on the type of insect. They can also be raised on “organic side streams”. i.e. Animal and human waste. (To quote Candy Crush “Tasty!!”). Insects are far more stackable than cows or sheep. Obviously they are smaller in size but the environments or vats to cultivate them offer high rise farming opportunities.

In case you are thinking that insects are just a filler in the food chain, one of the worlds best restaurants Noma created a pop-up food experience at Claridges, London in 2012. On the menu was a dish called “Ants”. Over 27,000 ants were caught in the wild and shipped over from Denmark.

They formed part of a cabbage leaf dish dressed with creme fraiche. The diners chewed the ants, still alive. Apparently this released a slightly stinging taste as the ant

defended themselves. So insects are Michelin starred after all and I’m sure it won’t be long before we see a celebrity chef cooking some caterpillars.

A Pizza in 30 mins or your money back I have written and talked a lot about 3d printers before (see Flush #3), but just a few weeks ago NASA announced a $125,000 grant to an Austin, Texas company SMRC to create a prototype food synthesiser.

Using the concepts of rapid fabrication to layer nutritious, tasty and visually appealing pizzas from raw parts. It is a relatively small grant but does indicate a direction for food

production. NASA is obviously interested in the long term needs of astronauts in space.

At the moment most space food is really just army ration packs. You can buy “space food” which is freeze dried at -40c and comes in a little pouch, you can even get an ice cream sandwich (see pic). In a recent interview with Danny Baker, Piers Sellers a Britishborn astronaut talked in part about how disappointing the food in space can be and the trading that goes on between Russian and US groups to get a different set of rations up in space.

At the moment printers are going to be just assembling layers of existing materials but we can assume that over time we’ll get to ones that manipulate matter at a lower molecular level. This of course will be like realtime genetic modification. So we

will once again have some worrying/exciting scientific and moral dilemmas to deal with.

It may just be that taking the raw materials from simpler supplies like algae and insects we can still produce interesting and stimulating recipes but on a 3d printer. Whatever the future holds it will change what recipe books are forever and should certainly need a new rating criteria from Michelin.

Ian Hughes is part of the ‘Cool stuff Collective’ on ITV and on Twitter @epredator.

The future can be found on his website www.feedingedge.Co.uk Further reading www.aquabounty.com - Salmon www.allaboutalgae.com/faq/ - Algae https://audioboo.fm/boos/1112274danny-baker-s-spaceman-interview Piers Sellers Space food interview

Tastes of

By Morse

Home

I emigrated from England to Western Australia a little over thirty years ago at the tender age of eight. In those days before Neighbours, Home & Away and the Internet, my expectations of Australian life were based largely on pictures of outback schools and kangaroos.

The world was so much bigger then, and I often wonder how my parents were brave enough to take such a massive step into the unknown...

We spent the first few months of our new life in a hostel with other families who had taken the same plunge, although some found that after only a few weeks they just couldn’t cope with the change in climate, and were missing their family and familiar home comforts. Roast dinners without Bisto or Paxo stuffing. It’s 40 degrees on Christmas Day, and there’s nothing on the telly. It’s the middle of summer and no-one knows what a “99” is. Where can I get a curry? Call that a sausage?

Some families would go back and forwards several times before finally making a decision on where to live.

Even though I was only young, just like everyone I was a product of my surroundings and had a firmly established set of taste buds. Everyday foods can form a large part of daily life, and like a lot of things important to us we tend to take them for granted until they are taken away.

The things that I missed most coming to Australia were Marmite, Hula Hoops, Lilt and Pork Sausages, and I still crave them today. Marmite was a big one

for many immigrants, as there’s nothing like it in Australia (and it’s certainly nothing like Vegemite, if you haven’t tried it). It was quite a few years before I tasted Marmite again, and to this day I remember opening a parcel from my Aunt, and being sad to see her gift of a Marmite mug had broken in transit, but then no longer caring when I saw the small jar of Marmite she had placed inside. Liquid gold!

Marmite has to be relabelled for Australian shelves – and this took some time to happen – because one of Australia’s biggest food producers

trademarked the name and used it on a “similar” product that is so horrible it makes me shudder just to think about it.

Occasionally you will see jars of the “real thing” but it’s usually twice the price, so it must have been smuggled in. Wouldn’t fancy hiding that in a cavity.

Australia’s relatively small and geographically sparse population leads to a general lack of variety of many consumer goods, including food. The boring selection of crisps available here continues to trouble me on an almost daily basis - try and explain what a Hula Hoop or KP Skip is to someone when there is simply nothing to compare it to. They think you’re crazy. Oh, how I long for a limited edition orange flavoured version of… well, just about anything, really.

Shipping across the globe is still slow and costly, so often the products we receive are relatively expensive and near or past their sell-by date. We’re happy to buy anything that hits the shelves, and sometimes the odd selection we get makes it look like the container has been filled with whatever couldn’t be sold in the UK. So would you pay 1 UKP for a bag of past-date Walkers cheese & onion, 2UKP for a small can of Lilt, or 20UKP for your Christmas tin of Quality Street?

I would, and so would many people here – the most recent census shows that over 5% of Australian residents were born in the UK. There are many shops and websites that specialise in the importing and sale of UK goods, and even some regular supermarkets are getting in on the action.

Australian chocolate doesn’t have

as high fat content as UK chocolate, and Australian Cadbury milk chocolate is quite horrible – it just doesn’t compare to the English version. Crisps, Branston Pickle, sauces, biscuits, jelly, tinned custard, soft drinks – you name it, there’s a demand for it.

But if you have to ask how much that tiny block of Double Gloucester is, you can’t afford it.

One thing they sadly don’t import is pork sausages. I’ve complained about this before, but the average Australian’s idea of a sausage is something made partly of beef that isn’t cooked properly. The growing demand for quality pork sausages has

lead to many good imitations, but it’s just not the same. You used to be able to get pork pie with egg here – albeit at a very high price – but I haven’t seen one for years.

The English love of baked beans is a mystery to many Aussies, and I’ve been looked at strangely when I refuse to eat shepherd’s pie without them. We even have a special “English Recipe” variety of Heinz beans to keep us calm, but they are becoming increasingly rare when eating out for breakfast.

When it comes to take-aways, Indian food has only become popular here over the last five or so years, but on the other hand there are plenty of high quality Asian options you wouldn’t

> see in the UK. Fancy scampi and chips? Forget it - scampi is one of the most expensive things you can buy in an Australian restaurant, and it certainly won’t come with chips.

So what foods do Aussies miss when they’re in the UK? Tim Tams and Vegemite are the obvious candidates, although Vegemite is easy to get and a Penguin comes pretty close. You’re more likely to miss the high quality meat and other fresh produce that we are lucky to have an abundance of. We also have many beautiful food & wine producing regions, which attract chefs and tourists from all over the world.

We don’t have as many Michelin starred restaurants as the UK, but there are still many fine places to eat, and we have a few celebrity chefs who have made their mark overseas – Bill Granger, Curtis Stone, and MasterChef’s John Torode to name a few. Our climate makes barbecuing and eating outdoors a way of life, and home cooking has become just as popular as it has overseas, thanks to TV of course.

So it’s not all bad for the ex-pats down under, and getting those tastes of home is much easier than it used to be if you can afford them. You can even buy other UK grocery items such as washing powder and Fairy Liquid which I think is a bit over the top, but I guess it’s not for me to criticise.

Now please excuse me, I have to eat this Double Decker before it goes off at midnight.

Read more from Morse on his website www.morsels.com.au

Coming next time in Flush Magazine

HOME

Mallorca The British package holiday was pretty much invented in Mallorca and my parents went here on their honeymoon in the late sixties. That was when you couldn’t leave the country with more than £50 in your pocket and big aeroplane’s still had propellers instead of jet engines. Over time perceptions have changed and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived for my first visit to the island.

After a two hour flight from the cold wind at Gatwick, the Balearic air in Mallorca felt like a warm hairdryer blowing in my face. A pleasant forty minute drive from Palma Airport later I arrived in the small North Eastern town of Puerto Pollensa (Port de Pollenca). Apparently even in the peak Summer months this part of Mallorca never gets too busy and the relaxed pace of life is as intoxicating as the local green aniseed flavoured liqueur, Hierbasm they serve here. My

hotel, the Illa D’or is perfectly situated with stunning panoramic sea views at the end of a gentle 15 minute coastal walk into town.

The hotel has some impeccable history, this is where Agathe Christie stayed when writing her novel ‘Problem at Pollesa Bay’ and it’s actually referenced (under a thin veil) in the story.

The book was first published in 1935, the Hotel itself opened six years before that and you can see the pictures of its long

history on the first floor landings. They’ve updated and expanded over the years including a recent major refurbishment, but it still has a lovely nostalgic aura surrounding it.

My room is overlooking the hotels private jetty and I can’t help but imagine how it must have been all those years ago when Agatha stayed here. I have dinner in the Hotel restaurant, a brand new Á la Carte menu features dishes such as ‘Prawn Tails in saffron & Pastis sauce’ for starters and main dishes like ‘Hake Poached in White Wine served with sea-weeds and Chinese Mushrooms’ or ‘Braised Salmon with a pistachio crust and lemon grass cream’. The standard is far higher than the usual half-board and a lot of the hotel guests choose to dine at the restaurant too. A quick look at review websites will tell you all about Illa D’or’s legendary customer service.

Miquel, the Hotel Manager wanders happily conversing with guests like they’re

old friends, and some probably are as many return here every year. The hotel has built it’s success on the personal touches, the excellent facilities and location are just added bonuses. In addition to the 120 Hotel rooms there is also 24 apartments available as short term rentals and it can be hard to get a room in peak periods. Over the Summer dinner is served outside on the Hotels private patio restaurant ‘La Terassa’ on the edge of the still waters, it’s a perfect location to relax and de-stress. After 3 days in Mallorca I felt like I’d been there for weeks. www.hotelillador.com

Activities

The next morning we were hoping to follow the coast west around from the North East tip of the island by sea, but despite the pond-like smoothness of the water in the bay a bit further out the sea was too choppy for our small motor boat. Instead we hugged the coastline whilst admiring the huge villas nestling snuggly into the hillsides. Miguel our friendly guide from Mond’Aventura prepared a pre-lunch picnic of bread, tomatoes, samphire (a Norfolk special too), olive oil together with local cheese and Serrano Ham. Dining alfresco on ‘Pa amb oli’ in such a beautiful location is simple and perfect. Mond’Aventura specialise in organising group activities in Pollensa including Kayaking, Caving, Canyon Tours, Coastering and special walking and cycling tours. It’s a great

way to meet the locals, learn about the history and enhances the usual holidaymaker experience to a whole new level.

Tours can be customised to suit your parties abilities or interests and prices start from €25 for a guided hike.

For more info visit www.mondaventura.com

Walking/Cycling These days people want to actually do things on holiday and not just sit on a beach for two weeks. With 300 days of sunshine, steep mountain climbs and spectacular scenery, Mallorca has found increased popularity recently with cyclists and walkers of all abilities.

There are over 400 km of hiking trails and 176 km of signed cycling routes on the island and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Team Skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; now have a permanent cycling base on the island.

Look out for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome as they are regular visitors.

When I visited an Iron Man endurance event was taking place through Puerto Pollensa involving a 1.9 km swim / 90.1 km bike / 21.1 km run (apparently that is only half distance!). The local authority put together an excellent booklet with a number of suggested routes for cyclists and walkers.

Have a look at www.pollensa.com for more information.

Wine

Because of the fairly limited quantities of Mallorcan wine produced each year it’s fairly scarce in the UK. That’s a shame as there are some fantastic growers on the island. I visited a small vineyard called Mortix that is run as a co-operative, their vines are grown 400 metres above sea level in the heart of the Tramuntana Mountains and they produce a mixture of grapes, including the traditional Malvasia variety in addition to Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Among the highlights of their range is a fruity ‘Rosat’ (the 2008 vintage is the one to look for) and my personal favourite, a sweet dessert type wine called ‘Dolc de Gel’ that was delicious served ice cold under the Mallorcan sun.

I’ve heard M&S are beginning to stock some Mallorcan wine so if you can find a bottle give it a try.

Bars

A great way to sample some of Mallorca’s delicious Tapas dishes is to try a pub crawl with a difference. Every Thursday from 7-11pm during the peak months sixteen of the local bars in Puerto Pollensa host ‘Ruta Del Tapeo’, offering a glass of Vino or Cerveza with a tapas dish for just €1.50.

Each bar has their own specials and showcase the local produce to wonderful effect. My personal tip – anything with anchovies or basil.

Shopping/Markets

Most of the villages hold weekly markets and there is a popular one every Wednesday from 8am in Sineu right at the center of the island. There are good factory outlets scattered across the countryside and Mallorca is home to some excellent pottery and fabric manufacturers. Many will post larger items back to the UK to save you trying to get them in your hand luggage at customs. A good shop for local produce is Galeries Vicenc (S.A Rotonda Can Berenguer www.galeriesvicens.com) and there is also a chance to see the traditional looms with a tour of the factory behind the store.

Pollenca

The town of Pollenca is popular with expats living in Mallorca. It’s home to a number of friendly bars and cafes and children play happily while parents enjoy a mid afternoon drink in Plaça Major, the town square dominated by the 13th-century church Esglèsia de Nostra Senyora dels Àngels.

The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and it’s easy to see the attraction of setting up home here. Most of the buildings are from the 17th and 18th century and the narrow lanes are a cool refuge in the hot temperatures. It’s notable for the 365 steps leading down into the square from a chapel on top of the hill known as Calvary. On Good Friday it plays host to a traditional ceremony commemorating the Stations of the Cross.

Ideally get someone to drop you off at the top and walk down.

The Beach

Sun lovers should head for Cala Barques Beach a short distance along the coast line from Puerto Pollensa. There is a bar / restaurant overlooking the sand on the low cliff that serves the freshest fish possible. They do have a menu, but it’s better to ask what they’ve just caught and go with that. We had Scorpion fish with squid, fresh mussels and prawns. With fresh local bread and a cool glass of wine to accompany. Bliss.

Classic Collection Holidays (0800 294 9315) offers 7 nights at the Illa D’Or in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca from £1146 this July. Price is based on 2 adults sharing on a half-board basis and includes return flights from Gatwick to Palma and private transfers.

For more info visit www.classic-collection.co.uk

Ellenborough The winding driveway that leads to the front of the house is just long enough for you to absorb the splendor of Ellenborough Park and its location. Built in the 1500’s, and originally called Southam House, King George III stayed here, and in 1833 it was sold to Edward Law, who became the 2nd Lord Ellenborough, the former Governor General of India...

O

ver the years the building has been extended and updated and it was a girls school for a period of time until the late 70’s. In 2008 it was bought by the the current owners who restored some older parts to their former glory, while adding the Spa and extra accommodation, careful to keep them within the style of the original.

The result is a wonderful property that retains the history and heritage of Olde England, but has the modern day facilities expected in a five star luxury Hotel.

Situated just a stones throw from Cheltenham Racecourse, there is actually a

private drive leading directly from the Hotel to the track, enabling quick access on race days. Handy should you have a horse running in the Gold Cup or wish to avoid the busy roads to the main Racecourse entrance.

The oldest part of the hotel holds the dining rooms, the luxury suites and for me the grandest part of the house, the Great Hall. Full of tudor splendor and opulent decoration it’s the perfect place to read the papers, enjoy afternoon tea or to simply savour the meaning of life, death and the ever expanding universe.

Park Cheltenham

Food

When thoughts turn to food there are two restaurants at Ellenborough Park to choose from, both served by the same kitchen. One a modern, stylish Brasserie, the other the more formal, but incredibly splendid, The Beaufort Dining Room.

The a la carte menu has been devised

by Head Chef, David Kelman and Great British cuisine lies at the heart of all the dishes. By sourcing the best local produce and by giving things a slight modern twist the restaurant has been rewarded with three coveted AA Rosettes. It’s a seal of approval given to only the very best. The unique Ellenborough Park fine bone china and original oak panelling on the walls must surely make the food taste better too.

Starters such as ‘Carpaccio of Beef Fillet with Lightly Pickled Baby Vegetables and Smoked Bone Marrow’ sit alongside ‘Pan-fried Hand Dived King Scallops Carrot and Golden Raisin Salsa with Yellow Pepper and Chilli Purée’. There is a splendid tasting menu too, a chance to sample a variety of dishes in smaller portions. The main

Menu changes regularly but you can expect to see things like ‘Chateaubriand of Hereford Cross Beef Roast Chateau Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Béarnaise Sauce and Red Wine Ju’ as a main course or maybe ‘Pan-fried Breast of Guinea Fowl Wild Garlic and Bulgur Wheat, Buttered Baby Vegetables and Smoked Bacon Cream Sauce’. The tastes are matched only by the amazing presentation.

Afterwards you’ll find yourself comparing subsequent meals at other restaurants with the food you eat here.

My companion still talks about her

‘Vanilla Panna Cotta with frozen apple and salted caramel tower with apple puree and gold leaf decoration’ with glazed over eyes whenever the dessert menu arrives somewhere else.

Ellenborough Park hold over 500 varieties of wine in their cellar to accompany your dinner. It’s good they have a Sommelier on hand to recommend choices and a wine buff could spend all night just browsing the wine list. I’m not a wine expert, but a bottle of 2008 Neil Ellis Pinotage, Stellenbosch, (Red) from South Africa accompanied our food perfectly. With Four Courses costing £65.00 prices are very reasonable considering the standard of food, service and general ambience.

Accommodation

We stayed in a ‘Luxury’ room in the newer part of the complex close to the outdoor (heated) swimming pool. The 60 large bedrooms and suites have all been individually designed by none other

than Nina Campbell. The bathroom was as luxurious as you could expect and for me travelling with a big computer it was great to see a beautiful writing desk with antique lamp complete with high speed Wi-Fi ready to go. Given the resources I could have quite happily spent the summer here finishing that novel, painting in the garden, watching ‘Come Dine With Me’ on the big TV. If this been Goldilocks and the three bears they would have needed the fire brigade to get her out of the bed in my room.

The surrounding countryside is perfect for brisk walks and summer evening strolls. Should you wish to head out, the hotel have a room of luxury leather Wellington Boots and umbrellas available for guests to use

The Spa

free of charge. It’s a nice touch and you can never be too careful even in the middle of a British Summer. Oh, and the changing room where they are all kept smells amazing too.

My partner enjoyed a relaxing back and shoulder massage here and there is an Indian theme to the Spa (perhaps influenced by the past Lord Ellenborough’s job as Governor of India).

The ‘Me & You’ package is focused around enjoying a group experience with close friends or family and offers either a morning or afternoon session with a ‘Namaste of India Journey Ritual’ combined with lunch in the Brasserie, or ‘ScenTao of Asia Journey Ritual’ and afternoon tea in the Great Hall. Or vice versa. Facials, Mother-to-be, Facial and Body treatments and also treatments for men are available too.

The Jacuzzi and Sauna add to the choices.

The Hotel is a popular location for Weddings (far right) and for people wishing to rehearse in advance they also offer an ever changing choice of special promotions such as a Romantic Celebration Getaway including, Chilled Champagne, chocolates and a dozen red roses with full use of The Spa and leisure facilities. If you’re on a budget the deals with dinner, room and breakfast

all-in can bring the total cost right down.

As with the Spa its a good idea to check the website as they are constantly changing.

As we were leaving the concierge came over to our car and gave us two bottles of water and a box of mints for the journey. It was all the little touches throughout our stay like this that added up to something really special in total.

As a place of retreat it is thoroughly recommended and I will be back again.

Ellenborough Park Southam Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire +44 (0)1242 807 172

Ellenborough Park is part of the Mantis Collection, a group of privately owned luxury boutique hotels and Eco escapes.

For more info visit www.mantiscollection.com or www.ellenboroughpark.com

Masseria San Domenico

The Heart of Puglia

Positioned forty minutes from both Brindisi and Bari airports at the top of Italy’s heal in Puglia, this former 15th century watchtower for the Knights of Malta has been a five-star luxury hotel and world class Spa since 1996.

Set in 60 hectares of olive trees, Masseria San Domenico is the perfect place for the ultimate long weekend getaway. But be warned, you’ll want to stay longer.

The Hotel has 47 rooms and suites, a golf course, (home since 2005 of the PGA European Challenge Tour Grand Final), a summer beachside restaurant called Ristorante La Nassa, a private beach for hotel residents, and an award winning on-site Spa and fitness centre specialising in Thalassotherapy.

Technically there are some rooms with sea views, but it’s a 20 minute stroll down the driveway until your will get your feet wet. Most rooms are on

the ground level with private patios, loungers and window blinds that hide the early morning sunlight tightly until you are completely ready to embrace it. My suite is huge, the bed is big and comfy, there are cool marble floors and a big TV with lots of channels. The bathroom is gloriously elegant with a jacuzzi bath, complete with olive oil soap and shampoo made from olives grown in the grounds of the Hotel. The Wi-Fi is really fast too.

Masseria San Domenico The Heart of Puglia

THE SPA

Thalassotherapy is the name given to therapeutic treatments utilising the healing properties of sea water. Masseria San Domenico uses water taken from a stratum 400m below sea level that is filtered, purified and heated ready to use. Many treatments are exclusive to the Spa and there is a varied choice of facials, scrubs, massages and services available to guests. I tried an amazing ‘Marine Scrub’ exfoliation massage with a cocktail of sea salt and 90 oligo elements. Another popular treatment is ‘Thalatherm’, where the body is covered with a layer of crushed seaweed and then warmed with seawater steam for 15 minutes. A recent addition, ‘Douche d’affussion’ is a four-handed (two person) massage under a shower of seawater.

The pool in the Spa is smaller than the huge one outside (more on that later) but the setting is so nice it’s perfectly condusive to relaxation. Downstairs the treatment rooms use lighting to great effect and levels of indulgence are capped only by your sense of adventure and the limit on your credit card. Men aren’t forgotten either, for those with tennis elbow or the golf equivalent there are specifically designed treatments, such as a Carita ‘Fresh and Pure’ Relaxation facial.

The Hotel is also keen to promote and encourage not just Thalassotherapy, but also the philosophy behind the Mediterranean Diet. They work in consultation with an expert nutritionist, Dr Agostino Grassi and the health benefits (including lower cholesterol and blood pressure) of following this diet are well documented. The diet even has a UNESCO-protected status and according to Dr Grassi, it’s all about utilising the actual lifestyle where recipes, traditional flavours and specialities from the South of Italy are followed. In other words, if you live, love and eat like an Italian you might just live longer. As long as you don’t drive like one.

Masseria San Domenico The Heart of Puglia

THE RESTAURANT

This philosophy follows into the Hotel’s main Restaurant, where authenticity, health and flavour combine. The Restaurant has high ceilings and a grand fireplace, low level jazz breaks the ice and it’s formal-ish, but a place where you can talk without feeling like everyone is listening to you. The waiting staff are happy to enthuse about the traditional local dishes (of which there is at least one for every course) or suggest a local wine that would compliment your meal. They treat you like royalty and nothing is too much trouble for them.

The menu changes nightly and for each course there is a choice of at least four dishes. With this being Italy there are four courses (starter, pasta course, meat course and dessert). Before you begin to wonder if this is sensible for a Hotel with a Spa attached, the plates are smaller and you shouldn’t waddle back to your room wishing you hadn’t eaten so much. I made a note of some of the dishes while I was there and looking at them again now is making me want to go back. Some highlights include ‘Crusca and crushello with prawns,

artichokes and pine nuts’, ‘Spun Lobster and pumpkin flowers’, ‘Peasant style veal sausages’ or my favourite ‘Capunti pasta with asparagus, clams and red mullet’. Sauces are used sparingly and in keeping with the Southern Italian way, the dishes are simple, rustic and unfussy. They are also absolutely delicious.

After dinner the hotel bar next door complete with grand piano, is luxurious and cosy and the ideal place to finish the evening.

FACILITIES

The hotel has THE largest outdoor seawater pool in Italy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kept to a cool temperature and a good tip is to alternate between the slightly warmer outdoor jacuzzi next to it and then back again. This is also excellent for your circulation too. There are immaculately maintained tennis courts and little corners to explore and patios to sit at all over the grounds.

San Domenico Golf

Built in 2000, and designed by Andrew Haggar from European Gold Design, the 18 hole, par 72 course (and wind) presents a challenge to even the most competent of players. For those players wishing to keep close to the action there is also a guest house owned by the same family located in the 18th century tower and farmhouse adjacent to it.

OLIVE OIL

Olive oil is hugely important to Puglia and the area produces over half of the olive oil used in the whole of Italy. As part of my trip I visited an ancient farm called ‘Antica Masseria Brancati’. They have been producing olive oil here for seven generations since the 12th Century. I saw the ancient olive trees which have names like ‘The Elephant’, and some are carbon dated to have roots over 3,000 years old.

They look amazing with knarled surfaces, twisted and contorted by time. Over 800 of them are protected as ‘Natural Monuments’ and organically certificated.

The olive oil they produce compared with the younger trees is more intense and as far as olive oil goes, this is about as good as it gets. If you get time to visit the tour is a fascinating insight not only into olive oil, but the history of Puglia itself and you can also see the original olive pressing equipment in the ancient cellars.

For more info visit www.masseriabrancati.com

Masseria San Domenico The Heart of Puglia

THE SURROUNDING AREA

Ideally you should stay here for at least a week, spending one day relaxing and the next exploring. Puglia is still relatively unspoilt by modern life, lush with vineyards and olive trees, many of the small towns have changed little structurally in centuries. Locorotondo (far right) is a beautiful example, with panoramic views, it sits proudly above the valley, the high exterior whitewashed walls built to reflect the sun (and keep the pirates out). There are examples of Roman, Greco and Messapian architecture throughout this region and Greeks, Turks, Saracens and Spanish have all tried to conquer Puglia with varying degrees of success.

In 1480 the Turkish slaughtered virtually the entire population of nearby Otranto, the castle was built soon after and the courtyard and walls can still be visited today. Tradition and history forms

Masseria San Domenico The Heart of Puglia

a big part of the present and a shining example is the Trulli, small conical buildings scattered across the fields and originally built for storage and spaces for livestock as far back as the 15th Century. Later peasant farmers began to use them as homes and an excellent place to see some is at Masseria Mavu (pic left, 3 miles from Locorontondo www.mavu.it). At the weekends they hold traditional festivals in addition to modern DJ parties and nightclub events.

Among other places to explore is Lecce, dubbed ‘The Florence of The South’, and full of Baroque magnificence, meanwhile Ostuni, ‘The White City’, Matera and Alberobello are all within easy reach of the Hotel and rich with the taste of Puglian culture.

Nightly rates at Masseria San Domenico start from €300 per room per night for a Superior Double, based on two adults sharing, including breakfast, excluding taxes. For further information, reservations and the latest special offers call +39 080 482 77 69 or visit: www.masseriasandomenico.com

Vauxhall Mokka review by Frank Turner

FLEXIBILITY, multi-tasking - they are key words for today. And if you can combine those abilities to do a variety of tasks well with plenty of style, then so much the better.

So, enter the Vauxhall Mokka, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compact SUV (sports utility vehicle) which combines the surefootedness of four-wheel-drive, with space, comfort and expressive design.

which look both purposeful and smooth.

The cabin is a welcoming place to be, with a high quality feel to it, from the pleasantly tactile dashboard surfaces to the elegant cloth-upholstered seats and leather-trimmed steering wheel. The car feels roomy and ticks the practicality box with 19 storage locations, 60/40 split-folding rear seats and a load space of 1,372 litres with those seats folded down.

Muscular and attractive, the five-door Mokkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stance is reinforced by its higher ground clearance and 18in alloy wheels. I loved the lines of the car,

My car for the week, a Tech Line 1.6 16v, boasted a feast of equipment, including silver-effect roof rails, electrically adjustable, heated,

folding door mirrors, posh satnav with seven-inch screen, digital radio, USB connection with iPod control, mobile phone system with Bluetooth, steering wheel mounted controls for audio and cruise control, dual zone electronic climate control, automatic lighting control, rain sensitive wipers, a rear power outlet behind the front seats, and front and rear parking distance sensors.

Our car was also fitted with a clever feature as an optional extra - Advanced Adaptive Forward Lighting, which automatically adapts the front lights to suit the driving environment, whether it be motorway, country, urban, adverse weather, increased full beam or cornering beam. It also adjusts high beam automatically so that oncoming traffic isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dazzled. And thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a

Vauxhall Mokka comprehensive package of safety systems, including electronic stability control, traction control, hill start assist and hill descent control.

The Mokka comes with the aforementioned four-wheel-drive or front-wheel drive, the latter being the case for our car. The former is a fully adaptive system - when the car is being driven on smooth, dry surfaces all drive is sent to the front wheels for maximum efficiency. But when the road surface is slippery, as much as 50 per cent of the drive automatically and seamlessly is diverted to the rear axle.

The front wheel drive variant appeals to drivers who want SUV qualities but who feel they don’t need the extra drivetrain.

Our car’s 1.6-litre petrol engine proved well mated to its slick five-speed manual gearbox, and the driving experience was pleasurable and confidenceinspiring. I particularly like the SUV higher-level seating, which gives great visibility, and reach-and-rake adjustment for the steering makes it easy to find your ideal driving position.

There’s a start/stop feature - to reduce emissions and fuel consumption cutting the engine when the car is at a halt and automatically restarting when progress is resumed.

Two other engines are offered, a 1.4-litre turbo petrol, and a 1.7-litre diesel.

Stylish, practical, comfortable, the Mokka does multi-tasking in accomplished fashion.

Tech spec Make\model: Vauxhall Mokka Tech Line 1.6 16v Technical: 1598cc, 115bhp, petrol engine with five speed manual gearbox.

Performance: 0-62mph, 12.3 seconds; top speed, 108mph.

Fuel; 43.5mpg (combined).

Emissions: 153g/km Price: £17,300 OTR (inc options). www.vauxhall.co.uk

SEAT Leon SE 1.6 TDI CR

by Frank Turner

THE all-new SEAT Leon has a sharp-suited style about it. A crisp, well-turned-out look. The hatchback boasts delightfully clean lines, which are architectural and dynamic.

And under that striking appearance beats a heart of true motoring appeal, as I discovered during a week with an SE 1.6 TDI CR model.

With an overall length 52mm shorter than its predecessor but a wheelbase up by 58mm, the new Leon has especially short overhangs, resulting in a desirable ‘wheels pushed out to the corners’ look, with added benefit of more interior space for passengers and luggage.

The angular lines of the headlamps are a typical feature of the new SEAT design language. The new, full-LED headlights give an unmistakable look to the front end of the Leon, although even without these (they’re a cost option on all models) the distinctive design of the headlamp clusters give the car a real front-end presence.

Slip behind the wheel and the style continues, with a clear, light and uncluttered look. The dashboard is elegant, and the interior surfaces are pleasantly tactile, including softtouch plastics. Fine chrome detailing works well and the whole cabin has a premium feel about it.

The car is well equipped. Features include electrically adjustable, heated door mirrors with integrated LED indicators, front and rear reading lights, air conditioning, cruise control, ambient spot lighting and footwell illumination, driver’s seat lumbar adjustment, leather trim for steering wheel, gear knob and

handbrake - the wheel has controls for audio and telephone - coming home headlight function, front fog lights with cornering function, and an Info-tainment System with a five-inch colour touchscreen that includes an MP3-compatible CD player, radio, Bluetooth, USB port, SD card slot, AUX-in port and six speakers.

On the practicality front, you’ll find handy features including a front armrest with storage box, front seatback storage pockets and a cargo net in the boot. The rear seat splits 60 /40 and luggage capacity is 380 litres - 39 more than its predecessor - increasing to 1,210 litres with the rear seats folded down.

The road test car also had a number of options with features including, dual zone climate control, the LED

headlights, sat nav, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors with optical parking system display, lane assist and tiredness recognition system.

The last two, I think, are remarkable hi-tech items of kit. Above 40mph, lane assist helps the driver to stay in lane. A camera mounted behind the rear view mirror detects the lane markings ahead of the car and, using the power steering system, applies a small amount of steering correction intended to prompt the driver into taking corrective action if he or she begins to drift out of lane.

Tiredness recognition does exactly that - recognises when the driver is tired and sounds an alert, instructing him or her to take a break for safety’s sake. It does so using a technology that ‘learns’ the driver’s style over the

music games cars life art culture food gadgets travel

flushthefashion.com

facebook.com/flushthefashion twitter.com/flushthefashion

SEAT Leon SE 1.6 TDI CR

course of a journey through the steering movements, then detects when there’s a particular deviation from that style, conducive to tiredness. At that stage it sounds a warning and an alert appears on the dashboard colour display.

There are a wealth of other safety features, too, such as anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control and hill hold control, which automatically applies the brakes when the car is stood still on an incline to prevent it rolling backwards.

Clever stuff, eh? And SEAT have been busy on the engine front, too. Our car’s 1.6TDI engine boasts figures of 99g/km and 74.3 mpg, and the 105bhp unit felt smoothly powerful and well-mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The driving experience was wholly satisfying, with ride and handling out of the top drawer.

A blend of great looks, engineering, fit and finish, plus high tech features makes for a winning combination.

Tech spec Make/ model: SEAT Leon SE 1.6 TDI C Technical: 105bhp, 1598cc, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with five-speed manual gearbox Performance: 0-62mph, 10.7 seconds; top speed, 119mph Fuel: 74.3mpg Emissions: 99g/km Price: £21,150 OTR inc £2,660 options For more info visit www.seat.co.uk

Kia pro_cee’d 1.6 CRDI ISG

by Frank Turner

MEMORIES of Paris? The Eiffel Tower, of course. Then there’s the Seine. And the Kia pro_cee’d.

Not what you were expecting to read?

The last bit, I mean. Well, I attended the global unveiling of the sleek coupe-style hatchback at the Paris Motor Show last September, and was more than pleased to slip behind the wheel the other week on behalf of Flush Magazine.

Renewing the acquaintance proved to be well worth the wait, although the surroundings were somewhat different.

I can’t pretend that the gritty north west of England has the cachet of the European capital of chic... but the pro_cee’d definitely provides the kind of style the city would approve.

I remembered the car’s great design from the motor show stand, and my recollections of lines that speak of performance and dynamism proved true.

The pro_cee’d looks long, low and lithe. It has the same length, width and wheelbase as the five-door cee’d but is 40mm lower. The side doors are 270mm longer than those at the front of the five-door sibling, allowing

easy access to the rear seats, while contributing to the sporting profile.

Some great detailing accompanies the car’s muscular stance and athletic lines, including striking LED daytime running lights and U-shaped LED tail-lights, which give the pro_cee’d a strong and unique night-time ‘signature’. The inside story is one of quality through and through, with soft-touch plastics, piano black fascia cappings and subtle chrome accents on the door handles, instruments and air vents.

These modern premium touches help make the five-seat cabin a truly pleasant place to be, while all the controls and switchgear fall easily to hand. Attention to detail abounds, with damped sun visors and lidded storage areas, red ambient lighting and tactile door grab-handles. And when it comes to equipment, the car is a true kit-fest.

The specification of our road test motor, a 1.6 CRDI S, included tinted glass and privacy glass, projection headlights with cornering function, front fog lights, reversing sensors, air conditioning, cruise control

Your audience awaits...

Advertise in FLUSH Magazine Request a media pack email: ads@flushmagazine.co.uk

and speed limiter, cooling glovebox, sophisticated six-speaker audio system and Bluetooth, automatic headlight control, welcome and follow-mehome lights, heated door mirrors with indicators and kerbside lights, and steering wheel-mounted controls (wheel and gear gearshift are leather-trimmed).

Plus, there are those thoughtful touches that help everyday life... a luggage net and hooks in the load space, and sunglasses storage in the cabin. There’s a 60\40 split-folding rear seat back for the 380-litre luggage area, which extends to 1,318 litres with the seats down.

On the safety front, you will find lots of hi-tech features, including electronic stability control and vehicle stability management, anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and a brake assist system.

The car also has a fuel-saving, emissions-cutting intelligent stop and go system, which shuts off the engine when the the vehicle comes to rest and the driver puts the gear lever into neutral and releases the clutch pedal. The engine restarts as soon as the clutch is pressed again.

The driving experience is pleasurable and rewarding with slick changes from the six-speed manual gearbox, well-

mated to a 1.6-litre diesel engine which gives smooth power. Ride and handling are excellent, and the car irons out the corrugations of our worsening road surfaces with ease.

With style a-plenty, first class fit and finish and a seven-year warranty, the pro_cee’d is an accomplished motor ... whether in Paris or the Pennines.

Tech spec Make/model: Kia pro_cee’d 1.6 CRDI ISG Technical: 1582cc, 126bhp, four-cylinder diesel engine with six-speed manual gearbox Performance: 0-60mph, 11.5seconds; top speed, 122mph Fuel: 74.3mpg (combined) Emissions: 100g/km Price: £18,595 OTR

Alfa Rome Mito Quadrifoglio Verde Reviewed by Rob McSorley

“Cor blimey it’s quick..” That was my verdict on this little Italian rocket after just 7.5 seconds behind the wheel, by which time I was already doing 60 mph. I was also grinning like a Cheshire cat!

Alfa’s smallest model to wear the Cloverleaf moniker the Mito has some serious pulling power. Shoe-horned under the sexy snout is Fiat’s pioneering 1.4 litre MultiAir petrol unit churning out a healthy 170 bhp and 250 Nm of torque.

That’s good for 136 mph.

The power delivery is what’s most appealing with a healthy slug of mid range pull once the turbo is spooled up with very little lag. It’s a typically Italian sounding engine too, making a bassy roar under hard acceleration. Thanks to an electronic limited slip differential getting all that power onto the tarmac is actually very easy thanks also to the fat 215 section tyres that serve up limpet levels of grip.

The chassis is well up to the task too, as it’s so taut that body roll is non existent,

understeer is minimal and it’s very chuck-able indeed. The steering too is meaty and direct with powerful brakes at the ready when needed. Standard on the Quadrifoglio Verde is Alfa Romeo’s DNA system that offers three different settings (Dynamic, Normal, and All Weather) that cleverly changes the character of the car to suit. It’s able to adjust the sensitivity of the throttle, weighting of the steering and firmness of the suspension at the flick of a switch.

Not forgetting when the ESP decides to intervene.

eo

It works exceptionally well, in ‘Normal’ mode the Mito feels a little docile and the steering a little light but the firm suspension makes a fair attempt at smoothing out potholes. Dynamic is where things get a little wild. The suspension firms up to the point where any road imperfections feels like craters but much more welcome is the heavier, more natural feeling steering and much perkier throttle response.

If you want refinement you might want to look elsewhere as the Mito’s massive

18 inch rims kick up plenty of roar and the suspension is far from quiet. The boomy engine can also get a little tiring on longer journeys.

That said the cabin is a joy to sit in.

Don’t get me wrong some of the trim wouldn’t look out of place in Toys R’ Us but elsewhere the mock carbon fibre effect on the main dash and doors looks and feels great. Aluminium pedals and green stitching continue the racy theme. Then there’s the Sabelt seats. At £2,000 they aren’t cheap but boy are the

Alfa Romeo Mito Quadrifoglio Verde

comfortable and they certainly hold you in place. In my eyes they are a must.

Despite the Alfa’s small dimensions there’s good space inside the cabin with just enough room to squeeze a pair of adults in the rear. The boot too is a useful size although access of a little tricky due to a very awkward, high load lip and narrow aperture.

All is forgiven when you gawk at the Mito’s sexy Italian styling. From its bulging arches, round rear lights and prominent front grill; it’s simply stunning. Even without a body kit it looks sleek and low slung and the gorgeous alloy wheels fill the arches well. It’s certainly a looker. *data from Alfa Romeo UK Read more of Rob’s review on www.flushthefashion.com/cars and www.drivervibe.com You can also follow him on Twitter @DriverVIBE

Tech Data Price as tested: £21,715 Engine: 1.4 16v 170 bhp 0-62mph: 7.5 secs Maximum Speed: 136 mph Economy: 34.9 mpg (urban) – 58.9 mpg (extra-urban), 47.1 mpg (combined) Emissions: 139 g/km (Band E) VED (12 months): £120 Dimensions: Length: 4063mm Width: 1720mm Height: 1446mm Wheelbase: 2511mm

Fie

I have to admit, my first impressions of the all-new Ford Fiesta ST weren’t totally mind-blowingly amazing.

For starters the ST branded bucket seat felt a bit narrow for my tall frame. I drove it down the road, hit a speed bump and the shock waves reverberated until I got to the next one. Traffic lights, speed bumps, more traffic lights, congestion.

Then, finally after 20 minutes of frustration trying to get out of Swansea, the beautiful Welsh coastline peeled away to my left, the early morning mist lifted, I turned the (DAB) stereo on and my day (and the car) was improving.

Even better, I was heading towards a test track to put the car through its paces in a less restricted environment.

a!

After a quick safety briefing it was on with the crash helmet and onto the track. A couple of circuits with a very fast professional driver later I was unleashed behind the wheel. And then, quite suddenly half-way around lap two something rather strange happened.

Old memories came flooding back driving lessons, my driving test(s), my first car, my first time on a Motorway, my first time driving abroad, my first speeding ticket, my first date, my first…. er…

I had a realisation and discovered my problem. I was now officially old.

The new Fiesta ST has been built for for people who stay up after midnight, who go to nightclubs and dance. People who watch Britain’s Got Talent, and

listen to Radio 1. People who follow fashion and who buy their own socks (and pants). Yes, YOUNG People. In my journey into maturity I’d become a cruise controlled, air-con automaton, driving the Fiesta on the track had snapped me back into a place I forgot existed, where driving was an experience, not a way to get from A to B. It corners fantastically well, the excellent chassis and new sports suspension certainly helps. The steering wheel gives great feedback and a short clutch pedal means precise gear changes and enables the Bridgend built 1.6 litre EcoBoost 182PS engine to really come alive. A selectable ESP system allows you to adjust the amount of assistance you

want the car to give your driving style.

All you really need is somewhere for it to flex its muscles.

Ford have added a sixth gear and as a result motorway journeys feel happier and less thirsty. Despite the clever tweaking you will still get a combined figure of 58.9mpg (Ford’s figures) and relatively low CO2 emissions of 138g/km.

It’s nippy too, 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds with a top speed of 137mph. Maybe you can have your cake and eat it after all?

I spoke to one of the technicians behind the engine and discovered Ford have been working really hard on getting the sound of this engine just right. It’s been >

Fie

a!

> acoustically engineered for people inside the car, and the result is a rather addictive, rumbling growl.

200 Turbo, VW Golf GTI and Peugeot 208 GTi to name a few, but the ST starts at £16,995, quite a bit cheaper and do any of them come in Panther Black? I think not.

Looks-wise it does the business too, the Aston Martin-esque front grill looks great and it’s high back is so dynamic So there we have it. The Fiesta ST, a car it looks like it’s going fast parked in for young people of all ages. your driveway. According to Ford, most people are opting for the ST2 version Tech Specs with partial leather Recaro seats, Sony CO2 Emissions: 138 g/km DAB Radio, Keyless Start, Electronic 0-62mph (100kmh): 6.9 seconds Automatic Temperature Control ( EATC ) Top Speed: 137mph privacy glass and LED daytime running Engine: 1.6 EcoBoost (6sp manual) lamps. It’s already selling well, with over Insurance: Band E 1,000 orders on the books in the first MPG: Urban 35.8 / Extra Urban 58.9 couple of weeks.

Combined 47.9 There is stiff competition in the ‘Hot Hatch’ sector with the Renaultsport Clio

For more info visit www.ford.co.uk

gaming Kerbal Space Program Reviewed by Jamie Rodgers

Rocket science; it’s an odd mistress. It’s always used in a metaphor to say a task is difficult or easy enough that even a child can manage it. Well, after playing Kerbal Space Program (alpha version) at length, trying to launch a glorified firework into the atmosphere, I can say with absolute certainty... Rocket science is bloody difficult.

The concept of the game is simple to grasp, impossible to master, that old space chestnut: slap some rockets together, send your Kerbals off into space, and hope you can bring them back without their carcasses cannonballing into the earth. You can spend a considerable amount of time building your orbiter, editing the order of how each component separate, and fine tuning it so much, that you feel a slight bit of pride as you launch it into the heavens. My only gripe is sometimes the rockets never attach properly to the decouplers, and it can get a little too fiddly. That could be because of my giant meat hands unable to make small adjustments.

This is only an alpha, so I’m not going to hold it against the game.

What I found surprising about this game, is an odd feeling I get every time my rocket is on the launch pad: That is hope. It’s hope that all the effort and time you put into your rocket pays off. Hope that you will reach the moon this time round. It’s hope that you won’t see a booster fall off and careen into your cockpit. And that hope is soon dashed as you begin to plummet into the earth. And as you create yet another crater into the planet, that feeling of hope is replaced by a new feeling: Realisation, with the thought “... I forgot the stupid PARACHUTE!”.

But do you feel defeated after that?

Never. You feel compelled to start from scratch, just to reach the moon.

You see it when you’re on the launch pad, floating above like a celestial carrot, beckoning you constantly, teasing you to reach it.

If I had any suggestions for the game, it would firstly be when using the manoeuvre node to plan your trajectory. I know it can be used to

plan the best route to either get your rocket into orbit, or how to reach the moon, but I tend to find it too confusing. I think a more simplified version, along with the usual mode will be good for beginners. Secondly, I’d like to see a mode where you can see community sections for people to upload their creations, and to share them with other players around the world. Now, yes, the game is only in alpha, so there’s a lot of a possibility to improve and develop themselves. And I will be very excited when that happens.

The whole game is fun, technical, and a joy to play. Even failing can be a laugh, when you see the little Kerbals look on in terror as they bury themselves into the lush scenery.

I recommend you get the early access to the alpha, so you can see this quirky masterpiece bloom.

For more info visit http://store.steampowered.com/ app/220200/ Kerbal Space Program is available on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Surgeon Simulator 2013

by Jamie Rodgers

If you’ve been glued to the internet around the start of the year (And, let’s face it, a lot of us are like that), then you will have seen a few videos on YouTube, and on Global Game Jam displaying an indie game about the trials and tribulations of a one armed surgeon, and his battle with a runaway heart; Surgeon Simulator 2013. Well, that plucky surgeon has found his way on Steam, with a couple other challenges to face. Yes, Surgeon Simulator 2013 has been gone through the Greenlight, and has now graced the eyes of the masses.

Gameplay is very simple to grasp, and yet it isn’t at the same time. You use the A, W, E, R, and space keys to move the surgeon’s fingers, and the mouse moves the hand around. While it may seem simple enough, you will find yourself navigating around with the same grace and poise as a newborn giraffe on rollerskates. That’s not to say the controls are a

negative. They work badly on purpose in a sense. Think of how QWOP and CLOP from foddy.net play out. They purposefully feel clunky, and therein lies the charm and humour. It’s a mix of QWOP, Operation and a shot of double insanity on the rocks.

In the previous version, you only had one operation; a heart transplant. Now, you have the chance to perform a double kidney, and even a brain transplant, before trying your clumsy hand at operating in an ambulance. I would like a few more different operations, but that isn’t to say the levels on offer are bad.

Each of the operations are challenging and, of course, hilarious when you replace a heart with a clock radio, or accidentally stab the plug socket with a scalpel.

I would hope this game includes updates of new levels later on in its life, but at the moment, with its humourous controls, undertones of dark comedy, and its low price on Steam, this is a very entertaining timewaster... Just don’t go applying to any hospitals anytime soon, unless they are owned by Sweeney Todd.

Surgeon Simulator 2013 is available on Steam priced £6.99 http://store.steampowered.com/ app/233720/

TECH REVIEW:

TAKTIK extreme

Originally born from a very successful Kickstarter campaign by LUNATIK for the iPhone 4, the next level TAKTIK Extreme (designed by the very talented MINIMAL) has grown up to stand tall by it’s bigger brother iPhone 5.

Considering the premium price of the iPhone, it’s somewhat a mystery that folk don’t protect their investment more, if at all. That’s where The TAKTIK steps up, and shows it’s strengths. Looks wise, it’s a cross between a Jonathan Ive Apple product, and an M James Bond special ops ballistic case. Quite simply, it’s a beautiful piece of design.

Sporting Corning Gorilla Glass protecting the screen from pretty much anything, and incased in an armour of shock proof-ness that Iron Man would be proud of (a

Reviewed by Steve Clarke

(peace of mind) tiny hex screw driver is supplied to seal up the unit), it does add physical bulk to the iPhone, but also ultimate piece of mind. Water and dust resistant (with eloquently sealed audio and charging ports), none of this awesome protection brings any lose of use of the iPhone features.

It took a short time to get used to the added bulk, as I’d been using the iPhone without any case, to it’s detriment. After a few drops and dents, enough was enough. I don’t flinch at all if I drop it now, though the added grip of the case has pretty much ruled that out too. I have found that adding a lanyard to it made it feel even more secure when using the phone. And as festival season has begun, I’ve no doubt the phone will safely see me through all that the music filled fields can throw at me.

If only LUNATIK did festival body armour too. Could that be the next Kickstarter campaign?

There’s a whole range of TAKTIK cases (and other amazing products) suitable for all pockets at www.lunatik. com. And the constant innovators that they are, keep an eye on their site for forthcoming designs. Model tested TAKTIK Extreme $124.95

TECH REVIEW:

SAMSUNG Chromebook

The Samsung Chromebook is cheap, easy to use, but as an OS Chrome is still very much a work in progress.

Over the past few weeks Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been trying it out for size...

In case you’ve been under a rock and didn’t know, the Chromebook operating system (OS) has been developed by Google and it’s their first foray into a highly competitive marketplace dominated for a long time by iOS (Apple) and Windows (Microsoft). Google’s new approach has been to mould their OS around the already successful Chrome web browser and build its computer without an internal hard drive, thus storing data ‘on the cloud’.

There are two USB sockets and a SD card reader, so technically you can still save files locally, but as file sizes get bigger and download speeds get faster storing ‘on the cloud’ does make logical sense. But by doing so also brings up a unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

For instance, if your Chromebook is stolen, lost or damaged unlike a ‘normal’ computer you won’t lose all your precious files forever. Instead you can just pick up a new Chromebook, enter your password and pick where you left off with everything (password, documents, photos) just how you left it.

By using ‘Google Drive’ you can also sync your files in various locations on various computers. This is great for someone like me, as I can start writing this feature in one place (over here) and finish the end of the sentence somewhere else (like here). See. All you need is a free Gmail account and away you go.

There are potential problems to this approach though. For instance, are you ready to hand over your personal files to someone else to look after for

you? What happens if your account gets hacked and they lose all your files? What if your Wi-Fi stops working during an all important late-night Angry Birds gaming session? What happens if Google suddenly decides it should charge you for storing all your important files? And more importantly, who did shoot JR? In reality it is unlikely Google are going to start charging people with small accounts and you can upgrade the regular, free 5GB to 25GB for $2.49 per month (approx. £1.60). At the moment they are also offering 100GB of storage FREE for 2 years with each new Chromebook.

There are plenty of ‘Apps’ to be had.

Most are actually shortcuts to websites such as Dropbox or Evernote. To be fair, that’s not really a problem, as working with a cloud based computer might be different behind the surface, but to the user (as long as you have a connection to the internet) it is pretty much the same.

Of all the current Chrome OS laptops out there, this is the cheapest and possibly the pick of the bunch. Nearly as thin as an Ultrabook, it has a 11.6’’ screen, big enough for movies, and it can play 1080p video, even if the screen resolution isn’t quite full HD. The keyboard and trackpad are adequate and the build quality is good for a budget machine.

If your computer activities consist of surfing the web, watching movies, updating a blog, Facebook, Tweeting, listening to Spotify etc, a Chromebook will give you everything you need and some more too. For those who need a Word Processing, Google Docs is >

TECH REVIEW: also a competent solution, if not a replacement for Microsoft’s, Word.

l l

If you are a professional designer, programmer or Web developer it won’t have everything you need just yet.

Video editing is a no-no and, while there are alternatives to Dreamweaver and InDesign, none are close to matching them. Rest assured however, someone, somewhere is working on it and when they do Chromebooks have the potential to give Apple and Microsoft something to really think about.

l l l

l

l l l l

11.6’’ (1366x768) display 1.1kg, 17.5mm thin Battery life 6.5 hours Samsung Exynos 5 Dual Processor 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage2 with 16GB Solid State Drive Built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 3G modem (opt) VGA Camera 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 HDMI Port Bluetooth 3.0™ Compatible

In the meantime the Chromebook makes an excellent computer to take with you on your travels.

The Good

The Bad

n

No waiting around, very quick start up time.

n

Slightly clunky interface.

n

attery life. Samsung say 8 hours, but in norB mal use you can still get 6-7 hours of use out of it.

n

I f you don’t have Wi-Fi your options are limited (although you can use Google Docs and save to a USB stick)

n

Built-in camera for Google Hangouts with up to 14 people (if you know that many).

n

Lack of quality Photoshop / Dreamweaver / Indesign / FTP alternatives etc

n

100gig of FREE extra storage for your Google Drive account (for two years)

n

Do you trust your files with someone else?

n

F ree updates, you get new updated versions of Chrome automatically.

n

F inish is nice, it doesn’t feel like a budget computer.

n

Games - lots of cool (and free) ones.

PRICE from £229.00 For more info visit www.google.co.uk/intl/en_uk/chrome/ devices/samsung-chromebook.html

Win

Everything This Way The debut photobook

by Stevie Dacanay We have three copies of the debut photo book of photographer, and musician Stevie Dacanay. ‘Everything This Way’ is a brilliant snapshot of his life on the road, combined with portraits of quirky characters, still lifes, landscapes all seen through Stevie’s unique life-affirming perspective.

To enter our competition visit www.flushthefashion.com/win/stevied or email your name and address to stevied@flushthefashion.com Editors decision is final closing date is 20th July 2013 Good Luck!

Win

One of two Jelly Belly bean machines + a kilo of mixed Jelly Belly® JELLYbeans Tantalise your taste buds with Jelly Belly.

Forget everything you ever thought you knew about jelly beans.

Jelly Belly® jelly beans are in a league of their own - the coolest, most delicious jelly beans imaginable.

Full of true-to-life flavour, Jelly Belly beans are The Original Gourmet Jelly Bean®.

Developed for the sophisticated palate, the beans are packed with an intensely juicy taste, from their brightly coloured shells right through to their centres.

Blissful indulgence.

Using a time honoured method and the unique Jelly Belly know how, a single jelly bean can take up to 21 days to create. The 90 authentic flavours use natural ingredients wherever possible and can be combined to create an almost infinite number of taste experiences. Traditional flavours like Green Apple and Very Cherry have endured for 35 years – ever since Jelly Belly was first cooked up - this year the big favourites are new flavours Green Tea and Chilli Mango as Pina Colada and Juicy Pear.

Each Jelly Belly jelly bean contains just 4 calories and is free from fat, wheat, nuts, gluten, dairy and gelatine. They are certified OU Kosher and are suitable for vegetarians .

We have two brilliant Jelly Belly bean machines + a kilo of mixed Jelly Belly beans to give away to our readers.

To enter our competition visit www.flushthefashion.com/win/jellybelly or email your name and address to jellybelly@flushthefashion.com Editors decision is final closing date is 20th July 2013 Good Luck!

Jelly Belly jelly beans are available in Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury, Tesco, all major department stores and the best independent sweet shops, garden centres and delis. For more info on Jelly Belly Jelly Beans visit www.jellybelly-uk.com

my favourite movie

by Paul Martin

Dead and Loving It A Matter of Life and Death “This is the universe.”

“Big, isn’t it?”

And so, with those spoken words, does commence A Matter of Life and Death, the startling romantic fantasy starring David Niven as a lovestruck airman forced to fight for his right to continued existence in a cosmic courtroom situated on the very edge of time and space.

I first heard those words sometime in the mid-90s, when A Matter of Life and Death screened as part of a Channel 4 season celebrating the centenary of cinema (the other movies in the season, if I recall correctly, were Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Last Year at Marienbad and Cannon and Ball’s Boys in Blue).

Though the film was and remains a muchloved landmark of British cinema (even spawning a recent theatrical adaptation), as well as being an undeniable highpoint in the career of our nation’s greatest-ever

filmmaking duo, Cannon and… er, no, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the fact is till that very week when I watched it for the first time, I’d never even previously heard of it.

Nor had I heard of Powell and Pressburger. Nor even that suavely moustached leading man with the cutglass vowels. And while I had seen no fewer than three movies featuring Niven’s co-star Kim Hunter, on all three of those occasions she had been buried under the avalanche of rubber required to transform her into Dr. Zira, the sympathetic chimpanzee from the Planet of the Apes series.

But what I had done that week was purchase my first-ever copy of a certain big-name, big-time British movie mag. And contained within the pages of that semireputable publication was a guide to the best flicks on the idiot box that month, of which there was one they recommended watching above all others – above Basic Instinct, above Home Alone, even above

Rocky VII: Adrian’s Revenge – namely A Matter of Life and Death.

So watch it I did. Because I was a teen and when things are suggested to teens, they tend to do them, provided they don’t involve de-cluttering any physical spaces.

And aptly enough for a movie which so unashamedly wears its heart on its celluloid sleeve, I loved it. But what was the source of this enchantment? To find out, let’s first learn a little bit more about the film…

Released in 1946 but set during World War II, the most commonly repeated story regarding A Matter of Life and Death’s genesis is that it was conceived at the behest of the Foreign Office as a propaganda exercise designed to promote an Anglo-American relationship left fragile by the strains of war.

And whatever the truth of its origins, a lung-busting blast of optimism colours the film’s depicted interactions between the Yanks (them) and the planks (us): most notably and most obviously in the form of the love affair between Niven’s Peter and Hunter’s June which powers the narrative, but also in brief moments like the village vicar trying to wrangle an unruly posse of G.I.s, and even the portrayal of the story’s de facto villain, Abraham Farland (Raymond Massey), who might be harsh on we Brits, yet is also fair with it.

But the optimism of A Matter of Life and Death stretches beyond us and our transatlantic cousins, to encircle the whole world and even stretch out across the universe (aside from an unlucky galaxy that gets atomised in the prologue). To wit, Peter takes everything with good humour and stiff

upper-lipped stoicism throughout, even in the opening minutes when his stricken Lancaster is about to send him to a fiery doom.

Pretty much the only thing Peter takes seriously is love. He is a romantic in the truest sense, and perfectly played by Niven, who was probably already a tad too old for the role but still carries it off wonderfully.

Much is quite rightly made of the inventiveness of the filmmaking on show in A Matter of Life and Death, exemplified by the switch between the Technicolor of this life and the monochrome of the next; the POV shot of a closing eyelid, replete with veins; and the celestial escalator by which Peter traverses between realms (the film was retitled Stairway to Heaven in the US, owing to a grumble about the use of the word ‘death’, an amendment which infuriated Powell according to his widow, Thelma Schoonmaker).

However, for me, the real brilliance of A Matter of Life and Death lies in the fact that it is at once both epic and intimate. It’s a spectacular drama that unfolds across the whole of the heavens,and an internal crisis confined solely to one man’s skull. It takes in the greatest conflict ever suffered by humanity and fantastical creatures who can halt time as simply as a monkey scratches its posterior, but places the strongest of human emotions at its absolute core.

It is, as I realised the first time I saw it as a teen even if I was then unable to put it into words, the perfect realisation of the alchemical formula that so many filmmakers strive for, yet so few achieve – a blockbuster with heart. And though the universe might be big, it hasn’t got too many of those in it.

A FILM BY GEOFFREY ENTHOVEN

COME AS YOU ARE

[HASTA LA VISTA]

Three guys in their twenties love wine and women but they are still virgins. Under the guise of a wine tour they embark on a journey to Spain hoping to have their first sexual experience. Jozef is blind, Philip is paralysed from the neck down and Lars is in a wheelchair with a brain tumour, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to let anything stand in their way...

IN CINEMAS

NATIONWIDE

7 JUNE th

www.comeasyouaremovie.co.uk

Based on the real life experiences of Asta Philpot

Charity No. 1000388

CONTACT Editor: Pete Graham pete@flushmagazine.co.uk Art Director: Dawn Li dawn@flushmagazine.co.uk For advertising enquiries, call 07958 006119 or email: ads@flushmagazine.co.uk www.flushmagazine.co.uk

Contact info@flushmagazine.co.uk Free FLUSH Magazine iPad App http://bit.ly/flushipad

Facebook www.facebook.com/flushthefashion

Twitter www.twitter.com/tweetthefashion

Google+ https://plus.google.com/118044621142957136543

FTF Android Mobile App http://mippin.com/app/flush

FTF iOS Mobile App http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flush-the-fashion/id459450103?ls=1&mt=8

Join our mailing list www.flushthefashion.com/newsletter