Cambridge Edition April 2019

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YOUR MONTHLY FIX OF

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LOCAL LIFE

EAT CAMBRIDGE • EASTER DAYS OUT GIGS & NIGHTLIFE • COLLUSION O 9 THEATRE HIGHLIGHTS • FOOD & DRINK CAMBRIDGE LITERARY FESTIVAL D E C E M B E R 2 018

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S I G N U P TO O U R W E E K LY D I G I TA L N E W S L E T T E R

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Cambridge

EDI T

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EDITORIAL

Editor in chief Nicola Foley 01223 499459 nicolafoley@bright-publishing.com Chief sub editor Beth Fletcher Senior sub editor Siobhan Godwood Sub editor Felicity Evans Junior sub editor Elisha Young

ADVERTISING

Senior sales executive Lee Fifield 01223 492240 leefifield@bright-publishing.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Alex Rushmer, Angelina Villa-Clarke, Cathy Moore, Cyrus Pundole, Charlotte Griffiths, Siobhan Godwood, Daisy Dickinson, Jordan Worland, Ruthie Collins, Anna Taylor, Sam Owens

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Senior designer & production manager Flo Thomas 01223 492242 flothomas@bright-publishing.com Designer Lucy Woolcomb Ad production Man-Wai Wong 01223 499468 manwaiwong@bright-publishing.com

MANAGING DIRECTORS Andy Brogden & Matt Pluck 01223 499450

CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK FIND US @CAMBSEDITION CAMBRIDGE EDITION MAGAZINE • Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ, 01223 499450, cambsedition.co.uk • All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of the publishers. • Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Cambridge Edition or Bright Publishing Ltd, which do not accept any liability for loss or damage.

• Every effort has been made to ensure all information is correct. • Cambridge Edition is a free publication that is distributed in Cambridge and the surrounding area.

This month’s cover illustration was created by Flo Thomas, senior designer & production manager at Cambridge Edition

Author illustrations by Louisa Taylor louisataylorillustration.blogspot.co.uk

Welcome

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pring has now well and truly sprung in Cambridge, prompting us to haul ourselves out of hibernation and enjoy the feast of events going on in the city this April. Cambridge Literary Festival is back with a bang, laying on a line-up so dazzling it will have book lovers falling over themselves for tickets. Hear from top fiction writers, join in with heated political debate and immerse yourself in exquisite poetry at this joyful celebration of the power of words. We’ve got the highlights on page 24.

If that gets you inspired to curl up with a great read, we’ve got a fantastic recommendation in this month’s Cambridge Edition Book Club. Written by local author Jill Dawson, The Language of Birds offers a thought-provoking retelling of the real-life Lord Lucan murder case that gripped the nation in the 1970s. Find out more on page 27.

Then, I recommend heading to the Food & Drink section to have a read of the first in our new Cambridge on a Plate series.

Penned by food historian Dr Sue Bailey, this monthly piece will be diving deep into local food heritage and unearthing fascinating stories about our area’s epicurean experiences. Up first: an exploration of Cambridge’s enduring love affair with tea and coffee, including the discovery of an ‘18th-century Starbucks’ in the city centre.

There’s also news of a Cambridge-born, pan-European beer project that demonstrates what a bit of brilliant, booze-fuelled collaboration can achieve (page 51), details on the first-ever Love Cambridge Restaurant Week (page 53), a look around Hot Numbers’ incredible new roastery (page 66) and an ode to asparagus by local chef Alex Rushmer (page 73).

Excitingly, we’re also now just around the corner from Eat Cambridge, a city-wide celebration of the local food and drink scene, which brings a fortnight of irresistible events. From supper clubs to pop-ups to street food to the Main Event – a huge food and drink market – we’ve got all the delicious details on page 55.

As ever, we’ve also got news on the best gigs, theatre, art exhibitions and family events to get stuck into this April – enjoy the issue and see you next month!

Nicola Foley EDITOR IN CHIEF

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CONTENTS

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6 l STARTERS

Top things to do and see in the city, plus our favourite social media pics

9 l ARTS & CULTURE Exhibitions, concerts and theatre highlights to enjoy in April

19 l ART INSIDER

Ruthie Collins, founder of Cambridge Art Salon, shares her arty picks of the month

20 l CENTRAL TIME

Edition meets Heidi Hall, Cambridge resident and director of Ballet Central

24 l LITERARY FESTIVAL We find out what’s in store at the spring edition of Cambridge Literary Festival

27 l BOOK CLUB

Book recommendations, special offers and author interviews

32 l AFTER HOURS

Comedy, festivals, gigs and more nightlife fun to seek out this month

36 l COMMUNITY HUB Community events, charity news and more, from your local hub

41 l LISTINGS

Our at-a-glance guide to the top events and goings-on this month

44 l EASTER FUN Great days out to enjoy over the long Easter weekend

50 l FOOD NEWS

All the latest news and gossip from the Cambridge culinary scene

55 l EAT CAMBRIDGE What’s in store for the city’s huge annual food and drink festival

60 l PRIVATE DINING 66 l HOT NUMBERS

95 l EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT

70 l MAKE THE BEST

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81 l EDUCATION

Local schools reveal some innovative approaches to promoting mental well-being

Chef Alex Rushmer whips up a batch of coffee ground brownies

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78 l FASHION

Forget florals – burst into spring with a pop of vibrant colour

Take a peek inside Cambridge’s most luxurious private dining spaces We take a look at the impressive new Hot Numbers roastery

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77 l BEAUTY

Daisy Dickinson rounds up the beauty products on her radar this month

73 l CHEF’S TABLE

Chef Alex Rushmer shares what’s cooking in his kitchen this month

74 l CAMBS ON A PLATE New columnist Dr Sue Bailey on our city’s love affair with tea and coffee

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St Mary’s School, Cambridge, on the importance of talking about our bad days

96 l INDIE

We shine a spotlight on Checked-Inn, which offers flexible accommodation for visitors

103 l GARDENS

We take a trip to Anna’s Flower Farm for this month’s garden tips

107 l INTERIORS

The latest interiors trends, which marry practicality with beautiful aesthetics

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STA RT E R S

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W IL D WOOD RUM PUS The magical Wild Wood Rumpus returns to a woodland near Cambridge for a second helping on 8 June. A family-focused event at Horseheath Racecourse, it features enchanting activities and performances, from art installations, storytellers, children’s theatre and talks from authors, to live music including The Brass Funkeys. A kid’s bubble disco will be followed later in the day by The Early Night Club, already a hit in Cambridge, with tunes getting parents on the dance floor at sensible o’clock. Wildlings Craft School features all-day craft making, with a parade at the end to show off what’s been made. Food from Steak & Honour, The Mac Daddy, Jack’s Gelato, Churros Bar and many more will keep you going. Full line-up to be announced soon. mylittlefestival.uk

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RECORD STORE DAY The vinyl revival keeps growing – and a big part of that is thanks to Record Store Day. For years, it has encouraged bands and artists to record special releases, or record companies to mine their archives for rare and live tracks – all in the name of getting punters back into record shops.

Mill Road’s Relevant Record Café has a vinyl emporium in a spacious cellar that would have even the most uninterested digital music fan salivating at the mass of black discs. When it comes to Record Store Day, the cafe has become a well-oiled machine. This year’s big day is 13 April and it offers tempting breakfast food at 6am. That’s the time when record buyers (who will have been queueing for some time already) are allowed in, with numbered tickets saving their place in the queue. No record shop in the country can sell their precious RSD stock until 8am… which means time for a second coffee and a top-up snack!

The list on this year’s big day has sparkly heavyweight discs available – from David Bowie to Chase & Status, via Bark Psychosis. Once the early starters have snapped up the most in-demand records, a host of bands will play the venue from 12pm. The list of releases is extensive, so if you’re interested, check it out at recordstoreday.co.uk. You at least want the detail on Bananarama’s three choices! relevantrecordcafe.co.uk

GRANTCHESTER ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW The perfect opportunity to find a gift for friends and family comes to Grantchester this month, with the village’s arts and crafts spring show on the weekend of 6 and 7 April. It showcases local artists and craftspeople, and you can meet the makers and purchase home-made cake, too. It takes place in the village hall, from 10am to 5pm on both days.

V EG A N & V IN TAGE FA IR A place to discover retro gems and tasty plant-based eats, the popular Vegan and Vintage Fair returns to Ely Markets on the weekend of 5 and 6 May. There’s a tempting line-up of foodie stalls on the bill, including Food by Lizzi (maker of epic vegan scotch eggs), plus hearty fare from Heart Street, artisan bakes from The Iced Vegan and stir fry sauces from Bonnie Yau’s. Visitors can also browse a selection of stalls selling vintage and upcycled furniture, plus collectables, clothes and records. There is also a bar, traditional bank holiday market stalls and street food, plus children’s entertainment. elymarkets.co.uk CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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Culture Club ART EXHIBITIONS • THEATRE • BOOK CLUB • CONCERTS BALLET CENTRAL captured by ASH Photography, performing The Dying Swan

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STATE OF THE ART WE FIND OUT WHAT’S IN STORE AT COLLUSION, A SERIES OF IMMERSIVE ARTWORKS IN CAMBRIDGE THAT EXPLORE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGY Explore the intersection between art and tech this month at Collusion, a thoughtprovoking new public art exhibition that investigates our relationship with emerging technology.

Taking place in the outdoor square next to Cambridge Junction from 12 to 22 April, this unique offering takes the form of six interactive artworks housed in specially designed pavilions. The installations were commissioned

by Cambridge-based arts and technology organisation Collusion and span theatre, music, dance, sculpture, film and animation, incorporating a variety of new technologies.

The brief was to explore the impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence, data culture and augmented reality on society, and the results include a multi-narrative film driven

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by music and AI, a mysterious memorial to the 21st century that broadcasts eerie messages excavated from the blockchain, and a party set in a 2030 home hosted by a virtual assistant.

“Collusion is once again showing how digital technology can help artists to challenge audiences in new and engaging ways,” says Amy Vaughan from Arts Council England. “It is exciting that so many people will have the chance to experience these installations.”

Participating artists were selected in November 2017 from more than 120 applicants, and subsequently took part in a 12-month research and development programme supported by Collusion, working with technology and innovation partners Cambridge Consultants and ARM to explore relevant ideas, themes and technology.

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“Over recent years we’ve seen the emergence of highly sophisticated ‘deep’ technologies that hold world-changing potential and significant social impact,” explains Richard Traherne, project sponsor and chief commercial officer of Cambridge Consultants.

“We’ve provided experts from disciplines ranging from user experience to artificial intelligence to collaborate with Collusion to help explore these implications and prompt artistic reflection and debate. We’ve found the project fascinating – an unusual combination of technical and artistic perspectives examining the potential of technology, resulting in art that’s accessible to a broad audience.”

Collusion 2019 is open Monday to Saturday 11am to 7pm; Sundays noon to 5pm. collusion.org.uk

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FAME Fame, the hit 1980 movie about students at a performing arts school, spawned a hugely popular TV series, numerous 80s hits – including the iconic Oscar-winning theme – and an equally popular musical. The latter, celebrating its 30th anniversary, comes to the Arts Theatre from 29 April to 4 May, and features UK soul star Mica Paris (Love Me Tender, Chicago), Keith Jack (Any Dream Will Do) and Jorgie Porter (Hollyoaks). Follow the highs and lows, romances and heartbreaks as the students ultimately experience the elation of life. The bittersweet, uplifting tale (based on the film, rather than the milder series) explores issues that confront many young people today, such as prejudice, sexuality and substance abuse. Tickets from £20, suitable for ages 12 years and up. cambridgeartstheatre.com A P R I L 2 019

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A R T & DESIGN SHOW Looking for an artistic new addition to your home? On 9 May, Cheffins hosts the latest in its regular Art & Design Sales, with a selection of 20th-century sculpture, artworks and furniture going under the hammer, including work by William Pye and Oswald Herzog.

According to an Artprice global art market report, 20th-century art accounted for 80% of total global auction turnover from fine art in the first half of 2018 alone, and the last two decades have seen huge growth in the 20th century and contemporary art market globally.

“For sculpture in particular, we have seen that millennials are keen to purchase statement pieces rather than form collections, and the appeal of something three dimensional is often more alluring than a flat canvas. This has been

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aided further by the increasing accessibility to the auction market through online bidding,” comments Martin Millard, director of Cheffins.

“Sculpture, whether it be bronze, stone, aluminium or wood, comes in all shapes and sizes and sees examples across variable price brackets.

Prices can be lowered by the fact that sculptures are often produced in multiples, rather than one-offs, which can make these works more accessible than paintings. Twentieth-century sculpture sees a major change in the approach of artists, where the subject is no longer the principal focus, but instead is the material and the form, and this has proved a tantalising option for a range of buyers at auction.” The sale runs from 11am. cheffins.co.uk

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COWS ABOUT CAMBRIDGE

A world-class arts trail aims to bring together local artists, businesses, schools and community groups to be part of an udderly unique event in spring next year. Cows about Cambridge is an innovative project featuring 50 cow sculptures. Each cow – designed by an artist and sponsored by a business – will form a trail of discovery across Cambridge from 30 March to 7 June 2020. Schools and colleges can adopt and design their own ‘mini moos’ as part of a learning programme, while community groups have the chance to tell their own stories by collaborating with a regional artist.

The ten-week trail’s creative producers Wild in Art will work in partnership with local children’s charity Break, with support from principal partner Cambridge BID. The aim is to promote wellbeing and an active lifestyle, while creating discussions about environmental issues. Director Charlie Langhorne said: “The bespoke designs will tell the story of Cambridge and its people in a new way, which will inspire those who walk the trail to smile, laugh, think and reflect.”

“Red Poll cows are part of everyday life in Cambridge,” said Ian Sandison, CEO of Cambridge BID. “Thousands of people walk or cycle near their pasture every day on their way to work, school and the shops. In choosing cow sculptures, they will celebrate the uniqueness of our city.”

At the end of the project, the cows will find homes with the groups that adopted them, but the corporate cows will be auctioned off in an event expected to raise £250,000 in aid of Break. If you are a local artist, represent a Cambridgeshire school, business or community group and want to get involved, visit cowsaboutcambridge.co.uk

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EUROPEAN UNION CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Two distinct spirits will be served up for your ears by the European Union Chamber Orchestra on 25 April. Mozart’s joyous Concerto for Flute and Harp brings Catrin Finch back to the Corn Exchange, alongside flautist Fiona Slominska. The concerto is paired with sprightly and elegant dances by Peter Warlock, a true maverick of 20th-century British music.

A change in tone for the other half features Barber’s beloved Adagio for Strings, with its slow-build swells, while Haydn’s Trauer, or mourning symphony, features colourful strings and brass. Tickets from £32, students and under 16s, £12.50. cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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R ICH A R D I I I A tale of power, murder and deceit, featuring Shakespeare’s iconic villain Richard III, comes to the Arts Theatre at the end of the month. After decades of civil war, the nation hangs in the balance. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was not born to be king, but he’s intent on gaining the crown. Tom Mothersdale heads the cast, portraying a murderous desire – behind the ambition – to be loved. Richard III runs from 24 to 27 April, with tickets from £20. cambridgeartstheatre.com

OSC A R MU R IL LO: V IOL EN T A M N ESI A The subject of Kettle’s Yard’s latest exhibition is Oscar Murillo, a compelling artist whose work reflects his own experiences of displacement and the social fallout of globalisation. Born in Colombia in 1986, Murillo’s family moved to London when he was ten. His techniques include painting, performance, drawing, collaborative works, installation, sculpture and sound, often using recycled materials from his studio.

He has held solo exhibitions around the world and was included in the Venice Biennale in 2015 and the Sharjah Biennial two years ago. The exhibition, Oscar Murillo: Violent Amnesia, will be across the galleries and throughout Kettle’s Yard and runs from 9 April until 23 June. kettlesyard.co.uk

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PHOTOGR A PH 51 Codebreaking may conjure images of espionage, but the biggest breakthrough in the last century was very much embedded in Cambridge’s own DNA. Rosalind Franklin’s often-overlooked role in the discovery of the structure of DNA – with James Watson and Francis Crick, together with Maurice Wilkins, the winners of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962 – is at the heart of Photograph 51, a play that comes to the ADC Theatre from 9 to 13 April.

It’s a fast-paced and ultimately moving tale about ambition and legacy. Does Rosalind realise she holds the key to the biggest scientific breakthrough of the 20th century? And what kept her out of the history books?

Franklin studied at Newnham College in the 1940s, before going on to work with Wilkins at King’s College, London, where they used X-ray diffraction to study DNA. Their findings were used by Crick and Watson, who worked at Cambridge University, in their own research, which led to a model that explained how DNA replicates and how hereditary information is coded within it.

The pair famously celebrated in The Eagle pub 66 years ago. Alongside Wilkins, they received the award nine years after the discovery, but Franklin did not receive the award. In 2017, a Franklin supporter ‘vandalised’ the blue plaque outside the pub by adding Rosalind’s name to it.

It is only the second time the play has been performed in the UK. The first was four years ago, when it starred Nicole Kidman in the West End, with former Cambridge University student and frequent ADC performer Will Attenborough as James Watson.

Tickets are £8 to £14. combinedactors.org | adctheatre.com

THE GUILTY FEMINIST With more than 50 million downloads, The Guilty Feminist has become a podcast mega-hit since it launched three years ago. Featuring comedian Deborah Frances-White and guests, it explores the goals of the modern feminist while confessing to the insecurities and paradoxes that undermine their intentions. A touring version of the show comes to the Corn Exchange on 16 May, with Deborah joined by comedians, musicians and more from the show, to find out what remains to be done. Tickets from £18. cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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Art Insider RUTHIE COLLINS, FOUNDER OF CAMBRIDGE ART SALON, GIVES HER ARTY PICKS OF THE MONTH

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pril is a fantastic month for that springtime fix of culture, with the Cambridge Literary Festival, one of my favourite events in the local calendar, arriving in full bloom each year. Watch out for Ali Smith in conversation on Spring, the third volume in her seasonal quartet, or see her offering up the best debut writers on 7 April. You can also check out George Monbiot’s ‘A Plea for the Planet’ on 5 April: a talk on how only radical action will save our planet – and us.

It’s also a chance to catch Kip Gresham’s The Art of Collaboration at the Heong Gallery, which runs until 19 May. This ‘hero of art midwifery’, has collaborated for more than 40 years with many greats, helping them create prints; in itself an unsung medium for art. The resulting show is a mind-blowing collection of works, including Antony Gormley, Cornelia Parker and Eduardo Paolozzi. It opened to a rapturous response last month, with a thoughtprovoking speech from Gresham himself that was a poignant reminder that behind great works of art is often a series of collaborative relationships, friendships and an ecology of mutual support. As Alan Bookbinder writes in the show’s catalogue, collaboration is ‘a meeting of minds, an opening of new artistic doors’.

Printmaking itself is a versatile way of making work that Gresham describes as ‘very cool.’ Collaboration, an art in its own right. This is a beautiful show, carefully executed – go see. While at the Heong Gallery’s opening for the Art of

Collaboration I met Michael Bravo, author of North Pole: Nature and Culture, which was published in December last year – an exploration of 500 years of the North Pole. As our world warms, the poles are an increasingly vital barometer of change. Indeed, it’s easy to feel like our world is increasingly polarised, in current times of algorithms and divisive politics.

“I’m curious about what we think poles are and why we think the poles matter,” Bravo tells me. “The future of the poles matters, because we think about the future. They are about the planet as our home. The poles hold the world together.” What does polarity mean to you?

Working as an artist can often feel extreme. You are trying to make a living in precarious conditions. Pay can be low. Commissions and projects are not guaranteed. It is competitive. Friends are often your boss, or colleagues, so boundaries are often horribly blurred. It’s a lesser appreciated part of the art world, the need for collaboration and support.

How we as professionals navigate all this is a personal choice – there is no code of conduct, no regulations that say we should ‘play nice’. But personally, how else would you want to? When anxiety levels among artists are often (perhaps invisibly) cripplingly high, these issues affect many, yet are little discussed. Wellbeing in this sector is often something the arts are viewed as creating – check Cambridge Community Arts for their fabulous creative courses – but not an element of the arts that we should be

“Despite all the precariousness, art making is wildly rewarding” CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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thinking about, as professionals. So how to address this?

The Arts Council is offering surgeries (yes, actual face-to-face support!) this month on the 9th, 23rd or 30th in its Cambridge offices; the chance for you to talk through projects with a relationship manager. This advice is like gold dust and has long been unavailable, due to cutbacks – so snap this offer up – email SEProjectGrants@artscouncil.org. uk for information, or to book a slot.

Networking is key for building contacts and working relationships – Cambridge Arts Network hosts an annual conference that is vital for bringing together the arts community, this year, themed on collaboration, no less – you can find out more information on CAN at cambridgeartsnetwork.com.

Meanwhile, the Cambridge Artists’ Union is an active branch that advocates in the city, pioneering better pay and better working conditions for artists – you can find out more at artistsunionengland.org. uk. There is no end of creative meet-ups in the city itself, from Cam Creative, a creative industries network, to more leftfield socials, such as those held at art space St Barnabas Press, which has started hosting monthly Warholian art parties (with a champagne tower, no less) called The Factory. If you feel like current networks aren’t really meeting your needs, why not start your own? Art is about collaborating, after all.

Because despite all the precariousness, art making – the people you meet, the collaborations, especially in Cambridge, a place full of imaginative, quirky, fascinating people – is all wildly rewarding. As Gresham says, “The day to day reality is one of dirty hands, bad backs, beautiful colours, seductive papers and above all, surprises from the artists, those magicians. That’s why one does this stuff. This Is Important.” l A P R I L 2 019

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Central Time NICOLA FOLEY MEETS HEIDI HALL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE RESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF BALLET CENTRAL, WHICH BRINGS ITS LATEST PRODUCTION TO THE CITY THIS MONTH

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he touring company of the Central School of Ballet, Ballet Central was founded in 1984 to give students experience of being on the road in a real-life production. After delighting audiences with The Nutcracker in December, the company is back at Cambridge’s ADC Theatre this April with its latest show: a dazzling showcase of emerging dance talent choreographed by some of the top names in the industry. An evening of thrilling theatricality, technical mastery and lavish costumes, the repertoire features Christopher Marney’s Carousel Dances and a unique version of The Dying Swan solo created by Calvin Richardson.

“The production is a fantastic mixture of things,” enthuses director and Cambridgeshire resident Heidi Hall. “There’s something in it for everyone. There’s classical ballet, there’s contemporary work and there’s also a narrative piece. At a venue like the ADC, which is so small and intimate, it’s wonderful to be able to see these dancers up close, on the cusp of their professional careers. It’s really exciting.”

If anybody understands the thrill of performance – for both audiences and dancers – it’s Heidi, whose professional credits include a stint as Meg Giry in The Phantom of the Opera on the West End. Before embarking on a successful career in dance, she was a student at Central

Above Ballet Central director Heidi Hall, captured by Paul Hackett. Production images

by ASH Photography.

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School of Ballet, where she studied under inspirational founder Christopher Gable.

“I have such fantastic memories of my time there, and it’s the tour that really stands out,” she smiles. “That first taste of what it’s really going to be like. You can teach your students so much in a studio or classroom, but actually doing it... you learn much more.”

The annual tour – a large-scale production which this year visits 20 venues across the UK – is a unique aspect of a Central School of Ballet education, serving to upskill students so that when their dancing careers come to an end (typically in their mid-30s), they have the knowledge and experience to pursue careers in other aspects of the arts.

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“The students learn about stage management, lighting, music, costume design and front of house. The idea is they have an understanding of what it takes to put on a performance,” Heidi explains.

“It means they also have an appreciation for everybody that works in theatre, so Central is sending really well-rounded human beings into the industry who have transferable skills for the future.”

Heidi credits this holistic approach with enabling her transition from performing into her current role as Central’s director, a post that combines arts management, fundraising and development. Her biggest achievement since taking the reins in 2016 has been spearheading a huge, £9 million

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“We will be able to share our facilities with the community and hopefully make dance and the arts more accessible” fundraising project to allow the school to realise a long-held goal of moving to a new home in the South Bank arts community. Her determined efforts, which saw her recognised in the Third Sector Awards last year, have resulted in work commencing on this dynamic new hub, which will offer training for Central students, as well as general dance classes.

With seven studios, a fully equipped theatre, study and resource centres and a state-of-the-art health suite, the new venue will give Central some of the most impressive dance training facilities in the country. Far from parachuting into the area and creating a closed shop, Heidi and her team are committed to opening up this impressive centre to the community as a whole, encouraging people from all walks of life get involved with ballet and, hopefully, inspiring a new and diverse generation of dancers.

It continues the ongoing work of Central to address the issue of diversity in the world of ballet, which includes offering free dance classes for school

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children in Southwark – home to one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country. The results for the participating children have been far-reaching, as Heidi explains: “The first cohort of those students have now gone to senior school and the headmistress has reported better focus, better concentration and better self-esteem – especially among the girls.

We hope that moving into our new building will be an enabler to do more of this kind of thing. We will be able to share our facilities with the community and hopefully make dance and the arts more accessible for those who might not ordinarily choose this as a career.”

It’s only through providing access from an early age, thinks Heidi, that ballet can hope to become truly inclusive. “I work closely with some of the top dance companies in the country – I know they are all passionate about changing the face of what dance looks like, but they can only do that if the schools are doing that,” she stresses. “We’re committed to changing the face of what the dance world

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looks like by creating opportunities.”

“I think dance, drama and singing are great levellers”, she says. “It instils a sense of discipline, but also enjoyment and opportunity. A lot of the students at Ballet Central are from low-income families; they’re taken purely on their talent.

Nobody is ever turned away for financial reasons. We hope that by working in the community we can make that degree even more accessible.”

Heidi now divides her time between the school in Clerkenwell, the new South Bank premises and touring with Ballet Central, but has chosen to keep her base here in Cambridgeshire. “I absolutely love it here!” she laughs. “It’s a big commute, but it’s worth it. The job is very full-on, but I get a bit of distance from it by living in Gamlingay. For a long time, my son was a chorister at King’s College. I used to go and watch Evensong, because for 45 minutes I’d have my phone switched off!”

See Ballet Central in action this month on 22 and 23 April at the ADC Theatre. l adctheatre.com

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ALL BOOKED UP SEE YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS, DISCOVER NEW ADDITIONS FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF AND DISCUSS THE BIG QUESTIONS AT THIS MONTH'S CAMBRIDGE LITERARY FESTIVAL

‘‘N

ever has there been a better time for us to come together to talk and to listen: to novelists, scientists, politicians, commentators and thinkers, each of them expert in their field,” says Alex Clark, artistic director of Cambridge Literary Festival. “From our opening afternoon, in which we see novelist Helen Oyeyemi return to the city she studied in to talk about her brilliant new novel, to our final event with the spectacular Ali Smith, we’ll be celebrating the power of words to capture hearts and minds.”

There’s plenty to tempt booklovers on the line-up, which ranges from top novelists to scientists, astronomers, politicians and poets.

The new fiction cohort is as strong as ever, bringing together some of the most exciting novelists in the game.

Madeline Miller – who was interviewed

by Cambridge Edition for our Book Club last month – speaks on the joyful job of bringing antiquity to life in Circe, her dazzling, ambitious reworking of ancient Greek myth. Joining her on the programme is Helen Oyeyemi, a prodigiously talented Cambridge Uni grad who wrote her first novel while at school and has since picked up numerous prestigious prizes. Join her on the 5th when she’ll discuss her novel Gingerbread; a folkoric tale of a mother and daughter

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living in a gold flat who make a potent kind of gingerbread.

James Runcie, author of the Grantchester mysteries, pays a visit on the 7th to give an insight into the latest instalment in the series, The Road to Grantchester. A prequel to the other books, it delves into the early life of protagonist Sidney Chambers: everybody’s favourite unlucky-in-love vicar turned super sleuth.

Festival favourite Ali Smith returns, too, to discuss the recently released Spring, the third volume in her stunning seasonal quartet. Written as the turbulent events of the last few months have unfolded, Spring offers a glimmer of optimism, regeneration and growth.

As well as showcasing top new fiction writers, the festival also celebrates the work and life of one of literature’s true greats: George Eliot. Author of the immortal Middlemarch, the writer threw herself into political and philosophical life and scandalised Victorian society with her lovers and unconventional domestic situation – join devotees Dame Gillian Beer, Alex Clark and Allison Pearson as they pay homage on the bicentenary of her death.

Another literary great under the spotlight at this year’s festival is Iris Murdoch, a philosopher turned novelist responsible for some of the best-loved works of fiction of the 20th century. From

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5-7 April

The Bell to The Sea, The Sea and A Severed Head, Murdoch’s singular style remains as absorbing and thought-provoking as ever, as a panel composed of Catherine Taylor, Jonathan Gibbs, Charlotte Mendelson will discuss.

If the restaurateurs of Cambridge seem skittish on 6 April, it might be because Jay Rayner, food critic for The Guardian and king of brutal takedowns, is in town.

He brings his My Dining Hell show to the festival: a safari through some of the most excruciating restaurant experiences he’s had – and as we know, there have been a few. Also talking food – specifically what happens when we have too much or too little of it – is Dr Giles Yeo, who joins the festival on 7 April. In his talk The Truth about Obesity and Dieting, he takes a common-sense, but fastidiously researched, approach to discerning why we’re getting fatter.

Bee Wilson, meanwhile, author of The Way We Eat Now – a frank snapshot of the world’s current eating habits – will discuss how our access to all kinds of cuisines has altered our relationship with what’s on our plate, suggesting that we reconnect with the origins of our food, and our ecology.

As ever, the ins and outs at Westminster are a hot topic at the festival, with guests including Hilary Benn MP, and Philip Collins, former speech writer for Tony Blair, who asks: how can CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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CA M B R I D G E L I T E RA RY F E ST I VA L

Images From contemporary fiction and wartime mystery to feminism, food and identity politics, there’s something for everyone at the festival this year

we fix our broken politics? Danny Dorling, meanwhile, author of Peak Inequality, explores how the EU referendum and its bitter aftermath have exposed the schism between the haves and have-nots in British society.

Gender politics is up for discussion too, courtesy of Caroline Criado Perez, the author of headline-making recent release Invisible Women. In it, she amasses a huge body of evidence to demonstrate that in a world built for men, from the size of our phones to the cars we drive, women are systemically ignored, discriminated against and endangered.

Join the discussion on the 6th. The next day, Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala, will discuss The Fight for Equality and Education; his powerful memoir about decades of work promoting the rights of women and girls living in Pakistan.

This year’s New Statesman Debate puts forward the motion that “This house believes identity politics is an impediment to progress”. Sure to inspire some heated discussion, the debate will consider: “is defining yourself by your identity – whether gender, sexuality, race, nationality or class – a way of making society a more progressive, inclusive place? Or is it a downward slope that leads to self-interest, polarised debate and political stasis?”. Hear opinions on the 6th.

Little book lovers will be well catered for at the festival as well, with top kids’

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authors including Ross Welford, creator of The Dog Who Saved the World, as well as a celebration of Elmer, the lovably different patchwork elephant.

Rounding the event off is Roger McGough, who brings an evening of poetry and performance to the festival on Sunday the 6th. With a career that spans five decades, encompassing the Mersey Sound and the number one single Lily the Pink, McGough can still entrance an audience – he’ll be celebrating his new collection, Joined Up Writing. l cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

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BOOK CLUB CAMBRIDGE EDITION

Book Club BRINGING YOU TOP NEW FICTION PICKS, AUTHOR INTERVIEWS, DISCOUNTS AND LOTS MORE BOOK CHAT, THE EDITION BOOK CLUB IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH CAMBRIDGE LITERARY FESTIVAL AND HEFFERS INTERVIEW BY CHARLOT TE GRIFFITHS

T HE L A NGUAGE OF BIR DS BY JIL L DAWSON THIS FICTIONALISED RETELLING OF THE LORD LUCAN MYSTERY FOCUSES ON THE VICTIM

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he Language of Birds follows two young women from the Fens as they navigate life in 1970s London, working as nannies for the children of “society” women and hoping to enjoy all the excitement offered by life in the capital city. Mandy River is trying to escape a troubled past, yet seeking a fresh start lands her in the midst of a family undergoing an extremely messy separation; her friend Rosemary, normally gifted when it comes to reading the truth of a situation, is mistaken about Mandy’s employers’ intentions – with tragic consequences.

Though the tale is fictional, the book is dedicated to and inspired by Sandra Rivett, the young woman found murdered in 1974 at the home of Lord Lucan, where she had been employed as a nanny. As Jill Dawson has done many times before with previous books, The Language Of Birds takes commonly-held beliefs regarding a real life situation and shines light into their darker areas, seeking out alternative perspectives and showing that the voices of women are all too frequently not given the attention they deserve – or even more sinisterly, are silenced altogether.

Jill finished writing The Language Of Birds over a year ago, and has taken time out since submitting her manuscript, giving her brain a breather from the intensity with which she approaches the business of writing. She lives near Ely, in a house designed by her husband, and her study – where she spends the majority of her time – enjoys glorious views across the Fens towards the city’s cathedral.

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“I spend most of my time alone in this study, writing – and then pop up for a few months promoting a book,” Jill says. “The two are very different, very contrasting, so it’s not too surprising when writers say they enjoy time on their own. I think the way I work is quite intense: I’m obsessed and obsessive when I’m writing, so I often need a bit of a breather afterwards.”

The original idea for The Language of Birds came to Jill a couple of years ago while watching yet another documentary on the life and disappearance of Lord Lucan. “I thought: ‘Well, we don’t know much about the nanny…’ and then I started reading up about nannies at the time. The book was actually going to be called The Nanny’s Story at first, but I rather like The Language Of Birds, for reasons which become obvious when you read it. When you look at the journalists and writers of the time, they were all of [Lucan’s] type – same background, white, male, older; they went to clubs, had younger girlfriends – and so therefore u

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E V EN T S

Inspired by The Language of Birds, or one of Jill’s other works? The author will be visiting the Cambridge area for several events in April: 4 APRIL:

Cambridge Literary Festival 10 APRIL:

St Peter’s Church, Ely 28 APRIL:

Stapleford Granary in conversation with Gillian Beer

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BOOK CLUB the sources coloured everything. There would be no working class girl’s account of events.”

Seeking out alternative versions of history requires a lot of legwork in the form of extensive research: for Jill, this is one of the delights of putting together a book. “I’ve done it repeatedly since writing Fred and Edie, which is based in the 1920s and about a woman who was wrongfully – very wrongfully – hanged for murder. But you just need to read the newspapers to see how that was presented and why Edie was judged so harshly. I think the research is the bit I love – maybe not love best, I do like writing as well – but I can’t imagine writing a book that didn’t involve any research. Each time I want to learn something: I’m trying to find things out.

It’s a project for myself as much as it’s for the finished book, so if it’s not enjoyable for me, I wouldn’t embark on it.”

The Language Of Birds will be Jill’s tenth novel, and sixteenth book to be published. “I’ve always been a writer: that’s all I’ve ever done. I’ve written for various newspapers and magazines, and have taught creative writing, but have never had a... proper job,” she laughs. “I do work very hard, but on my own terms and when I want to: the downside is the insecurity, and things like not having a pension – but the upside is the freedom to work all night, all Saturday and Sunday if you want – and then have Monday and Tuesday off.”

Jill is disciplined and focused when writing, dividing her attention between a busy home life and her current projects. “I have a foster daughter, and a grandchild, and grown up kids – so I’ve always had home stuff as well – so what I’ve had to be is very focused when I have the opportunity to write, and that is much more likely to be weekdays, and my best times are mornings. And then other times, when I’m teaching residential writing courses or travelling, I don’t think about writing at all – I switch on and off. I think I’m very tuned into my own productivity and mood, so if I know that today’s a writing day and I’ve got a lovely clean stretch ahead, then I’ll work very hard… I think the trick is to get to know yourself. It’s a bit like exercise: I tend to do exercise that I love, like swimming: I’m not someone who can make myself do things I don’t want to do. But happily, I love writing novels.”

Jill didn’t have an ending in mind when she started out with the idea of exploring a young woman’s life in London in the 1970s. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to stick with the story or not, but that for me is usually enough: a little bit of an idea of what I’m basing it on, the real story.

I’ve written about Rupert Brooke (The Great Lover), I’ve written about Patricia Highsmith (The Crime Writer), so I normally know some of the constraints of the actual story – but the puzzle and the challenge is, what do I have to add that might be new?”

The story of Lord Lucan will be familiar to most readers. “Everyone feels they know that: it’s all about him escaping, where did he go, and the aristocratic friends hiding him,” Jill says – but people don’t know anything about the victim at the centre of the tale. “There’s another book just out, which tells the story of Jack The Ripper’s victims (The Five by Hallie Rubenhold) rather than revisiting the killer again,” Jill says. “I think this is part of a broader shift in society: the stories of women now being listened to, the voices of women at last taking centre stage.”

Though The Language Of Birds takes Sandra and her situation as a starting point for the tale, Jill’s novel does differ: “Mandy and Rosemary are quite definitely fictional,” Jill says. “They’re from the Fens, I’d made up their family

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LOOK OUT FOR THE CAMBRIDGE EDITION BOOK CLUB STICKERS IN HEFFERS & GET MONEY OFF OUR MONTHLY PICK

Heffers is located at 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge blackwells.co.uk

situations and who they were; in a way I had to, there wasn’t enough to go on.

Sandra Rivett, the actual nanny, did have two sons, so I kept that detail because it struck me as very poignant that a woman working as a nanny, caring for the children of others, should have given her own two children up for adoption. I fictionalised just about everything else around her and Rosemary’s life. I always do an extensive amount of research but I think for a novelist, one of the tricks is knowing what to abandon: you need to absorb a great deal and then let it float away from you in order to write well. You don’t just wedge it all in.”

And for Jill, that’s primarily why writing is such an intense experience. “There’s a lot of going back again, and researching as I go along, rewriting things – it’s labour intensive,” she says. “But the alternative, to plan [a book] from the start, would bore me and I wouldn’t have an incentive to write it. There’s a challenge in letting fiction – the world you’re creating, the people you’re creating – answer the questions you have. That, to me, is one of the great pleasures of writing.” l CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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BOOK CLUB

C AT H Y MO OR E , DI R ECTOR OF C A MBR I DGE L I T ER A RY F EST I VA L , ON T H E L A NGUAGE OF BI R DS Jill Dawson has the knack of making absorbing literature from real life events. Her latest book was inspired by the shocking murder of Lord Lucan’s nanny; the violent assault on his wife at their London home in 1974, and his subsequent disappearance. He was legally declared dead in 1999 and his wife Veronica died in 2017 still claiming his guilt of both crimes. The Language of Birds tells the story of two young women from the Fens, Mandy and Rosemary, who travel to London seeking a fresh start to work as nannies for wealthy families. Telling the story from the viewpoint of the nannies, Dawson paints a vivid portrait of 1970s society and shows that then as now, women’s voices all too often went unheard. The joy of Dawson’s writing lies not only in her ability to ventriloquise but also in her brilliant character development which leaves you bereft when the worst does indeed happen.

Jill Dawson will be discussing The Language of Birds with novelist Louise Doughty at Cambridge Literary Festival on 7 April at 4pm cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

NEW ON THE BOOKSHELF: T H E WAY W E E AT NOW

SPR I NG

BY BEE WILSON

BY ALI SMITH

The latest book by Cambridge resident and internationally renowned writer Bee Wilson landed on shelves at the end of March. This new book sees Bee take a closer look at what, how and why we eat what we do in today’s modern world, and the potential costs of this convenience. A must read for any foodie.

Also published at the end of March is the third book in Ali Smith’s ‘Seasonal Quartet’, which promises to be as transcendentally spectacular as her previous works. Ali will be speaking at this year’s Cambridge Literary Festival in a special event at the Festival’s finale: if you’re a fan, don’t miss out on a ticket…

I N V ISI BL E WOMEN

BY CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ

A data-driven look at how the world around us is set to biological standards based on the bodies and reactions of men – Criado Perez’s book exposes the hidden biases of such data sets, which have potentially deadly consequences for women, and will change how you look at the world.

UP NEXT MONTH

T HE M AT HEM AT IC A L BR IDGE

BY JIM KELLY

Cambridge, with its winding streets and ancient buildings, is a city ripe for its own series of detective novels.

Oxford has Inspector Morse and his spin-off, Lewis, but so far Cambridge has only had James Runcie’s Grantchester mysteries, and Sidney Chambers is a vicar, not a real detective! Now, though, we have Detective Inspector Eden Brooke in Jim Kelly’s ‘Nighthawk’ series. The Mathematical Bridge is the second in the series, the follow-up to The Great Darkness, and is set in 1940, during the first winter of the second world war. A college porter on his nightly rounds is startled to hear a child’s cries from the waters below the Mathematical Bridge.

Brooke is summoned by police whistle and commandeers a punt in a desperate attempt at a rescue.

THE MATHEMATICAL BRIDGE CAN BE PURCHASED FOR £19.99 IN HARDBACK. READ ALONG AND TWEET US YOUR THOUGHTS @CAMBSEDITION, WITH THE HASHTAG #EDITIONBOOKCLUB FOR A CHANCE TO FEATURE IN THE NEXT ISSUE.

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After Hours

NOW BOOKING

THE NIGHTLIFE EVENTS NOT TO MISS THIS MONTH

W H E AT US 15 MAY, CAMBRIDGE JUNCTION, £18.50

The band famed for the massive hit Teenage Dirtbag are currently finishing off their seventh album.

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THE JACK SONS

NOUVELLE VAGUE

14 JULY, AUDLEY END HOUSE, £55.69

Bossa nova versions of punk and post-punk classics may not sound like a sure-fire recipe for success, but it’s served Nouvelle Vague very well indeed. The tour marks 15 years in the business, during which time they’ve worked with Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore, Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Specials’ Terry Hall. They play The Junction on 21 April, tickets £30. junction.co.uk

UB 4 O

The Birmingham band that brought reggae to the masses in Britain from the late seventies throughout the eighties and beyond celebrated their 40th anniversary last year.

They released their first album since 2013, titled For the Many, this year.

They play the Corn Exchange on 20 May and will be drawing on their seventeen top ten hits, plus new material. Tickets from £40.50. cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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The world-famous brothers perform 50 years on since their debut hit, I Want You Back.

SOU L L EGEN DS

Whether you are a natural woman, a soul man, or a plain old sex machine, you’ll love Soul Legends.

Featuring the hits of Barry White, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Sam & Dave, Chaka Khan, Kool & the Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, and more, you’ll be on your feet reliving your favourite anthems.

Catch the show on 6 April, with tickets from £22.75. cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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H A PP Y MON DAY S

2 NOVEMBER, CORN EXCHANGE, £35.50

Shaun Ryder, Bez and the rest of the classic line-up perform hits such as Step On and Kinky Afro.

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Gig Guide JORDAN WORLAND FROM LOCAL MUSIC WEBSITE SLATE THE DISCO GIVES HIS TOP LIVE MUSIC PICKS FOR THE MONTH AHEAD

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pril is a big one for live music in Cambridge!

It’s exceptionally busy at The Blue Moon on Norfolk Street, but our top recommendation is former Wooden Arms frontman Alexander Carson on the 30th. Carson’s solo work is reminiscent of early Benjamin Clementine and Rufus Wainwright; more of a candid, confessional singer/songwriter style than his band’s classical vibe. We also can’t wait for Malena Zavala on the 25th, whose warped and beguilingly melancholy guitar pop promises a spellbinding evening.

The Blue Moon hosts a great daytime event of fuzzy guitars and pop on the 20th, featuring Schande, Doyouthinkhesaurus and Casey Tufnell. Canada’s Rare Americans (11th) are catchy, with a slanted take on storytelling, and David Thomas Broughton (15th) sits somewhere between folk and avant-garde – his live performances are not to be missed.

Penelope Isles perform melodic fuzz-pop with dynamics that will transfix and satisfy: they open a busy month of great shows at The Portland when they play on the 3rd. After some time away and a relocation to LA, Luke Sital-Singh is back with a new record this month, A Golden State. He showcases his deft ability to craft songs with a mesmerising, piercing emotional quality at the venue on the 15th.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs are simply amazing – no wonder, then, that their show on the 9th has sold out. However, if you can get hold of a ticket, you’re in for a night of noise-rock and chaos. Elsewhere at The Portland, the super group Piroshka – consisting of members from Lush, Elastica and Modern English – play on the 5th. The Xcerts return on the 8th, supported by the exciting Paris Youth Foundation, and Bloxx (19th), who, with their ability to write an absolute indie banger, could soon be your new favourite band.

Witty and dry, sardonic yet never cynical, creators of melodically infectious yet edgy singalong songs, Half Man Half Biscuit return to the Cambridge Junction this month (5th). The Junction’s line-up this April kicks off with a frantic double bill of Drenge and their anthemic, grungy sound (complete with new album) paired with the dark, moreish surf rock of The Wytches on the 1st.

Other Cambridge Junction recommendations include Teleman on the 23rd, Benjamin Francis Leftwich (2nd), Wilko Johnson (25th) and Skinny Lister (10th).

BEN J A M IN F R A NCIS L EF T W ICH Raw emotion and electronic elements combine to forge a darker sound on Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s latest single, Gratitude, which features on his third album, due out soon. His track Shine was named Spotify’s most addictive track of 2014, with the most repeat plays.

Catch him at Cambridge Junction on 2 April. junction.co.uk

T HE VA M P S With two billion streams globally and 8.4 million monthly listens on Spotify, The Vamps are one of the most successful British bands.

They play the Corn Exchange on 23 May, with tracks from recent number one album Night & Day to the fore. Tickets from £15.50. cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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A simple brew of guitar, drums and synths may not be unusual, but Teleman’s melodic, catchy indie pop, which stands above the rest, is the product of a decade in the business.

Thomas Sanders’ distinctive vocals keep the band one step ahead.

Be enchanted on 23 April at The Junction, tickets £17. junction.co.uk

BRIGHTER DAYS

WONKY DISCO

Looking for some Easter weekend fun? Check out Wonky Disco, Cambridge’s one and only rooftop party, which returns for another day of colourful, glittery fun on 21 April. Running from 2pm till 9pm on the roof terrace at city centre nightclub Lola Lo, you can expect tropical decorations, cocktails and beats provided by local faves including Stuart Banks, Henry Kirkup and Mr Frosty.

It marks the fifth birthday celebration for the event – so you can expect spirits to be even higher than usual! If you can’t make this one but it sounds up your street, the next parties take place on this year’s remaining Bank Holiday weekends: 5 May, 26 May and 25 August. As ever, entry is free but it’s guest list only. Email wonkydiscoalfresco@gmail.com to add your name and join the fun. Search Wonky Disco Alfresco on Facebook for more info.

In a city where really good club nights are all too rare, the Brighter Days events shine all the brighter. From small beginnings right here in Cambridge in 2016, it’s grown into one of the country’s most exciting, energetic club nights, drawing in a diverse crowd and serving up those ‘wow’ moments – musically and visually – which stay with you long after the lights go up at the end of the night. It returns to Cambridge Junction on 6 April for a huge third birthday celebration, featuring Simon Dunmore, Melon Bomb and Full Intention. Expect great tunes of the house/disco persuasion, a full-on production extravaganza and lots of surprises.

Dig out your best sequins and glitter, and join the fun; final release tickets are available for £25. junction.co.uk

SK IN N Y L IS T ER

Seismic, tongue-in-cheek London six-piece Skinny Lister produced power-pop goodness with the single My Distraction, which came out prior to last month’s new album The Story Is. The LP was produced

by Barny Barnicott, who has worked with Arctic Monkeys. They play Cambridge Junction on 10 April, with tickets £17 in advance. junction.co.uk

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CO M M U N I T Y H U B

3 COUNTIES WALK

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he Bartlow 3 Counties Walk returns on 5 May, offering a chance to enjoy the countryside of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex in aid of some great local causes. This popular annual sponsored walk in the countryside has raised a huge £141,752 for charity in its 15-year history, and 2018’s event saw just under one thousand walkers joining the fun. The organisers have made some tweaks to the route but six, nine and 13 mile walks will be available, as well as the 1 mile history trail. There will be food, drink, music and entertainment in the farmyard including Linton Jazz Orchestra, and dogs are welcome, too.

This year’s fundraising is for Addenbrooke’s Children’s Service, Linton Health Centre and Bartlow Church Restoration. bartlow3countieswalk.co.uk

“Suddenly there’s a lot of activity and it feels like Cambridge has awoken from its hibernation”

Community

HUB

CHARITY CINEMA SCREENING

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id you miss the blockbusting Bohemian Rhapsody in the cinema? Perhaps you loved it and want to relive the music and magic once again?

Either way, turn your feet to Cambridge Aqua Park on 18 May, which is hosting a special outdoor screening of this dazzling biopic to raise funds for East Anglia Children’s Hospice (EACH). Doors open at 7pm, and there’s a live band at 8.15pm, followed by the film at around 9.15pm. Food and drinks will be available, or you can bring along a picnic. There will be no seating so you’ll need to bring along a blanket or collapsible chairs, and tickets are £13. each.org.uk

REACH RIDE

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rab your bike and some friends and join in the Reach Ride – a huge-scale group cycle, which takes place on bank holiday Monday, 6 May. Beginning at The Guildhall (11am departure) and ending at the historic Reach Fair, the route is 29 miles in total and open to all ages. The peloton will pull up in time for the mayor’s opening of the fair, and then you’ll be free to enjoy all the fun of this ancient event, from Maypole and Morris dancing to stalls, fairground rides and

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food and drink. Last year more than 1,000 cyclists joined the ride, and it’s a really friendly atmosphere – with marshals along the route to help if you need any minor bike fixes. It’s open to all, but children under ten may find the full distance challenging – so you can always join in at another point, such as Newmarket Road Park & Ride. You may also cycle from Ely, with Ely Cycling Campaign, along a scenic off-road route through the fens on NCN11. Meet at 9am at Ely station. camcycle.org.uk CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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CO M M U N I T Y H U B

EMMAUS GOOD FRIDAY SALE

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mmaus is a charity that supports people who have experienced homelessness by providing them with a home and meaningful work in a community setting. The organisation has a shop in Landbeach that sells a large selection of pre-loved furniture, clothing, household

goods, bric-a-brac and more. On Good Friday, 19 April, the shop is having a huge sale, offering 50% off everything in store, with all profits going to the community, helping to fund the support Emmaus provides to people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion. emmaus.org.uk

RADIO GAGA CAMBRIDGE BREAKFAST’S JULIAN CLOVER AND LUCY MILAZZO CHAT ABOUT THE CITY’S RESTAURANT WEEK AND THE CAMBRIDGE BAND COMPETITION

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hisper it quietly, but could it be that spring has sprung in Cambridge? Suddenly there’s a lot of activity in town and it feels like Cambridge has awoken from its sleepy hibernation. The mornings have certainly become much brighter – particularly when you’re up to do a radio show at 7am.

We’re very excited about Cambridge’s first Restaurant Week (1-7 April). A fantastic new idea where we can sit down at some of the city’s best eateries and enjoy set menus between £5 and £15. Already signed up are some favourites from our Friday Foodclub feature; Bills, Bridges, the Tamburlaine Hotel, Novi, Old Ticket Office and Vegan Vice to name just a few. Needless to say, we have our knives and forks at the ready!

On Cambridge Breakfast, it’s been a busy month of guests each morning, with our new Parish Pump feature on Mondays, where we speak to community groups.

Each Wednesday in On the Market, Lucy has a chat with a market stall holder: so far we’ve met Adam, the lovely Flower Man who told us how to keep those roses fresh for extra-long on Valentine’s Day, Jiang Bing who spoke about her delicious Chinese crepe – a beloved breakfast dish in China that makes for a very tasty lunch treat in Cambridge – and the wonderful Mandy on the Moon who will answer all your questions about life, love and everything in between every Monday on our wonderful market.

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Later in the month, we’re covering the finals of the Cambridge Band Competition.

The heats have been taking place throughout March at The Portland Arms and on Friday 26 April we’re broadcasting live from Cambridge Junction to discover the identity of the winners.

The Cambridge Band Competition has been a feature of life in the city since 1985, its first year benefitting from coverage on the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, the essential music show of the 1970s and 1980s.

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These days the band competition acts as an essential fundraiser for Strawberry Fair and is open to any artist or band who lives within a 40-mile radius of Cambridge. Already through to the final are Anglia Ruskin-based band Grassroof, the wonderfully quirky DodoBones and the jazz influenced Ffion Rebecca and her band.

Cambridge Breakfast with Julian Clover and Lucy Milazzo, weekdays 7am, Cambridge 105 Radio.

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PARK & RIDE EASTER TRAIL

WHAT IS LOVE CAMBRIDGE? Love Cambridge is the brand developed by Cambridge BID to deliver events and projects designed to animate and entertain our city. These include the Love Cambridge gift card, open air cinema nights, Wimbledon screening, magazines, maps and much more. Follow us on social media to be kept up to date with what’s going on in Cambridge this summer. lovecambridge_ Love Cambridge www.love-cambridge.com

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Looking for some familyfriendly Easter fun? Check out the Cambridge Park & Ride Easter Trail, which runs from 6 to 23 April. See if you can spot the letters to find our three-letter word – there is a free chocolate bunny for everyone that takes part and one lucky winner selected at random could win a £250 Love Cambridge gift card!

Simply visit one of the five Park & Ride sites located around Cambridge at Madingley Road, Newmarket Road, Milton, Babraham Road or Trumpington to get started. At each Park & Ride site you will find copies of our trail sheet and the first letter you need to discover our

mystery word. Letter two is available on board the Park & Ride buses – easy to find as you make your way into Cambridge, and letter three is available in the Visitor Information Centre on Peas Hill.

If you board the Park & Ride bus without collecting a trail sheet don’t worry, as copies are available on board the buses – just remember to collect letter one from the Park & Ride site.

Thanks to our friends at Chocolat ChOcolat, each trail card holder is entitled to a free chocolate bunny: just pop into the Visitor Information Centre and show your completed trail card to collect yours. parkandrideeastertrail.co.uk

LOVE CAMBRIDGE RESTAURANT WEEK This month sees the arrival of the inaugural Love Cambridge Restaurant Week, which brings a week’s worth of tasty discounts on top dining experiences around the city from 1 to 7 April. A chance to explore the city’s vibrant food scene and find new gems, Restaurant Week sees the city’s eateries serving special set menus at £5, £10 or £15 – a great opportunity to snap up feasts at bargain prices.

The line-up of participating restaurants includes Steak & Honour, the Tamburlaine Hotel, De Luca Cucina & Bar, Nanna Mexico, Tabanco, and Amélie at the Grafton Centre to name just a few. As well as all these beloved local independents, various big brands are getting in on the action, including Jamaica Blue and the Hilton DoubleTree.

To claim your discounted meal, visit the Cambridge BID website, see what tickles your fancy and then download the relevant voucher, which you’ll need to bring along when you eat.

WIN!

There’s also a chance to win a Love Cambridge gift card loaded with £100! Launched by Cambridge Business Improvement District (BID), the card’s credit is redeemable at shops and attractions across the city, ranging from John Lewis, Topshop and YO! Sushi, to local indies including Millers Music, Aromi and Podarok. To enter the giveaway, simply redeem an offer in one of the participating restaurants from 1 to 7 April and share your experience on social media by uploading a photo and using the hashtag #LoveCambridgeRestaurantWeek. You will be contacted if you win. Good luck!

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EASTER WEEKEND IN CAMBRIDGE’S NEW ROSE QUARTER Hop down to Cambridge’s new Rose Quarter this Easter for an egg hunt event like no other. The vibrant collection of over 30 shops and restaurants, from independent concepts to international brands, located in the heart of Cambridge, near Market Hill, will be an eggcellent Easter destination for locals and visitors to Cambridge.

Over four days, from Friday 19 to Monday 22 April, shops and restaurants in Rose Quarter will be hiding eggs for everyone to find.

If egg hunters find all four eggs in-store they can exchange it for a chocolate egg! The egg hunts take

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place all day, each day in different shops. Before you start, collect the Egg Hunt card from one of the shops or restaurants on Rose Quarter or from Rose Crescent entrance to receive shop details and special offers.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with retailers and landlords to raise the profile of this beautiful Cambridge quarter.

The Easter event is a wonderful opportunity for people to visit Rose Quarter and enjoy the shops and restaurants in this historic area of the city,” says Roger Musgrove, Chair of Rose Quarter Cambridge.

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What’s On YOUR AT-A-GLANCE GUIDE TO EVENTS AROUND CAMBRIDGE THIS MONTH

1 APRIL

4 APRIL

5 APRIL

DRENGE

JULIAN CLARY: BORN TO MINCE

PIROSHKA

Rory and Eoin Loveless’ band has been referenced by Labour MP Tom Watson in his resignation letter from the Shadow Cabinet, and appeared on Late Show with David Letterman before their second LP. This date is in support of their third album, Strange Creatures.

7pm | Cambridge Junction | £18 junction.co.uk

In this camp new show, Clary will bare his soul like never before. He’ll murder some wellknown songs, read from his next memoir, A Night at the Lubricant, and make withering remarks the way only he can.

8pm | Corn Exchange | £28, £26 concs cambridgelivetrust.co.uk 5 APRIL

3 APRIL

HAMMER & TONGUE

WINE TASTING: TOUR OF ITALY Join Steve Hovington from Cambridge Wine Academy for a guided tour around Italy’s wonderful wine regions.

7.15pm | Cambridge Wine Merchants £22.50 | cambridgewine.com

Part of the national poetry and spoken word body, Hammer & Tongue Cambridge brings slam poetry democracy to the city. Hosted by local poet, musician and unrepentant geek Fay Roberts.

7.30pm | Cambridge Junction | £7.50 junction.co.uk

The band, featuring Miki Berenyi (Lush) and Justin Welch (Elastica), play tracks from their debut album Brickbat, which was released in February on Bella Union.

7pm | Portland Arms | £13.75 theportlandarms.co.uk 5-7 APRIL

CAMBRIDGE LITERARY FESTIVAL A host of glittering writing talent, with talks on politics, the environment and, of course, the latest books, comes to the city for its spring edition.

Various times, venues and prices cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 6 APRIL

BRIGHTER DAYS Another glitzy night of house and disco tunes ties in with Brighter Days’ third birthday party.

Featuring Simon Dunmore, owner of Defected Records, and the club’s favourite Ibiza crew and Glitterbox regulars, Melon Bomb.

9pm-5am | Cambridge Junction | £17 junction.co.uk 8 APRIL

MARY COUGHLAN One of Ireland’s greatest jazz and blues singers, Coughlan – described as her country’s Billie Holliday – has overcome childhood trauma, alcoholism and drug addiction to become a musical force with fans worldwide since releasing her first album in 1985.

8pm | Cambridge Junction | £22.50 junction.co.uk

7 APRIL

WOW! I T ’ S N IGH T-T I M E A curious little owl is ready to discover the wonders of night-time, from the big bright moon to bats and foxes deep in the wood. Based on the book by Tim Hopgood.

11.30am and 2.30pm | Cambridge Junction | £10, child £6 junction.co.uk

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12-14 APRIL

ZOG Large in size and keen in nature, Zog is eager to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school for, you guessed it, dragons. The team behind the musical version of Tabby McTat recreates the latest Julia Donaldson classic.

Various times | Corn Exchange | £17.50, children £15.50 | cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

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SOF IE H AGEN:BU BBL EW R A P Sofie returns to the Junction with the show that won her Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe. Bubblewrap reflects on self acceptance and mental health.

8pm | Cambridge Junction | £15 | junction.co.uk

17-20 APRIL

22 & 23 APRIL

25 APRIL

BRASSED OFF

BALLET CENTRAL

WILKO JOHNSON

Featuring Soham Comrades Brass Band, Viva’s award-winning 2017 show returns.

Based on the 1996 film, it tells the story of a mining village, its colliery band and a pit threatened with closure.

7.45pm, plus 2.30pm Sat | ADC Theatre from £12 | adctheatre.com

A chance to see young dance graduates about to embark on professional careers perform classical ballet and contemporary dance theatre, including Christopher Marney’s Carousel Dances.

7.45pm, plus 2.30pm on 23rd | ADC Theatre from £12 | adctheatre.com

The original Dr Feelgood guitarist (who also featured in Ian Dury & The Blockheads) has enjoyed a rousing return to gigging following his cancer recovery. Special guest is Glenn Tilbrook.

7pm | Cambridge Junction | £30 junction.co.uk

19 APRIL

24 APRIL

WHITNEY: QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

ENDELLION STRING QUARTET

A celebration of the music from one of the greatest singers from the last 30 years, Whitney Houston’s classic hits include I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Saving All My Love and I Will Always Love You. 8pm | Corn Exchange | from £23 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

Guest musicians Emma and Joy Lisney from Cambridge join the quartet to perform Brahms’ String Sextet Op.36. They will also play Beethoven’s String Quartet in D major and Dvořák’s String Quartet in E major.

7.30pm | West Road Concert Hall | £28 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

21 APRIL

24 & 25 APRIL

ARETHA – RESPECT

EARLY BIRD TOURS

Soul diva Janine Johnson, who has worked with George Michael, Take That and Paloma Faith, performs the career- and genredefining hits of Aretha Franklin.

7.30pm | Corn Exchange | from £21.50 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

Dr Julia Mackenzie – involved in bird research at Cambridge University Botanic Garden – provides an early morning tour observing birds before the garden opens to the public.

8am | Cambridge University Botanic Garden £21 | cambridgelivetrust.co.uk

25 APRIL

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EUROPEAN UNION CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Catrin Finch (harp) and Fiona Slominska (flute) lead the orchestra through works by 20th-century music maverick, Peter Warlock, as well as work by Mozart, Barber and Haydn.

7.30pm | Corn Exchange | from £17 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk 26 APRIL

CAMBRIDGE BAND COMPETITION FINAL Strawberry Fair presents the final of the Cambridge Band Competition: the culmination of several heats, including ones specifically for young bands. Expect top tunes, talent and passion.

7pm | Cambridge Junction | £8.50 junction.co.uk

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Easter Fun IT’S THAT EGG-CELLENT TIME OF YEAR WHEN THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF TIME OFF WORK, A BIT MORE TIME OFF SCHOOL AND LOTS TO SEE AND DO. CYRUS PUNDOLE ROUNDS UP THE TOP LOCAL EVENTS FOR ALL AGES EGG HUNT AT WIMPOLE HALL

A nature-themed egg hunt at Wimpole Hall features a spot of wildlife learning along the way. Pick up your trail sheet at the start, which is just inside the gardens, and from there you’ll have to follow your instincts and make sure you have the right answers in order to get a chocolate prize. The trail, which runs from 19 to 22 April, is suitable for all ages and this year Wimpole is giving visitors the chance to book their trail in advance, either online, or by calling 03442 491895. There will be limited tickets, which are £2.50, available on the day.

Normal admission charges apply, though entry is free for National Trust members.

AUDLEY END ADVENTURE QUEST

It’s a rather unusual creature whose eggs have been hidden by the Easter Bunny

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at Audley End House and Gardens from 6 to 22 April. A quest to find dragon eggs takes in several clues that need to be solved as families make their way through the gardens. Intrepid adventurers who succeed will be rewarded with a sticker and certificate to prove their eggfinding credentials, plus a chocolate treat!

It costs just £1 per child, 11am to 5pm each day, and there’s no need to book.

WANDLEBURY OUTDOOR CINEMA

It’s all stars at Wandlebury Country Park on 20 April, when you can watch hit film A Star is Born under the stars, thanks to outdoor cinema creatives, The Star and Mouse Picture Show. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper head the cast in a tale of a musician who helps a young singer find fame, while age and alcoholism send his career downwards fast.

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FA M I LY D AYS O U T

Guests can arrive from 7pm onwards to have a drink and something to eat, before the film starts when it gets dark. Wrap up warm and take a blanket to snuggle under. And, if you have a dog, take them too, as it’s a dog-friendly screening.

ANGLESEY ABBEY EGG HUNT

Explore the signs of spring in a family adventure through the woods at Anglesey Abbey’s Hoe Fen, home to many different animals, from tiny creatures to families of deer. Help Cyril the squirrel, who has lost his way, unlock clues to find his way home. When you reach the end of the hunt, a chocolate treat awaits his helpers. Follow the woodland path to pick up your hunt map and clue sheet. The hunt, which costs £2.50, runs from 19 to 22 April, with half-hour slots available to book from 10am. with a 4pm finish.

BOTANICAL DAYS

A growing passion for all things in the garden? Feel the joy of spring and

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take the time to get back out into the garden when Cultivate Gardens’ Botanical Days pop-up comes to Hope Street Yard on 19 and 20 April, 10am till 5pm.

There will be spring bulbs, garden plants, retro pots and planters, plus a chance to chat with the team about garden design for inspiration on your own patch.

While you’re there, if you fancy a brew, Caf-fiend of Cambridge will be serving delicious artisan coffee. Entry is free.

EASTER TRAIL AT THE BOTANIC GARDEN

Animals from all over the world are dropping in to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden from 6 to 22 April to help the Easter Bunny. You can find the animals with the help of a free trail pack from the ticket office, leading you on a fun-filled spring adventure.

See amazing plants and collect an Easter prize at the end. It’s a drop-in, self-led trail, and normal admission applies for accompanying adults.

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EGGSTINCT

More eggs, but this time, some of them are ancient, and certainly not for eating! Eggstinct at the Museum of Zoology gives visitors the chance to discover eggs of animals past and present.

Children from four and up can have a cracking time with egg-themed crafts in the museum. It runs on 11 and 16 April, from 10am to 4.30pm. It’s free and there’s no need to book. If you get peckish, pop up to the Whale Café for a bite to eat.

SHEPRETH EGG HUNT

Explorers on Shepreth Wildlife Park’s egg hunt, from 19 to 22 April, need to hunt down hidden animal images to get their eyes on the prize. The four days will be packed with fun games, presentations, entertainers and special guests. While you’re there, don’t forget the park’s regular residents, including tigers, otters, lynx, red panda, Egyptian fruit bats and Indian Eagle owls. Normal admission applies; £8 children and seniors, £10 adults.

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Food & Drink NEW OPENINGS • EAT CAMBRIDGE • RECIPES • PRIVATE DINING

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FOOD NEWS

CICCHETTI MENU LAUNCHES AT DE LUCA Italian eaterie De Luca has recently launched an irresistible menu of Venetian-style tapas, offering a sociable new addition to the blossoming Cambridge food scene.

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into smaller sharing plates, designed to be enjoyed like tapas, shared between friends, and offering faster service time. “Our customers have told us that they have less time than ever for lunch but that they still want to enjoy fantastic food. Our

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new concept encourages a more Mediterranean-style sociable lunch and the opportunity to discover a range of our fantastic food offering at the same time,” says restaurant owner, Paul De Luca. delucacucina.co.uk CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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FEELING THIRSTY?

STOP, collaborate and listen SAM OWENS FROM THIRSTY ON HOW THE JOY OF COLLABORATION CAN LEAD TO A CREATION THAT’S GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

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M A ISON CL EMEN T OPENS I N N EW N H A M

Maison Clement, the French bakery and cafe on Hills Road, has recently opened a second shop on Derby Street in Newnham.

Expect more of the delightful bakes and coffee which have made the original branch such a hit, including the house speciality: a croissant loaf. There’s all sorts of other freshly baked loaves too, including sourdoughs and ryes, plus gorgeously crafted confections and pastries. There’s a few tables if you’d like to sit down, and it’s open every day except for Mondays.

Search Maison Clement on Facebook for more info.

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lovely wine or beer is always best enjoyed with a bunch of other people. The feeling of togetherness, the camaraderie, the exchange of thoughts and ideas. It all contributes to a great experience.

The same applies at the other end of the process, with the folk who make the stuff. There is no fixed rulebook about how to make a wine, a beer or spirit. Producers, brewers and distillers are forever experimenting. Winemakers in Australia will make the trip to historic regions like Bordeaux, Piedmont or the Mosel to meet and exchange ideas with producers there. Young Frenchmen and Spaniards, forging their way in the wine world, will head south to do a harvest in New Zealand or Chile – open to learning about how they do things in the New World. There is no monopoly on knowledge. Everybody learns more by sharing.

Moving across to beer, craft brewers across the world pair off with each other more quickly than a group of randy teenagers at the school disco.

These ‘collaboration brews’ involve one or more brewers travelling to a host brewery, where they will brew a beer together, swapping ideas, experiences and views – and invariably having a rollicking good knees-up while they’re at it. It’s a brilliant forum for brewers to explore new

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techniques, make new friends and share in every sense. So next time you’re swigging a glass of South African Chenin Blanc or a hoppy IPA from a brewer in Manchester, listen out for all the voices in each sip. You should hear accents from everywhere...

At Thirsty, we’ve launched a huge pan-European beer collaboration project called Citizens of Everywhere. We rounded up 12 great UK brewers and paired them with 12 great continental brewers, each from a different European country. At its core was our wish to celebrate all the great things we have achieved in Europe by collaborating and working together. Brewers travelled from Poland to Leeds, from Milan to Bristol, from Sweden to Scotland to hang out, make great beer and swap experiences. We, the consumers, are the winners.

Citizens of Everywhere beers worth a try are United We Can, £2.80, by Moor Beer (Bristol) and Birrificio Lambrate (Italy) – a zesty European pale ale, brewed with English and Slovenian hops; Oh, Vienna!, £2.80, by Five Points (London) and Bevog (Austria) – a rich, amber lager; and Enrichment, £3.10, by Siren (Berks) and Kees (Holland) – a Belgian-style IPA. All are available at Thirsty on Chesterton Road and Thirsty & Hungry on King Street.

For more info, visit citizensofeverywhere.beer

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FO O D N E WS

LOVE CAMBRIDGE RESTAURANT WEEK 1 to 7 April sees the arrival of the first ever Love Cambridge Restaurant Week: seven days of great discounts and special menus all over the city.

Participating eateries include local indies like Pint Shop, SmokeWorks and Vegan Vice Club, as well as chains such as Bill’s and the Hilton Doubletree. Head to the Cambridge BID website, check out the offers and download your vouchers. cambridgebid.co.uk/restaurant-week

NATURE’S LARDER THE TEAM FROM THE GOG, OUR AWARD-WINNING LOCAL FARM SHOP, BUTCHERY, DELI AND CAFE, GIVES THE LOW-DOWN ON THE SEASONAL PRODUCE TO SEEK OUT THIS MONTH In 2019 Easter Day is Sunday 21 April, but last year it was Sunday 1 April. Why is that significant you may ask? Well, every year Easter feasting is fraught with indecision: do we eat inside or out? This year it’s even more likely that you’ll have an option to go al fresco. Unlike the predictable nature of Christmas, this is one big celebration that people tend to leave until the last minute (just ask the Gog butchery team).

So, what to eat? It would be remiss in a food column not to mention spring lamb, often the centrepiece of any big Easter meal. Of course, lamb is fantastic to roast in the oven, but should the sun decide to shine, the option to cook al fresco can become a last-minute possibility. Marinate a butterflied leg of lamb, stick it on the barbeque (or a Big Green Egg) and you’ve

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got one of the most show-stopping meals that you could wish for!

A not-so-well-known fact about spring lamb is that the lambing season, although traditionally thought to start in spring can actually start in December in some southern areas of the UK. The sourcing of lamb moves up through the country as the season changes, but the meat that so many of us enjoy at Easter is often from the previous year.

With the variations in the lambing season comes variations in the ewe’s milk.

There are wonderfully subtle differences between early and late milk; something that is evident when tasting berkswell cheese, which is one of our favourite ewe’s milk hard cheeses. Berkswell has wonderful variations in taste depending on the time of

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year. Its flavours range from a fruity, fresh acidity, to a savoury taste which is almost parmesan-like.

Made at Ram Hall near Berkswell in the West Midlands, this cheese often draws comparisons to the Spanish cheese manchego. When seen whole the cheeses take on wonderful shell-like forms. They are moulded using old kitchen colanders that the Fletcher family purchased from Woolworths in the 1980s.

Here at The Gog we can’t think of a better way to celebrate Easter than to enjoy berkswell cheese combined with roasted tenderstem broccoli. It is a simple and healthy way to enjoy both this fabulous vegetable and tasty cheese, either on its own or as a side dish with lamb. thegog.com

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Eat Up

E AT CA M B R I D G E EXPLORE, EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY DELICIOUS LOCAL PRODUCE AT THE EAT CAMBRIDGE FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL. THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, FROM SWEET TREATS TO TASTY TAPAS

11-26 May

huge celebration of our city’s dynamic food and drink scene, Eat Cambridge returns with a fortnight of delights from 11 to 26 May. From talks to tasting menus and tap takeovers, there’s plenty to tempt on the programme, which bustles with independent eateries, artisan producers and talented local chefs. As ever, the centrepiece is the Main Event: a largescale market in The Guildhall where you can explore stalls, pick up tasters, hear

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talks, join in with workshops and meet local foodie organisations.

Since launching in 2013, the festival has become a symbol of just how far Cambridge has come, evolving from foodie backwater into a city thronging with exciting food and drink enterprises and great places to shop for ingredients.

“I’m always overwhelmed by just how much we have going on in our small city,” enthuses festival founder Heidi White.

“Food and drink is still big news, and Eat Cambridge brings our food scene together in one place. It’s particularly important for small independent businesses, because many of them don’t have a shop or physical premises for customers to discover, so our Main Event provides them with a platform to show their wares and meet local food lovers face to face.”

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One of the best things about the festival is the connection it forges between producer and customer, as Heidi explains: “I’ve always aimed to keep the festival focused on our local area, so visitors know they will get the opportunity to meet, sample and talk directly with the person who created their food or drink. The Festival Fringe events are often intimate, one-off dining experiences – or the chance to learn directly from a producer – and this gives visitors a peek at life behind the scenes.

By staying true to our high-quality, independent, locally produced ethos, Eat Cambridge really does celebrate our local food scene and the amazing talent to be found within it.”

Grab your diary and get ready to discover your local pantry: here’s a taster of what’s in store at this year’s event! u

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THE MAIN EVENT 11 MAY

We recommend beginning your Cambridge food safari with a locally brewed beer: check out Harston-based BrewBoard’s stall for top ales including the Lakota, or go and see the Cambridge Distillery for a taster of its award-winning spirits. Whistle-whetted, it’s time for a snack. How about a Latvian pie from Ali’s Baltic Bakes, or a bite of farmhouse cheese and some artisan wine from HumClosen? If you need a caffeine fix, it has to be Hot Numbers, which will be serving its world-class espresso, filter coffee and beans. Or pop by Tea Sanctuary for loose leaf black, green and rooibos tea, sourced from a Parisian tea merchant.

There are empanadas, tostones and strawberry lemonade from La Latina Bustaurante, plus Spanish flavours at Pata Negra: fill your bags with cured meats, chorizo and marcona almonds. If it’s baked treats you seek, there’s plenty of choice – try One Part Love Bakery for brownies, cookies and cakes, or Grain Culture, Ely’s raved-about micro-bakery, which specialises in small-batch breads and pastry. Bitesize Bakehouse will be serving sensational seasonal cakes, too, plus Kath’s Kitchen, which creates pretty macarons in a rainbow of colours, is well worth a visit.

Other great local suppliers touting their wares are Syms Pantry (the lipsmacking bacon jam is a must), plus Pinkster Gin, The Cambridge Cider Company and Burwash Manor. There’s also a chance to learn more about local organisations, such as Cambridge Sustainable Food and Recycling Champions, as well as hearing talks in the council chamber. Speakers this year include Rosie Sykes, festival patron, food writer and acclaimed chef, who is speaking about The Sunday Night Book, her homage to end of the week comfort food. Fitzbillies owner Tim Hayward leads a panel discussion featuring some of the city’s most exciting chefs, including Alex Rushmer and Tristan Welch. If you’re an avid Instagrammer, check out the food styling and photography workshop with Stella Pereira and Charlotte Griffiths: a relaxed session that takes you through styling a shoot and getting the best pics possible, with plenty of opportunities to get advice and ask questions. There’s also a chance to meet the husband-wife team behind Honey & Co, Fitzrovia’s celebrated Middle Eastern restaurant, who are signing copies of their latest cookbook. Plus, the cream of the Cambridge brewing scene are out in force to chat about the city’s growing appetite for high-quality, small-batch beer. u A P R I L 2 019

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# E ATC A MC A M PHO TO GR A PH Y COMPET I T ION! Food snappers, listen up! There’s a great prize up for grabs for the best picture taken at Eat Cambridge 2019, so make sure you share your photos from the main event and the festival fringe on social media. Tag @eatcambridge and hashtag #EatCamCam. The winning shot will be selected at the end of the fortnight – happy snapping!

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FUN ON THE FRINGE TOP POP-UPS, SUPPER CLUBS, TALKS, TOURS AND MORE!

HISTORY COOKED

Opening the festival this year is History Cooked, an exciting collaboration between Itamar Srulovich, Sarit Packer, Rosie Sykes and Polly Russell. It takes diners on an epicurean adventure inspired by The Forme of Cury. It’s at the Storey’s Field Centre at Eddington and takes place on 10 May. TAP TAKEOVER

A collective of Cambridge-based brewers team up on 11 and 12 May for a weekend-long showcase of local ale, lager and cider. Join the boozy fun at the Pint Shop, no tickets required!

FLOURISH & FRIENDS

Join revolutionary local produce grower Calixta Killander, Hum-Closen owner Suzannah Wansell and Allotment Café’s Katie Moore for a feast on the farm on 12 May. Exquisite dishes, wine, cheese and a tour of the farm all await.

MEADOWS OF NEWNHAM

15 May sees the opening of Meadows of Newnham pop-up shop, which runs throughout the festival. This joint venture is between HumClosen’s Suzannah Wansell and patisserie chef Emese Gengeliczki. Expect farmhouse cheeses and small-producer wines along with locally grown fresh produce, chocolate, coffee, tea, preserves, oil, pasta, nuts and grains. This is a chance to get a flavour of what is to come and stock up your cupboards until this exciting local store opens permanently! The pop-up is open 10am to 6pm Wednesday to Saturday, and 10am to 3pm Sundays throughout the festival.

SCRATCH KITCHEN VEGAN FEAST

An evening of gourmet vegan and vegetarian dishes at the Pear & Olive Scratch Kitchen in Hildersham on 15 May. The evening features

live music, a selection of tapas-style vegan and veggie dishes, and a demonstration from Chef Gael Colley, previously head chef of the first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant in California.

SHERRY & FOOD MASTERCLASS

A celebration of ‘the perfect marriage’ between food and sherry with Thorne Wines at the Pint Shop on 16 May. There is a six-course tasting menu and a chance to learn about wine from some of the oldest wineries in the world, discovering how versatile this underrated drink can be.

STREET FOOD CINEMA

The Star & Mouse Picture Show joins forces with Cambridge’s street food collective foodPark for the ultimate pop-up at Coton Orchard on 18 May. Top food trucks and the chance to see street food movie, Chef, with a bar and sweet treats, too.

SUPPER ON A BUS

La Latina Bustaurante is hosting a supper club to share its favourite family recipes with a seven-course supper on 19 May, featuring flavours from Colombia, Portugal and Mozambique. Ticket includes a glass of Portuguese wine, a tropical cocktail and Colombian coffee.

SPRING FEAST

Head to Burwash Manor farm on 19 May for a seasonal feast in the impressive food hall, featuring cookery demonstrations, in-house asparagus treats to sample, street food from Flock Café and wine tastings with on-site wine merchants Cozzi & Boffa.

GO WILD AT RESTAURANT 22

A collaboration between Restaurant TwentyTwo and local supplier Seed to Feed Micro Farm, this event celebrates excellent cooking, specialist-grown produce and wild-foraged food from the Cambridgeshire area. A six

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#BIGBURGERCRAWL

Burger lovers are spoiled for choice in Cambridge, with ever more eateries serving bun-fulls of deliciousness, from street food heroes (hello, Steak & Honour) to epic gastro pub patties, like those found at the Pint Shop. Eat Cambridge has made a hit list of the very best burgers in the city, challenging you to eat them, tick them off and share your favourites on social media using the hashtag #BigBurgerCrawl. Pick up the programme to see who made their list and get munching!

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course tasting menu based around wild, foraged produce, it takes place on 22 May. FLAMMEKUECHE FIESTA

Amélie, upstairs at the Grafton, has taken Cambridge by storm with its pizza-like delicacy, flammekueche. On 23 May, learn about the history of this ‘French fire bread’, and discover how chef Regis Crepy and his son Alex have brought it into the 21st century. Guests will enjoy a welcome drink, starter and the chance to try ten varieties of flammekeuche.

PINTXOS PARTY

Enjoy a feast of pintxos, aka Basque-region tapas dishes, alongside some great craft beer at Wylde Sky Brewing in Linton on 24 May. The food comes from The Linton Kitchen, and you can expect a fast-paced feast with live music, plentiful pintxos and enough beer to keep you up until the early hours! l

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A room of one’s own

ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE CITY’S TOP PRIVATE DINING EXPERIENCES

THE TAMBURLAINE HOTEL

For sheer wow factor, The Tamburlaine Hotel takes some beating. A few short steps away from Cambridge train station, it’s a gleaming new landmark in the impressive makeover of this once rundown corner of the city. The fit-out is stunning, from the bold chandeliers and plush furniture to the dramatic marble bar that forms the centrepiece of the expansive dining room. There is a variety of private dining spaces in which to host more intimate gatherings, including the beautiful Garden Room, which can seat between 24 and 90 (up to 120 for drinks receptions), and features a Colonial-era inspired design. The food menu changes regularly, but current dishes include roasted cauliflower with pickled dates, capers and mint oil, and seared salmon, cockle and leek risotto with parsley oil. thetamburlaine.co.uk A P R I L 2 019

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THE IVY The Ivy brand’s design nous transformed this Trinity Street building from humdrum high street shop to exceptionally good-looking restaurant, decking out the space with marble flooring, a glittering onyx bar and a profusion of colourful artworks. Pretty as it all is, if you want to escape the hubbub of the 160-cover restaurant, check out The Boat Room downstairs, which boasts panelled walls, vintage paintings and jazzy, botanic-inspired seating. It’s ideally suited to groups of between ten and 16, and makes for a great location for a business meeting or special meal. There’s no minimum spend or room hire fee, and it’s available from breakfast through to dinner (with no need to pre-order food). The menu is all about modern British classics, with signature dishes such as The Ivy Collection shepherd’s pie and truffle chicken sandwiches, as well as luxurious afternoon tea. theivycambridgebrasserie.com

T HE CROW N & PU NCHBOW L Cocooned in the chocolate box village of Horningsea, The Crown & Punchbowl is a quaint country pub, restaurant and inn with an impeccable reputation. It’s part of the Cambscuisine group, a definitive kitemark of quality on the local dining scene, and serves indulgent, classic British and French fare: think sumptuous beef wellingtons, venison haunch smothered in red wine sauce, and sticky toffee puddings. The pub has a ‘semi-private’ dining option, which gives you your own space without being closed off from the ambience of the pub. The building, which dates back to the 17th century, offers a choice of the Oak Room, which can seat ten to 20 people, or the Front Room, which is slightly larger, accommodating between ten and 24 diners. If you’re after a crackling-fireplaces-and-timber-beamed bit of rural charm for your event – corporate or social, C&P could be just the place. thecrownandpunchbowl.co.uk

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GRAFFITI RESTAURANT With a bright and contemporary decor and pretty views across manicured gardens, Graffiti at Hotel Felix provides a lovely setting for a special meal.

Whether your party is a handful of friends or a large group of up to 60, the hotel has four function rooms to accommodate your needs, and the team have bags of experience catering everything from formal dinners to casual buffets and drinks receptions.

The menus are flexible but the overall food philosophy is contemporary fine dining teeming with fresh, seasonal ingredients. There’s also ample free parking: something of a rarity in Cambridge. hotelfelix.co.uk

HOTEL DU VIN

A handsome converted townhouse, Hotel du Vin has long been a go-to for those in search of a luxurious overnight break or special occasion dinner. There’s now more competition than ever on the local restaurant scene but, with its classy, Parisian bistro feel and indulgent Gallic dishes, HdV remains a favourite. For a private dining experience with a bit of old-school glamour, check out the Lombard Room, which seats up to 22 and features a huge bespoke mural, plus original features including an old range cooker. You can also enjoy drinks and canapes feeling like a true Cambridge don in The Library, surrounded by books and leather chairs, or the smaller Common Room, which offers a light-filled space for up to eight diners. hotelduvin.com

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UN I V ER SI T Y A R MS

For large events, there are few halls in Cambridge that compare with the grandeur of the University Arms’ ballroom. Offering sweeping views across Parker’s Piece, this light-filled space boasts huge, stained glass windows decorated with college crests, with statement chandeliers overhead. Mahogany panelling frames the room, which is centered by an original marble fireplace. There is space for up to 180 seated guests, or it can be divided with a solid oak wall to form two separate rooms – The Crick and The Watson. Eat here, and you get a taste of Cambridge’s hottest culinary sensation: Parker’s Tavern, the University Arms’ in-house restaurant, presided over by chef-director Tristan Welch. Expect a fully bespoke private dining occasion with a feast of British classics made using the finest Cambridgeshire produce. universityarms.com

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T H E P U N T ER

Across the courtyard from The Punter pub is The Barn: a rustic dining room filled with paintings, plants, candles and charmingly mismatched furniture.

You and your group (of up to 40 people) can enjoy exclusive use of the space starting from £200, and the food on offer is elegant, exceptionally tasty pub grub: think duck confit with dauphinoise potato/epic burgers. thepuntercambridge.com

T HE M E WS AT BEDFOR D LODGE The four-star Bedford Lodge has a solution for when a private dining room just isn’t enough luxury for you: your own private house! The latest addition to this Newmarket hotel, The Mews takes things to the next level, with not only its own dining area but three luxurious bedrooms. Hire it on an exclusive basis (prices start at £1200), and you can enjoy all the trappings of the hotel but in your own, intimate setting. Come dinnertime, you have the option to dine in your own private space (seats up to eight), or at the hotel’s Squires restaurant: either way you’ll be treated to the creative flair of this 2 AA Rosette eatery. As well a special meal with bells on, The Mews can also be hired for hen parties, bridal parties and groups of wedding guests looking to elongate their stay. bedfordlodgehotel.co.uk

ATITHI Serving contemporary Indian cuisine with a sophisticated twist, Atithi has been shaking up Mill Road’s dining scene since opening earlier this year. Under the steer of head chef Kamaladasan, who spent eight years at the Michelin-starred Tamarind in London, the restaurant has crafted a menu inspired by flavours and techniques from across India. For larger groups, there’s the option of a Dawat sharing menu, plus the usual tasting or à la carte menus. atithi.co.uk

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RESTAURANT 22

THE GONVILLE Overlooking Parker’s Piece, the four-star Gonville is another Cambridge hotel that’s undergone an impressive refashioning in recent years. There are stylish bedrooms, the bright, colourfully furnished Atrium bar and restaurant, plus fine dining restaurant Cotto to enjoy, not to mention the secluded spa in the hotel’s walled garden. There’s a variety of options for private dining, with a choice between two function rooms, plus the Atrium can be hired out on a semi-private basis. There’s a range of menus to choose between, all created and prepared by the acclaimed Cotto chefs – expect inventive fine dining fare served with flair. gonvillehotel.co.uk

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The buzz around this restaurant, which reopened in March last year with new owners, an elegant new look and an exciting new food offering, is yet to die down. And it’s little wonder that tables continue to be booked up far in advance and the national press continue to fawn: food, service and ambience are all exquisite at this Chesterton Road eatery. If you’re after a location for a really special meal, it’s pretty hard to beat in the city – and has become a favourite choice for those in search of a venue for birthdays, weddings, graduations and corporate affairs that pack a punch. The private dining space, the upstairs Chesterton Room, seats up to 12 people and there’s no cover charge unless there are fewer than eight of you. restaurant22.co.uk

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ROASTERS with the MOSTEST A BEACON OF BRILLIANCE ON THE LOCAL CAFE SCENE, HOT NUMBERS IS ABOUT TO UNVEIL ITS MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECT TO DATE. CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS TAKES A LOOK AROUND

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FO O D X&X XDXRXIXNX KX

ometimes in life, if you want something to exist, you have to knuckle down and make it yourself. Hot Numbers in Cambridge is the epitome of this creative philosophy: eight years ago, founder Simon Fraser couldn’t find anywhere to buy decent coffee, so set about creating his own, roasting and grinding beans that he’d personally sourced to ensure perfection with every sip.

“I had a vision but it was very much in my head and not on an architects’ sketchpad,” explains Simon. “I just needed to realise my passion for coffee and engineering in one space, and let it evolve naturally, embracing the mistakes that come with planning a coffee shop with a blank canvas for the first time with minimal help and little finance in place.”

Chances are that if you drink coffee and live in our city, then you’ve already been to one of Hot Numbers’ two sites. Either the original branch in Dales Brewery on Gwydir Street, which sprawled into the next-door art gallery several years

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ago and is now a humming hotbed of coffee aficionados all week long, or its newer opening on Trumpington Street, fuelling passing engineering students and Fitzwilliam Museum visitors alike with precisely the correct amount of caffeine to get through their days.

But like most successful businesses in Cambridge, space became a challenge.

“Trumpington Street was originally a platform to showcase our coffee roaster,” Simon explains, “but we never anticipated it being as busy as it was.”

The second branch quickly became hugely popular for both its coffee and food offering, which only increased when Simon recruited chef Adam Wilkinson to overhaul the cafes’ menus. Trying to roast coffee and toast sourdough in the same small space proved something of a challenge – “so that’s when we moved the roastery out to Stapleford,” Simon explains. “And now we’ve outgrown there: that’s the nature of it. It’s been a naturally evolving business. So now... we’re into a site where we can hopefully do everything together,” he grins.

Presenting the Hot Numbers Roastery at Wrights Mowers, the newest addition to Simon’s portfolio that promises to become a real destination for Cambridge food lovers. Located south-west of the city just off the A10, an old warehouse is busily being transformed into a twostorey light-flooded cathedral of coffee that’s guaranteed to attract pilgrims seeking the perfect pour-over.

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Simon first met the roastery’s neighbour John Wright while out riding his old Sunbeam motorbike. “John said: ‘Oh, I’ve got a collection of bikes – would you like to come and see?’ – so we went to his house, we had a cup of tea and he showed me around,” Simon explains.

“Later, I asked him if he knew of any space for the coffee roasters, as we had to move from Stapleford – and he said, ‘Well, I’ve got this whole building: you could have a portion of it.’”

Though the warehouse was a lot larger than Simon and his team had first anticipated, they summoned up the courage to take the whole space, in order to make the roastery as light as possible, and build a cafe around their production unit. “We took the floors out there,” Simon gestures upwards, to the twostorey space that drenches the central bar u

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with natural light. “It was going to be a lot more rough and ready, but as they’ve done more and more to it, and added more and more fine detail, the cost has grown – but it just looks fantastic. There’s no architect here – there’s never been an architect at Hot Numbers – it’s just come from living in the spaces and deciding what we were going to do with them.

We’ve learned, we’ve made a few mistakes on layout, but we’ve gained knowledge.”

If all continues to go to plan, the new building is set to open its doors at the beginning of this month, and as well as serving up the same exceptional coffee you’ll find at the group’s other sites, the space will have an open kitchen and a bakery (Simon has plans to focus on sourdough, and mentioned pizza) as well as dedicated areas for training the public and hospitality teams in the art of coffee creation. Perhaps most importantly, it will also allow guests the chance to watch Hot Numbers’ coffee roasters in action.

“We’ve had the cafes, but the roasting side was always a little bit behind the scenes,” Simon explains, “so the idea was to build a space around the roastery and add that visual impact.”

Lucas Keen, gigs and events coordinator, continues: “The idea is that we have these large openings over here,” Lucas says, turning to face the central area of the roastery, “so people will be able to have their coffee and watch the process of what brings it to the cup – like a theatre of coffee.”

At the moment, Hot Numbers’ two roasters are busy all day on Wednesday and Thursday, transforming green beans to supply Hot Numbers’ cafes and keep their wholesale customers stocked up.

“We supply restaurants, cafes, colleges, businesses – we deliver to loads of places in Cambridge – so as we get busier and busier, we might start roasting more.

And now we’ve got the space to do that!”

Lucas smiles. “The coffee comes in on huge pallets from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Colombia – wherever we’re getting coffee from at that time – and then we roast it A P R I L 2 019

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here. And I think that’s what sets us apart in Cambridge: we roast our own coffee, and we take it really seriously. It’s like wine: there are so many variables in how you transform the coffee from that –” he gestures to the sacks of green beans, “to the cups that people are drinking. And like with every food, there’s seasonality.”

Justin Brown, Hot Numbers’ roast master, explains. “There are so many factors that – although slight – can make a difference to the coffee: it’s about nurturing that knowledge and ensuring you have control over those parameters.

Brazil produces coffee all year round, but depending on the rainfall – if there’s been a change in global climate, for example – we’ve had to turn some coffee away. We had some Ethiopian coffee a few years ago where one year it was great, and then the next year it was really quite underwhelming – and that’s the thing: here we have the opportunity to say ‘this isn’t what it should be’ and send it back.”

The whole team is clearly passionate about coffee, and heavily involved in keeping track of their coffees’ changing flavour profile. “When we get a new coffee, I check the climate, the geography; whether it’s a natural or washed coffee, and I start to get an idea of a recipe in mind – so then we roast it, cup it and

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decide on a way forward,” says Justin.

“It’s a cooperative: we’re all tasting coffee at the same time, we’re saying it’s good, it’s not good, it tastes as it should…”

Sophie Garner, head of coffee, joins in: “The tricky part is that if you’re cupping loads of coffee, or if you’re having a bad day, or if you’ve eaten something spicy… some of the coffees are so subtle. It can be the difference between a macadamia nut and a raw nut,” she explains. “If you’ve got an Indonesian coffee, or something that’s smoky and leathery with that gorgeous fullness – it could also just creep into ashy. Roasting coffee is like alchemy – but it’s also like if you’re baking a cake or making food: if you start with a good product, you can’t really go wrong. Of course, Justin’s job is so important, and he does a great job, but so much relies on the green bean. It’s a crop like any other. You have what you have.”

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“It’s mostly to do with the origin of the coffee and the quality of the coffee,” Justin agrees, “and what I’m trying to do with the roasting is harnessing the flavour that’s already inherent within the coffee, and to present that in the best way possible.”

The Hot Numbers team’s enthusiasm and eagerness to share knowledge, coupled with the high-spec surroundings, will make the roastery a must-visit for anyone even fleetingly interested in the process of transforming a green coffee bean into a shot of espresso. Though the paint was still wet and tradespeople were hard at work, the building already felt as welcoming as the other branches of Hot Numbers: almost certainly down to the coffee shops ever-present jazz soundtrack – and a few familiar faces on the walls.

“These black and white charcoal portraits have become a talisman for the

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“If you start with a good product, you can’t go wrong” business,” Lucas explains. “When we opened our first cafe, they were up on the walls: then when we opened the second cafe, they went there, and now they’re here. And we’ll always have jazz playing.”

And for Simon, a few new additions to his team of around 45 – as well as the creation of a new workshop at the roastery – means he’ll be able to get back to what he loves: tinkering with machines, thinking more strategically about the coffee that’s become his life’s work and

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continuing his charmingly understated yet hugely successful approach to building a strong food business. “We’ve never shouted much, we’ve just done it – so we’re hoping that the new visibility of the roastery and our investment will help draw people here,” he says. “This is hopefully enough now – so I can concentrate on it, and enjoy it.” l Hot Numbers Roastery at Wrights Mowers Dunsbridge Turnpike, Royston hotnumberscoffee.co.uk

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Coffee ground brownies ALEX RUSHMER MAKES USE OF LEFTOVER COFFEE WITH DELICIOUS, CHOCOLATEY RESULTS

“I was sceptical on first reading a variant of this recipe in The Guardian recently, but the use of something that usually goes on the compost heap piqued my interest.

A fine grind of coffee works best for this so as to avoid lending the final product a gritty texture. Will it stand up to a gooey-centred, butter laden brownie?

Possibly not, but it does show what it’s possible to achieve with a waste product and a little ingenuity!”

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INGREDIENTS

l 8 0g used coffee grounds

l T wo apples, peeled and diced l 5 0ml water

l 2 50g milk chocolate l 8 0g caster sugar

l 1 00ml rapeseed oil

l 1 20g cracked rye or rye flour l P inch Maldon salt

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

l H eat the oven to 170˚C. Put the coffee

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grounds, apples and water into a saucepan and cook on the hob over a moderate heat with the lid on for 8-10 minutes, until the apple begins to break down.

T ransfer to a blender and blitz until smooth.

Add the chocolate 50g at a time and stir until melted.

A dd the sugar and then gradually stir in the rapeseed oil, 25ml at a time so that the mixture doesn’t split.

F inally, mix in the cracked rye or rye flour and sea salt then pour into a lined brownie tin (24cm square).

B ake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until a crust forms on the top, then leave to cool. Turn out, cut into squares and serve.

Probably with another cup of coffee.

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Spears of Spring AS THINGS START SPROUTING THIS SEASON, ALEX RUSHMER REFLECTS ON HIS MEMBERSHIP OF THE MYSTERIOUS ’ASPARAGUS CLUB’

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n the mid 1920s here in Cambridge, a group of undergraduates at Trinity Hall established a dining society.

Their intentions were, no doubt, gustatory in nature – and I’m sure there was a desire to create a thinly veiled excuse (and environment in which) to drink quantities of bordeaux, burgundy and brandy. In order to satisfy the college authorities, they instead chose to officially dedicate their endeavours to ‘the shared enjoyment of the revered asparagus plant’. Despite a few periods of mostly brief, but occasionally protracted, stasis, the Asparagus Club remains in existence, with its manifesto as simple as ever: to enjoy the cooking and eating of the noble fern among similarly minded folk.

I know all this because, during my time as an undergraduate, I was both a member and – in my final year – vicepresident of the club and, as such, responsible for the organisation and running of three events during the course of the academic year. As much as this may conjure up images of a Wodehousian idyll, the reality was actually far less romantic. Hampered by the realities of living in student accommodation, the wildly ambitious menus were cobbled together over several tiny kitchens, each only equipped with a toaster oven, two electric rings, a microwave and a kettle.

The latter was the appointed vessel in which to cook the star attraction: spears of locally grown asparagus. Looking back, and with a few years’ experience as a professional chef, it certainly wasn’t the most forgiving way to cook the vegetable, although Mrs Beeton may have approved, given how limp and pale the spears turned out. The wines, too, were certainly less notable than I suspect they had been in the early years of the club. We were more likely to sup Blue Nun, Black Tower and Barefoot Cabernet than anything of significant repute.

While my tenure as a member of ‘that great old fraud of a club’ (as one alum put it when he wrote to me requesting a new tie, his old one having worn out from overuse), didn’t enable me to taste a range of fine wines, it did allow me to fully enjoy eating asparagus for the first CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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“The shared enjoyment of the revered asparagus plant” time. Before that, it was something of a mystery. Growing up in the 80s and early 90s, asparagus was a rare delicacy to be enjoyed by my parents for just a few short weeks of the year. I remember visiting a farm with them when I was only about 11 years old. It was run by a retired surgeon who had decided to dedicate his autumn years to the late spring harvest.

He told me sometimes the asparagus grew so fast that, by the time he had picked a row, it was possible to return to the start of the same run and harvest again. He slipped a small curved knife from his pocket and, bent double, cut a couple of dozen spears for my Mum and Dad to take home.

They ate them a few hours later at home, steamed and dipped in hollandaise sauce. I was allowed a taste. Usually this is the point in a food writer’s journey when they describe a gastronomic

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epiphany and explain how their life changed forever at that precise moment.

The only thing I remember about the situation was quite how unremarkable the asparagus was, and certainly not worth an hour round trip – and 45 minutes spent in a field. I’m pleased to say that, since then, my excitement levels at the start of asparagus season have significantly increased. It isn’t just the delight of eating them – cooked simply and served with eggs or butter or some combination of the two – but that asparagus shoots represent the first harvest of the summer growing season. Now, several years down the line, I might even pair it with something cold, crisp and white from Burgundy. l A P R I L 2 019

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PUT THE KETTLE ON AS LOCAL FOOD HISTORIAN DR SUE BAILEY EXPLORES OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH TEA AND COFFEE, INCLUDING THE DISCOVERY OF AN ’18THCENTURY STARBUCKS’ IN CAMBRIDGE CITY CENTRE

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oes coffee or tea seduce or stimulate you? Personally, it takes nothing less than a double espresso to propel me into action. No self-respecting coffee roaster or barista these days would dare serve what The Women’s Petition Against Coffee in 1674 described as “nasty, bitter stinking, nauseous Puddle-water” – and you can celebrate how far we’ve come on National Tea Day on 21 April and during National Coffee Week (29 April-5 May).

But how best to stimulate the brain with caffeine? “A drip method,” according to Craig Jackson at Coffee

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World, a well-established Milton-based roastery which has a retail shop and supplies many Cambridge cafes.

“Or a double expresso shot, as the caffeine has longer to develop in the brewing process.”

If you want space to work, hold a meeting or park the buggy (plus excellent coffee) visit Stir in Chesterton, or Espresso Library on East Road: a hip cafe where they use the highest-quality brewing methods and organic dairy and plant-based milks.

But which came first as our national beverage – coffee or tea? Imported from South America in the 16th century, it was coffee that first enticed us, spreading as both a fashionable and social drink.

By the mid-17th century, there were many thousands of coffee houses. The Cambridge Archaeological Unit recently uncovered Clapham’s coffee house opposite St John’s College. “Ruins of an ‘18th century Starbucks’, including coffee cups, animal bones and 38 teapots were found in a disused cellar,” says researcher, Craig Cessford.

Coffee houses were popular with men, where newspapers were first available and debate flowed. Two 18th-century coffee houses in Cambridge were the Greek’s and the Turk’s Head, last appearing in the mid 70s as a Berni Inn

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steakhouse, with the historic facade still in existence on Trinity Street.

Sociability is also key at today’s independent cafes. The laidback Indigo Coffee House in St Edward’s Passage is a favourite, as is the on-trend Bould Brothers on Round Church Street, whose vision is not just to have the best coffee, but “to create the experience of a luxury minibreak,” says co-founder, Max Bould.

“It’s our mission to use that cup to help put a smile on people’s faces.”

Tea did not become the national drink until the mid-18th century. Surprisingly, the first tea shipments saw it being used as a medicine rather than a refreshing drink. Initially it was prohibitively expensive – in fact, by 1660 it was taxed and locked away in special boxes called tea caddies, but since then it has become progressively less costly and more popularly consumed.

In Cambridge, although historic cafe The Whim on Trinity Street closed in the early 1980s and Auntie’s Tea Shop is now replaced by The Senate bar and bistro, Samovar Tea House in Ely carries the caddy forward. Co-owner Lizzy Doe says: “We stock over 140 teas and prioritise sourcing ethical and healthy ingredients for our tea blends such as Autumn River, inspired by the smell of woodsmoke from the narrowboats.”

Also creating new cafe history is Tim Hayward who, with his wife, reincarnated the 90-year-old Fitzbillies cafe and bakery. Fitzbillies, according to Tim, is as close now as it ever will be to its Edwardian original. It’s been a seven-year process, and the “half a million hot cross buns we are currently going ape making” will be the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea.

The tea could be provided by Simon Fraser of Hot Numbers Coffee, who has recently taken on The Kandula Tea Company and is offering tea tasting out at his new coffee roastery base (which you can find out more about on page 66).

Feminist Dora Russell, an early student at Girton College, implied that tea could be a seductive invitation to more than just a beverage. Even after the first world war, female students had to have a college chaperone if they received a tea invitation from a young man. I’m sure she would approve that tea and coffee houses are now for everyone, and you can meet friends or even start a flirtation by sharing a table.

Simon says: “We want our Kandula Teas to be enjoyed as everyday teas, because although not every day is the same, every day should be special.”

The same goes for a coffee day, too – so let’s enjoy. l Dr Sue Bailey is a food historian and food scientist, plus a regular presenter on Flavour, Cambridge 105 Radio’s fortnightly food show.

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B E AU T Y

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hether your routine is brimming with lotions and potions or consists of a quick swipe of a wipe, most of us could take better care of our skin. With warmer weather on its way, now’s a great time to get skin savvy.

I’m obsessed with skincare and believe that a lot of (even the scariest) skin complaints can be solved – or at least improved – by the right products. However, everybody is different, and just because one person can’t stop raving about a product, doesn’t mean it will necessarily work for you. Genes, environment and diet play huge roles in how our skin behaves, and I would always recommend consulting a doctor for major complaints first.

Getting your basics down is key, and a tip I learned recently in my skincare journey is how important it is to exfoliate. Without gently buffing off the dull old top layer of skin, any products you apply, like serums and moisturisers, will have to fight their way through to have any effect.

Starting with a scrub, I love something gentle enough to use every day like Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Gentle (£55, Space NK). For a real polish, try the Intensive Exfoliating Treatment from the same range (from, £21, Space NK). Or pop to Boots and grab Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Scrub (£4.97), a 3-in-1 micro exfoliant with glycolic and salicylic acids to brighten and renew.

On days you’re not exfoliating, start out with a good cleanser. It’s up to you whether you prefer a liquid face wash, mousse, balm or cream: personally, I love a balm or oil.

Evolve Beauty Gentle Cleansing Melt (£12, John Lewis) is soothing and nourishing; a vegan product that turns to a creamy milk

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on meeting water, and the Sanctuary Spa Ultimate Cleansing Oil (£12, Boots) is a product I always return to.

Serum can feel like a pointless step; it soaks in so quickly and can feel a bit ‘nothingy’. In fact, it acts as a superconcentrated drink for the skin, packing goodies in to work hard as we sleep or go about our day. The Ordinary, by Deciem, is a budget-friendly range, with ingredients simplified to match needs. I love the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (£5.90, deciem. com), a mix of varying molecular weights of hyaluronic acid to hydrate and plump skin. For hormonal skin prone to cystic breakouts, Murad’s Advanced Blemish & Wrinkle Reducer (£49.50, murad.co.uk) helps minimise fine lines and wrinkles, while reducing breakouts, and has been my skincare crutch since suffering with breakout woes in my late 20s. New from Murad, the Revitalixir Recovery Serum (£70) is ideal for reducing stress-induced dullness, dehydration and wrinkles.

Finally, follow with a moisturiser. My favourite is Murad Age-Balancing Moisture SPF30 (£65), in part because of the inclusion of SPF for protecting the skin from harmful UV rays. I’m sure it’s sure one of the reasons I still (occasionally) get ID’d when buying beer! If your moisturiser isn’t packing protectant, consider adding an SPF on top, like Murad’s City Skin Broad Spectrum SPF50 (£60), or ARK Skin Protector SPF30 Primer (£36, feelunique.com), which acts as a daily defence and a base for perfectly airbrushed make-up. l

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Education M E N TA L H E A LT H & W E L L - B E I N G • S P OT L I G H T O N ST MA RY ' S S C H O O L

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E D U CAT I O N

Well-being MATTERS

CHARLOTTE PHILLIPS SPEAKS TO LOCAL SCHOOLS ABOUT THE INNOVATIVE WAYS THEY’RE PROMOTING MENTAL WELL-BEING AMONG THEIR STUDENTS – AND TEACHERS

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f the many buzz words to gain traction in the educational world, well-being has to be one of the buzziest. But it’s far more than just a fad. Well-being matters.

It’s described by one set of researchers as ‘the overarching goal of all human actions’. When the conditions are met that allow individuals and societies to flourish, levels of well-being rise.

It’s something that needs to be a priority, given figures from the latest National Well-being measurement that cite loneliness, unemployment and a limited sense of belonging as problems among 16 to 24 year olds.

In childhood, a sense of well-being makes the difference between being able to cope and feeling helpless and overwhelmed. When levels of well-being are strong, says the organisation Mentally Healthy Schools, it feels as if all the components of our lives are in balance.

Children feel motivated, engaged,

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resilient and able to bounce back from troubles and challenges. “I think the whole concept of well-being is having a sense of ease of who you are and where you fit in the world,” says Dave Watkin, assistant head at Culford School.

Children who don’t flourish can end up struggling as adults, too. One mental health charity says that well-being can be a better predictor of a child’s subsequent life chances than their underlying ability.

Helen Hynd, head of pastoral care at The Leys School, says that well-being is about getting the right balance between all the component parts of children’s lives. “It is the term we use to focus on the balance that needs to be achieved when looking at work, physical and mental health – where a child finds their place in the community and develops a sense of responsibility to the wider community, values and principles.”

The need to prioritise well-being is well understood by our area’s schools.

One reason they play such a vital role in supporting mental well-being is that, next to parents, teachers are often the adults who children know best – and who in turn know and understand them.

As a result, they are frequently the first people children turn to when they’re in distress. Being around as a consistent, helpful presence can mean a great deal, particularly if there’s uncertainty in other areas of pupils’ lives. Parents, too, will often confide in teachers ahead of any other mental health professional when their child is in difficulties.

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hours in education, says the charity YoungMinds. Schools that allocate even a small percentage of this on well-being can potentially have a life-transforming impact on their pupils. In Cambridgeshire, they’re passionate about its importance in equipping pupils with the skills to cope with the challenges of life.

“Well-being is the essence of what every school is trying to achieve: a wellbalanced pupil, who has a sense of who they are, enjoys living life to the full, is ambitious about what they want to become and has a sense of working with others and for others,” says Helen Hynd.

One major issue, inevitably, is the ability of social media to undermine children’s sense of well-being, believes Dave Watkin. “You look online and everybody else has got an amazing life and you haven’t. How do you compare yourself to that, to perfection and think ‘yes, I’m every bit as good as that’? That’s the pressure kids have every minute of every hour of every day, and it’s a huge challenge for them.”

A disproportionate focus on exams can also be a problem. According to figures from the charity YoungMinds, seven out of ten parents believe exams are less important than happy schools.

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“One major issue, inevitably, is the ability of social media to undermine children’s sense of well-being” It’s an attitude that Richard Palmer, head of St Christopher School, Letchworth Garden City, can sympathise with. “We think exam success is a product of overall happiness, not the other way around, so we place a high value on students passing through the school gates each morning looking forward to their day ahead,” he says.

“St Christopher prides itself on the contentedness of its students, and on each one of them reaching their own personal goals – not a standardised notion of success, which can be a difficult value to uphold in a world of league tables and education reforms.”

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That focus on the individual is also a priority at St Faith’s. “It’s about being happy and safe and having a feeling of being valued for who you are,” says the head, Nigel Helliwell. “For a school community to be cohesive and happy, pupils need to learn to appreciate and value the differences in others.”

He’s a keen believer in the small details, writing and hand-delivering a birthday card for each child. “The subliminal message here is that we value each and every individual, irrespective of their abilities and achievements. The key principle is that the school should adapt to the child, not the other way around.” u

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At Hills Road Sixth Form College, each student is allocated a specialist tutor who is available for individual meetings about progress and any other needs or issues.

This relationship is at the heart of support and guidance, according to the college.

Elsewhere around Cambridgeshire, you’ll find many other well-thoughtthrough, imaginative activities aimed at pupils at different ages and stages, all designed with well-being in mind.

For younger pupils, there may be fun activities like yoga, therapeutic art and team building, designed to encourage a sense of discovery, get children to try new things and look after themselves, mentally and physically, in a range of different situations.

Culford School encourages pupils to learn what well-being means and start to develop a growth mindset. “It’s the sense that I have the power and influence to change tomorrow. Whatever happened to me today isn’t fixed in stone,” explains Dave Watkin.

St Faith’s places a big emphasis on giving pupils a voice. The School Council, Eco Committee or the opportunity to become a prefect create a sense of empowerment, says Nigel Helliwell.

“Treating each pupil as an individual is key; honing in on their strengths and providing a broad curriculum and extensive range of extracurricular activities so all the various individual talents can be developed.”

At St Christopher, optional wellbeing-related activities for senior school pupils range from a Zen-focused garden to knitting, origami and tea tasting.

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For younger pupils, there’s the GRIT (guts, resilience, initiative and tenacity) programme, which helps children challenge themselves and start to see how a GRIT approach can help them.

Boys and girls also have separate weekly sessions designed to develop strategies in everything from dealing with friendships to conflict resolution.

Schools are also encouraging open debate about mental health, so it has equal status with physical health. The Leys is running a three-year project that does just this, with staff making videos and meditations for a mindfulness wellbeing app that’s available on all school iPads. Pupils in one year group there have also built a self-care kit that could be rolled out to the whole school.

Promoting well-being to older students in schools means getting a more complex message across – balancing the encouragement to aim high with the message that growing up is unpredictable and setbacks and failures along the way are inevitable. Families, with schools’ support, are being encouraged to show their children they are loved for what they are, not what they achieve.

At Hills Road Sixth Form College, well-being coordinators are an important part of student support, able to devote enough time to talk through any worries or concerns students might have. Students can be referred on to counselling services, while the college also coordinates a programme of well-being related workshops and events throughout the year.

Well-being needs to encompass

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the whole school community – and that includes staff. Motivated, happy and positive teachers who feel valued, encouraged and who get a helping hand in difficult times themselves make for positive role models – something that’s good for the entire school community, points out Nigel Helliwell. “The well-being of staff has never been so important, given the pace of life and demands on their time,” he says.

St Faith’s brought in email protocols five years ago. “No emails (except in an u

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“As today’s pupils start to contemplate a very different future from their parents, lessons in well-being can help prepare the way” emergency) are sent in the evenings or at weekends. We even have an emailfree period during the week – Tuesday morning, which we call Talk Tuesday – that encourages staff to talk to each other rather than email,” says Nigel Helliwell.

Culford encourages staff to make the most of its stunning grounds (the head, a runner, sets an excellent example). The Leys and St Christopher are among the schools to offer yoga sessions to staff to help them manage stress. Other activities range from mindfulness sessions to an inset day themed around well-being.

With concerns surrounding children’s mental health continuing to increase, the emphasis on well-being is likely to become even more important in the months to come. While league tables don’t yet measure children’s resilience and ability to bounce back from a setback, it could yet happen, with one charity

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campaigning for well-being to become part of the inspection process, for better assessment tools to be developed and for well-being to feature in teacher training.

For that to happen, it’s useful to be able to measure the well-being initiatives schools are putting in place. At The Leys School, the first well-being survey in a five-year study starts in the summer term, enabling the school to see how much of a difference its well-being programme is making. Parents at St Faith’s, meanwhile, say the happiness of the children is a major reason for choosing the school in the first place. Pupils also take an annual online survey that tracks their confidence, self-esteem and attitudes to school over time, and also helps identify those who need additional pastoral support.

But, as Dave Watkin points out, it’s not until after their school days have ended that it’s really possible to see how much

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of an impact well-being lessons have had.

“It may be that we don’t see the fruit born of the seeds of well-being that we plant in kids until maybe their early 20s. So, we’ve just got to be confident we’re instilling the right values and habits, and that when the kids need to fall back on them, they’re there.”

As today’s pupils start to contemplate a very different future from their parents, lessons in well-being can help prepare the way. Young people are increasingly opting for experiences over possessions, swapping the daily commute for a laptop plus broadband lifestyle that turns the whole world into an office, and abandoning quaint, old-fashioned notions of a job for life in favour of multiple careers. Schools can help equip them with the mental tools to make the very most of these new ways of being – to the benefit of society as a whole. l CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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E D U CAT I O N E D U C AT I O N S P OT L I G H T

Light & shade AODAIN FLEMING, HEAD OF PASTORAL CARE AT ST MARY’S SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE, ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING ABOUT OUR BAD DAYS

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ell-being is a concept most of us feel we know well. It is talked about more and more, and we are acutely aware now, more than ever before, how important it is to ensure we are doing our best to achieve it. But, in reality, how do we reach that desired state of ‘being well’? And how do we ensure our children are also raised to understand the importance of being both healthy and happy, but also feel able to talk to others when they aren’t?

Of course, there are lots of things we can all do to look after ourselves.

Healthy eating, exercise, self-reflection or meditation, lots of time outdoors immersing ourselves in fresh air and limiting our screen time – these are just some examples. Fundamentally, however, a mindset that can revolutionise how we feel about ourselves is losing the need to live our lives according to an ideal.

Because, let’s face it, life isn’t perfect.

Things can – and do – go wrong.

In our daily lives, we are bombarded with images and descriptions of other people’s ‘perfect’ lifestyles. We read articles where celebrities show us around their mansions, see super mums who had a baby two weeks ago out jogging in their Lycra without a wobble in sight, footballers with the latest supercar, or our friend’s social media posts in glamorous locations or having perfect family time.

It can feel like everyone else is in control of their lives – successful and living the dream. But scratch beneath the surface and we soon realise these images are often masking a different reality. One where there are as many moments of shade as there are of light.

It is this reality that is spurring campaigns such as the ‘I’m Fine’ initiative

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from the Mental Health Foundation, and it’s also why we are seeing more people sharing their bad days just as much as their good ones. By having shared moments of shade, we feel camaraderie and a sense of belonging that can help us get through those darker times. This is why, at our school, we take pastoral care so seriously, and it is something we are known and respected for in our local community. We have signed up to the ‘Girls on Board’ initiative, an approach that aims to help girls aged eight to 18 successfully navigate friendship problems by encouraging continued dialogue. One reason behind the scheme’s success thus far is that, as the girls share their concerns, they realise they all have the same anxieties. This is backed up

by Huntley and Owens’ case study in the 2006 International Education Journal, which shows that “externalising conversations have been shown to be

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particularly successful in working with adolescents”. The approach empowers girls to find their own solutions – and, as a result, parents worry less, schools can focus more on the curriculum and the girls learn more effectively because they are happier.

More and more young people are setting their expectations for themselves so high they are living and measuring themselves against unrealistic standards.

This can then bring on feelings of inadequacy and failure that can stay with them into adulthood. By talking through our difficulties with others, sharing our own stories and being a supportive listener, we can make inroads into positive well-being.

It is vital that, in order to look after our well-being, we all regularly talk about the shade in our lives to help bring ourselves, our young people and others back into the light. l

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Checked-Inn

A NEW COMPANY HAS SPRUNG UP IN CAMBRIDGE OFFERING INCLUSIVE, FLEXIBLE ACCOMMODATION FOR VISITORS TO THE CITY. SIOBHAN GODWOOD FINDS OUT MORE

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ambridge is an incredibly vibrant city. With a thriving art and music scene, a world-renowned university and the fact it’s become a centre of excellence for science and technology, it should be no surprise the city attracts so many visitors. Some of those visitors are tourists wanting to soak up Cambridge’s long history and stunning architecture, many are students coming to learn from some of the best minds in the world, and others are people who come to work in the city on a short- to medium-term basis.

So where do all these visitors stay? Of course, for tourists coming for only a few days, the city is full of great hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, and there’s a growing demand for short-term lets from companies such as Airbnb. Students coming to study at the university might be put up in college accommodation for the length of their stay. But increasingly, both independent visitors and those coming to work for large firms are looking for more flexible accommodation, something between the short-term nature of a hotel room or serviced apartment, and the long-term commitment of signing a lease on a rented flat or house.

That’s where Checked-Inn comes in, offering flexibility, convenience and home comforts in one straightforward package.

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“My background is in serviced accommodation in Cambridge,” explains the company’s founder and director, Declan Fitzhenry. “While I was working in that area, I noticed we got a lot of enquiries from people who were coming to the city for perhaps three or four months to work on a project, or people who were being relocated and needed somewhere to live while they househunted for something more permanent.

Fully serviced apartments are great, but the price point can be high for people who are coming to Cambridge for more than just a couple of days or weeks. These people also aren’t going to be in the city long enough to sign a tenancy agreement – plus, if you’re only going to be working somewhere for a few months, it’s an incredible hassle to have to set up council tax, utilities, get your Wi-Fi sorted etc.

You just want everything there for you, the minute you arrive, and then to be able to leave again without having to cancel a ton of direct debits and contracts.”

Declan looked at modern life and the way we now consume things – whether instant news on our phones or instant shopping from our laptops – and realised this way of living was starting to seep into other areas, that people were expecting speed, ease and convenience when they looked for a place to stay.

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Checked-Inn offers a solution to this modern need. The company launched in May 2018 and operates a portfolio just short of 90 properties across Cambridge, which ranges from studios to threebedroom apartments. They are available to lease for a minimum of 12 weeks, so Checked-Inn sits right in the middle between a serviced apartment, for which you’d be charged by the night, and a tenancy agreement, for which you’d be charged by the month.

“For people of my generation,” Declan continues, “owning a home, having a permanent base, isn’t the most important thing in life any more. The world is becoming a much smaller place. When you are required to move so often, you can’t afford to wait to have everything sorted out. And you also don’t want to have to pay a premium for a serviced apartment.”

Declan and the Checked-Inn team also realised that even if people are coming

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to Cambridge to live and work for a relatively short time, they still want to get the most out of being in the city, and to be in a convenient, central location, close to restaurants, theatres, museums, bars and everything else that makes Cambridge such a special place. All of Checked-Inn’s properties are within a two-mile radius of the city centre, often close to commercial areas, as lots of big corporations use the company to provide accommodation for employees being sent to Cambridge on a temporary basis.

“People want to be part of a community, even if it’s only for a short time,” says Declan. “Our company offers a fantastic service, but our biggest selling point is Cambridge itself; people want to come here, they want to be right in the middle of things and live as authentic a life here as they can.”

The other significant thing offered by Checked-Inn is flexibility. “If someone wants to lengthen or shorten their stay

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“When you move often, you can’t afford to wait to have everything sorted out” because their requirements change, we can do that at no extra cost,” says Declan. “The apartments come with bed linen, towels, even right down to plates, glassware and cutlery. All your utilities are also all covered, including Wi-Fi, and all included in one weekly fee. So there are no surprises, no extras – everything is simple, straightforward and speedy.”

The service that Checked-Inn offers is perfect for corporations who have

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employees that need to be put up in the city, but it’s proving very popular with individuals coming to Cambridge to study, too.

“What we offer is a home from home,” concludes Declan. “It’s a chance to live in our fantastic city for as long as you need to, and get the most out of the experience with no hassle or stress.” All in all, a perfect solution. l checked-inn.com | 01223 423334

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E D I T I O N LO V E S • E AST E R GA R D E N I N G • K I TC H E N T R E N D S

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GA R D E N S

How does your

GARDEN GROW?

ANNA TAYLOR, OWNER OF ANNA’S FLOWER FARM IN AUDLEY END, SHARES WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH

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he Anglo-Saxons called April the month of the goddess Eostre – and there is also a pagan festival of Eostre, a celebration of all new life, reawakening and renewal. Following the first full moon of the spring equinox, Easter falls on the first Sunday thereafter. As a gardener, I especially enjoy celebrating the seasonal passage of the year. I take every opportunity to enjoy company, good food and, as ever, cut from the garden to decorate the home with flowers and foliage of the month.

By now, after the clocks are spun forward, the garden is literally ‘springing’ to life (ahem), bursting with flower and leaf as we fast approach Easter. But there is still not what one would call abundance. In order to enjoy the best of April’s flowers, you have to put in the hard work the previous year; pre-sprouting Anemones and Ranunculus in October, sowing wallflowers early in the previous summer and planting tulip bulbs in November. April’s best is a carefully planned and orchestrated feast of scent, complicated colours and delicate petals which all reignite my love for growing seasonal flowers for arranging. The days are lengthening, the light is brighter and feels blue in hue to me.

Frequent showers and warm spells are the perfect conditions for growth. Be on your guard as it can easily snow, and frosts are still common. It is possibly the most changeable month, one moment like summer, the next closer to winter!

In our polytunnels and greenhouses, we are now beginning to sow our half hardy annuals. These are frost tender plants that flower and set seed in just a couple of months. Our favourites include flowers such as Zinnias, Rudbeckia, Cosmos and Nicotiana. They truly are ephemeral, and you won’t find these in any florist. They are too soft-stemmed and delicate for long transportation from large growers. They epitomise the summer garden and a jug of these on the kitchen table or a posy on the bedside table is a real luxury of the summer.

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An added bonus is that the more you cut, the more flowers follow on. Anyone can grow these; if you have a window sill simply sow the seeds into trays of seed compost. You can use plastic trays from salads and vegetables with a little soil and a clear lid on top. You’d be surprised what you can recycle, and they are often perfectly narrow. Then water and grow in a sunny window, turning regularly, so the seeds don’t bend one way towards the light, and in six to eight weeks they will be ready to plant out. You can either pot up into window boxes, a planter or straight into a well-prepared soil. Rake the soil so there aren’t any large lumps or stones, make a little hole and gently transfer the plant by holding onto the leaf; yes that’s right, the leaf will be sturdier than the stem or root, and press the soil around the plant gently but firmly and water carefully with a fine rose on a can. As the plant begins to bud, feed with seaweed extract and cut flowers at least weekly and you’ll have flowers all summer on the table and outside! l

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THIS MONTH 2 April: Spring ‘Grow Your Own Cut Flowers’ class, see website for details Easter Saturday 20 April 11am-3pm: Studio and Farm open for Easter flowers, wreaths, plants and gifts. annasflowerfarm.com

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Cooking up a storm

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THE LATEST KITCHEN TRENDS MARRY PRACTICALITY WITH BEAUTIFUL AESTHETICS. FROM DARK CABINETRY TO PRETTY SPLASHBACKS, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO REMODEL YOUR KITCHEN, ANGELINA VILLA-CLARKE SERVES UP SOME INSPIRATION FROM THE LATEST DESIGN INNOVATIONS

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T

he kitchen is the engine room of the house: the place where families congregate, eat together, work and, of course, cook. When it comes to home improvements, updating the kitchen is often the biggest commitment of all. A design concept needs to have longevity – so it is important to get it right.

While all-white kitchens can look clean and fresh, there’s been a move towards bolder-coloured cabinetry – with shades such as midnight blue, forest green and black being on-trend.

Tom Howley, creative design director of his eponymous kitchen company, reports an increase in the orders of black kitchens. “A good way to introduce a dark colour is to use it on the island counter. This gives the kitchen a more contemporary feel, without overpowering the whole space,” he explains.

Penelope Boswell and Craig Eastwood, from the Cambridge showroom of

INTERIORS John Lewis of Hungerford, agree: “The industrial look will remain strong through 2019, with dark, brooding colours being very popular; especially when coupled with a metal accent, such as brass or copper taps and handles. It also plays well with the rise of more raw-looking and tactile surfaces.”

Luckily, in Cambridgeshire there are a number of quality kitchen companies that offer a wide choice of styles. David Hall Kitchen and Furniture Makers’ Great Shelford range looks particularly striking in a deep indigo colour, while Cambridge Kitchens & Bathrooms has a wide choice of contemporary and traditional styles in a full colour palette. The Cambridge Kitchens & Bathrooms Experience Centre at the Potton Self Build Show Centre near St Neots allows potential customers to see a variety of kitchen styles in a real home environment.

Meanwhile, Leisha Norman, kitchen designer at Harvey Jones, advises homeowners to be brave when it comes to colour: “The use of darker, bold shades adds depth and atmosphere to a room. Used cleverly, they give a sense of sophistication, especially when dressed with statement metallic ironmongery and well-positioned lighting.”

The use of natural materials – whether for worktops or cupboards – is also making a comeback. Jessica Couceiro, the creative coordinator at Husk kitchens, reveals that more customers are returning to wood to soften spaces. When looking for a good way to combine wood in a contemporary fashion, her advice is to mix and match with brass fittings and modern colours – such as rose pink or petrol blue cabinets. u

Previous page: Havana White Garden Matt floor tiles and Poitiers Azure Blue Gloss wall tiles, from £49.99 per m², from Gemini Tiles. Above: Handleless kitchen, POA, by John Lewis of Hungerford.

Right: Cabinet doors, prices vary, by Husk.

Far left: New Arbor kitchen in Inchyra Blue, from £18,000, by Harvey Jones. Left: Kavanagh Collection kitchen in Nightshade, from £20,000, by Tom Howley.

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S T OR AGE SENSIBIL I T Y THREE LEADING KITCHEN COMPANIES REVEAL THE TOP NEW TRENDS BURBIDGE KITCHENS:

“Handleless, slab-style cabinetry – it looks sleek and is easy to clean and maintain.”

LIFE KITCHENS:

“Cabinetry that feels like furniture – such as a freestanding larder in a fitted kitchen design.”

HARVEY JONES:

“Clear wall space – whereby all the cabinetry is in the base units, so the walls remain open and bright.”

This picture: Lundhs Emerald worktop, from £680 per m². Right: Caple’s Roma kitchen, from £5,700.

Bottom right: Mirrored Cubo Sideboard, £1,995, from The Gifted Few.

Doug Haswell, furniture manager at kitchen supplier Caple, champions the timeless appeal of shaker styles, and comments: “More homeowners are choosing to remain in their current properties and a classic kitchen style, such as shaker, will stand the test of time.”

The Gifted Few, meanwhile, reveals that standalone styles are making a comeback, with the functionality of a free-standing cabinet giving you flexibility within your space and working brilliantly in smaller kitchens.

Worktops and surfaces are the best way to inject a touch of flair and a feel of luxury. From Lundhs’ real stone – sourced from Norway – in shades of emerald and blue, to Radianz’s on-trend, terrazzostyle Antigua Beach quartz surfaces – you can go as dramatic or as neutral as you wish. Granite Transformations, in Trumpington, Cambridge, has a wide choice of granite, quartz and recycled glass-engineered surfaces to choose from.

Splashbacks are another way to add drama, with burnished mirrored panels, tall marble features and heavily patterned tiling all being in vogue. u

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“People are using strong colour choices to create a focal point” “For splashbacks, it’s all about big and bold patterns,” says Joe Kennedy, founder of For the Floor & More. “People are using strong colour choices with their splashbacks to create a focal point in a more neutral-toned kitchen. Florals and geometrics are particularly popular.”

While kitchen flooring needs to be practical and durable, that’s not to say it can’t also be stylish – with a myriad of new options available for homeowners.

For the Floor & More reveals that dramatic pattern motifs and two-tone colourways, such as off-white and blue or grey and mustard, are high on people’s wish lists.

The marketing manager at Kersaint Cobb, Jenna Kane, advises that wood is a sturdy and an attractive solution, with the added benefit of easily wiping clean if you’re making a particularly messy recipe.

When it comes to the finishing touches, Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball, suggests taking note from the brand’s key colours for 2019, which are all available in the Cambridgeshire showroom.

“De Nimes (a down-to-earth blue) is perfect for those who are wary of moving

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into a world of colour, because it still has a familiar underlying grey tone. It has a restrained elegance when used on kitchen walls. Offering something a little different yet equally sophisticated, Sulking Room Pink (a muted rose) has an enormous amount of warmth and offers a comforting feel in the most used room of the home: the kitchen. Pair it with Paean Black on the cabinets to create a beautifully bold scheme.” l

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INTERIORS

STO CK IST S Amtico 0121 745 0800 amtico.com Burbidge Kitchens 02476 671600 burbidge.co.uk Cambridge Kitchens & Bathrooms 01480 877274 cambridgekitchens.co.uk Caple 0117 938 1900 caple.co.uk David Hall Furniture 01763 261 010 davidhallfurniture.co.uk Farrow & Ball 01223 367771 farrow-ball.com For the Floor & More 0161 850 5857 forthefloorandmore.com Gemini Tiles 0800 014 2994 geminitile.co.uk Granite Transformations 01223 853913 granitetransformations.co.uk Harvey Jones 0800 389 6938 harveyjones.com Husk 01174 420377 madebyhusk.com John Lewis of Hungerford 01223 305480 john-lewis.co.uk Kersaint Cobb 01675 430 430 kersaintcobb.co.uk Life Kitchens 020 3972 0150 life-kitchens.co.uk Lundhs lundhsrealstone.com/uk Radianz staron.com/radianz/uk This picture: Walls painted in De Nimes, from £26 for 0.75L, by Farrow & Ball. Opposite, top left: The Plaid Check flooring, from £39.99, by Amtico. Left: Simply Oak – Timeless Oak flooring, from £60.99 per m², by Kersaint Cobb. Top right: Flora: Bellance feature tile, £55.95, from For the Floor & More.

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The Gifted Few 01858 410643 thegiftedfew.com Tom Howley 0161 848 1200 tomhowley.co.uk

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INTERIORS BROOKLYN CONE BRASS PENDANT

£69, industville.co.uk

HONEY BIRD BLUE WINE GLASS

£7.50, carandkitchen.co.uk

ETCHD HOME CHARCOAL CERAMIC BOWL

POTTERY RABBITS

From £9.95, Country Traditionals

£45, suchandsuch.co

EDI T ION

LOVES GLOBAL MONOCHROME RUNNER

£12, sainsburys.co.uk GREY MARBLE SALAD SERVERS

BIANCA PINEAPPLE ORNAMENT

£28, frenchconnection.com

£34, perchandparrow.com ROUND LEATHER BAR STOOL

£225, coxandcox.co.uk

SUNBAKED JUG

£19.50, marksandspencer.com

V&A OWEN JONES GREEN AND BLACK DÉCOR TILE

RECLAIMED TEAK BREADBOARD

From £30, darlingandgold.com

£7.20, tilegiant.co.uk

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