Weekend | February 21 2015

win!

FEBRUARY 21 2015

A CHAIR WORTH £865 WITH JUST FABRICS

what’s inside

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF LADY ASHCOMBE AND HER PET BADGER THE RISE AND FALL OF DIANA MITFORD CREATE A KITCHEN LIKE NIGELLA LAWSON AND SAM CAM

Spring g fever STEP OUT IN THE LATEST COVER-UPS OF THE SEASON

follow us @WeekendGlos

FASHION & BEAUTY

HEALTH

FOOD

GARDENING

INTERIORS

TRAVEL

Eastbourne

London Double Bill March 11th 1 night from £249

Tue Feb 24th & Tue March 3rd ~ £17

Dutch Bulbfields & Keukenhof Gardens April 10th 3 nights from £399

Wednesday February 25th ~ £33

Jersey by Sea May 2nd 7 nights from £549

Abergavenny Market M

Stonehenge & Salisbury*

National Memorial Arboretum & Lichfield Friday February 27th ~ £18 Crufts, NEC*

Wonderful Weston May 10th, June 7th & September 20th 5 nights from £299

Saturday March 7th ~ £39

Sussex Coast in Eastbourne May 17th & September 13th 5 nights from £399

Sunday March 8th ~ £22

Pembrokeshire & West Wales in Tenby May 17th & September 6th 5 nights from £399 Dorset Delights in Bournemouth May 31st & September 13th 5 nights from £399 Isle of Wight Explorer June 1st 4 nights from £375 North Wales Splendour in Llandudno June 13th 7 nights from £549 Cornish Coast in St Ives June 22nd & August 31st 4 nights from £299 Blackpool Splendour July 6th 4 nights from £275 Weymouth Carnival Week August 15th 7 nights from £549

Camden Market, London

Coronation Street – The Tour* Sun March 8th & Sun April 19th ~ £45 London Flyer (Elvis Exhibition*) Tue March 17th & Thu April 2nd £22/£42* Sewing for Pleasure & Hobbycrafts, NEC* Saturday March 21st ~ £32 Mystery Tour Sunday March 22nd ~ £20 Ideal Home Exhibition, Earls Court* Thursday March 26th ~ £32 Harry Potter Studio Tour* Tue March 31st & April 9th ~ £57

Miss Saigon London Thursday February 26th ~ £69 Wicked Bristol Hippodrome Wednesday March 4th ~ £69 The Lion King London Wednesday March 11th ~ £75 The X Factor – Live!

Genting Arena, Birmingham Saturday March 14th ~ £65 Top Hat Birmingham Hippodrome Wednesday March 18th ~ £59 Dance ‘Til Dawn Bristol Hippodrome Thursday March 26th ~ £49 Disney On Ice Genting Arena, Birmingham Saturday April 4th ~ £49 Beautiful London Thursday April 16th ~ £65 The Bodyguard Wolverhampton Grand Wednesday April 29th ~ £59 Dirty Dancing Birmingham Hippodrome Wednesday May 6th ~ £65 War Horse London Thursday May 21st ~ £69

Thu May 21st & Sat May 23rd ~ £89

Sinatra at the Palladium London Wednesday July 29th ~ £75

*Entry included. Children (15 and under) receive a discount of £5 on all our Day Trips.

Children (15 and under) receive a discount of £10 on all our Theatre Trips & Shows.

Chelsea Flower Show*

MARCHANTS COACHES TO BOOK, PLEASE CALL

01242 257714 61 CLARENCE STREET, CHELTENHAM, GLOS, GL50 3LB

WWW.MARCHANTS-COACHES.COM

We Are Open Monday to Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm!!

All of the above trips include coaching from pick-up points in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bishop's Cleeve and Tewkesbury

©LW

THE

hot LIST

The Oscars

Can he do it again? It’s the Oscars tomorrow night and Eddie Redmayne is red hot favourite for the Best Actor gong with The Theory of Everything.

I’m sorry . . .

The stage version of iconic panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is at The Centaur, Cheltenham tonight. Get ready for lots of ad-libbing with Barry Cryer and the gang.

Madness

It’s mad, but cult ska band Madness are playing at Kingsholm on May 30. For tickets, visit gloucesterrugby.co.uk/madness

FASHION & BEAUTY Put a spring in your step with our fresh coverups for the new season, from bright florals to khaki and the latest denim.

P13-15 @WeekendGlos

HEALTH & WELLBEING Jessica Hill found great comfort and support at the Acorn Children’s Hospice when her daughter died. Now she’s embarking on a gruelling adventure to raise money for the charity.

P16-18

HOMES & GARDENS

FOOD & DRINK

THE BUZZ

We catch up with awardwinning designer Chris Beardshaw and now that spring is on its way, get ready for planting with our tips for growing spuds. And don’t neglect jobs indoors – we have the perfect recipe for the kitchen of your dreams.

P33-37

Every heard of foggies?

Find out more about this savoury pastry, created in the Forest of Dean that’s going down a storm. We treat ourselves to a curry in Churchdown and celebrate National Chip Week with some tips on cooking the perfect fries. P25-29

Jimmy Carr returns to town with his new show Funny Business and we check out Will Smith’s new film Focus. P49-52

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welcome

@WeekendGlos

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Who are we?

Weekend magazine is published every Saturday by the Gloucester Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo newspapers, part of the Local World stable.

Acting Editor Jonathan Whiley Deputy Editor Joyce Matthews joyce.matthews@glosmedia.co.uk 01242 278067

Advertising Debbie French debbie.french@glosmedia.co.uk 07824 416553

VERY now and then, a It’s a tale of two features in this story comes along that week’s edition; the heartwarming makes you stop in your tale of beloved Brock and the tracks and read every heartbreaking story of Jessica Hill single word. whose daughter, Alice, died in her I give to you then, the arms at just 18 months. heartwarming tale of Brock the Jess, who lives near Tewkesbury, badger who incredibly, lived with the shares her moving story; a tale of Dent-Brocklehurst family at Sudeley bravery which no parent should have Castle for four years. to go through.

Decades on and Lady Ashcombe Elsewhere in the magazine, we has written a book about their rather speak to the author of a new book unusual family member and ahead of which charts the rise and fall of its release, kindly agreed to sit down Diana Mitford and chat to Dursley with WEEKEND and tell us a little actor Craig Parkinson about his role bit more. in spectacular new period drama, It’s an eccentric – and to my mind, Indian Summers. very British story – which could be Plus, Will Smith opens up about straight from the imagination of new film Focus and we preview the Kenneth Grahame. biggest night in the showbiz calendar Instead, Brock was very much real; – the 87th Academy Awards. as the incredible pictures will testify.

I’m backing Eddie Redmayne all Suffice to say I won’t give too the way. His performance in The much more away but if you have the Theory of Everything was incredible. chance to read only one piece this Jonathan Whiley weekend, then I can’t recommend weekend@glosmedia.co.uk Sue Bradley’s piece highly enough.

01242 278072

This issue’s contributors were asked: Indian Summers or The Casual Vacancy?

Charlotte Lewis

Craig Parkinson

Joyce Matthews

Sue Bradley

Corrie Bond-French

“I watchedThe Casual Vacancy last week,” says Charlotte who writes this week’s travel feature.

“I couldn’t resist spotting the filming locations around the Cotswold villages, Stroud suburbs and Archway school.

“It showed what a glorious county we live in. Indian Summers is on my to watch list though.”

Dursley actor Craig plays missionary Dougie in Indian Summers.

We chat to him about filming on location in Malayasia and his favourite places to spend an evening in Gloucestershire.

He says we can expect more twists and turns in episode two. “He’s obviously got big decisions to make.

He really starts to pin those down, whether he’s successful or not is another matter.”

“It has to beThe Casual Vacancy – give me a drama about English village life any day,” says deputy editor Joyce.

“All those eccentric characters, power battles and hidden secrets about to be revealed, not to mention the lovely shots of Painswick.

“And I laughed out loud at the lingerie shop – classic stuff.”

“For me it has to beThe Casual Vacancy because much of it was filmed around the Stroud area,” says Sue who writes this week’s brilliant interview with Lady Ashcombe.

“We have a special interest as we live in Bisley and our church appears several times.

“My 13-year-old son, Oliver, is a member of the Society of Bisley Youth who were in action during the first couple of minutes of the programme.”

“The Casual Vacancy, although I haven’t read the book,” says feature writer Corrie. “I’m a huge Michal Gambon fan – I’d happily watch him read a telephone directory.

“I like the fact that it was set locally. My antique dealer friends were looking out for their stock, as the production company hired loads of things from Griffin Mill Antiques Emporium.”

@WeekendGlos

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Badger's TALE

ŠSudeley Castle

Fond memories of an unusual pet have prompted Lady Ashcombe to write an enchanting new book.

SUE BRADLEY takes a trip to Sudeley Castle to discover more

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gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

@WeekendGlos

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F the many portraits hanging in Sudeley Castle, one is especially intriguing.

The likeness, which has pride of place in the kitchen of Elizabeth, Lady Ashcombe alongside paintings of members of her family, is not of one of her children or even a dog, but a wild creature rarely seen during daylight hours.

Brock the badger lived with the DentBrocklehurst family for around four years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing with Lady Ashcombe’s children Henry and Mollie in the nursery, causing heads to turn and traffic to stop as he was taken for walks in London and shocking visitors to the castle by getting tangled up in 17th century lace bed hangings.

During this time the handsome creature, which was actually female even though it was always referred to as ‘he’, even sat for a portrait by the renowned animal artist Neil Foster.

Now Lady Ashcombe has brought together her special memories of the time her family spent with this most unlikely of pets in a new book, which will go on sale at Sudeley Castle when it re-opens for the 2015 season in March.

Times have changed since the late 1960s and Lady Ashcombe fully agrees with laws that now prohibit keeping wild animals as household pets.

Yet she says the experience of living with Brock some 40 years ago gave her family an unusual insight into the lives of these mysterious nocturnal animals.

“It wouldn’t be allowed now, and rightly so, but the experience of being so close to this species made me realise just how intelligent and fascinating an animal badgers are,” she says.

The story started while Lady Ashcombe and her late first husband Mark DentBrocklehurst, then the heir to Sudeley, were living in London with their young family.

“During weekends at Sudeley my husband Mark had a habit of slipping off to Evesham to meet his ‘dealer’, a rough-hewn character who dealt in all sorts of unusual and exotic birds and small animals,” the book begins.

Mark had loved wildlife and kept something of a menagerie, including a mynah bird and a bad-tempered

cockatoo, monkeys and an ocelot.

But these paled into insignificance when he returned to London one evening with an “ungainly and strangesmelling crate” that was found to contain two badgers, one of which was destined to live with Mark’s mother at the castle.

Fortunately the Dent-Brocklehurst’s nanny, Maureen, was a resourceful and sensible woman who, after initially threatening to leave her employment if the badgers stayed in her nursery, applied her considerable knowledge and experience of looking after young children to attending to Brock.

“I had never seen a badger before, but he grew on me very quickly,” says American-born Lady Ashcombe.

“Brock thrived under Maureen’s expert care and was soon in the full swing of nursery routine.

He was bottle fed with an occasional comforting suckle at Maureen's ear Lady Ashcombe

“He was bottle fed with an occasional comforting suckle at Maureen’s ear. ‘Oh you daft thing,’ she would say, feigning annoyance.”

During their years in London, Brock would join Maureen, Mollie and Henry on trips to Kensington Gardens, when other nannies would comment on how much ‘he’ had grown or ‘how smart’ he was looking.

When he was too old to travel with Mollie in the pushchair, he would be taken for walks on a lead,

often causing drivers to do a double take.

“He was quite a traffic stopper,” Lady Ashcombe recalls.

Brock could be a prankster, often lying in wait behind curtains and chairs and pouncing on the ankles of unsuspecting passers-by.

He caused consternation among visitors to Sudeley when he once became tangled up in 17th century lace bed hangings.

And he got into trouble for digging

Main picture: CHKF20150217B-013_C Kevin Fern Photography Inset: picture from Brock the Badger by Lady Ashcombe

up the gardens of the family's neighbours in London.

One thing that struck Lady Ashcombe was the cleanliness exhibited by badgers, with Brock choosing to use a drain as a toilet when he lived in London. The lack of a suitable replacement caused some angst for the animal during its first weeks at Sudeley in 1970, until he discovered a plughole in the primary guest bathroom. “To this day it is still known as the Badger Bathroom,” she says.

Unfortunately this arrangement did not always sit well with guests and Brock eventually took up residence in the castle’s kennels by day.

Brock was allowed to roam the countryside around Sudeley and on a couple of occasions did not come back for a day or two. Eventually the time arrived when the animal never returned, with the family telling the children that the badger ‘had probably met a nice fellow and decided to set up home with him.”

Brock’s memory lives on in the hearts and minds of Lady Ashcombe, Henry and Mollie, in the painting that hangs in the kitchen and in the new book, which contains charming illustrations by local artist Katie Morgan and is being printed by Severnprint.

“He was a handsome specimen and sat for his portrait by wellknown animal painter Neil Foster,” says Lady Ashcombe.

“Neil later told me he was a difficult subject and he’d had to chase him all around the courtyard trying to capture a good likeness while at the same time avoiding those intimidating jaws.”

Memories of Brock have played their part in inspiring Lady Ashcombe to work with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to set up a new attraction at Sudeley, called Lost in the Willows.

The natural maze is based on the story of Kenneth Grahame’s famous book Wind in the Willows and includes separate dens for Ratty, Vole and, of course, Badger.

This year a proportion of the entrance fee to Sudeley Castle will be

FAMOUS PEOPLEANDTHEIR PETS

BADGERS aren’t exactly a common choice, but when celebrities go pet shopping, they tend to go to even further extremes.

Not content with carting miniature dogs around in bespoke handbags, this selection of celebs went the whole hog:

George Clooney’s pig Long before Amal was on the scene, George’s perfect companion was his pot-bellied pig, Max.The former sexiest man alive was apparently devastated when the porker passed away after 18 years together.

Audrey Hepburn’s fawn Could there have been a more fitting pet for possibly the most beautiful creature ever to grace the earth? The Breakfast at Tiffany’s star adopted the fawn, named Pippin, while filming Green Mansions.

Reese Witherspoon's donkeys Owning a farm is one thing, but the Wild actress also owns a pair of miniature donkeys named Honky andTonky.

They apparently live up to their names, neighbours have complained. ©Sudeley Castle

Steven Tyler's raccoon The Aerosmith singer has a pet raccon named Bandit.

Kristen Stewart's wolf Clearly starring inTwilight left it’s mark on Kristen – she has a wolf hybrid named Jack. “I know he looks kind of scary, he’s a wolf. He’s really sweet, he, like, falls at my feet.”

donated to the GWT, which carries out valuable work in protecting habitats and species both on its own nature reserves and throughout the county.

Badgers have been very much in the news in recent years due to the debate over bovine tuberculosis and Lady Ashcombe is well informed on the subject.

“I can understand both sides: we have tenant farmers and I know the devastation that can be caused by bovine TB. I can only hope that a good solution can be found,” she says.

Sudeley Castle reopens on March 16.The grand

opening of Lost in the Willows takes place at 10am on April 1 and the maze will feature in the Hunt for the Golden Egg event from 10am to 2pm on Easter Sunday (April 5). Children visiting the castle will also enjoy the new play equipment next to its famous giant play fort.

Paris Hilton’s kinkajou This relationship came to an abrupt end when the raccoonlike animal bit her in 2006.

Vanilla Ice’s wallaroo Real name Robert Van Winkle, the rapper was reunited with his pet (a cross between a wallaby and kangaroo) after it escaped with accomplice Pancho the goat. He was captured after scratching a woman’s car.

Michael Jackson's chimpanzee MJ lived with a chimpanzee named Bubbles in the late 1980s, but the chimp was rehomed after an undisclosed incident at Neverland.

Josephine Baker's leopard The star of the 30s was ahead of her time. She would walk her pet down the Champs Elysées, after which it would leap into an enormous white Rolls-Royce in a single bound.

Mark Dent-Brocklehurst with Brock

Win! an upholstered chair worth £865 with Just Fabrics

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ET’s face it; with the nights still short and cold there’s nothing better than sinking into a cosy armchair with a glass of wine and a good book.

With that in mind, WEEKEND has teamed up with Just Fabrics, one of the leading fabric retailers in the country with two retail shops and an online store.

Their Cheltenham shop has thousands of metres of fabrics on the roll as well as pattern books from all the major design houses.

They also offer a home measuring service and a made to measure scheme for curtains and blinds.

It’s not all about poles, throws and cushions though – although they have a wide selection.

There’s also an array of furniture with their latest design, the Frances chair, particularly special.

Inspired by the shape of a typical French country chair, its curvaceous, wrap-around wings make this a great chair to curl up in. With the glass of wine, obviously.

Find Just Fabrics next to Waitrose in Honeybourne Way, Cheltenham, GL50 3QW. Call 01242 530423 or email cheltenham@justfabrics.co.uk.

Alternatively, visit justfabrics.co.uk

To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:

How many retail shops does Just fabrics have? a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 Send your answer on a postcard with your name, address and daytime telephone number to Just Fabrics Competition, Features Department,Third Floor, St James’ House, St James’ Square, Cheltenham, GL50 3PR. The closing date is Saturday, February 28 at noon.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Usual Local World terms and conditions apply. Visit www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/houserules or www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/ houserules for full details. By entering this competition you are agreeing to Local World and third parties, including Just Fabrics, informing you of promotions, offers and services unless stated otherwise on your entry. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. @WeekendGlos

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FASHION &

BEAUTY

Your guide to fashion in Gloucestershire – direct from the designers themselves

highlights

Fit for a prince . . .

If it’s good enough for Prince William, it’s good enough for us.

He was spotted returning from his Mustique family holiday carrying last season’s travel essential – the Joules Stop Over bag (top left).

Bag a similar beauty from the new spring-summer range of cheery florals.

■ Kembry overnight bag, £69.95, available in March from joules.com or visit the Cheltenham store.

SPRING COVER-UPS

Get your coat . . . or rather a new jacket for spring, inspired by the catwalks and in the latest shapes and colours. Check out our guide.

SPOTTED ON THE STREET

Have we spotted you out and about in Gloucestershire? We check out your style and find out what you’re wearing.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Vet Jessica Hill is heading off to Lapland to raise money for Acorns Children’s Hospice. It’s her way of saying thanks to the charity who gave her support in her hour of need.

fashion PICK OF THE WEEK

Spring showstoppers London Fashion Week kicks off onThursday so get ahead of the pack with designer Julien Macdonald.To celebrate the event he’s launched a limited edition handbag range at Debenhams.

Now available online, his show-stopping florals will put a spring in your step.

■ Cross body bag, £39, at debenhams.com

With the Oscars tomorrow night get ready for more catwalk triumphs and disasters.

Reese Witherspoon looked stunning in purple at the recent Bafta Awards.

But for a dress with a less risqué neckline, try LongTall Sally’s deluxe jersey maxi, currently reduced to £75 from £110 at longtallsally.com

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spotted ON THE STREET

Mailys Morel checks out your style Caroline Warley Caroline, 49, a teacher, says: “I love wearing red.

My style is quite individual but I like icons such as Audrey Hepburn. She is so elegant and timeless.

THE KHAKI If you’re struggling to be parted from your winter parka, switch to spring khakis. With a military undertone, look for utilitarian details like pockets, zips and belted details. Stand to attention with Marks & Spencer’s Autograph Khaki Jacket, £79, available next month at marksandspencer.com

“I love shopping and wearing strong pieces such as a nice furry jacket. Mine is from a charity shop.

“I am wearing long John Rocha boots, my bag is from Feva and my dress is from Debenhams.”

THE FLORAL The perennial trend for spring has cultivated gargantuan bold blooms on coats, thanks to Burberry’s catwalk. Keep your florals bold and bright to hit the right mood. Monsoon’s Pixie Duster Coat, £69, can be worn with polo-neck jumpers now through to white dresses in high summer.

Find it at uk.monsoon.co.uk

Jacob West Jacob, 21, a student, says: “My style can be defined as anything I find in my wardrobe.

“I mainly go for high-street fashion – I shop everywhere and I read GQ too.

“I am wearing Nike shoes today, my jeans are from Topman and my coat is from Joules.”

THE STRIPES

Katie Ryan Mum Katie, 42, likes styles that are comfortable to wear.

“My coat is from Max Mara Weekend – it is so slouchy and warm.

“My jeans are from Warehouse and my shoes from Marks & Spencer.

The bag is a present and the gloves are from Ted Baker.”

Goodbye polka dots, this season is all about linear overload. Wearing bold stripes in deckchair-inspired colours instantly says summer wardrobe. For something more muted, try White Stuff’s Noviascotia Biker Jacket, in a grey, navy and yellow stripe combo, £89.95 at whitestuff.com or visit the stores in Cheltenham and Cirencester

Frank Fellows Frank, 28, works at White Stuff and describes his style as smart-casual.

“I work for White Stuff so it is easy for me to be welldressed.

“My outfit is pretty much from there except for the coat and the eagle ring, which are from Topman.”

THE DENIM Don’t underestimate how big denim is going to be for spring. The jean jacket, is one of the season’s hottest coverups. Maintain a grown-up aesthetic with dark washes, like Next’s denim jacket, £30, at next.co.uk

THE BUTTONS Clean, simple coats come with statement buttons for spring. Boden’s lightweight Eliza Coat comes in the key lavender hue of the season, so you can work two major trends in one. It’s £189 from boden.co.uk

THE TRENCH With a relaxed silhouette that should move with every spring breeze, it’s halfway between coat and kimono. Lighten up with Primark’s Pale Blue Trench, £23 at primark.com or go for a neutral hue with Marks & Spencer’s Autograph Navy Trench, £99

HELLO

spring Put your winter coat into hibernation and step out into spring. Every key silhouette and texture from the catwalks is echoed on the high street so let your new jacket do the walking and the talking . . .

Y

OU never think something like this will happen to you.

It’s the kind of thing you read about in magazines, have a little cry, feel sorry for the people and then get on with your life.

These words are said by Jessica Hill, who did have to face the awful truth that this time it was her own little girl who did not have long to live.

Alice Poppy had lived out the first six months of her life as a normal, healthy baby, reaching all her milestones quite happily.

But gradually Jess became aware that Alice had stopped rolling over and holding her toys, that she could no longer hold her head up and stopped sleeping through the night.

She was so worried she consulted a paediatrician, who not only confirmed her fears but gave the devastating news that Alice was seriously ill with a lifelimiting condition.

“All my hopes and dreams for Alice shattered in one consultation,” said Jess, who lives near Tewkesbury. “I cried all night; mine and Alice’s whole world had just come crashing down.”

Alice was eventually diagnosed with a catastrophic mitochondrial disease and doctors said she only had months to live.

After being cared for by Jess through her illness, Alice eventually died in her mother’s arms at the age of 18 months.

“Alice was such a tough cookie and fought so hard for every single day of her life,” said Jess, 34. “She was braver than anything in the world and never complained about what she had to go through on a daily basis.”

During her time caring for her daughter, Jess received unstinting support from the Acorn Children’s Hospice, who are still there whenever she needs them.

Now, to show her gratitude, Jess is taking on a challenge to raise money for the charity that provides care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, as well as support for their families.

Jess is heading off to Lapland in April to drive a team of huskies 250km from Norway to Sweden, a gruelling trip where temperatures can drop to as low as -20C. “I vividly remember the first time I visited Acorns,” said Jess.

“I was walking around thinking this is so unfair; I should be visiting nurseries, not a children’s hospice.

“The staff there are too incredible for words.

My brave baby Alice When Jessica Hill’s 18-month-old daughter Alice died she found support and comfort at the Acorn Children’s Hospice. She tells HELEN BLOW her moving story and why she is now helping them 16

gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

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Picture: Anna Lythgoe CHAL20150214A-0020_C

Jessica with Alice and left, today with her dog, Lola

“They understood what we were going through, made us feel like part of their big family and somehow kept it a happy, fun place to be.

“After Alice passed away, Acorns helped us through some of the darkest days that myself and my family would ever have to face.”

When Alice was first diagnosed at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, she became very ill following a battery of tests and doctors feared she wouldn’t make it through the night.

“We sat round her bed all night and the doctors and nurses worked all night to get her better,” said Jess, who works as an equine vet at Cheltenham racecourse.

“When she came round from her unconscious state and smiled at me, I was so grateful we had more time with her. @WeekendGlos

“She amazed doctors with her strength and determination.

“She was such a little fighter and kept on battling and we made it home a week later.”

From then on Jess put her life on hold to care for her little girl, feeding her through a tube, administering a cocktail of drugs daily and, above all, being a loving, caring mother.

“She couldn’t leave the house so people came to us, including the consultants, and I had amazing support from my family and friends,” she said.

“Thank goodness we made it to her first birthday without any major dramas.

“We had a lovely party for friends and family at home and I got to make a cake in the shape of a number one that I so wanted to be able to make.

“Alice slowly deteriorated over the

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She was braver than anything in the world and never complained about what she had to go through Jessica Hill following months and sadly lost her vision, but she could hear very well and loved being sung and read to.

“She was braver than anything in the world and never complained about what she had to go through.”

Alice passed away on September 5 last year, 10 months after her diagnosis.

“I would have done anything to make her better but I couldn’t and that was heartbreaking,” said Jess.

“Despite my tragic story, I do however feel lucky and I wouldn’t swap Alice for the world.

“She taught me so much about myself and she was a blessing.”

■ You can donate and help raise funds for the Acorn Children’s Hospice in Worcester via her fundraising site at justgiving.com/JessandAlicePoppy

Holistic Times Janie Whittemore brings news of events at the Isbourne Holistic Centre IF you’ve thought about joining a yoga class but didn’t think you were flexible enough, try our gentle, therapeutic styles and begin to feel more youthful and vibrant.

Individual attention and modifications mean you will be very well looked after.

We have different styles to suit everyone and two courses begin this week – Dru Yoga onTuesday evenings at 6.30pm and Yoga and Relaxation for Graceful Ageing onThursdays mornings at 10.30am.

Each class costs just £7.50 and there is a reduction if you book a block of sessions.

Advance booking and payment is required.

We also offer a Saturday morning yoga class and even pregnancy yoga classes.

■ Do you feel stuck on the never-ending hamster wheel of work, chores and family demands and want a bit more fun?

Would you like to be more comfortable with and confident about your body?

Egyptian dance may be the answer. Ann Blagden’s students say they feel happier about their health, fitness and their body shape – they have more confidence and a great new perspective on life. Five weekly sessions begin onThursday from 6pm-7pm, and are aimed particularly at beginners. Come make new friends and have some fun.

■ So, what if you had a superpower? And what if, just like a superhero, you could aim that superpower at anything you want to change in your life – relationships, health, people, career, finances and much more?

As an author and life coach, Odille specialises in teaching others how to use unconditional love and compassion as a power to achieve tangible results.Through these practical and empowering sessions you will be guided through techniques and skills. It costs £20 for a three-session block or £8 per session ■ If you read this column regularly you will have heard about EFT, the powerful yet simple ‘tapping’ technique that helps you change limiting thought patterns and allows your emotions to flow; removes blocks and puts you in tune with your needs.

Wendy Beresford is offering a chance to learn Emotional FreedomTechniques Level 1, on March 1 from 10am-3pm.You will need to book.

Where is the Isbourne Centre?

Very central but tucked away; WolseleyTerrace is opposite the Rodney Road Car Park on Oriel Road, close to theTown Hall.

3, WolseleyTerrace, Cheltenham, GL50 1TH Registered Charity No. 1051622

Nick Williams, left, and Dan Harvey

MUD . . . glorious mud A

RE you prepared to face the most devilish of mental and physical challenges this weekend?

With 1,000 people attending today and tomorrow, only the brave will face the all-weather race.

Devil Mud Run directors Dan Harvey, 30, and business partner Nick Williams, 32, have prepared the most fiendish of challenges for unsuspecting entrants at the Williams’ family farm in Stanley Pontlarge near Winchcombe.

The two-day fitness extravaganza boasts slip and slide style slopes, ice dips and 8km of obstacles including a stone stairway and surprise water pits.

Those taking part today include Hollyoaks actor Nick Pritchard, who plays Tony Hutchinson in the soap. He signed up after spotting coverage on social media.

Dan advises people to dress the part.

“It’s important to keep warm – wear a skin or base layer under your clothes and nothing baggy; no rugby

If you fancy a muddy challenge, head for the Devil Mud Run, which takes place in Gloucestershire this weekend.

CHERANNE HACK finds out more shirts. Wear trainers with a good grip or boots.

“It may rain so weather is a huge issue. Those coming tomorrow should be aware they will have to work even harder to complete the course, as the track will be muddy from today’s run.”

The mud run is open for the foreseeable future, with talks of second devilish event in September.

Dan said: “There’s no set age group or gender, we’ve got gyms and office teams attending.”

■ For more information call 07703 698675 or visit devilmudrun.com

health

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LAUNCH PARTY

WEEK END people

The Gloucestershire College Catering School invited guests to an evening drinks reception to launch and celebrate their new vocational training collaboration with the Chelsea Bar & Brasserie in Cheltenham.

Photographer: Emma Stoner

Rebecca Hill, Sophie-Lydia Smith and Lauren Sansom

Kowsar Ahmad, Dom Hogan and Colin Ireland

Shelley White, Francesca Goddard and Myra Billinghurst

Bethan Evans, Miggi Lorraine and Ash Sharkey

Matthew Burgis, Mannan Abdul, Gareth CrwysWilliams and Sammy Adat

Nick Brookes, Chet Mistry, Sue Lewis

19

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THEAMAZING

Ayckbourn CORRIE BOND-FRENCH chats to renowned comedic playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn about his prolific career spanning decades

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gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

n

H

IS feet are firmly on the ground, but his head is away with the Joneses, and if Sir Alan Ayckbourn had been half, nay, a quarter or tenth as prolific in his writing, he’d still be one of the world’s most performed playwrights after Shakespeare, and our most revered social playwright for generations.

Because Sir Alan is a rare thing amongst those of the thespian persuasion, a legend whose plays are a dream for actors to act and whose unblinking gaze into life behind the semi-detached front door chimes with swathes of the population.

There is a certain skilled trickery to what Alan Ayckbourn can do with a script; despite the lack of smoke and mirrors, we know, somehow, that we are watching ourselves.

Ayckbourn plays tend to be middlebrow, bitter-sweet, domestic comedies, but they can reveal darker emotions that are just partially exposed by Alan’s remarkable facility for combining theatrical ingenuity with comic masterstrokes.

And this is precisely why he has continued to confound the critics over the decades. His populist appeal and suburban subject matter was never going to titillate the waspish antennae of disciples of high-brow theatre, but Alan’s plays have endured. And victory was his when Sir Peter Hall invited him to write and produce a season at The National Theatre.

‘A Small Family Business’ was staged there in 1987. A play that couldn’t avoid reference to the impact of the prevailing Thatcherite political landscape of the time, the play was a huge critical and commercial success. Alan had achieved what other playwrights can but dream of; crossover appeal. And he has broken the record for having the most productions running simultaneously on Broadway and in the West End. And so it continued. Alan is currently working on his 80th play while Roundelay, his 78th, plays at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre next week. The 79th, Hero’s Welcome, will debut soon at Scarborough, where he lives, works and produces his plays.

And his 81st is already in the ether, so, prolific doesn’t quite cover it really.

“I just enjoy it, “ said Alan.

“I’m doing two shows, otherwise I’m just kicking my heels around. I think I’m so teed up when I finish a play, there’s all of that adrenalin swirling around, I can’t allow it to settle.

Does he have any favourites?

“The next one – you hope you just get better!

@WeekendGlos

“The ones that stand out are maybe some of the early, more neglected ones, like Joking Apart maybe, and some of the new ones.”

Alan has come a long way from his first, happily plagiarised writing effort when he was a child boarder. He adapted a Jennings book to give himself the main role, only to catch chicken pox and find himself confined to the San while another boy stepped in.

“I did manage to talk to one boy out of the window, I said ‘hello, did you see the play? How was it?’ and he just said ‘it was all right’. So that was my first crit – ‘all right’!”

I suggest that it could have been worse. “But it could have been brilliant!” laughs Alan. Clearly, he has always been passionate about the stage.

So, does Alan think that his time away at school from the age of seven has had any bearing on his career path?

“Boarding has a strange effect. Your

I’m an open recording machine really – I hear everything, and I’m always observing the fringes. school becomes home – when I went home I didn’t know anybody.

“You naturally become slightly distanced - maybe it helps with observing people.

“I’m a lousy person to go to a restaurant with, I drive my wife mad because I’m always listening into everyone else’s conversations and watching the waiter.

“I’m an open recording machine really – I hear everything, and I’m always observing the fringes.”

You get the sense with Alan that he is deeply fond of human quirks and foibles: that he sees them as jewels to be admired but left untouched. Having had an interesting family life, it is no small coincidence that tangled family ties have been a recurring theme in Alan’s plays.

But Alan is equally well-known for his ingenious approach to staging, so where does it all come from?

“You can’t legislate for inspiration,” said Alan.

“I was blessed as a playwright.

Coward, Rattigan and Shaw all had a huge influence on me, then there were the kitchen sink lads like Osborne and

23

Pinter. “It was my good fortune to be practising a craft when influence was rife, and I learned from both sides.

“I drew a lot of influence from my childhood spent in the cinema, I never went to much theatre, but I saw practically every black and white film made before 1950.

“My step-brother and I would spend our entire holidays in the cinema. There was a choice of potentially 24 movies in a week – then we’d go round again!

“A lot of my unusual techniques are borne of film, there’s a technique of cross cutting in a film called Bedroom Farce that I used as a narrative device in How the Other Half Loves. Film has been very influential too.”

Like Shakespeare, Pinter and Osborne, Alan also trod the boards before he became a writer.

“I left school on Friday and I finished up in a rehearsal room on Monday.

“I was assistant stage manager. I was happy to scrub the stage, then I just blagged my way into other roles – we all wanted to act.

“I started writing to give myself better roles.”

Roundelay plays at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre next week, and Alan has again used an innovative stage technique.

The play consists of five stories, which the audience chooses the order of. With 120 possible variations, every evening is different.

“I found the idea intriguing, because there is no beginning, no middle or end, but it tells a story, and some people who’ve seen it say that they must have seen it in the right order!

“I think the narrative is the key.

Seriously, in children’s stories, it is the narrative that is the essence, so this is drawn back, it tells the story, then we let the audience back into the waiting sub chekovian world!”

When I tell Alan about my own trip out from boarding school to see Michael Gambon in ‘A Small Family Business’ at The National as a young teenager, he seems genuinely touched that I remember the scenes and some of the lines from nearly 30 years ago.”

Which is entirely the wrong way around. I am one of many who are grateful to him for the plays, and the memories. Sir Alan Ayckbourn really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Roundelay is at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre from Tuesday until Saturday. Tickets cost from £14 to £26 and are available by calling 01242 572573.

Food

County Pasties Sue Bradley meets the couple who took the plunge and started their own working farm with tasty savoury creations

@WeekendGlos

National Chip Week We celebrate Britains most-loved takeaway with a trip to award-winning Simpsons Fish and Chips

25

Spice Of Life Joyce Matthews delivers her verdict on Spicy Aroma in Churchdown which has a new premises

Deborah Flint with her husband Neil

Fantastic

FOGGIES N

Foggies from Cinderhill Farm are earning a devoted following among motorists stopping off at the M5 Gloucester Services. SUE BRADLEY discovers how the pastry-wrapped savouries have enabled a Forest of Dean smallholding to go from strength to strength

EIL and Deborah Flint cheerfully admit that they knew very little about farming when they took the life-changing decision to give up their office jobs, sell their home and take on an eight-acre smallholding just over four years ago.

In fact, the idea of rearing animals hadn’t even entered their heads until they were both around their fifties.

But once they had made up their minds there was no holding back, and before they knew it they had left their old lives in Oxfordshire behind and begun a new chapter keeping hardy British Saddleback pigs and Black Welsh Mountain sheep and growing vegetables at Cinderhill Farm on the edge of historic St Briavels.

“We asked what was the worst that could happen,” says Neil, who previously worked in IT. “The worst thing was we wouldn’t make it and have to go back to the jobs we were doing before.

“We thought that if we were going to do it, we needed to do it now otherwise we would be too old to do it easily.”

Once they had started talking about buying a farm, the idea took on a momentum of its own.

“We found this place and put ourselves on a short course to learn the rudiments of animal husbandry,” says Neil. “Shortly afterwards our house sold, our offer on this place was accepted, our animals had a delivery date and we really had to do it.”

Preparing a homemade pasty

The first months on the farm were tough as the couple worked to build herds of slow-growing traditional English Saddleback pigs and Welsh Black sheep that would be well suited to an outdoor life.

26

And with their fields lying on a slope, they quickly found there was no chance of using powered machinery to assist with tasks such as transporting fencing materials or driving in posts.

“It was hard work to begin with: we weren’t used to the life,” says Neil.

“We didn’t know what we were doing half the time and the work was very physical. Almost everything here has to be done by hand. In the first summer I sometimes wondered if I had done the right thing.”

On the positive side, the couple were buoyed by the incredibly fertile soil they discovered in their fields – thought to be the result of hundreds of years of iron smelting in the area – and the incredible views across to Wales that formed a backdrop to their activities.

“The underlying soil around here is clay but the soil in our fields is black,” says Neil. “I think a big giveaway comes from the name of this area: Cinderhill.

“St Briavel’s Castle was King John’s hunting lodge in the 13th Century and the area was a centre for producing cross bow and arrow heads.

“A lot of iron smelting went on to gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

ith Neil

g

make the heads and the spoil was dumped all over the hillside, which we think is at the heart of our wonderfully fertile soil.”

Before long Neil and Deborah’s hard work was paying off, which in its turn presented them with another challenge: how to sell the high quality native breed meat they were producing.

Initially they set about offering a pig livery service, through which customers paid £1 a day towards the upkeep of an animal and were able to choose a box of products when it had been slaughtered.

Yet while the Owner Deborah idea proved Flint popular, Neil and Deborah still found themselves left with a lot of meat to sell and quickly realised that it was hard to achieve a price that in any way reflected the hard work they had put into rearing it.

The answer was to add value to their product and they did this by making sausage rolls, pies and pastry-wrapped savouries similar to a Cornish pasty that they named ‘foggies’.

We couldn’t call them a pasty so we used a combination of oggy – another name for pasty – and forest to make foggy,” laughs Deborah, who had worked in fundraising for a Christian development charity for 26 years.

The Flints started out by selling their products to local shops, Coleford Country Market and people living in St Briavels and as demand grew they moved production from their kitchen to a converted garage on the smallholding, fondly known as “The Pie House”.

At the same time Deborah looked for new markets and, armed with the same can-do spirit that took them onto the farm, took a chance on the new M5 Services that was about to open at Gloucester.

Fortunately buyers from Westmorland loved what they saw and were prepared to take a chance on the Flints’ ability to grow their business to meet demand.

Almost a year after the new M5 Gloucester Services opened, foggies @WeekendGlos

have proved to be a real success story, providing motorists with a real taste of the Forest of Dean.

The range is now available in farmhouse beef, ham and cheddar, lamb, and rich roast vegetable, with the Flints using local suppliers to source quality ingredients that they do not produce on their farm and employing several people to help them fulfil orders.

Soon, with the M5 Gloucester Services opening southbound, the number of foggies made at Cinderhill Farm will need to increase again, something for which the Flints are already making plans.

Neil and Deborah say they have no regrets over their decision to give up the comforts of their old lives and take on a smallholding.

“I am firmly convinced that just jumping off and doing it was the right way to approach what we did, it meant we couldn’t overthink it,” says Neil. “We have had some good luck. What we have achieved really flows from Gloucester Services.

They gave us the opportunity to increase our volumes to the extent we have and are driving our growth.”

Deborah says she is delighted with what she and Neil have achieved. Last week the couple appeared on the popular BBC show, Countryfile.

“We were used to working hard and doing long hours. What I was looking forward to was being in one place, rather than doing a lot of travelling, and enjoying the rhythms of life and fresh air,” she says.

“When we came to our smallholding we agreed early on to hold the reins very lightly and go where we were led.

“We hadn’t planned to set up a specialist food manufacturing business but that’s where we’re going. At the same time what we are doing is rooted in the farm and the locality and we’re pleased that we can share the benefits that come from it.” cinderhillfarm.com

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THE BEST OF BRITISH GRUB

Pig farmer-turned-TVpersonality Jimmy Doherty knows a thing or two about artisanal food, but now he wants to hear about yours. Here are some of his recipes to try at home

BRAISED MUTTON SHOULDER (Serves 2-3)

1 mutton shoulder, diced into cubes 600g prunes 100g dates 500g mixed root vegetables, diced into 1cm cubes (carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, celeriac) 600g couscous 150g onion

250g fresh tomatoes 30ml vegetable stock

For the herb marinade:

1 garlic clove, crushed 1tsp coriander 1tsp cumin Pepper Sea salt 1tbsp olive oil

Marinate the mutton cubes in the cumin, coriander, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic overnight, to get the flavour into the meat. When cooking, begin by sauteeing the cubed root vegetables in a heavy pot until soft, and then add the fresh tomatoes, prunes and dates.

Separately, sautee the mutton cubes in the onion, then add to pot with the veg and tomatoes.Top up the stew with vegetable stock and cook on a low heat for three hours.

Meanwhile, make the couscous according to the packet instructions. Serve the mutton stew with couscous and flaked pomegranate (optional).

BANANA TART TATIN

(Serves 2)

50g banana 200g soft brown sugar 50g butter 100g puff pastry

To serve:

100g double cream/or vanilla ice cream

Make the caramel by melting the butter and then mixing with the sugar in a pan until it dissolves. It will need to become a deep thick caramel, so make sure to keep swirling the pan as you go.

Peel the bananas and halve them lengthways, then place them on top of the heated caramel. (If using an oven-proof pan, you can continue the whole process in the pan. If not, at this point, transfer the caramel into an oven-proof dish, then place the bananas on top) Roll your pastry into a rectangular shape, then lay it over the bananas and caramel and tuck in around the bananas, making sure they are totally covered.

Cook in a hot oven for 12 minutes, then when you are ready to serve, turn the tart upside down, but be very careful as it will be extremely hot.

Then serve with the cream or ice cream.

IT'SA

family TRADITION Spicy Aroma in Churchdown may have changed premises, but the food is still as tasty as ever – as JOYCE MATTHEWS discovered

I

T seems a strange thing to say now, but going out for a curry was once unheard of. In fact, my first memory of Indian food was when my brother came home from university, shut himself away in the kitchen and a few hours later served up a concoction my parents thought wildly exotic.

This of course, was back in the Sixties, about the time Rubal Meah’s family opened the Taj Mahal in Gloucester – the city’s first Indian restaurant, based in Southgate Street. Such was its success that the family went on to open a second restaurant called New Karachi in London Road.

Both these have now gone, but the family connection lives on with Rubal at the helm of the popular Spicy Aroma, in Churchdown.

The business has been in the village for a number of years, first using premises at the Bat & Ball pub, but now based across the road in the same building as Churchdown Club. In the summer, you could play bowls or tennis, relax with a drink in the club bar and then down your supper in the restaurant.

Perfect!

It might be a slightly unusual set-up but it seems to work well and villagers have embraced the new-look restaurant with its stylish contemporary design, friendly service and good food.

It’s spacious with neutral decor and black and white striped seating set against modern soft lighting that changes through pinks, blues and purples to give a cosy glow. Curved bays seat larger groups, while high back comfy seats accommodate tables for two up to six. Rubal has hosted a number of charity fundraising events here that have seen the restaurant packed out.

The menu is comprehensive with everyone’s favourites from tandoori to balti, tikka and biriyani. The list of specials includes fish curries and a West Indian dish with jumbo king prawns cooked in their shells with mixed spices.

Prices are very good, starting with wine by the glass for £3.50. Our individual mini-bottles of Shiraz and Merlot actually gave us two reasonable glasses each.

There’s a large range of starters including some unusual vegetarian options – hara bra kebab, made from spinach, peas and potatoes – and

28

spinach and cheese pakora are lighter, fresher options from the norm. Our favourites of prawn on puree and mixed kebab, both £3.95, were well presented and delicious. The mildly-spiced little prawns were tucked in a lightly fried pancake, topped with coriander, while the kebab had generous chunks of tandoori chicken and shish kebab.

For our mains we chose dishes we hadn’t tried before.

First a chicken shali, £8.15, in a medium spicy sauce of onions, tomatoes and peppers, topped with crispy shredded potato.

Usually just a tad below a Madras, in strength, Rubal was happy to make it milder for me, which made it perfect.

Our other choice was nawabi chicken, also £8.15, with chunks of chicken in a mild, slightly fruity sauce.

Pilau rice, £2.55 and a fragrant mushroom bhaji, £3.50, completed the meal and as a late request, a garlic naan, £2.50 which arrived quickly and piping hot.

Our bill came to £40, including coffees, so well worth the walk if you’re in Churchdown or the drive out of town to try somewhere different. gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

RESTAURANT REVIEW

NATIONAL CHIPWEEK

CHERANNE HACK pays award-winning Simpsons Fish and Chips a visit as she samples the delights they have to offer and discovers their secret to making the perfect chip

Sharen Ahmed, Iuguindia Triboandas and Rubal Meah

Where: Spicy Aroma, Church Road, Churchdown Food: Indian Wine: Good choice Atmosphere: Relaxed and informal Cost: Starters from around £2.50 Mains from about £5 Contact: 01452 712621 or visit spicyaroma-gloucester.co.uk

@WeekendGlos

IN the spirit of National Chip Week, it seemed only right to sample the best chips from the finest in the country – Simpsons Fish and Chips.

Owner James Ritchie was welcoming and hospitable and it was clear he's used to the positive press the chip shop so rightly deserves.

Even at lunchtime the restaurant was a hive of activity, friendly faces in uniform serving the regulars as well as many others.

Managed by owner James and his wife Bonny, it's clear they run a tight ship.

James gave me a grand tour of the restaurant and kitchen; showing me every step that goes into the art of successful chip-making and it's clear as cod he knows his stuff.

With a wealth of knowledge and experience from Bonny‘s parents, the young couple have been fortunate enough to be trained in good company at their chip shop in Bristol.

Deciding to run their own business and carry on the renowned family name, they moved to Cheltenham and set up shop.

Steeped in traditional values, James is a keen believer that quality is key.

"If you don't have a good potato, you won't have a good chip", he says with a smile, as if it's motto he lives by.

With a desire to bring a modern approach to traditional recipes, he makes his chips using groundnut oil and won't compromise on flavour or quality.

"Because the nut oil has been refined so many times, it's suitable for those with nut allergies," he says. "I use potatoes fromTony Lees potato farm, it's all about timing and seasons for the right spud."

A true businessman, he knows where the best fish will come from for the freshest possible stock.

"It's frozen within four house of being caught and is either Icelandic, Norwegian or Scottish. I have it

29

delivered twice a week and have fresh Haddock delivered daily."

Being the only MSC certified shop in Gloucestershire for its hake, there are less than 20 restaurants certified in the UK, giving Simpsons a niche in the market.

I soon tried my hand at deep frying my own batch of chips under supervision, which is something only a skilled chipper should undertake with training.

We began by washing the potatoes, ensuring they're skinned, chipping them until they're ready to fry. Every process is meticulously executed. I stand and watch as James and his staff make it look so effortless, picking up the heavy bags of spuds with ease.

The chip shop gets through two to three tonnes of potatoes per week, using Markies or Maris Pipers when they are in season.

For the perfect chip, James tells me they should have a fluffy centre and a nice crunch, with no sogginess.

Here's his recipe for perfect homecooked chip-shop style chips: 1. Peel and chip your potatoes in whatever thickness you prefer, using either Maris Piper or King Edwards.

2. Rinse them with warm water to remove some of the starch and dry them off thoroughly - very important.

3. Heat the ground nut or vegetable oil in a pan to 175°C – keep an eye on the temperature for safety.

4. Lower the chips into the oil and keep them there for around seven minutes depending on the thickness, give them a couple more if you like them extra crispy.

5. Chips are generally cooked through when they are floating on the top of the oil, if you want to check, take one out of the oil and (very carefully) pinch it, it should have a satisfying burst.

6. Optional - sprinkle with salt and vinegar and have your favourite dip on the side.

THE Rise s & fall OF DIANA MITFORD

CORRIE BOND-FRENCH discovers the infamous history of Diana – one of the Mitford Sisters – as a new book about her life is published

30

gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

W

HILE most people nowadays would look blank if they were asked to name a single Mitford sister in a quiz, time was when most people would have known all six of them.

And they would have known which one was the writer, which one was the Duchess, which one married fascist leader Oswald Mosley, which one was obsessed with Hitler and so on.

Because the society sisters, who grew up at Batsford Park near Chipping Campden, were initially famed for their wit, their strong looks and bond and for the fact that there were simply so many of them.

But their individual idiosyncrasies, politics and divided destinies would lead to scandal and notoriety, and the actions of some would cast a long shadow over the lives of the others.

It wasn’t simply a case of a slow news day when the death of Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, was widely reported last year.

Clichés aside, the passing of the last of the Mitford girls did mark the end of an era, a time to which they all added some definition if not distinction: this was the last ripple from an often murky pool of inter-war controversy and ensuing repercussions.

As a family, their links to powerful game-players also separated them for scrutiny.

They were distantly related to Churchill, Deborah, or Debo as she was known, was connected to John F Kennedy after his older sister married her husband’s brother.

Diana entertained Hitler at her wedding in Germany when she married fascist leader Oswald Mosley, and Unity worshipped Hitler and all he stood for.

Batsford Park is now a private house, although the arboretum is open to the public, but when the girls’ father inherited it the estate came with little money and a lot of debt. For the duration of the war the family only used the rooms deemed necessary for their comfort and the remainder of the house was closed off.

Nancy Mitford based the early part of her novel, Love in a Cold Climate, on Batsford Park and Diana apparently loved the tropical gardens there and the enormous library – she would later become a book reviewer and editor.

And the sisters can still fascinate, as Lyndsy Spence will testify.

Lyndsy founded The Mitford Society and there are now nearly 2000 members, or ‘Mitties’ on the Facebook page. The blog receives an average of 10,000 @WeekendGlos

readers every month. Lyndsy has now Lyndsy is keen to ensure that the written several books about the girls, Mitford legacy is not over-shadowed by published by The History Press in negativity.

Stroud. The latest, Mrs Guinness, tells “As far as infamy goes, I think it the story of Diana Mitford, the sister depends whether you’re a fan of the girls who married the Guinness heir, only or not. Unity and Diana’s association to scandalise society by leaving him with Hitler blighted the other girls’ legacy for Oswald Mosley, the leader of the to a degree, and uninformed people are Fascist Party in Britain. They would later quick to judge the entire family in an marry in Goebbels’ drawing room with unflattering light. But, as Debo said, ‘I Hitler in attendance, then spend the war love the person, not their politics’. imprisoned for their fascist views.

“They did share a strong bond So what does Lyndsy find so but they were also very independent fascinating about the girls? individuals with strong opinions, and “I love the sisterly relationship politics severed ties between Diana and between all six of the girls and how the Jessica (the communist). dynamic differed between each one.

“After the war they all split up – “The girls had a limitless curiosity for Jessica immigrated to America; Nancy the world surrounding them and they moved to Paris; Pamela bought a castle in kept an open mind about everything.

Ireland; Diana moved to Ireland and then I love their passion for life and how, France; Unity died and Debo remained whether good or bad, they were in England. So, they were divided unapologetic about the decisions they geographically but remained connected made. They played by their own rules. through letters – phone calls were a And, of course, with six girls you get a rarity. But whenever there was a crisis variety of personalities, so I always say they all supported one another, either in there is a Mitford girl for everyone.” person or through letters.

With such controversy and And Lyndsy says that Mitford family misinformation surrounding the girls, relatives have been helpful during her Lydnsy is still surprised by some of the research process. stories that she encounters..

“Debo was very good at responding “I am to a degree, but only because to letters and I have a lovely postcard a lot of the stories stem from a she sent me which is amongst my ‘non sensationalist angle. In the beginning stealables’.

I had heard stories about the girls, “Jessica Mitford’s children were especially Diana, so I had an idea that especially helpful with my first book, The perhaps some stories might be shocking.

Mitford Girls’ Guide to Life. There are However, when I started reading through some relatives in The Mitford Society their letters and listening to audio and, as exciting as that is, we have to interviews I realised that a lot of those remember they’re private people and I Mitford stories had been misquoted or respect that.” simply fabricated throughout the years.

Mrs Guinness: The Rise and Fall of “I think Diana has been the most Diana Mitford, the Thirties Socialite misquoted, so it was great to hear her

by Lyndsy Spence is published by story in her own words and to compare The History Press and is available in that with what the press has written bookshops in March, £17.99. about her. She’s a controversial character, but it’s still nice to set a story straight, or to help her tell her side of the story, Diana Mitford, and centre, with so to speak. I’ve done that with Mrs her sisters Guinness.

31

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homes & gardens

Open Gardens Find out about the NGS Open Gardens taking this month and next

@WeekendGlos

Troublesome Tubers We tackle the potential problems potatoes face with spud-growing later on in the season

33

Celebrity Kitchens Transform the heart of your home, inspired by the kitchens of Samantha Cameron and Nigella Lawson

NGS OPEN GARDENS FEBRUARY IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH

Sunday (Feb 22)

Dr Jenner’s House & Garden, Berkeley 11am-4pm PLANTS AND TEAS Informal woodland garden. Snowdrops and wild garlic guide you past herb garden and archaeological dig to 200-year-old plane tree and vinery.

Children’s trail.

Trench Hill, Sheepscombe nr Stroud 11am-5pm • PLANTS AND TEAS Three-acre organic garden with spring bulbs, hellebores and thousands of snowdrops. Vegetables plots, woodland, ponds, wooden sculptures and panoramic views.

MARCH

Sunday March 1 & Sunday March 8 Kempsford Manor, Kempsford nr Fairford 2pm-5pm • PLANTS AND TEAS Peaceful garden with bulbs and snowdrop walk along old canal.

Sunday, March 15 Home Farm, Huntley, near Newent • 11am-4pm Exceptional views and a 1m walk through woods and fields to see carpets of spring flowers. Stout footwear advisable in winter.

Mill Dene, School Lane, Blockley nr Moreton in Marsh • 2pm-5pm TEAS Fifty shades of green at least are in this two and a half acre garden around a mill, mill-pond and stream. Garden trail for children.

Sunday, March 29 Pear Tree Cottage, 58 Malleson Rd, Gotherington nr Cheltenham 2pm-5pm • PLANTS AND TEAS Mainly informal half acre garden with pond and gravel garden. Wild garden and orchard leading to greenhouses.

Spring bulbs and early summer perennials.

B

I

F Chris Beardshaw had his way, we would all be culling our plants to create the perfect ‘death garden’. The Ancient Egyptian idea of using only those things you are prepared to spend eternity with is, he believes, the only way to design.

“You should include only those elements you hold most dear. If we are brave enough to include only those then the garden embarks on a conversation with us.”

It’s a conversation that he tries to strike up not only for his private clients but also in his award-winning show gardens. For him, both have to reflect either their creator or, in the case of a Chelsea entry, their sponsor, something he feels not every entry achieves.

“Any of the gardens there could be replaced by advertising hoardings. It is just overt advertising. What are essential is some sort of narrative through the garden and an understanding of what’s being expressed.”

Chris was outlining his approach to the world famous show at a packed talk hosted by Cheltenham Horticultural Society. Speaking with his trademark enthusiasm, he touched on the roots of his career – a packet of seeds he received aged four from his grandmother – the difficulties of working in the confined space at the Royal Hospital – “We employ a team of people just to move things around” – and the hand-picked group that help him turn his idea into reality, an “eclectic mix of butch builders and flouncy horticulturalists.”

Underpinning every garden he has built at Chelsea, including the Furzey garden in 2012 and 2013’s Arthritis Trust garden, is the need to tell a story.

In the case of Arthritis Trust, which won gold and the coveted People’s Choice, it was a story with a personal note, as Chris has suffered from arthritis since childhood.

Like a death garden, his entry included only those things that were relevant and every plant and piece of hard landscaping had to earn its place in a design that charted the journey of a sufferer from the ‘fog’ of diagnosis, through the ‘lucid’ phase of finding a way through, to end up in the ‘radiance’ of living with the disease.

“Everything should have the justification of existence in a design.

Nothing is superfluous.”

Every detail was considered. Paving carefully moved from difficult to walk on rough-hewn stone at one end of the garden to polished, regular slabs Chris Bearshaw

34

at the other. Colours started as dark and oppressive, flowed through white to vibrant shocking hues held together by what Chris describes as the ‘sorbet of green’. Even a dry stone wall at one end had its blocks inverted with bigger pieces on top of smaller, giving a visual sense of imbalance.

The plants were drawn solely from a list of those used in treatments for arthritis; frankincense, a potential ‘magic bullet’ that is being researched, had a special place in the ‘fog’ area, where comfortable Chesterfield sofas hinted at the difficulty of moving on after diagnosis.

Surprisingly, given the months of planning that goes into a design, the final stages of construction have no strict blueprint.

“There is no planting plan in essence,” admits Chris. “We very much lay it out in response to the way plants are presenting.” gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

Blooming MARVELLOUS

MANDY BRADSHAW catches up with green-fingered guru Chris Beardshaw as he talks about the roots of his blooming career and his award-winning garden designs

What he does do is get each plant out of its pot – 3,500 in 2013 – and plant it into prepared compost beds.

“I think it’s one of the most important things you can do. It’s one reason why our gardens tend to look so settled.”

Yet all the planning cannot stop neardisaster striking: with just a week to go, Chris discovered that the firm supplying a bespoke, seamless, £12,000 glass structure had gone bust. Frantic phone calls ensued, ending with one to DIY SOS star Nick Knowles, who was on honeymoon in the Caribbean.

“I rang him out of complete desperation, we had blanks everywhere else.”

Nick tracked down the original glass to the Southern Ireland manufacturers and persuaded them to deliver it to Chelsea. It meant work there had to stop while it was brought in by crane.

“For two hours no one went anywhere within the Chelsea showground.” @WeekendGlos

Even then things didn’t go smoothly as suction pads holding the second pane failed and it fell. “The whole site went silent,” says Chris. “It was the most extraordinary thing. No one dared breathe.”

Luckily, given there were no spares, it bounced without breaking.

It’s a near miss Chris is hoping won’t be repeated with his garden for Morgan Stanley this year. Promoting the firm’s Healthy Cities programme to improve children’s health and wellbeing through community projects, it is the central tile of a much larger community garden and will be relocated after Chelsea.

It’s a challenging brief but one with the story he believes is essential for any garden.

“It’s not just the fact that it looks nice but that it has a reason for existing and that’s certainly the key to any garden, no matter whether it’s a show garden, or private garden.”

35

HOWTOTACKLE...

SPUD-GROWING PROBLEMS

As gardeners start off their potatoes, WEEKEND looks at problems with spud-growing later on in the season and how to tackle them WHILE many of us have visions of digging up delicious spuds and cooking them immediately the soil’s been wiped off them, sometimes in reality we have to tackle a fair few pests and diseases which can leave our potatoes mottled, mouldy or full of holes.

Potato blight is one of the most deadly diseases which can destroy your plants overnight. It turns the stems brown and the leaves yellow, causing the plant to collapse.The first signs are brown patches on the leaves.

To minimise the risk, follow a three or four-year crop rotation, never growing potatoes on the same piece of land more than once every four years, and earth up the plants regularly and deeply to protect the tubers.

Three of the most common threats to potatoes are pests.You’ll need to destroy all traces of the affected crop and avoid growing potatoes in that spot for around eight years.

Slugs and snails can be a major problem on heavy, wet soil. Early lifting of maincrops may help reduce damage and slug pellets may help a little. While there’s no treatment for some pests and diseases, there are things you can do to stop other problems. If aphids invade your plants, spray them with insecticidal soap.

To boost your chances of success, always buy certified seed potatoes, work in plenty of organic matter on dry soil to retain moisture and help prevent scab and try the wide range of ‘resistant’ varieties on the market.

Then hopefully when you harvest your crops you’ll find the spuds you like.

Selby ceramic rise and fall ceiling pendant, ÂŁ110, John Lewis

COOKING UP style 36

Nigella Lawson and Samantha Cameron have both revealed the secrets of their kitchen style recently. WEEKEND sources the finest ingredients to create the hub of the home gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

iling ewis

K

ITCHENS are for eating, drinking and socialising, but the heart of the home also speaks volumes about our taste – as a glimpse into the kitchens of Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson recently revealed.

While there’s a homely, eclectic feel to the Downing Street space, with open shelves cluttered with pots and pans and a blackboard on the wall for family messages, Lawson’s made a fullon feminine statement with fuchsiapink cabinets and drawers, in her new London home.

It just goes to show, the recipe for a perfect kitchen is highly personal.

There’s no one right ‘look’ – what matters is that this space suits you and the way you want to live.

“There are several factors to take into account when choosing a kitchen,” advises Craig Burgess-Allen, UK manager for Rational Kitchens.

“Consider the style of the rest of your home, especially if you have an open-plan layout with spaces flowing into one another, as you want to avoid choosing a style which jars with the rest of your design scheme.

“Equally, don’t feel obliged in a period home to install a traditional kitchen.

“The priority is for a functional space, which is easy to work in and is visually appealing, and modern ranges can be hugely successful as a stunning, calm pared-back contrast, when the rest of the house is highly embellished with flourishes and detail.”

A kitchen can make or break a property deal, and it’s estimated that it can add up to seven per cent to the value of a home.

“Bear in mind that adventurous colour choices may look great in the showroom but can be hard to live with, and aren’t generally advisable if you’re considering selling a property,” Burgess-Allen points out.

“If you feel colour-starved, play with colour in worktops and tiling.

“Always consider the natural light available, and opt for light reflecting surfaces if it’s limited.

“On a practical note, avoid glossy kitchen doors if you’re house proud and have small children, as they’ll show up every smudgy fingerprint!”

Colour Recipe Colour in splashbacks, wallpaper and fun paint effects could be the perfect ingredients. “Coloured walls and accessories look amazing against gloss white or wood effect doors, and mean you can fairly inexpensively update or pick up on new trends,” advises Amanda Watson, head of design at Betta Living.

Hot Pink Pantone Coffee Maker, £20, Berry Red

PREMIER STYLE

Cookhouse MetroTile in white with teal grout, British CeramicTile

Habitat’s a great source for lookalike Downing Street kitchen kit.The family sits around a white marble-topped table, but a more compact four-seater LanceTable, £150, is a cheaper option

Creative Clocks Keep an eye on the time with a functional clock; a Flap Large Black Analogue Wall Clock, £130, Habitat.

GETTHE LOOK

Display collections of china in a glassdoored Hemnes Cabinet, £250, Ikea.

“It’s time to express your personality and put your worldly goods on display for everyone to see.

Glass-fronted cabinets and open shelves make it easy to quickly locate kitchen kit and personalises the room,” says Hayley Shaw, head of merchandising at Magnet.

A Magnet City White kitchen, incorporating clever storage solutions including a fold-down table, from £3,526.20, based on a typical 12-unit design (worktops and appliances excluded).

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Mickleton, Gloucestershire Part of a beautiful Grade II Listed Manor House with a large garden and glorious views to Kiftsgate Entrance Hall, Drawing Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Large Landing/Study area, Cloakroom, Master Bedroom with Shower Room, Two further Bedrooms, Family Bathroom, gardens and garage. This elegant property is in need of updating throughout.

Location: 2 The Manor, Mickleton, Gloucestershire Guide Price: ÂŁ595,000 Agent: Sophie Salter Contact: 01451 830731, Sophie@butlersherborn.co.uk

ŠLW

Property details

Antiques & Auctions

Boxing clever A

BOXING glove presented to gangster Reggie Kray by undefeated heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano punched well above its weight at a sale of sporting antiques in the Cotswolds.

The Slazenger boxing glove, presented in a perspex case, sold for £580 – much more than its estimate of £100-£150.

Marciano, the inspiration for the Rocky movies, met Rocky Marciano and the Kray twins in 1965 during a trip to London with the Krays in their the Hollywood actor George Raft. boxing days The stars were taken to Repton boxing club in the East End by the Krays and Marciano dispensed advice to the amateur boxers.

Marciano fought 49 undefeated bouts from 1950 until his retirement in 1956. Forty three of his wins were knockouts, and his undefeated run as heavyweight ROSS AUCTION CENTRE champion from 1952 until 1956 is the longest on SALE OF STORE CATTLE record.

THURSDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2015 The boxing glove was one of a number of personal Sale at 11.15am items Reggie Kray was allowed to keep in his cell on REARING CALVES AT 10.30AM transfer to the low-security Wayland Prison in Norfolk.

Tel: RG & RB WILLIAMS (01989) 762225 It was sold with a prison application form, seeking permission to ‘hand out’ the glove to a friend in 1999, a year before Kray’s death.

Despite the interest in this piece of memorabilia, the boxing glove ANTIQUES, COLLECTABLES & INTERIORS didn’t make the top price of the SPECIAL EVENING SALE! day at the Moore Allen & Innocent Sporting Sale in Cirencester.

That honour was reserved for another gangster favourite – a double-barrelled shotgun.

The Wanless Brothers 16-bore shotgun, with side-by-side 27-inch barrels, sold for £1,100, while another shotgun – an AYA Coral over and under 12-bore shotgun with 28-inch barrels, sold for £600.

A Thomas Bland & Sons ‘The Brent’ 12-bore shotgun with 30-inch sideby-side barrels made £500.

Monday 23rd February 2015 Ř 6.15pm In the paintings section, a St Barnabas Church Hall, Stroud Road, GL51 5LJ shooting scene by William Thomas On View: Monday 23rd February 2pm - 6.15pm Such called Shooting Woodcock, T: 07774 111716 fetched £900, while a hunting scene, Catalogue on www.cotswoldauction.co.uk The Earl of Lonsdale, sold for £600. ©LW

©LW

40

John le Carré’s famous novel, Sikh damascene sword handle and one of the Chinese watercolours

s

Sale dates TOMORROW Bath Vintage & Antiques Market Green Park Station, Bath. 9.30am.

continental paintings, Oriental ceramics and jade. Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester. 11am.

TUESDAY Cotswold Auction Company Antiques, collectables and interiors.

St Barnabas Church Hall, Stroud Road, Gloucester. 6.15pm.

THURSDAY British Bespoke Auctions Antiques and collectables.

The Old Boys’ School, Gretton Road, Winchcombe. 10am.

WEDNESDAY Dominic Winter Auctions Two-day sale. British and

Gardiner Houlgate Specialist clocks. Aution Rooms, Leafield Way, Bath. 11am.

CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE Thursday 5th March at 10.00 am Sale by Auction of Antiques, Fine Art and Objets D'art To include Decorative Antiques, Interiors and Jewellery

Rocky Marciano’s boxing glove – presented to gangster Reggie Kray

At THE PITTVILLE PUMP ROOM, CHELTENHAM A fine Japanese Meiji period bronze of a large Male Lion upon a carved wooden 'rockwork' base, 40cm high

Estimate £800 - £1000

Hot£1,150forspyclassic FICTIONAL spy George Smiley would approve . . . the world of espionage came to Cheltenham as a rare signed first edition of seminal thrillerThe Spy Who Came In FromThe Cold sold for £1,150.

It was among a collection of signed hardback novels by author John le Carré which came under the hammer at the Cotswold Auction Company’s sale.

Previously owned by a personal friend of the novelist, several of the books featured extensive, sometimes humorous,

380+ selected lots of Antique Furniture, Fine Art, and Objets D'art, Chinese Ceramics, Pottery and Porcelain, Glassware, Metalware & Bronzes, Clocks/Watches, Books, good Estate Jewellery, Silverware, Oils & Watercolours, Lighting, hand knotted Carpets, and many other interesting and varied lots

Viewing: Wednesday 4th March 8.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. and on morning of sale from 7.30 a.m. until start of sale at 10.00 a.m.

dedications from the MI6 operative-turned-novelist, including volumes signed under his real name David Cornwell.

The Asian art market remains buoyant, with an album of 10 delicate Chinese watercolour drawings on fragile rice paper selling for £950.

And much-admired was an intricate Sikh damascene sword handle.

With a black finish overlaid with beautiful floral gold detailing, it was popular with internet bidders, selling for £400.

Illustrated Catalogues £5.00 from Tayler & Fletcher

High Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, GL54 2AP All Enquiries to Martin Lambert Tel: (01451) 821666 Email: fineart@taylerandfletcher.co.uk For online Catalogue and Sale Preview with forthcoming lots illustrated in colour, see our website: taylerandfletcher.co.uk

©LW

NEXT AUCTION DATE: VIEWING AND VALUATION DAY WED 25th FEB SALE DAY THURS 26th FEB FREE HOME VISITS FOR AUCTION VALUATIONS

www.bespokeauctions.co.uk

TEL: 01242 603005 ©LW

41

family FRIENDLY

When you are in need of a well-earned break, but have young children in tow, it can seem almost impossible to find a place that ticks all the boxes. Fowey Hall in Cornwell offers everything for the perfect family getaway as CHARLOTTE LEWIS found out

I

’LL admit I was frazzled. Lack of sleep will do that to you. Our baby was not sleeping. Teething, windy, whatever the reason, she was on sleep strike. They’ll do that to you, the blighters.

A break away was exactly what the doctor ordered. But it was our first time staying in a hotel and, with our normally smiley baby transformed into a grizzly bear, I was fleetingly worried about how she’d be (and whether everyone would think I was a terrible mother because she was crying).

All the paraphernalia needed for the little one made my head spin.

But luckily this was no ordinary hotel, but one voted Tripadvisor Family Hotel of the Year.

Fowey Hall is a luxury hotel which really goes for the family. Perched on the hill overlooking the Fowey estuary, it is

a grand old building believed to have been the inspiration for Toad Hall in Wind in the Willows.

It aims to be the kind of place the children can kick off their muddy Hunter wellies in the porch and return

the fishing nets they’ve borrowed, before racing through to an impossibly grand setting for a game of table tennis, then collapsing in a happy heap in bed,

42

perhaps on a camp bed in mum and dad’s room.

Meanwhile mum and dad have grand sitting rooms with roaring fires in which to enjoy gin and tonics, a hot tub with a stunning view of the sea, an excellent spa, and the luxury of calling upon nannies to babysit, or a baby monitoring system to the room.

It was a relief to find the hotel provided a mini fridge and travel cot, and also have a bottle cleaning service, and had all the essentials available for use in your room from bottle warmers to sterilisers and warm milk brought to your room free of charge.

Their Sunday breakfast club sounds divine – where children will be whisked away by staff to collect eggs from the chickens and then have breakfast while you have a lie in.

And there are differing dinner options gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

The view from Fowey Hall

IT’S NOTTOO LATE

If you still haven’t booked your summer getaway this year, it’s not too late to bag yourself a great deal.

We’ve picked out some of the best...

SEYCHELLES

depending on your needs – high tea, where children get to sup from brightly coloured bowls the various dishes on the menu, or they can join in dinner later in the evening. There is also an adults-only dining room, with a tempting menu to enjoy by candlelight, which is blissfully free of Ikea plastic high chairs. There is, however, no room service menu so on an evening when there was no settling the baby, and we just wanted a quick bite in our darkened room, we had to settle for the gourmet menu being delivered there.

Our little one, freshly weaned when we arrived, tried high tea of roast chicken, mashed potato and vegetables all whizzed to a smooth, but delicious, paste. The chefs are happy to make purées of any of their dishes – I wasn’t quite anticipating that it would set me back £7 for a bit of food for a child not yet seven months old. We stuck to Ella pouches for dinner the following night. @WeekendGlos

Fowey Hall is a well-equipped paradise for little ones – it has a beautifully warm indoor swimming pool, an Ofsted registered crèche for under-eights where children can be supervised by nannies for two hours a day for free, and an adventure playground with zip wire as well as a TV room. There’s even a friendly hotel pooch and well-behaved dogs are welcome too.

The premise of the hotel is excellent and Tripadvisor is packed with reviews from happy customers. One mum of a young baby confided to us over the excellent breakfast that she hadn’t believed her husband when he’d told her about the hotel as she hadn’t imagined such a baby-friendly place existed.

For us there was a little something missing during our off season visit. In equal parts Fowey Hall is incredibly accommodating of families and has a formal, almost sombre air. The drinks and food prices are high for good (and good quality) fare but overall the hotel itself doesn’t quite match up to its luxury tag. A little more care in the finishings (our room window was stuck open, there were tiles missing in the bathroom), more attentiveness from the pleasant staff, a little more atmosphere created off season when it’s quiet and it would be on the right track.

Rooms start at £160 per night based on two adults sharing on a room and breakfast basis. Children up to the age of 16 stay can stay in their parent’s room on a complimentary bed and breakfast basis. Family suites are also available from £250 per night, inclusive of breakfast. Complimentary childcare in the hotel’s OFSTED registered crèche, The Den, is also included, which is available in two-hour sessions.

From time to time the hotel has a range of special offers. For details, go to foweyhallhotel.co.uk/family-holidays

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Turquoise Holidays (turqouiseholidays.co.uk) offers seven nights (B&B) at the fivestar Raffles Praslin (bay view pool villa, two sharing) from £2,099pp (saving £1,100). Includes flights from Heathrow and domestic flights and transfers, for travel between March 1-19, April 15-30 and May 11-July 16.

PHUKET Destinology (destinology.co.uk; 01204 821 419) offers seven nights at the five-star DusitThani (room only, two sharing) from £759pp (saving £300 per couple). Includes flights from Heathrow. Book by March 31 for travel in June and July.

ARUBA Tropical Sky (tropicalsky.co.uk; 0843 249 5361) offers seven nights at the four-star Divi Village All-Inclusive Villas (all-inclusive) from £1,749pp (two sharing) - saving £370pp Includes flights from Heathrow and transfers. Departing between April 1-June 30, when booked by February 28.

ICELAND Travelzoo (www.travelzoo.com) offers three nights (B&B) at the three-star Hotel Hafnarfjordur (two sharing) from £249pp (save 51%) including Northern Lights tour and Reykjavik tour. Flights from Gatwick or Luton, for departures on select dates to April 11.

Phuket,Thailand

INDIAN Summers Channel 4’s lavish period drama graced our screens last weekend with a spectacular cast and stunning cinematography. JONATHAN WHILEY catches up with leading light Craig Parkinson who lives in Dursley

L

AVISH new period drama Indian Summers may be captivating millions with its stunning scenery and Imperial nostalgia but one of its main stars refuses to watch a minute. Apart from anything else, Dursley actor Craig Parkinson doesn’t have a TV. The 38-year-old, who plays missionary Dougie in the big budget Channel 4 drama, decided to turn away from the small screen eight years ago.

“I don’t really enjoy watching myself on television,” he says in a strong northern accent in keeping with his Blackpool roots.

“I find it difficult to sit back as an audience member and watch something I’ve worked hard in.

“If we did have a telly it would be on all the time and I’d just sit down and watch any old sh**.”

One day, following a discussion with his wife, the “crack box” as Craig calls it, was given the heave-ho.

“We’re eight years clean,” he says.

“And we don’t regret it for a minute.”

Craig moved to the Stroud area five years ago with his wife, actress Susan Lynch.

“We were living in New York for a while for work reasons and then moved back to London [Camden] and decided that we had done our time in London.

“We wanted a better quality of life so Gloucestershire was the place for us. We fell in love with the place.

“We wanted to raise a family and I was very adamant that I didn’t want to raise my child in London.”

Now they can think of nothing better than a spot of lunch at The Old Spot Inn in Dursley, a drink at The Woolpack in Slad or an evening out at No 131 in Cheltenham.

It’s a far cry from Penang in Malaysia where Craig and his family (he now has a three-and-a-half-year-old son) spent six months for filming. India was too much of a problem logistically –

44

ironically because of modernisation.

“Usually I’m running around car parks in Manchester or grim places,” says Craig. “I don’t get to go to foreign locations a lot so I felt very lucky, it was absolute stunning.

“The sets were as much a part of the story as anything else. Ivy Cottage, where Dougie and Sarah live, was eerie when I first saw it. We got the train up Penang Hill in the blazing heat and found this English country garden in the jungle. It was very weird, but perfect for the show.”

Five of the filming locations were dotted on Penang Hill although Craig dismisses talk that the mission school was subject to paranormal activity.

“It’s not something I came across,” he says.

While there seems little evidence of ghostly goings-on, pizza and gin nights with the cast and crew were very much a reality.

“Things like that happened because gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

Actor Craig Parkinson stars in Indian Summers

Actress Julie Walters heads the cast

we all lived in different places and you come into quite an ensemble show,” Craig says. “I had my wife and son with me and in breaks from filming I would try and take them off and head to the beach.”

The opening episode of the 10-part series was hardly a slow-burner; there was a shooting, the suggestion of starcrossed lovers and the sight of Craig’s character rescuing a young Indian boy from the railway tracks.

“It was the part that drew me to it really,” says Craig. “He’s a good, decent person but he’s dealing with very human problems that we see not just in 1942 but something that happens now.

“To have those internal troubles and having nobody to talk to, seemed a pretty good challenge.”

So essentially, I suggest, he’s nice, but essentially flawed?

“I think that is a fair description but it’s a very human condition. He’s somebody who put his own family second to his work to try and rescue @WeekendGlos

these orphans. He’s at a point in his life where he’s questioning what real love is. He thought he knew but now he’s feeling something that he’s never felt before with another member of the opposite sex.”

Since we’re on the subject, how does Craig feel about the tag of pin-up for the series with his rugged good looks?

“I don’t know,” he says, laughing nervously. “I haven’t read anything like that.”

We move on to talk about Empire and the Raj which has been left untouched as a genre since TV series, Jewel in the Crown, in 1984.

“Paul, our writer, felt there was a story to tell and it’s something he has been working on for many years,” says Craig.

“He has done his homework and his plan is to tell a five-year story up to 1947 which is the beginning of Indian independence.

“What our show does brilliantly is that it doesn’t just tell one or two or three character’s stories.

It’s told through the eyes of how it affects everybody, from the viceroy to the upper classes down to the middles and down to the orphanage children.”

The latter shared many scenes with Craig and the actor struck up a close bond.

“They were fantastic,” he says.

“They threw themselves into everything and were happier than most actors I’ve ever worked with.

I just wanted to put them in my suitcase and take them home.”

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Craig – who pursed acting as a career because he “wasn’t great academically and bunked off school quite a bit” – admits that learning about colonial rule was a real eye-opener.

“I think everything surprised me as I was quite ignorant about all of the stories apart from what I learnt at school,” he says.

Should we be proud of the Empire then – or ashamed?

“I don’t think it’s as black and white as that, if you’ll excuse the term. It’s not something that can be narrowed down.

It’s a tricky one.”

We talk about Julia Walters and Craig tells me that because their storylines “don’t crossover” they didn’t actually work together per se. Although, he adds, he has worked with her previously on a Mike Leigh play.

“She’s phenomenal. She just laps it up, I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do.”

There are twists and turns to come for the rest of the series with Craig hinting that something is “set to give” where his character is concerned.

I tell him I’ll be watching – even if he won’t be.

Indian Summers continues on Channel 4 at 9pm tomorrow.

Craig will be at the celebrity launch party of Room 101 Waxing Bar inThe Promenade, Cheltenham, from 5pm on Friday.

EXHIBITION OPENING

WEEK END people

Guests were invited to an exhibition of paintings by Betty Harrison. The private view was held at Dean Close School, Cheltenham.

Photographer: Anna Lythgoe

Tracey Colbert Smith, Martin and Jenny Bowden

Jonathon Lancashire, Caroline Evans and Rachel Rushton

Len, Carolyn and Caroline Evans

Nia Williams-Jones, Fiona and Betty Harrison

Betty Harrison

Pollyanna Harris, Rei Chin, Betty Harrison, Jonny Woods, and Sophie Horton

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YEAR 3 SCHOLARSHIPS Applications available now at Dean Close Preparatory School For further information please telephone 01242 258001 or email rchaplin@deanclose.org.uk www.deanclose.org.uk Co-Educational

l

Day & Boarding SCHOOL

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Age 7-18

THE WEEKEND

library Etta And Otto And Russell And James

by Emma Hooper

Simon & Schuster, priced £12.99 ETTA is 82 and has never seen the sea, so one morning she leaves her farm home starts walking. She walks 2,000 across the country, becoming a celebrity on the way. She leaves behind her husband Otto, who respects her wish for freedom, and their neighbour Russell, who doesn’t.

Interspersed with the narrative of Etta’s journey, is the tale of how Etta and Otto met and fell in love.

Russell has always loved Etta and tries to find her on her travels. Otto waits for Etta to come home Etta befriends a coyote she names James, who walks with her for most of the way and talks to her, reminding her who she is, but when he disappears, he’s replaced by a caring female reporter.

Emma Hooper brings her natural affinity for rhythm and lyrics to this enchanting debut novel.

What are you reading?

Tweet us @WeekendGlos

Jonas Karlsson

Lurid And Cute

In The Family Way

Rebecca Muddiman

AdamThirlwell

Jane Robinson

Mulholland Books, £13.99

Hogarth, £9.99

Jonathan Cape, £16.99

Viking, £18.99

EmmaThorley is gone, but not forgotten, and when the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods, the past comes back to haunt the characters of this crime novel from Rebecca Muddiman. Gone is Rebecca’s follow-up to her gripping debut, Stolen – and what a followup it is. We are introduced to several people who were involved with Emma at the time of her disappearance and to the officers in charge of investigating the incident.

The story is told in short chapters that go backwards and forwards in time as the mystery behind what happened to Emma is brought to light.

The story is fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns, and the northern England setting is well portrayed throughout, with the prose evoking a cold and gritty feel to the subject matter.

Rebecca Muddiman is definitely one for crime novel fans to keep an eye on.

Swedish actor Jonas Karlsson’s brisk fableThe Room is narrated by the ruthlessly ambitious Bjorn as he takes a new job at an organisation calledThe Authority. Bjorn is convinced that his rise through the ranks will be swift, especially when he discovers a mysterious room down a nondescript corridor, a meticulously ordered, calming sanctuary where he carries out his best work.Yet none of his colleagues seem to be able to see it, and the more that Bjorn insists upon the room’s existence, the more they doubt his sanity. Kafka it isn’t, but Karlsson does succeed in capturing the tedium and pointlessness of bureaucratic life, and the banality of office banter.Yet the intrigue is never enough to elevate the book beyond what is little more than a character study of an aloof, dispassionate individual. It remains a light and predictable tale with little ambition beyond its central idea.

AdamThirlwell’s Lurid and Cute is his third novel and the first since he was named Granta’s Best ofYoung British Novelists in 2013. So you can be forgiven for having spectacularly high hopes for this book, but sadly they weren’t met.The tale of the narrator opens out as he struggles with finding his purpose in life living in an undisclosed but large city with his wife Candy, friend Hiro and his parents. Sex, drugs and not a great deal of rock ‘n’ roll feature heavily as our narrator jumps from one dilemma to another, ranging from the morally ambiguous to the plain ludicrous. My main problem was the unfocussed and often tricky structure, which, although probably not the intention, just infuriated me. Certainly not an easy read or a particularly entertaining one but those already familiar with his work may still enjoy it.

From the author of Bluestockings comes this moving social history of illegitimacy and the tremendous moral force of stigma in 20th century Britain.

Unmarried mothers were incarcerated in lunatic asylums; loving birth fathers saw their illegitimate children taken into care upon the mother’s death.

The parents of an unmarried mother were powerful guardians of her honour, often determining the child’s fate; the terrible legacy of illegitimate child migration, in which thousands were transported to Australia and Canada, is still unfolding.

Most difficult for many is the fact that social norms have subsequently shifted so rapidly: “If nobody thinks it important now, why did I suffer so much then?” Only by witnessing such suffering, perhaps, have we had the conviction to say “never again”.

Gone

The Room

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gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

highlights OFTHEWEEK

what’s on GIG OFTHEWEEK

JIMMY CARR

The 8 Out of 10 Cats host returns to Cheltenham Town Hall on Tuesday with his new show Funny Business. Tickets cost £26.50, call 08445 762210 to book. The show is suitable for ages 16+ only.

SIMON AMSTELL

Following sellout residencies in NewYork and London, comedian Simon Amstell embarks on his fourth international stand-up tour.

To Be Free sees the former Never MindThe Buzzcocks host explore freedom, joy, love, death, adventure, art and sex – among other topics.

CAKE Jennifer Aniston returns to the big screen in a much sought-after gritty role. Cake was released in cinemas yesterday.

@WeekendGlos

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Tickets for his 7.30pm gig at CheltenhamTown Hall on Friday cost £22.50. Call 08445 762210.

Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon and Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett in new film, Focus

He’s come a long way since his Fresh Prince days, but Will Smith is channelling his inner bad boy for new movie Focus. The much-loved actor talks shoplifting, chemistry and being authentic with WEEKEND

W

ILL Smith is in confessional mode, revealing he stole from a shop in Las Vegas. But before you think one of Hollywood’s most affable actors has lost his moral code, it was in readiness for his role as a con artist in new film Focus.

Part of the preparation was being partnered up with Apollo Robbins, one of the world’s leading experts on deception.

“He said, ‘I’m going to need you to walk into that store and I want you to steal something and come out. We’ll give it back, but I just need you to see what it feels like’,” recalls Will who, understandably, had his reservations.

“I was like, ‘Dude, look at me.

Everybody knows who I am’. But it was really interesting. It’s such a terrifying feeling, and that thrill, it makes it beautiful and exciting.”

Since bursting onto the small screen as The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air in the early Nineties, Will’s earned a reputation as one of the most likeable men in Hollywood.

For that very reason, the film’s writers and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (who helmed Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Ryan Gosling), thought He would be the perfect choice to play a man who can draw anybody in, but it’s simply a facade for the cool calculation that lies beneath.

“I thought the screenplay was a brilliant combination of comedy, drama, psychology and intrigue. It demanded a wide spectrum of behaviour, and I was inspired by the challenge of it,” says the

West Philadelphia-born actor.

“And it just hit me at a great point in my life, where it fitted with the material I was looking for and the things I wanted to do,” adds the 46-year-old.

He describes his character Nicky as “one of the smartest, most dysfunctional people you’ll ever meet”.

“He understands human nature and human behaviour. There are very few people with that level of depth and comprehension, but he got his heart broken when he was little and he’s not yet learned to use his powers for good.”

Will had been looking for something that was “parallel” to what was going on in his life, and, he says, “vulnerability and authenticity” were at the forefront.

“I thought Focus was such a genius way to talk about the absolute necessity for authenticity and openness to create an environment for love. For this character to have that struggle was perfect for me.”

Nicky becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie), but as he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off.

Three years later, Jess is an accomplished femme fatale who shows up in the middle of the high stakes race car circuit, throwing Nicky’s meticulously planned scheme, and his feelings, through a loop.

The pair make brilliant sparring partners on screen, and Will recalls how they clicked from the get-go despite him mistaking her dishevelled appearance (due to a long-haul flight and lost luggage) for a lack of interest in the project.

50

Will Smith

“My first thought was, ‘Oh, she doesn’t want this job’, but then we started talking and working, and all of a sudden, we clicked.”

Chemistry isn’t something that can be faked, he adds.

“You either have chemistry with people or you don’t, and you can have the best actors and directors and screenplay in the world, but if your leads don’t have chemistry, it can kill everything.”

To showcase the finest details of Nicky and his team’s thievery, every move, however subtle, needed to be caught on film, which is why Robbins, known as ‘The Gentleman Thief’, was brought on board. He taught the cast tricks of the trade and demonstrated that, rather than divert someone’s eyes, you need to divert their focus.

“We’re going to get all deep, but what I learned with Apollo is that everybody’s running a con,” explains Smith.

“When you wake up in the morning, gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

Focus on you choose the things – the clothes you wear and how you do your hair – that present the image that you think is going to get you the things that you want.

“Until you can take that mask off and bare yourself, warts and all, you can’t have the love that was the reason you put the mask on in the first place, and there’s really no way around that existential loneliness.”

A running theme throughout Smith’s work is the father-son relationship, and Focus is no different, as Nicky grapples with his childhood experiences.

“I don’t look for that, but I tend to be attracted to projects that have a father and son component,” says Will, who’s father to Trey, 22, from his first marriage, and Jaden, 16, and Willow, 14, with his wife of almost 18 years, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

One of his outstanding examples was 2006’s The Pursuit Of Happyness, which saw a young Jaden star as his on-screen son. The role earned him a second @WeekendGlos

WILL SMITH

Academy Award nomination (his first was for his portrayal of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in 2001’s Ali).

“It’s a really huge honour to be nominated for an Academy Award, but for me, it doesn’t go beyond fun. For me, the beautiful time is those couple of weeks before the Academy Awards, when there are the best parties on Earth.

It’s actually anti-climactic when you get to the awards – it’s almost like the fun is over.”

Will’s always preferred to look at the box office takings, instead.

“When people go to work, and work hard, and they have their money on a Friday night and decide what they’re going to spend their money on, for me that’s a greater vote of confidence than any award.”

That’s why the failure of 2013’s After Earth, which he produced and starred in alongside Jaden again, hit him so hard.

“It was emotionally devastating.

[Before that] I was like, ‘I smash at the

51

box office. I’m number one’, and then for that to happen, to realise that, ‘Oh shoot, I can lose’, was really emotionally difficult for me. I had to back up for a second.”

He insists Focus is the first film he’s made that he’s approached simply with the aim of having fun.

“I don’t care if it’s number one or if it’s 10, I cannot allow myself to be defined by the success or failure of my movie,” he states.

“It was hugely liberating for me and I’m going to shift from the goal orientation, which made me crazy for a couple of years, to path orientation and being in the moment.

“Things are really good,” adds Will.

“I’m loving my life and I’m excited to see where the great river takes me.”

Focus is in cinemas from Friday.

Catch it at Cineworld in Cheltenham or Gloucester Quays.Times and prices vary. Visit cineworld.co.uk

watch

film

OUR OSCAR PREDICTIONS

ANDY PARSONS, THE EVERYMAN

RAZOR-sharp wit and a cult following from his appearances on panel show Mock The Week mean that tickets are expected to be in high demand for Andy Parsons’ latest gig.

He’s heading to Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre tonight, marking a return to his first love; standup comedy.

His performance is part of a nationwide tour of his latest show, Live and Unleashed – But Naturally Cautious.

“I love live comedy,” says Andy. “You don’t have a TV producer or editor. Any given night will never be repeated. The audience will get something unrepeatable.

What happens in that theatre stays in that theatre.”

Andy, who was lead

AS the countdown to tomorrow’s Oscars begins, CHERANNE HACK bring you her hot picks for the coveted, golden statuette: BEST PICTURE Who will win? TheTheory of Everything: It has received critical acclaim and most recently a handful of Bafta’s, due to a stellar cast and Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking.

Who we want to win? Although each film presents a plausible case, I’d like to see dark horse American Sniper leave with gold. For plot, cinematography and cast alone, Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper were well chosen, with a surprise return for Sienna Miller.

BEST DIRECTOR Who will win? MortenTyldum for the Imitation Game, this will be the first Academy Award nomination forTyldum Who we want to win? Wes Anderson forThe Grand Budapest Hotel. His quirky use of his favourite cast is always outstanding. He remains ever true to his ethics in each of his films, with the Bupapest Hotel yet another example of film at its most fashionable.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Who will win? Although both British-born Felicity Jones and Rosamund Pike gave outstanding performances to represent the UK, it looks like Julianne Moore will win the Oscar this year, for her performance as Alice Howland in Still Alice.

Who we want to win? Reese Witherspoon win for her portrayal of Cheryl in Wild, a young woman who attempts to gain control of her life with a thousand-mile hike along the Pacific CrestTrail.

BEST PERFORMANCE

BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Who will win? Eddie Redmayne is the hot favourite for Oscar

OUT FOR

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game success – following on from his Bafta win.

Who we want to win? Michael Keaton for his efforts in Birdman. He’s an understated actor who usually falls off the celebrity radar.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Who will win? Although I’m pleased to see the return of Laura Dern, Patricia Arquette looks set to win, especially as she cleared up at the Baftas this year. Arquette portrays a divorced mother struggling to make a life for herself and her two children, with a story so moving I’m sure she’ll get the gold.

writer on ITV’s enormously influential satirical comedy series, Spitting Image, goes on to give an example.

“A couple of years ago a bloke wanted to propose to his girlfriend on stage. Now that moment is an extra on one of my DVDs. “That’s an extreme example, but there are always times like that when ceilings collapse or the technology fails or there’s a fire alarm in the middle of the show.”

Tickets for the 7.45pm gig cost £19 each.

Call 01242 572573.

music

KING CHARLES, GLOUCESTER GUILDHALL

Who we want to win? I’d say Meryl Streep.There’s a longstanding joke in Hollywood that Streep could play Batman and be believable. From a funloving holidaymaker in denim dungarees to MargaretThatcher, surely her powerful sorcery will cast a spell on the judging panel.

King Charles

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

KING Charles is a breath of fresh air. He doesn’t look like anyone you know, he doesn’t think like anyone you know and he doesn’t make music like anyone you know.

How often, in these days of near fatal over-saturation, days where you feel that, perhaps, there’s just nothing new out there to spark your imagination, can you say that?

Born and raised in London’s leafier corners – Wandsworth, Dulwich, Barnes – King Charles now lives with his best friend in the north-west area of the capital.

He spent his youth reading, listening, thinking and playing. His first gig was as

Who will win? JK Simmons, already recognised as an established television actor, delivers a strong, believable and intimidating performance as a teacher who motivates his students through fear in Whiplash.

Who we want to win? Mark Ruffalo for his portrayal of David Schultz, an Olympic wrestling champion, in Foxcatcher.

Ruffalo is always ready to give a thorough, truthful performance and gets our vote every time.

See the 87th Academy awards on Sky Movies tomorrow night

52

part of a fully made-up Kiss tribute band when he was very young (he was Paul Stanley – “no chest wig, sadly”).

Now he has put a decent wodge of what he has learnt into a quite extraordinary record that draws down influences from Afro-beat, rock and roll, glam, folk, hiphop and country.

You can catch him at Gloucester Guildhall on Monday from 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12. Call 01452 503050.

The Vamps

BOOK NOW

Boy band The Vamps are coming to Westonbirt Arboretum, near Tetbury on June 21.Tickets £32.50, are on sale from 9am next Saturday. Call 03000 680400.

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Saturday’s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 10.00 Saturday Kitchen Live (S,HD). 11.30 Mary Berry Cooks (R,S,HD). 12.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD) 12.10 Football Focus (S,HD). 12.50 Saturday Sportsday (S). 1.00 Live Athletics: Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix (S,HD). Coverage from the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham. 4.30 Final Score (S,HD). A round-up of this afternoon’s football results. 5.20 Pointless Celebrities (R,S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

●●●●● Excellent ●●●● Very good ●●● Good ●● Average ● Poor

BBC2

7.25 Film: Summer Magic (S). (1963) ●●● 9.10 Fred Dibnah’s Age of Steam (R,S). 9.40 The Fred Dibnah Story (R,S). 10.10 British Isles: A Natural History (R,S). 11.00 Six Nations Rewind (S,HD). 12.00 Food & Drink (R,S,HD). 12.30 A Taste of Britain (S,HD). 1.00 A Taste of Britain (S,HD). 1.30 On the Waterfront: Talking Pictures (S,HD). 2.00 Film: On the Waterfront (S,HD). (1954) ●●●●● 3.45 Film: The Go-Between (S,HD).

(1971) ●●●● 5.35 The Great British Sewing Bee (R,S,HD).

ITV

6.00 CITV. 7.30 Scrambled! (S). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). 10.20 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). 11.20 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). 12.25 ITV News (S); Weather 12.35 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). 1.35 The Unforgettable Hattie Jacques (R,S). 2.05 The Chase (R,S,HD).

3.05 Doc Martin (R,S,HD). 4.05 Big Star’s Little Star (R,S,HD). 5.05 Regional News (S) 5.15 ITV News (S); Weather 5.25 You’ve Been Framed! Presents (R,S).

Channel 4

6.10 How I Met Your Mother (R,S,HD).

7.00 Trans World Sport (S). 7.55 The Morning Line (S,HD). 9.00 The King of Queens (R,S). 9.30 Everybody Loves Raymond (R,S). 10.30 Frasier (R,S).

11.30 The Big Bang Theory (R,S,HD).

12.25 Child Genius (R,S,HD). 1.30 Channel 4 Racing (S,HD). 4.15 Come Dine with Me (R,S,HD). 5.15 The Big Bang Theory (R,S,HD). 5.45 The Simpsons (R,S).

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 10.00 SpongeBob SquarePants. 10.35 Chinese Food in Minutes (R,S). 10.55 The Dog Rescuers (R,S,HD). 11.20 Ice Road Truckers (R,S,HD).

12.15 Ice Road Truckers (R,S,HD). 1.10 Ice Road Truckers (R,S,HD). 2.10 Ice Road Truckers (R,S,HD). 3.05 Film: Columbo: How to Dial a Murder (S). (1978) ●●● 4.35 Film: Columbo: Murder – A Self Portrait (S). (1989) Detective drama, starring Peter Falk. ●●●

Take Me Out, 8.25pm

Homes by the Sea, 7pm

World Championship … 10pm

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6.35 Flog It! (S). Experts David Barby and Elizabeth Talbot head to Skegness.

6.30 Planet’s Got Talent (S,HD).

6/6. A man covers himself in giant crabs. Last in the series.

6.10 The Simpsons (R,S,HD). 4/23.

Classic movie monsters gatecrash a Halloween party.

6.40 Channel 4 News (S,HD)

6.25 NCIS (R,S,HD). 3/24. Ducky reopens a 12-year-old case while on medical leave.

7.00 The Voice UK (S,HD). 7/14. It’s the final round of blind auditions.

7.30 How We Got to Now with Steven Johnson (S,HD). 2/5.

The author explores innovations in the measurement of time.

7.00 Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (S,HD). 1/7. New series. The duo play an undercover prank on Olly Murs at Madame Tussauds Blackpool.

7.00 Homes by the Sea (S,HD). 1/7.

New series. Charlie Luxton visits some of Britain’s best seaside properties and designs his own fantasy home in each location.

7.05 NCIS (R,S,HD). 4/24. Survivors from a helicopter crash are discovered.

8.25 The National Lottery: Win Your Wish List (S,HD). 9/10.

Game show, hosted by Shane Richie.

8.30 Dad’s Army (R,S). 2/8. Pike receives his call-up papers.

8.25 Take Me Out (S,HD). 8/10.

Builder Rich, blacksmith Andy, business manager Ashley and estate agent Ross vie for the attentions of 30 single women, intent on securing a date.

Paddy McGuinness hosts.

8.00 The World’s Weirdest Weather (S,HD). 4/4. A look at weather at its strangest and fastest, featuring a cloud enveloping a supersonic jet, apocalyptic black rain, towering waterspouts and a red waterfall. Last in the series.

8.00 5 News Weekend (S,HD) 8.05 Law & Order (S,HD). 5/18. A white teenage boy and a black girl are shot and killed.

9.15 Casualty (S,HD). 21/46. Lofty and Dylan bond over a patient with a big secret.

9.00 Reginald D Hunter’s Songs of the South (S,HD). 1/3. New series. The comedian goes on a road trip to explore the American South through its songs both past and present, beginning with the music of Kentucky and Tennessee.

9.40 The Jonathan Ross Show (S,HD). 5/11. The host is joined

by Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders, Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness and comedy actor Nick Frost.

9.00 Silver Linings Playbook (S,HD). (2012) Premiere. A former psychiatric patient tries to get his life in order with the help of an equally troubled woman. Romantic comedy drama, with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. ●●●●

9.00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (S,HD). 5/20.

Morgan, Sara and Julie take a break from normal duty at a forensics conference, but their hopes of a relaxing time are shattered when a gunman goes on the rampage at their hotel.

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10.00 Gambit (S,HD). (2012) 10.05 BBC News; Weather (S,HD) Premiere. A put-upon art 10.25 Match of the Day (S,HD). Gary expert plans revenge on a Lineker presents highlights of millionaire by tricking him into the latest Premier League buying a fake Monet painting. matches. Followed by National Comedy remake, starring Colin Lottery Update.

Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman. ●● 11.50 The Football League Show 11.20 Spider (S). (2002) A (S,HD). Manish Bhasin presents schizophrenic pieces together highlights and all the goals the traumatic childhood events from the latest fixtures in the that led to his condition. David Championship, League One and Cronenberg’s psychological League Two, including thriller, starring Ralph Fiennes.

Brentford v Bournemouth. ●●●●

1.10 EastEnders (R,S,HD). Omnibus.

Lauren is determined to reveal the truth about Lucy’s murder. 4.05 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD). 4.10 BBC News (S,HD).

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12.55 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes.

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10.00 World Championship Boxing: Live From Monte Carlo (S,HD). Gennady Golovkin v Martin Murray. Live coverage of the bout for the WBA Super, WBC Interim and IBO World Middleweight titles.

11.25 Green Zone (S,HD). (2010) A military officer searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction after the US invasion uncovers a conspiracy.

Paul Greengrass’s thriller, starring Matt Damon. ●●●●

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10.40 ITV News (S); Weather 10.55 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (S,HD). (2007) A fireman asks a male colleague to pretend to marry him to get round a problem with his late wife’s life insurance policy. Comedy, with Adam Sandler. ●●

12.55 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming.

3.00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA (R,S).

The host takes his successful talk show stateside. 3.40 ITV Nightscreen (HD). Textbased information service.

1.35 The Last Leg (R,S,HD). A comic review of the past seven days. 2.25 Hollyoaks (R,S,HD). Omnibus. Porsche confronts Trevor about his dealings with Lockie. 4.30 Location, Location, Location (R,S).

Helping a first-time buyer and new parents.

5.25 Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD). Beat-thebanker game show.

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12.15 SuperCasino. Live interactive gaming. 3.10 10,000 BC (R,S,HD). 4.00 House Doctor (R,S). 4.25 Make It Big (R,S). 4.50 Make It Big (R,S). 5.15 Angels of Jarm (R,S). 5.20 Angels of Jarm (R,S).

5.30 Angels of Jarm (R,S). 5.40 Roary the Racing Car (R,S). 5.50 Roary the Racing Car (R,S).

Located in Cheltenham train station car park

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Flog It!, 6.35pm

6.10 Regional News (S,HD) 6.30 Now You See It (S,HD). 5/8.

The best and worst of the magic world, narrated by Mel Giedroyc.

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Now You See It, 6.30pm

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(R) repeat (S) subtitles (HD) highdefinition

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Sunday’s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 7.35 Match of the Day (R,S,HD). 9.00 The Andrew Marr Show (S,HD) 10.00 The Big Questions (S,HD).

11.00 Homes Under the Hammer (S,HD).

11.30 MOTD2 Extra (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (R,S,HD). 1.00 BBC News (S,HD) 1.15 The Link (S,HD). 2.00 Escape to the Country (R,S,HD). 2.45 Eat Well for Less?

(R,S,HD). 3.45 Your Home in Their Hands (S,HD). 4.45 Lifeline (S,HD). 4.55 Songs of Praise (S,HD). 5.30 Regional News (S,HD)

FILM RATINGS

●●●●● Excellent ●●●● Very good ●●● Good ●● Average ● Poor

BBC2

6.00 The A to Z of TV Gardening (R,S).

6.15 Great British Garden Revival (R,S,HD). 7.15 Glorious Gardens from Above (R,S,HD). 8.00 Countryfile (R,S,HD).

9.00 The Football League Show (R,S,HD).

10.20 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites (S).

11.50 The Great Comic Relief Bake Off (R,S,HD). 12.50 Live Cycling (S,HD). 4.30 The Wonder of Animals (R,S,HD). 5.00 Alaska – Earth’s Frozen Kingdom (R,S,HD).

ITV

6.00 CITV. 7.30 Scrambled!: (S). 7.35 Scrambled!: Nerds & Monsters (R,S). 7.50 Scrambled!: Ultimate Spider-Man (S). 8.30 Scrambled!: Horrid Henry (R,S). 8.50 Scrambled!: Deadtime Stories (R,S). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). (R,S). 12.35 ITV News (S); Weather 12.40 The Unforgettable Kenneth Williams (R,S).

1.10 Mel & Sue’s Best Bits (S,HD). 2.15 The Chase (R,S,HD). 3.10 Tipping Point (R,S,HD).

4.15 Film: Octopussy (S,HD). (1983) ●●

Channel 4

6.20 NFL: Rush Zone (S,HD). 6.45 How I Met Your Mother (S,HD). 7.30 Everybody Loves Raymond (R,S). 8.30 Frasier (R,S).

9.30 Sunday Brunch (S,HD). 12.30 Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast (R,S,HD).

1.30 The Big Bang Theory (R,S,HD). 2.25 Film: Love Happens (S,HD). (2009) Romantic drama, starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. ●● 4.35 Location, Location, Location (R,S,HD). 5.35 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (S,HD).

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 10.00 SpongeBob SquarePants. 10.35 The Dog Rescuers (R,S,HD). 11.00 Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge (R,S,HD). 12.00 Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge (R,S,HD). 1.00 Film: Innerspace (S,HD). (1987) Sci-fi comedy, starring Dennis Quaid. ●●●● 3.20 Film: Stand By Me (S). (1986) ●●●●● 4.55 Film: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (S,HD).

(1989) Disney comedy, starring Rick Moranis. ●●●●

Mr Selfridge, 9pm

The Auction House, 8pm

Robson’s Extreme Fishing … 11am

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6.00 Speed Dreams: The Fastest Place on Earth (R,S,HD). 1/2.

Part one of two. British motorsports enthusiasts travel to Utah to race their vehicles.

6.40 Regional News (S); Weather 6.45 ITV News (S); Weather

6.30 Channel 4 News (S,HD)

6.45 WarGames (S,HD). (1983) Thriller, starring Matthew Broderick. ●●●●

7.00 Countryfile (S,HD). The team explores how erosion has shaped Suffolk. Including Weather for the Week Ahead.

7.00 The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway (R,S,HD). 1/3.

Documentary following the work of more than 10,000 engineers and construction workers as they build Crossrail.

7.00 Get Your Act Together (S,HD).

6/6. Ray Quinn, James Bolam, Claire Richards, Chip and last week’s winner return to the stage with their mentors for the live final. Last in the series.

7.00 Four Rooms (S,HD). 1/5. New series. The dealers dig deep for a tennis racket once owned by Andy Murray.

8.00 Call the Midwife (S,HD). 6/8.

A diabetic teenager faces heartbreak when she falls pregnant as a result of a clandestine romance. The midwives become involved with a settlement of Irish travellers.

8.00 Top Gear (S,HD). 5/10. Richard Hammond compares the Porsche Cayman GTS with the latest Chevrolet Corvette and James May takes the LaFerrari hybrid hypercar out for a spin in Italy. With guest Olly Murs.

8.15 All Star Family Fortunes (S,HD). 5/11. With impressionist Jon Culshaw and Emmerdale’s Fiona Wade.

8.00 The Auction House (S,HD).

2/3. Boss Roger announces his latest plan to increase profits – a new minimum price of £500 – while a cash-strapped artist hopes to raise the money for a deposit on a flat.

8.55 5 News Weekend (S,HD)

9.00 The Casual Vacancy (S,HD).

2/3. As “the Ghost of Barry Fairbrother” makes further accusations, Samantha throws a dinner party to smooth things over – but things get out of control when Howard and Shirley arrive.

9.00 Dragons’ Den (S,HD). 11/12.

Ideas pitched include a new form of transportation, a subscription box of foodie treats, a safety device for boats and a home-made marmalade brand. Evan Davis presents.

9.00 Mr Selfridge (S,HD). 5/10.

Harry announces the acquisition of the Selfridge Estate – but Loxley is out to get him. Kitty receives unwelcome press attention and Princess Marie is forced to tell Lois the truth.

9.00 Indian Summers (S). 2/10. A curfew is imposed to deal with the supposed terrorist threat, the arrival of a journalist causes trouble for Ralph, and Sarah turns detective to find out why Alice moved to India.

9.00 Top Gun (S,HD). (1986) An arrogant pilot causes conflict when he joins an elite US Navy fighter school, and falls for his civilian instructor. Aerial action adventure, with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. Part of the 80s Movie Marathon. ●●●

10.00 Meet the Ukippers (S,HD).

10.00 Regional News (S,HD) Documentary following UKIP 10.30 Match of the Day 2 (S,HD). activists in the Kent district of Mark Chapman reviews the Thanet. latest Premier League action, 10.50 Blackthorn (S,HD). (2011) featuring Southampton v Premiere. Western, starring Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur v Sam Shepard and Eduardo West Ham United and Everton v Noriega. ●●● Leicester City.

10.00 ITV News (S); Weather 10.20 Bear Grylls: Mission Survive (R,S,HD). 1/6. Eight celebrities face a challenging 12-day expedition in the rainforest of Costa Rica.

10.00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (R,S,HD). 6/6.

Sean Lock and Jason Manford compete against guest captain Sarah Millican and Jonathan Ross, while Bill Bailey joins Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner.

Last in the series.

11.40 The Super League Show: World Club Series Special (S,HD). Action from the three fixtures.

11.20 Premiership Rugby Union (HD). Highlights of the latest top-flight fixtures.

11.05 Moonrise Kingdom (S,HD).

(2012) Premiere. Wes Anderson’s comedy drama, with Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. ●●●●

11.15 Young Guns (S). (1988) Billy the Kid and his gang become outlaws as they seek revenge for their employer’s murder by a rival rancher. Western, starring Emilio Estevez. Part of the 80s Movie Marathon. ●●●

12.15 The Store. Home shopping. 2.30 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA (R,S). The host takes his successful talk show stateside.

3.15 ITV Nightscreen (HD). Text-based information service. 5.05 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S,HD). Guests air their differences.

12.50 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (R,S). Luigi’s in Orange County, California. 1.40 The Million Pound Drop (R,S,HD). A bride-to-be and her friends play the quiz. 2.30 Come Dine with Me (R,S).

4.45 Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD). Beat-thebanker game show. 5.35 Face the Clock (R,S,HD).

1.15 SuperCasino. Live interactive gaming. 3.10 10,000 BC (R,S,HD). 4.00 House Doctor (R,S). 4.25 Make It Big (R,S). 4.50 Make It Big (R,S). 5.15 Angels of Jarm (R,S). 5.20 Angels of Jarm (R,S).

5.30 Angels of Jarm (R,S). 5.40 Roary the Racing Car (R,S). 5.50 Roary the Racing Car (R,S).

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Match of the Day 2, 10.30pm

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Top Gear, 8pm

6.00 The Big Painting Challenge (S,HD). 1/6. New series.

Nationwide search for Britain’s best amateur artist.

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12.25 The Apprentice USA (S,HD). The teams devise advertising campaigns for hotel chains. 1.50 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD). 1.55 BBC News (S,HD).

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12.30 Sign Zone: Countryfile (R,S). Tom Heap looks at the pros and cons of the hunting ban in Gloucestershire. 1.25 Holby City (R,S). Sacha loses control when Mr Kerrigan turns up at Holby. 2.25 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes.

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Monday’s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 9.15 Heir Hunters (S,HD). 10.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S,HD). 11.00 Countryside 999 (S,HD).

11.45 Real Lives Reunited (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (S,HD). 1.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD); Regional News. 1.45 Doctors (S,HD). 2.15 WPC 56 (R,S,HD). 3.00 The Link (S,HD). 3.45 Escape to the Country (S,HD). 4.30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (S,HD). 5.15 Pointless (S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

●●●●● Excellent ●●●● Very good ●●● Good ●● Average ● Poor

BBC2

6.00 This Is BBC Two (S). 6.05 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S). 7.05 Countryside 999 (R,S,HD). 7.50 Real Lives Reunited (R,S,HD).

8.20 Sign Zone: Wanted Down Under (R,S).

9.05 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (R,S). 10.05 Great British Railway Journeys (R,S). 10.35 Click (R,S,HD). 11.00 BBC News (S,HD) 11.30 BBC World News (S,HD) 12.00 Daily Politics (S) 1.00 The A to Z of TV Gardening (R,S). 1.05 Cagney & Lacey (R,S). 1.50 The World at War (R,S). 2.45 Africa (R,S,HD). 3.45 Open All Hours (R,S). 4.15 To the Manor Born (R,S). 4.45 Hi-deHi! (R,S). 5.15 Flog It! (R,S).

ITV

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S,HD). 8.30 Lorraine (S,HD). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (S,HD). 10.30 This Morning (S).

10.55 ITV News (S) 11.00 This Morning (S). 12.30 Loose Women (S,HD). Celebrity interviews and topical studio discussion.

1.30 ITV News (S); Weather 1.55 Regional News (S) 2.00 Judge Rinder (S,HD). 3.00 Tipping Point (S,HD). 3.59 Regional Programme (S). 4.00 1000 Heartbeats (S,HD). 5.00 The Chase (S,HD).

Channel 4

6.00 Countdown (HD). 6.45 The King of Queens. 7.10 3rd Rock from the Sun. 8.00 Frasier. 9.00 Everybody Loves Raymond.

10.35 Undercover Boss Canada (HD).

11.30 Shipping Wars UK (HD). 12.15 Channel 4 News Summary 12.20 Couples Come Dine with Me (HD). 1.05 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (HD). 2.10 Countdown (HD). 3.00 Deal or No Deal (HD). 4.00 Come Dine with Me (HD). 5.00 Four in a Bed (HD). 5.30 The Simpsons.

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 9.15 The Wright Stuff (HD). 11.10 The Hotel Inspector (R,S). 12.10 5 News Lunchtime (S,HD) 12.15 Secrets of St Paul’s Cathedral (R,S,HD). 1.15 Home and Away (S,HD). 1.45 Neighbours (S,HD).

2.15 NCIS (S,HD). 3.15 Film: The Perfect Assistant (S,HD). (2008) Thriller, starring Josie Davis. ●● 5.00 5 News at 5 (S,HD) 5.30 Neighbours (R,S,HD).

University Challenge, 8pm

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6.00 BBC News (S,HD); Weather 6.30 Regional News (S); Weather

6.00 Two Tribes (S). 6/60. Quiz, hosted by Richard Osman.

6.30 Eggheads (R,S,HD). 132/160.

Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Vine.

7.00 The One Show (S,HD). Hosted

by Alex Jones and Matt Baker.

7.30 Regional Programme (S).

Followed by BBC News.

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Waterloo Road, 10.45pm

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(R) repeat (S) subtitles (HD) highdefinition

10,000 BC, 10pm

6.00 Regional News (S); Weather 6.30 ITV News (S); Weather

6.00 The Simpsons (R,S). 12/25.

6.30 Hollyoaks (S,HD). Joe takes drastic action, as Freddie and Lindsey make a quick escape.

6.00 Home and Away (R,S,HD).

Maddy finds out that chemotherapy might make her infertile.

6.30 5 News Tonight (S,HD)

7.00 Top Gear (R,S,HD). 5/10.

Richard Hammond compares the Porsche Cayman GTS with the latest Chevrolet Corvette.

7.00 Emmerdale (S,HD). Priya panics when Nicola fails to bring Amba home.

7.30 Coronation Street (S,HD).

Jason implores Eva to forgive him.

7.00 Channel 4 News (S,HD) 7.55 The Political Slot (S). Tory MP Mark Spencer on the growth of small businesses.

7.00 Criminals: Caught on Camera (S,HD). 7/8. The use of CCTV to fight crime.

7.30 Car Crash TV (S,HD). Clips of incidents due to snow and ice.

Followed by 5 News Update.

8.00 EastEnders (S,HD). Nancy confronts Mick.

8.30 Children of the Great Migration – Panorama (S,HD). Children travelling alone on the migration route from Sudan and Eritrea to Europe.

8.00 University Challenge (S,HD).

30/37. The quarter-final matches continue.

8.30 Only Connect (S,HD). 23/27.

Three fans of all things Nordic take on a team of QI researchers in the third quarterfinal.

8.00 More Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green (S,HD). 2/8. The actor heads to Northumberland National Park.

8.30 Coronation Street (S,HD).

Tony lays down some ground rules for Tracy.

8.00 Politicians for Hire: Channel 4 Dispatches (S,HD). The behaviour of some politicians in Westminster.

8.30 Food Unwrapped (S,HD). 5/6.

Red wine, garlic breath and so-called healthy snacks.

8.00 Police Interceptors (S,HD). A suspect does a runner from Dan Brigginshaw, a routine vehicle check turns into a drug bust for Suzie Ranyard, and Scottish revellers clash with bouncers in Skegness. Followed by 5 News at 9.

9.00 New Tricks (R,S). 10/10. The case of a zookeeper thought to have been killed by a tiger in 2006 is reopened when fresh evidence suggests the victim died before the big cat got to him.

9.00 A Cook Abroad: Monica Galetti’s France (S,HD). 4/6.

The MasterChef: The Professionals judge embarks on a culinary tour of the Jura region of eastern France, spending time with the area’s food producers.

9.00 Broadchurch (S,HD). 8/8. After all the twists and turns, the truth is finally revealed – changing lives for ever. David Tennant and Olivia Colman star in the mystery drama. Last in the series.

9.00 NHS: £2billion a Week & Counting (S). New series.

Interactive show challenging viewers to put themselves in the position of doctors and other health professionals as they determine where to allocate scarce resources.

9.00 Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole (S,HD). 7/12. The lives of people on benefits in Scotland, including a pair of aspiring pop stars and a woman who is convinced that her weight is stopping her from getting a job.

10.00 BBC News (S,HD) 10.25 Regional News (S) 10.45 Waterloo Road (S,HD). 18/20.

Dale’s erratic behaviour becomes both illegal and dangerous. This episode can be seen at 8.30pm on BBC3.

10.00 House of Fools (S,HD). 2/6.

Beef is forced to hide from an irate butcher.

10.30 Newsnight (S,HD). Presented

by Evan Davis.

10.00 ITV News at Ten (S) 10.30 Regional News (S); Weather 10.40 Cricket World Cup Highlights (S,HD). England v Scotland. Tom Skippings presents action from the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand.

11.45 Regional Programme (R,S,HD).

11.15 Weather (S) 11.20 Alex Polizzi: The Fixer (R,S,HD). 6/6. Alex heads to Wimbledon to help the owner of a pet shop. Last in the series.

11.40 The Jonathan Ross Show 11.40 24 Hours in A&E (R,S,HD). 7/8.

(R,S,HD). 5/11. The host is A 51-year-old man who has joined by Absolutely Fabulous fallen 20ft from a ladder. star Jennifer Saunders, Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness and comedy actor Nick Frost.

12.30 Film: Heist (S). (2001) Thriller, starring Gene Hackman. ●●●● 2.15 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD).

2.20 BBC News (S,HD).

12.20 Sign Zone: Inside the Commons (R,S). An insight into day-to-day life and work at the House of Commons. 1.20 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes. 4.00 BBC Learning Zone (R,S,HD).

12.40 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming.

3.00 UEFA Champions League Weekly (S,HD). A look ahead to the latest matches in the last 16. 3.25 ITV Nightscreen (HD).

Text-based information service. 5.05 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). Guests air their differences.

11

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NHS: £2billion a Week … 9pm

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More Tales from … 8pm

10.00 Catastrophe (S,HD). 6/6. Rob 10.00 10,000 BC (S,HD). 7/10. Mel and Sharon’s stag and hen wants to conserve what rations nights spiral out of control. Last the tribe has and forage for in the series. extras, but Paul is determined to go hunting. JP threatens to 10.35 Bodyshockers: Nips, Tucks leave when a meeting is called and Tattoos (R,S,HD). 6/6. Last to discuss his laziness. in the series.

12.35 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (R,S). 1.25 Film: After Lucia (HD).

(2012) Premiere. Drama, starring Tessa Ia. ●●●● 3.10 Kirstie’s Vintage Home (R,S,HD). 4.05 Location, Location, Location (R,S). Finding two properties in North Yorkshire. 5.05 Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD).

11.00 The Jackal (S,HD). (1997) A jailed IRA terrorist is offered freedom in return for helping to capture an assassin in the pay of Russian criminals. Thriller, with Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier. ●● 1.20 SuperCasino. Live interactive gaming. 3.10 Killer Psychopaths (R,S,HD).

Serial-killing duo John Duffy and David Mulcahy. 4.00 Wildlife SOS (R,S). The work of an animal sanctuary. 4.25 HouseBusters (R,S). 4.45 House Doctor (R,S). 5.10 House Doctor (R,S). 5.35 House Doctor (R,S).

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gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 9.15 Heir Hunters (S,HD). 10.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S,HD). 11.00 Countryside 999 (S,HD).

11.45 Real Lives Reunited (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (R,S,HD). From Farnham, Surrey. 1.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD); Regional News. 1.45 Doctors (S,HD). 2.15 WPC 56 (R,S,HD). 3.00 The Link (S,HD).

3.45 Escape to the Country (S,HD). 4.30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (S,HD). 5.15 Pointless (S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Excellent â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Very good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Average â&#x2014;?

Poor

BBC2

6.00 This Is BBC Two (S). 6.05 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S). 7.05 Countryside 999 (R,S,HD).

7.50 Real Lives Reunited (R,S,HD). 8.20 Sign Zone: Wanted Down Under (R,S). 9.05 Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Weirdest Events (R,S). 10.05 Great British Railway Journeys (R,S). 10.35 HARDtalk (R,S,HD).

11.00 BBC News (S,HD) 11.30 BBC World News (S,HD) 12.00 Daily Politics (S) 1.00 The A to Z of TV Gardening (R,S). 1.05 The Super League Show: World Club Series Special (R,S,HD). 1.50 The World at War (R,S). 2.45 Africa (R,S,HD). 3.45 Open All Hours (R,S). 4.15 To the Manor Born (R,S). 4.45 Hi-de-Hi! (R,S). 5.15 Flog It! (R,S).

ITV

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S,HD). 8.30 Lorraine (S,HD). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (S,HD). 10.30 This Morning (S).

10.55 ITV News (S) 11.00 This Morning (S). 12.30 Loose Women (S,HD). With guest Kendra Wilkinson. 1.30 ITV News (S); Weather 1.55 Regional News (S) 2.00 Judge Rinder (S,HD). 3.00 Tipping Point (S,HD). 3.59 Regional Programme (S).

4.00 1000 Heartbeats (S,HD). 5.00 The Chase (S,HD).

Channel 4

6.00 Countdown (HD). 6.45 The King of Queens. 7.10 3rd Rock from the Sun. 8.00 Frasier. 9.00 Everybody Loves Raymond.

10.35 Undercover Boss Canada (HD).

11.30 Shipping Wars UK (HD). 12.15 Channel 4 News Summary 12.20 Couples Come Dine with Me (HD). 1.05 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (HD). 2.10 Countdown (HD). 3.00 Deal or No Deal (HD). 4.00 Come Dine with Me (HD). 5.00 Four in a Bed (HD). 5.30 The Simpsons.

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 9.15 The Wright Stuff (HD). 11.10 The Hotel Inspector (R,S).

12.10 5 News Lunchtime (S,HD) 12.15 Cowboy Builders (R,S,HD). Dominic Littlewood revisits a Pontefract couple he helped in 2011. 1.15 Home and Away (S,HD). 1.45 Neighbours (S,HD). 2.15 NCIS (R,S,HD). 3.15 Film: The Boy Next Door (S,HD). (2008) Premiere. Crime thriller, starring Dina Meyer. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;? 5.00 5 News at 5 (S,HD) 5.30 Neighbours (R,S,HD).

Live UEFA Champions â&#x20AC;Ś 7.30pm

The Romanians Are Coming, 9pm

Killer Psychopaths, 9pm

â&#x2013;ź

6.00 BBC News (S,HD); Weather 6.30 Regional News (S); Weather

6.00 Two Tribes (S). 7/60. Quiz, hosted by Richard Osman.

6.30 Eggheads (R,S,HD). 133/160.

Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Vine.

6.00 Regional News (S); Weather 6.30 ITV News (S); Weather

6.00 The Simpsons (R,S). 15/25.

Krusty spices up his act.

6.30 Hollyoaks (S,HD). Kim is in turmoil when someone asks for her help.

6.00 Home and Away (R,S,HD).

Maddy prepares to go into surgery.

6.30 5 News Tonight (S,HD)

â&#x2013;ź

7.00 The One Show (S,HD). Live chat and topical reports.

7.30 EastEnders (S,HD). Nancy admits her fears about Mick to Linda. Followed by BBC News.

7.00 Wanted in Paradise (S,HD).

New series. Property series in which UK couples and families get the chance to sample life in an exotic location.

7.00 Channel 4 News (S,HD) 7.55 The Political Slot (S). The Green Party bill to renationalise Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s railways.

7.00 Police Interceptors (R,S,HD).

A suspect does a runner from Dan Brigginshaw. Followed by 5 News Update.

8.00 Holby City (S,HD). 20/52. Elliot prepares for the first official trial of his new device, only to face a major decision. The arrival of an old flame puts Mary-Claireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feelings for Harry into perspective.

8.00 Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fishing Leopards: Natural World (S,HD). Natural history film documenting wildlife from around the world.

7.00 Emmerdale (S,HD). Jimmyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comments to the police make things worse for Nicola.

7.30 Live UEFA Champions League (S,HD). Manchester City v Barcelona (Kick-off 7.45pm). Mark Pougatch presents coverage of the last-16 first-leg encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

8.00 Mary Portas: Secret Shopper (S,HD). 1/4. New series. The retail guru transforms a convenience store in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, where the staff are too busy clowning around to take out-of-date food off the shelves.

8.00 Costa Del Casualty: Benidorm ER (S,HD). An amateur astronomer is admitted after a nasty fall.

Followed by 5 News at 9.

9.00 The Gift (S,HD). 3/4. A man wants to thank the heroes who rescued him from the Boxing Day tsunami and a woman searches Africa for her familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retired domestic help, who once treated her like a daughter.

9.00 Inside the Commons (S,HD).

4/4. Battles break out over the future of the House as the Speaker runs into trouble with reform plans, and a backbencher tries to get voters the power to sack MPs. Last in the series.

9.00 The Romanians Are Coming (S). 2/3. A look at the reality of life in Romania and the motivation behind the influx of immigrants in the UK, featuring the story of a nurse who is hoping to improve her life.

9.00 Killer Psychopaths (S,HD). 3/6.

Criminologist David Wilson analyses the personality and motivations of American serial killer Dennis Rader, who was convicted in 2005 of murdering 10 people between 1974 and 1991.

10.00 BBC News (S,HD) 10.25 Regional News (S). Followed

by National Lottery Update.

10.45 Childbirth: All or Nothing (S,HD). Documentary following four pregnant women making very different choices about their births.

11.35 Growing Up Downâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (S,HD).

Documentary following a group of young actors with Downâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s syndrome as its members set out on tour with a production of Hamlet.

Previously shown on BBC3.

10.00 Rhod Gilbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Work Experience (S,HD). 3/4. The comedian takes over the running of a hotel in Tenby, Pembrokeshire.

10.30 Newsnight (S,HD). Presented

by Evan Davis.

10.00 ITV News at Ten (S) 10.00 Immigration Street (S,HD).

10.00 10,000 BC (S,HD). 8/10. Phil and New series. Follow-up to Mike set snares as they continue 10.30 Regional News (S); Weather Benefits Street, observing the their hunting mission, while 10.40 UEFA Champions League: lives of residents of an Mel takes Jodie and Josie Extra Time (S,HD). Manchester ethnically diverse thoroughfare foraging for sloes and JP shows City v Barcelona and Juventus v in the Bevois district of an unexpected skill for Borussia Dortmund.

Southampton. extracting burdock root.

11.15 Weather (S) 11.20 Dragonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Den (R,S,HD). 11/12.

Ideas pitched include a new form of transportation.

11.40 Carry On Henry (S). (1971) 11.00 Kid Criminals (R,S,HD). 2/2.

Henry VIII needs an excuse to Part two of two. American rid himself of his new French teenagers taking part in wife, so tries to make it look rehabilitation and treatment like she is having an affair. programmes in prison.

Comedy, starring Sid James. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

11.00 Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Biggest Hips (R,S,HD).

Documentary about four plussize women who are proud of their figures and make the most of them, including one whose hips are eight feet in circumference.

12.20 Sign Zone: Film 2015 (R,S). Reviews of Blackhat and The Duke of Burgundy.

12.50 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes. 4.00 BBC Learning Zone (R,S,HD).

1.15 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming. 3.00 12.05 Poker (S,HD). 1.00 KOTV Boxing Loose Women (R,HD). With guest Kendra Weekly (S). 1.30 Trans World Sport (R,S).

2.25 The Ricky Gervais Show (R,S,HD).

Wilkinson. 3.45 ITV Nightscreen (HD).

2.55 Sarah Beenyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Double Your House Text-based information service. 5.05 The for Half the Money (R,S,HD). 3.50 Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S,HD). Guests air Location, Location, Location (R,S). 4.45 their differences.

Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD). 5.35 Face the Clock (R,S,HD).

12.00 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (R,S,HD). 1.00 SuperCasino. Live interactive gaming. 3.10 Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole (R,S,HD). 4.00 Wildlife SOS (R,S). 4.25 HouseBusters (R,S). 4.45 House Doctor (R,S). 5.10 House Doctor (R,S). 5.35 House Doctor (R,S).

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Two Tribes, 6pm

â&#x2013;ź

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Holby City, 8pm

â&#x2013;ź

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10 11

12.35 Film: Houseguest (S). (1995) Comedy, starring Sinbad and Phil Hartman. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;? 2.20 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD). 2.25 BBC News (S,HD).

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Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 9.15 Heir Hunters (S,HD). 10.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S,HD). 11.00 Countryside 999 (S,HD).

11.45 Real Lives Reunited (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (S,HD). 1.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD); Regional News. 1.45 Doctors (S,HD). 2.15 WPC 56 (R,S,HD). 3.00 The Link (S,HD). 3.45 Escape to the Country (S,HD). 4.30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (S,HD). 5.15 Pointless (S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Excellent â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Very good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Average â&#x2014;?

Poor

BBC2

6.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S). 7.00 Countryside 999 (R,S,HD). 7.45 Real Lives Reunited (R,S,HD). 8.15 Sign Zone: Wanted Down Under (R,S). 9.00 Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Right Diet for You? A Horizon Special (R,S). 10.00 Great British Railway Journeys (R,S). 10.30 See Hear (S,HD). 11.00 BBC News (S,HD) 11.30 Daily Politics (S) 1.00 Lifeline (R,S,HD). 1.10 Cagney & Lacey (R,S). 1.55 The World at War (R,S). 2.50 Africa (R,S,HD). 3.45 Open All Hours (R,S). 4.15 Three Up, Two Down (R,S). 4.45 Hi-de-Hi! (R,S,HD). 5.15 Flog It! (R,S). ; Party Political Broadcast.

ITV

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S,HD). 8.30 Lorraine (S,HD). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (S,HD). 10.30 This Morning (S).

10.55 ITV News (S) 11.00 This Morning (S). 12.30 Loose Women (S,HD). With American vocal group Backstreet Boys. 1.30 ITV News (S); Weather 1.55 Regional News (S) 2.00 Judge Rinder (S,HD). 3.00 Tipping Point (S,HD). 3.59 Regional Programme (S). 4.00 1000 Heartbeats (S,HD). 5.00 The Chase (S,HD).

Channel 4

6.00 Countdown (HD). 6.45 The King of Queens. 7.10 3rd Rock from the Sun. 8.00 Frasier. 9.00 Everybody Loves Raymond.

10.35 Undercover Boss Canada (HD).

11.30 Shipping Wars UK (HD). 12.15 Channel 4 News Summary 12.20 Couples Come Dine with Me (HD). 1.05 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (HD). 2.10 Countdown (HD). 3.00 Deal or No Deal (HD). 4.00 Come Dine with Me (HD). 5.00 Four in a Bed (HD). 5.30 The Simpsons.

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 9.15 The Wright Stuff (HD). 11.10 The Hotel Inspector (R,S).

12.10 5 News Lunchtime (S,HD) 12.15 The Classic Car Show (R,S,HD). 1.15 Home and Away (S,HD). 1.45 Neighbours (S,HD). 2.15 NCIS: New Orleans (R,S,HD). 3.15 Film: Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery (S,HD). (2013) Whodunnit, starring Nathaniel Parker. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;? 5.00 5 News at 5 (S,HD) 5.30 Neighbours (R,S,HD).

Coronation Street, 7.30pm

24 Hours in A&E, 9pm

GPs: Behind Closed Doors, 8pm

â&#x2013;ź

6.00 Two Tribes (S). 8/60. Quiz, hosted by Richard Osman.

6.30 Eggheads (R,S,HD). 134/160.

Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Vine.

6.00 Regional News (S); Weather 6.25 Party Political Broadcast (S).

By the Labour Party.

6.30 ITV News (S); Weather

6.00 The Simpsons (R,S). 17/25. Lisa fears she is destined to be stupid.

6.30 Hollyoaks (S,HD). Lindsey tells Freddie her plans.

6.00 Home and Away (R,S,HD).

Sophie lures Nate to a hotel room.

6.30 5 News Tonight (S,HD)

7.00 The One Show (S,HD). Matt Baker and Alex Jones present the live magazine show.

Followed by BBC News.

7.00 Wanted in Paradise (S,HD).

Property series in which UK couples and families get the chance to sample life in an exotic location.

7.00 Emmerdale (S,HD). Chrissie grows increasingly worried about Lachlan.

7.30 Coronation Street (S,HD). Rita and Jenny come face to face in the Rovers.

7.00 Channel 4 News (S,HD) 7.55 The Political Slot (S). The devolution of powers to Scotland.

7.00 Cowboy Builders (S,HD).

Dominic Littlewood returns to Solihull in the West Midlands to try to catch up with a prolific rogue trader. Followed by 5 News Update.

8.00 The Great Comic Relief Bake Off (S,HD). 3/4. Jo Brand hosts the third edition of the celebrity baking show, with Michael Sheen, David Mitchell, Jameela Jamil and Sarah Brown taking on three baking challenges for charity.

8.00 Suffragettes Forever! The Story of Women and Power (S,HD). 1/3. New series. Amanda Vickery examines the campaign by women for political and sexual equality in Britain, beginning with the impact of the politics of the late 18th century.

8.00 The Brit Awards 2015 (S,HD).

Ant and Dec host the music ceremony live from Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s O2, with performances by Madonna, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Take That, Paloma Faith, George Ezra and Royal Blood.

8.00 The Restoration Man (R,S,HD). 4/6. George Clarke joins Dave and Margaret Hedleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project to transform an old watermill in the northeast of England and repair the water wheel to generate hydroelectric power.

8.00 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (S,HD). Doctors treat a man who woke up to discover a red rash covering his entire body, a patient who cannot move his fingers and a woman with tremors in her hands and legs.

Followed by 5 News at 9.

9.00 The Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Strictly for Comic Relief (S,HD). 1/4. New series. Charity edition of the dancing contest, which follows six members of the public as they are chosen to compete, and train for their performances with professionals.

9.00 Wolf Hall (S,HD). 6/6. Cromwell is accused of betrayal by Anne, while Jane Rochford tells him Mark Smeaton, Francis Weston and Henry Norris have all declared their love to the queen. Last in the series.

9.00 24 Hours in A&E (S). 8/8. A nine-year-old boy has a dangerously high heart rate, and doctors fear a 32-year-old man may have damaged his spine in a 30ft fall from scaffolding. Last in the series.

9.00 Jack the Ripper: New Suspect Revealed (S,HD). Former Bedfordshire police detective Trevor Marriott and an international team of experts use 21st-century techniques to reinvestigate the 19th-century Whitechapel murders.

â&#x2013;ź

Up the Women, 10pm

6.00 BBC News (S,HD); Weather 6.30 Regional News (S); Weather 6.55 Party Political Broadcast (R,S,HD). By the Labour Party.

â&#x2013;ź

6 7 8 9

Film 2015, 11.15pm

â&#x2013;ź

(R) repeat (S) subtitles (HD) highdefinition

10.00 Up the Women (S,HD). 6/6.

The members of the group put on a panto. Last in the series.

10.30 Newsnight (S,HD). Presented

by Evan Davis.

10.20 ITV News (S); Weather 10.50 Regional News (S); Weather

10.00 Junk Food Kids: Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to Blame? (S). 2/2. Part two of two. The work of a team performing stomach-reduction operations on overweight children at Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College Hospital, London, and the story of a boy with rotten teeth.

10.00 Autopsy: The Last Hours of Karen Carpenter (R,S,HD). 2/3.

Dr Richard Shepherd investigates the death of the singer in February 1983, uncovering stories of bulimia, heart problems, sedatives, massive weight loss and force-feeding.

11.15 Film 2015 (S,HD). Danny Leigh and Claudia Winkleman review the latest films.

11.45 Having You (S,HD). (2013) Premiere. Drama, with Anna Friel, Andrew Buchan and Romola Garai. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

11.15 Weather (S) 11.20 Inside the Commons (R,S,HD). 4/4. Battles break out over the future of the House as the Speaker runs into trouble with reform plans. Last in the series.

11.00 Perspectives: Sergeant on Spike (R,S,HD). 3/5. John Sergeant presents a profile of his childhood hero â&#x20AC;&#x201C; comedian and writer Spike Milligan.

11.05 Citizenfour (S). (2014) Premiere. Laura Poitrasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; documentary follows her meetings with Edward Snowden. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

11.00 Trauma Doctors: Every Second Counts (R,S,HD). 5/6. A biker needs emergency treatment after a serious accident in north-west London.

1.20 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD). 1.25 BBC News (S,HD).

12.20 Sign Zone: See Hear (R,S,HD). Clive Mason visits Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comedy Store. With voiceover. 12.50 This Is BBC Two (S).

Preview of upcoming programmes. 3.50 BBC Learning Zone (R,S,HD).

12.00 River Monsters (R,S,HD). 12.25 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming. 3.00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA (R,S). The host takes his successful talk show stateside.

3.40 ITV Nightscreen (HD). Text-based information service. 5.05 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). Guests air their differences.

1.10 Ramsayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen Nightmares USA (R,S). 2.05 The Secret Millionaire (R,S).

3.05 Film: Boomerang! (S,HD). (1947) Fact-based crime drama, starring Dana Andrews. â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;? 4.40 Location, Location, Location (R,S). 5.35 Face the Clock (R,S,HD).

12.00 Emergency Bikers (R,S,HD). A Birmingham paramedic fights to save the life of a heroin addict. 12.55 SuperCasino.

Live interactive gaming. 3.10 Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Biggest Primary School (R,S,HD). 4.00 Wildlife SOS (R,S). 4.25 HouseBusters (R,S). 4.45 House Doctor (R,S). 5.10 House Doctor (R,S). 5.35 House Doctor (R,S).

11

â&#x2013;ź

â&#x2013;ź

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10.00 BBC News (S,HD) 10.25 Regional News (S). Followed

by National Lottery Update.

10.45 A Question of Sport (S,HD).

Light-hearted quiz, hosted by Sue Barker.

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Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 9.15 Heir Hunters (S,HD). 10.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S,HD). 11.00 Countryside 999 (S,HD).

11.45 Real Lives Reunited (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (R,S,HD). From Oswestry, Shropshire. 1.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD); Regional News. 1.45 Doctors (S,HD).

2.15 WPC 56 (R,S,HD). 3.00 The Link (S,HD). 3.45 Escape to the Country (S,HD).

4.30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (S,HD). 5.15 Pointless (R,S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Excellent â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Very good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Good â&#x2014;?â&#x2014;?

Average â&#x2014;?

Poor

BBC2

6.00 This Is BBC Two (S). 6.05 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S). 7.05 Countryside 999 (R,S,HD).

7.50 Real Lives Reunited (R,S,HD). 8.20 Sign Zone: Wanted Down Under (R,S). 9.05 Pets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wild at Heart (R,S). 10.05 Great British Railway Journeys (R,S). 10.35 HARDtalk (R,S,HD). 11.00 BBC News (S,HD) 11.30 BBC World News (S,HD) 12.00 Daily Politics (S) 1.00 The A to Z of TV Gardening (R,S). 1.05 Cagney & Lacey (R,S).

1.50 The World at War (R,S). 2.45 Africa (R,S,HD). 3.45 Open All Hours (R,S). 4.15 Three Up, Two Down (R,S). 4.45 Hi-de-Hi! (R,S). 5.15 Flog It! (R,S).

ITV

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S,HD). 8.30 Lorraine (S,HD). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (S,HD). 10.30 This Morning (S).

10.55 ITV News (S) 11.00 This Morning (S). 12.30 Loose Women (S,HD). With guest Richard Osman. 1.30 ITV News (S); Weather 1.55 Regional News (S) 2.00 Judge Rinder (S,HD). 3.00 Tipping Point (S,HD). 3.59 Regional Programme (S).

4.00 1000 Heartbeats (S,HD). 5.00 The Chase (S,HD).

Channel 4

6.00 Countdown (HD). 6.45 The King of Queens. 7.10 3rd Rock from the Sun. 8.00 Frasier. 9.00 Everybody Loves Raymond.

10.35 Undercover Boss Canada (HD).

11.30 Shipping Wars UK (HD). 12.15 Channel 4 News Summary (HD) 12.20 Couples Come Dine with Me (HD). 1.05 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (HD). 2.10 Countdown (HD). 3.00 Deal or No Deal (HD). 4.00 Come Dine with Me (HD). 5.00 Four in a Bed (HD). 5.30 The Simpsons.

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 9.15 The Wright Stuff (HD). 11.10 The Hotel Inspector (R,S).

12.10 5 News Lunchtime (S,HD) 12.15 The Billion Dollar Wreck Hunt (R,S,HD). A team heads to the wreck site of a Royal Navy ship that sank in 1744. Last in the series.

1.15 Home and Away (S,HD). 1.45 Neighbours (S,HD). 2.15 NCIS (R,S,HD).

3.10 Cedar Cove: Redemption (S,HD). An ex-con asks for Oliviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help. 5.00 5 News at 5 (S,HD) 5.30 Neighbours (R,S,HD).

Emmerdale, 6.45pm

Hollyoaks, 6.30pm

The Mentalist, 10pm

â&#x2013;ź

6.00 BBC News (S,HD); Weather 6.30 Regional News (S); Weather

6.00 Two Tribes (S). 9/60. Quiz, hosted by Richard Osman.

6.30 Eggheads (R,S,HD). 135/160.

Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Vine.

6.00 Regional News (S); Weather 6.15 ITV News (S); Weather 6.45 Emmerdale (S,HD). Hour-long episode.

6.00 The Simpsons (R,S). 19/25.

6.30 Hollyoaks (S,HD). Ziggyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempts to impress at Periâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday party leave him redfaced.

6.00 Home and Away (R,S,HD).

Sophie knocks Nate unconscious.

6.30 5 News Tonight (S,HD)

7.00 The One Show (S,HD). Topical stories from around the UK. 7.30 EastEnders (S,HD). Sharon decides to visit her cancerstricken birth mother. Followed

by BBC News.

7.00 Wanted in Paradise (S,HD).

Property series in which UK couples and families get the chance to sample life in an exotic location.

7.45 UEFA Europa League Live (S,HD). Everton v BSC Young Boys (Kick-off 8.05pm). Matt Smith presents all the action from the last-32 second-leg encounter at Goodison Park.

7.00 Channel 4 News (S,HD)

7.00 The Classic Car Show (S,HD).

Jodie Kidd and Quentin Willson visit the Monaco Grand Prix Historique classic car race.

Followed by 5 News Update.

8.00 DIY SOS: The Big Build (R,S,HD). 9/10. Nick Knowles enlists local tradespeople to build a single-storey extension for couple Hanna and Mike in Fareham, Hampshire, whose disabled twins are in need of more space.

8.00 The Great British Sewing Bee (S,HD). 4/6. The seven remaining contestants are tested on their ability to add shape and structure to clothing, having to make a corset, transform a 1980s suit and create a kilt from scratch.

8.00 Location, Location, Location (S,HD). Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer catch up with first-time buyers who relocated from London to Bristol, and a couple in Archway, north London, who needed easy access to their home.

8.00 Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole (R,S,HD). The lives of people on benefits in Scotland, including a pair of aspiring pop stars and a woman who is convinced that her weight is stopping her from getting a job. Followed by 5 News at 9.

9.00 Death in Paradise (S,HD). 8/8.

A murder suspect is shot dead in police custody, leaving Humphrey to work out how the killer could have got through three locked doors unseen by two officers. Last in the series.

9.00 Reinventing the Royals (S,HD). 2/2. Part two of two.

Steve Hewlett examines the relationship between the royal family and the BBC and looks at the question of Prince Charlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impending succession.

9.00 Cucumber (S,HD). 6/8. As Lance tries to work out the truth about Daniel, Henry takes a final, desperate chance to win his ex-boyfriend back, but it may be too late for any of them to change paths.

9.00 Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Biggest Primary School (S,HD). 3/4. This edition follows some of the girls at Gascoigne Primary School in Barking, east London, including three eight-year-olds who fall out and make friends again constantly.

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10.00 Charlie Brookerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Weekly Wipe (S,HD). 5/6. A satirical look at the latest news from politics, the media and the internet.

10.30 Newsnight (S,HD). Presented

by Emily Maitlis.

10.10 ITV News (S); Weather 10.40 Regional News (S); Weather 10.55 The Great War: The Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story (R,S,HD). 2/4. Reg Evans (played by Daniel Mays) undergoes pioneering plastic surgery.

10.00 Gogglebox (R,S). 1/12. The 10.00 The Mentalist (S,HD). 3/13. households share their opinions Jane and Lisbon head to Beirut on what they have been on a mission. watching during the week, 10.55 Castle (S,HD). 3/23. Beckett and from the comfort of their own Castle investigate the death of sofas. Narrated by Caroline a medical researcher. Previously Aherne. seen on 5*.

11.45 This Week (S,HD). The past seven days in politics.

11.15 Weather (S) 11.20 A Cook Abroad: Monica Galettiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s France (R,S,HD). 4/6.

The MasterChef: The Professionals judge embarks on a culinary tour of the Jura region of eastern France.

11.55 River Monsters (R,S,HD). 3/7.

A feared marine creature in Central America.

11.05 The Romanians Are Coming 11.55 Access. Showbiz news and (R,S). 2/3. A look at the reality gossip. of life in Romania and the motivation behind the influx of immigrants in the UK, featuring the story of a nurse who is hoping to improve her life.

12.30 Skiing Weatherview (S,HD). 12.35 BBC News (S,HD).

12.20 Sign Zone: Children of the Great Migration â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Panorama (R,S). Children travelling alone on the migration route from Sudan and Eritrea to Europe. 12.50 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes. 4.00 BBC Learning Zone (R,S,HD).

12.20 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming.

3.00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA (R,S).

The host takes his successful talk show stateside. 3.40 ITV Nightscreen (HD). Textbased information service. 5.05 The Jeremy Kyle Show (R,S). Guests air their differences.

12.05 Immigration Street (R,S,HD). 1.00 NHS: ÂŁ2billion a Week & Counting (R,S). 1.55 Politicians for Hire: Channel 4 Dispatches (R,S,HD). 2.25 Food Unwrapped (R,S,HD). 2.55 Sarah Beenyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Double Your House for Half the Money (R,S,HD). 3.50 Location, Location, Location (R,S). 4.50 Kirstieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vintage Gems (R,S,HD). 5.05 Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD).

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Topical debate from Telford, Shropshire, chaired by David Dimbleby.

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Last in the series. 4.00 Wildlife SOS (R,S).

4.25 HouseBusters (R,S). 4.45 House Doctor (R,S). 5.10 House Doctor (R,S).

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Friday’s Television Guide BBC1

6.00 Breakfast (S,HD) 9.15 Heir Hunters (S,HD). 10.00 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S,HD). 11.00 Countryside 999 (S,HD).

11.45 Real Lives Reunited (S,HD). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (S,HD). 1.00 BBC News; Weather (S,HD); Regional News. 1.45 Doctors (S,HD). 2.15 WPC 56 (R,S,HD). 3.00 The Link (S,HD). 3.45 Escape to the Country (S). 4.30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (S,HD). 5.15 Pointless (R,S,HD).

FILM RATINGS

●●●●● Excellent ●●●● Very good ●●● Good ●● Average ● Poor

BBC2

6.00 This Is BBC Two (S). 6.05 Homes Under the Hammer (R,S). 7.05 Countryside 999 (R,S,HD). 7.50 Real Lives Reunited (R,S,HD).

8.20 Sign Zone: Wanted Down Under (R,S).

9.05 The Big Allotment Challenge (R,S). 10.05 Food & Drink (R,S). 10.35 The Travel Show (S,HD). 11.00 BBC News (S,HD) 11.30 BBC World News (S,HD) 12.00 Daily Politics (S) 1.00 The A to Z of TV Gardening (R,S). 1.05 Cagney & Lacey (R,S). 1.50 The World at War (R,S). 2.45 Africa (R,S,HD). 3.45 Open All Hours (R,S). 4.15 Three Up, Two Down (R,S). 4.45 Hi-de-Hi! (R,S).

5.15 Flog It! (R,S).

ITV

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S,HD). 8.30 Lorraine (S,HD). 9.25 The Jeremy Kyle Show (S,HD). 10.30 This Morning (S).

10.55 ITV News (S) 11.00 This Morning (S). 12.30 Loose Women (S,HD). With Ant and Dec. 1.30 ITV News (S); Weather 1.55 Regional News (S) 2.00 Judge Rinder (S,HD). Real-life cases in a studio courtroom.

3.00 Tipping Point (S,HD). 3.59 Regional Programme (S). 4.00 1000 Heartbeats (S,HD). 5.00 The Chase (S,HD).

Channel 4

6.00 Countdown (HD). 6.45 The King of Queens. 7.10 3rd Rock from the Sun. 8.00 Frasier. 9.00 Everybody Loves Raymond.

10.35 Undercover Boss Canada (HD).

11.30 Shipping Wars UK (HD). 12.15 Channel 4 News Summary 12.20 Couples Come Dine with Me (HD). 1.05 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun (HD). 2.10 Countdown (HD). 3.00 Deal or No Deal (HD). 4.00 Come Dine with Me (HD). 5.00 Four in a Bed (HD). 5.30 The Simpsons.

Channel 5

6.00 Milkshake!. 9.15 The Wright Stuff (HD). 11.10 The Hotel Inspector (R,S).

12.10 5 News Lunchtime (S,HD) 12.15 Police Interceptors (R,S,HD). Scottish revellers clash with bouncers in Skegness.

1.15 Home and Away (S,HD). 1.45 Neighbours (S,HD). 2.15 NCIS: Los Angeles (R,S,HD). 3.15 Film: Do You Know Me (S,HD). (2008) Thriller, starring Rachelle Lefevre. ●● 5.00 5 News at 5 (S,HD) 5.30 Neighbours (R,S,HD).

Barging Round Britain … 8pm

The Million Pound Drop, 8pm

NCIS, 10pm

▼

6.00 Two Tribes (S). 10/60. Quiz, hosted by Richard Osman.

6.30 Eggheads (R,S,HD). 136/160.

Quiz show, hosted by Jeremy Vine.

6.00 Regional News (S); Weather 6.30 ITV News (S); Weather

6.00 The Simpsons (R,S). 21/25.

6.30 Hollyoaks (S,HD). Recent revelations reverberate around the village.

6.00 Home and Away (R,S,HD).

Sophie forces Nate’s car into the path of the bus taking residents to the gig.

6.30 5 News Tonight (S,HD)

7.00 The One Show (S,HD). Hosted

by Chris Evans and Alex Jones.

7.30 A Question of Sport (R,S,HD).

Light-hearted quiz, hosted by Sue Barker. Followed by BBC News.

7.00 Wanted in Paradise (S,HD).

Property series in which UK couples and families get the chance to sample life in an exotic location.

7.00 Emmerdale (S,HD). Lachlan leaves Chrissie sickened by what he says.

7.30 Coronation Street (S,HD). Rita demands to know why Jenny has returned to Weatherfield.

7.00 Channel 4 News (S,HD)

7.00 Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away (R,S,HD). Two enforcement agents make a shocking discovery in a child’s bedroom during an eviction.

Followed by 5 News Update.

8.00 EastEnders (S,HD). Sharon is welcomed into her mum’s house and meets her halfbrother.

8.30 Room 101 (S,HD). 8/8. With Des O’Connor, Adrian Chiles and Jameela Jamil. Last in the series.

8.00 Mastermind (S,HD). 27/31.

Five contestants compete in the third semi-final.

8.30 Britain’s Supermarket Revolution: What’s in It for Us? (S,HD). How retailers are adapting to a shift in the nation’s shopping habits.

8.00 Barging Round Britain with John Sergeant (S,HD). 3/8. A journey along the Aire and Calder Navigation.

8.30 Coronation Street (S,HD).

Tony attempts a charm offensive on Liz.

8.00 The Million Pound Drop (S,HD). 2/4. Stand-up comedienne Jo Brand and funnyman Alan Davies (QI, Jonathan Creek) take on the Drop, hoping to walk away with a big win for their chosen charities. Davina McCall hosts.

8.00 Angry Brits: Caught on Camera (R,S,HD). The captain of a non-league football team climbs into the stands and confronts a spectator. Followed by 5 News at 9.

9.00 The Musketeers (S,HD). 7/10.

The king’s cousin, Princess Louise, is ambushed while travelling to Sweden, so the Musketeers try to find out who is targeting her – but she is not the only one in danger.

9.00 Italy Unpacked (S,HD). 3/3.

Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli conclude their trip by travelling through the Veneto region, visiting Padua and Vicenza along the way. Last in the series.

9.00 Bear Grylls: Mission Survive (S,HD). 2/6. The celebrities navigate their way through dense jungle down a ravine, before eating live scorpions and facing their first big test – a descent of a 120ft waterfall.

9.00 Gogglebox (S). 2/12. Capturing the households’ instant reactions to what they are watching on TV from the comfort of their own sofas.

Narrated by Caroline Aherne.

9.00 NCIS: New Orleans (S,HD).

3/23. A Navy lieutenant’s death turns out to be caused by the bubonic plague, so Pride and Tony board the dead man’s ship to find the source of the disease and halt its spread.

▼

QI, 10pm

6.00 BBC News (S,HD); Weather 6.30 Regional News; Weather

▼

6 7 8 9

The Graham Norton Show, 10.35pm

▼

(R) repeat (S) subtitles (HD) highdefinition

10.00 QI (R,S,HD). 3/18. With Lloyd Langford, Victoria Coren Mitchell and Jack Whitehall.

10.30 Newsnight (S,HD). Presented

by Kirsty Wark.

11.25 Would I Lie to You? (R,S,HD).

3/9. With Warwick Davis, Paul Hollywood, Jason Manford and Joan Bakewell.

11.55 EastEnders (R,S,HD). Omnibus.

11.00 Weather (S) 11.05 Doubt (S,HD). (2008) Drama, with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman. ●●●●

1.50 Weather for the Week Ahead (S,HD). 1.55 BBC News (S,HD).

12.40 Sign Zone: Question Time (R,S).

Topical debate from Telford, Shropshire.

1.40 This Is BBC Two (S). Preview of upcoming programmes.

11

▼

▼

10

10.00 BBC News (S,HD) 10.25 Regional News (S). Followed

by National Lottery Update.

10.35 The Graham Norton Show (S,HD). 20/22. With Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie and Noel Gallagher.

▼

after

12

10.00 ITV News at Ten (S) 10.30 Regional News (S); Weather 10.40 The 40 Year-Old Virgin (S,HD). (2005) Comedy, starring Steve Carell and Catherine Keener. ●●●

10.00 The Last Leg (S,HD). 8/8. Adam 10.00 NCIS (S,HD). 2/24. Tony travels Hills, Josh Widdicombe and to Tel Aviv to find Ziva.

Alex Brooker are joined by 10.55 Law & Order: Special Victims comedienne Sarah Millican for Unit (R,S,HD). 4/22. Stabler and an irreverent review of the Benson investigate the death of significant moments of the past an astronaut. Guest starring seven days. Last in the series.

James Brolin.

11.05 Catastrophe (R,S,HD). 6/6. Rob 11.55 Access (R). Showbiz news and and Sharon’s stag and hen gossip. nights spiral out of control. Last in the series.

11.40 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S,HD).

7/23. The precinct goes into lockdown on Thanksgiving.

12.50 Jackpot247. Interactive gaming.

3.00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA (R,S).

The host takes his successful talk show stateside. 3.40 ITV Nightscreen (HD). Textbased information service.

12.05 Rude Tube (S,HD). 1.00 Film: Wayne’s World (S,HD). (1992) ●●●● 2.40 Fargo (R,S,HD). 4.00 Sarah Beeny’s Double Your House for Half the Money (R,S,HD). 5.00 Kirstie’s Vintage Gems (R,S,HD). 5.05 Deal or No Deal (R,S,HD).

5.20 Face the Clock (R,S,HD). 5.45 NFL: Rush Zone (S,HD).

12.00 SuperCasino. Live interactive gaming. 3.10 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (R,S,HD). Doctor Neil treats a man who woke up to discover a red rash covering his body. 4.00 Wildlife SOS (R,S). The work of a wildlife sanctuary. 4.25 HouseBusters (R,S). 4.45 House Doctor (R,S). 5.10 House Doctor (R,S). 5.35 House Doctor (R,S).

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©LW

THE

final word COLUMNIST SALI GREEN

T

on April 25, and she also conducts online courses which seem quite reasonable considering the amount of goodness it will bring into the lives of anyone who participates.

HE air is fresh and the days are getting lighter and brighter: it’s time for spring cleaning!

If you have a tidy home and work space then you are already there. You will probably find something to throw out anyway because you have a healthy habit of ‘out with the old and in with the new’. For many of us, hoarding has become an issue. For me, it’s been all my life.

When I moved into my studio flat in London my Australian friend Brooke bought me the perfect gift: a book called ‘Clearing Your Clutter with Feng Shui’ by Karen Kingston. Brooke’s apartment had always been an inspiration to me and I loved being there – it was bright, bold and minimal with a large bowl on the coffee table which had smooth dark pebbles in it. Visitors would tend to pick up and stroke these stones and Brooke believed that they would then leave some of their energy and take some of hers with them when they left.

Anyway since learning the connection between clutter and being stuck – emotionally and physically – I have been in an ongoing battle to achieve a minimal home myself, and now I finally feel ready to see it through.

Using William Morris’s rule ‘have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’, I have made it into an enjoyable ongoing task rather than an overwhelming struggle. During this phase of the clearing I have even stumbled upon a wrapped Christmas present to a friend who passed away two or three years ago, so you can see just how much has accumulated in the depths of my cupboards, drawers and anywhere else I found to stash things.

Karen Kingston describes clutter clearing as ‘clearing physical objects from a space, although there are also deeper levels that address mental, emotional and spiritual types of clutter. People generally begin with physical level clutter clearing and then progress to the other less tangible but equally important types.’

A little more research and a peep at her website revealed that she is giving a free talk in Hanley Swan Village Hall

@WeekendGlos

Six clutter clearing tips: 1. Identify problem areas – look around your home and see which areas make you feel drained or low. Focus on those places first.

2. Boxes and bags – set these out for different sorting purposes such as charity, rubbish, re-gifting, storage, car boots and eBay. 3. Be firm – if you don’t need or love an item then let it go. You will feel refreshed and lighter for doing so.

4. Have a cloth and soapy water to hand – drawers and shelves will need a good wipe once you’ve sorted out all their items.

5. Enlist help – a friend or family member might give you an hour or so of their time if you find yourself flagging. Their input and ideas, and the fact they are not emotionally attached to your belongings will inject a new firmness to the letting-go of unnecessary things.

6. Reward yourself – each time you complete a phase or a room of clutter, reward yourself by doing something you love or buying yourself something beautiful and fresh.

Good luck!

Follow Sali on Twitter @iwork4uglos

www.iwork4uglos.co.uk

61

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gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weekend gloucestershireecho.co.uk/weekend

my ideal

and the physicist Richard Feynman.

And finally, how often do you get to experience your ideal weekend?

With reasonable frequency because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full of pretty normal, relaxing things. As my work is anything but

normal, it suits me fine.

Quick fire!

WEEKEND

Book or Kindle? Book Newspaper or TV? TV Early-bird or lie-in? Lie-in

SWAREZ Artist

Cup of tea or stiff drink? Tea Drink of choice? Black coffee This spring, Stroud-based Swarez is heading an exciting new art project in Gloucester called PaintThe City. He is also hoping to hold a major exhibition, displaying up to 100 of his paintings. For details visit swarez.co.uk.

How would you describe your ideal weekend?

A lazy get up on Saturday - newspaper and poached eggs on toast at the cafe round the corner. Pop to the studio and do some fun-time painting (something I rarely get to do for myself). Sleep in the afternoon, get up in time for a bite to eat atThe Old Fleece (Nailsworth). A few beers, a DVD and bed. Repeat on Sunday.

Who would you spend it with?

Anyone who can bear to put up with me for 48 hours.

What would you watch on TV?

Breaking Bad, Sherlock box set, FatherTed, Family Guy.

If you could go anywhere for the weekend, where would you go?

Puerto Pollensa, Majorca. Beautiful place.

What would you read?

Guy Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autobiography, Grand Designs magazine, The New Scientist.

What would you eat?

Vegetable chilli

What would you drink?

One or two ice-cold bottles of Peroni.

If you could invite anyone for a dinner party, dead or alive, who would you invite?

Ayrton Senna, Socrates, Greg Davies, Audrey Hepburn

@WeekendGlos

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