Vale Life Summer Autumn 2008

VALE LIFE SUMMER ❧ AUTUMN 2008 FREE

P R O U D

T H E VA L E

OF

T O

B E

I N D E P E N D E N T

G L A M O R G A N ’S P R E M I E R L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E

HIGH SUMMER THE VALE

GLAMORGAN SHOW, POLO AT FONMON FASHION , FOOD , TRAVEL AND INTERIORS OF

RESTAURANT REVIEWS, WHAT’S ON, BUSINESS, SHOPPING

THERE’S MORE ONLINE WWW . VALELIFE . CO . UK

ART, BOOKS, STYLE, HEALTH, HOMES AND MUCH MORE PLUS

French Connection Nougat Great Plains Sticky Fingers Sandwich Chilli Pepper Religion Jewellery by Melinda Mulcahy

shop@brylsboutique.com

7 High Street, Barry CF62 7DZ

01446 748246

www.brylsboutique.com

YOU CAN BE THE STAR OF THE SHOW

www.commediaonline.co.uk

0845 130 1508

Advertising Brand identity Exhibition and signage PR Print Publishing Training Web and interactive

WELCOME We appear to have gone all agricultural... maybe it’s because the eagerly awaited Vale of Glamorgan Show is nearly here or perhaps because of our gorgeous front cover feature.

IN THIS ISSUE You may or may not know but the Vale of Glamorgan Show is huge for the Vale and hopefully this year the gods will be kind and sun might actually make an appearance.

You never know!

N EWS

If you do get to go, look out for our marquee (it’ll be the one with the Chinese Hat on the top). We’ll have the latest copy of Vale Life to give away and we’ll be happy to stop and chat.

W HAT ’ S O N – H AMPTONS , T HE C OPTHORNE

V ALE – H OT

FROM THE

B OOKS – P LENTY M AKING

Thank you for all of your emails and letters of encouragement. It really does mean a lot to us.

R ESTAURANT R EVIEWS – W HAT ’ S C OWBRIDGE F OOD

E XPOSURE – T HERE ’ S

T HE J OURNEY – P ETER R OOM IN

FOR

V ALE S TYLE –

VA L E

AND

IS PROUD TO BE INDEPENDENT

❧ 0845 130 6452

❧ COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN PHILLIPS, PORTHCAWL WEDDING DRESS BY HIGH SOCIETY, COWBRIDGE HAIR BY FICH AND RAMOUS, COWBRIDGE MAKEUP BY AMANDA OF BEAUTY SPOT, BARRY TRACTOR COURTESY OF RHODRI JONES OF SHARP EDGES

M ARY M URRAY

AND

34

P RINCE

36

SOPHISTICATION

38

C OWBRIDGE

HOTTEST SALON IS SO SMOOTH

40 42

( WELL

SOME OF THE WAY !)

LAUNCHES

G IORGIO ’ S

DESIGNER MENSWEAR

MODELS PHOTOGRAPHED BY

M ARTIN P HILIPS

AND THE TEAM NAIL THE HAIR YET AGAIN !

YOUR ARTS OUT IN

( AND

SOME GREAT CHICKS !)

VALE

LOOKS AT THE UPS AND DOWNS OF BUSINESS

C ARDIFF

YOUR HOME IN

BUSINESS HAS YOUR INTERIORS NEEDS CATERED FOR

FLY WITH US

– THG

VALE

PROUDLY WELCOMES THE SPORT OF KINGS

VALE L IFE –

SELL YOUR PROPERTY

HOLIDAYS TAKE US WORLDWIDE

T HE L AST W ORD – A LUN D AVIES

OF

50 52 54 58

62 66 68 72

BRAND NEW SPECIALIST CLINIC IS JUST A CALL AWAY

S T D AVID ’ S P OLO – F ONMON C ASTLE

48

60

THE SCENES ON A BUSY DAY

A VERITABLE WHO ’ S WHO OF THE

46

59

I RELAND

ROUNDUP OF BUSINESS NEWS AROUND THE

COMES TO

44

56

P ORTHCAWL !

– B EHIND

DAY IN THE LIFE

VALE S OCIAL L IFE –

C OME

TELL US ABOUT THEIR LIFE

VISIT THE ‘ REAL ’ CAPITAL OF

M ULTIFURNISH – T HIS B ARRY

S HOWCASE

30 32

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

C LUB – C OSTCO

26

THAN MEETS THE EYE

BRIDALWEAR BOUTIQUE NEVER FAILS TO IMPRESS

T HE F W ORD – M ARK R OBERTS

22

FINGERS ARE GREENER THAN EVER !

R AMOUS – L ANCE

VALE B USINESS – A

N UCLEUS – A

L LANTWIT M AJOR

HOW WE CREATED THIS ISSUE ’ S COVER

C ORK – W E

THE

IN

FURNITURE IS FIT FOR A

DESIGN MEETS

F ARM – G ORGEOUS

H AMPTONS – A

J OIN

KITCHENS THIS SUMMER

FOR THE DIARY

IN YOUR DIARY

WIN , WIN ALL THE WAY

T HE ART C AFÉ – E AT TO

VALE

18

SUPER SEASONAL PICK - ME - UPS AND GORGEOUS INTERIORS

A MELIA T RUST – A LL P OP

S T D ONATS

AND

M ONIQUE G REEN

S TAY S HARP – G EORGE W ATTERS ON THE

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27

K UDOS - P ONTYCLUN ’ S

C OMPETITIONS – I T ’ S

14

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V ALE G ARDENS – B OB P RIDDLE ’ S

B EING F ICH

IS WRITTEN, DESIGNED

AND

L IVING – G ERMAN

PRAISE OF

NEED FOR SPEED

W EST H OUSE

F ROM S MALL A CORNS – G IANCARLO ’ S

L IFE

PS as I’m often asked, the dress I’m wearing in the picture above is available from Pebble in Cowbridge.

VALE LIFE

MORE TO

12

GOES WITH A ‘ DING DONG ’

20 TH A UGUST

THE

L LANTWIT M AJOR

IS TO BE RECLAIMED

HOT FROM THE

VISIT THE CHARMING

I T ’ S S HOWTIME – P UT

10

LARGEST PUBLISHER

D RINK F ESTIVAL – O NE

L A C UCINA – S PANISH E VENING

L IFE C OVER –

AND PRODUCED IN THE

AND

8

PRESS

GO ALL OOH LA LA IN

C UT – D EAN C HAMBERLAIN ’ S

THE

H IGH S OCIETY – T HIS

Many thanks Jennifer Hobbs-Roberts Editor jennifer@valelife.co.uk

WALES ’

V ALE L IFE

P IER P RESSURE – T HE ‘P EOPLES ’ P ALACE ’

W EST L IFE – W E We thoroughly enjoyed our photographic shoot at the Amelia Farm Trust. Our superb team of professionals really pulled out all the stops on this one, and our models were amazingly patient. We hope you’ll agree, the end result was worth it. If you like what you see you can find more images available online at www.valelife.co.uk.

READ FROM

F RENCH C ONNECTION – W E

OFF THE

P URPLE C ONTRACTS

WAXES LYRICAL

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VALE L IFE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED US OVER RECENT MONTHS . O UR CONTRIBUTORS , OUR FAMILIES , OUR FRIENDS ( INCLUDING ALL THE NEW ONES WE HAVE MADE ) AND OUR ADVERTISERS - WITHOUT THEM VALE L IFE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE . W E HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT WE ’ VE PRODUCED AND WE ’ LL TRY TO MAKE EACH ISSUE EVEN BETTER THAN THE LAST AND IF YOU HAVE A STORY THAT YOU ’ D LIKE TO SHARE , PLEASE GET IN TOUCH .

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W H AT W E L OV E D A B O U T T H E VA L E T H I S S E A S O N B RY L’ S B O U T I Q U E BARRY The lovely summer collection.

VA N I L L A BARRY The fab breakfast and new tapas menu.

GEORGIO’S BARRY Finally, a quality menswear shop!

AMORETTE BARRY Bespoke jewellery and little girls parties.

HAMPTONS PENARTH Fantastic entertainment, gorgeous food, those boys!

JULIE T PENARTH More lovely clothes.

VERNONS PENARTH Even more lovely clothes.

GUILIGUILI, CHILDRENSWEAR PENARTH More lovely clothes, unfortunately not in my size!

VALE LIFE ALL ENQUIRIES 0845 130 6452 Editor JENNIFER HOBBS-ROBERTS jennifer@valelife.co.uk ❧ Web Editor RICHARD BENNEWITH web@valelife.co.uk ❧

Art Editor MARK ROBERTS mark@valelife.co.uk ❧ Artwork PA U L S E S S I O N S studio@valelife.co.uk ❧

Written submissions PLEASE NOTE All contributions to Vale Life are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the publishers.

We cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. ❧

Photography ❧ MARK ROBERTS mark@valelife.co.uk ❧ JENNIFER HOBBS-ROBERTS jennifer@valelife.co.uk ❧

Email contacts ❧ A DV E R T I S I N G jennifer@valelife.co.uk ❧ EDITORIAL jennifer@valelife.co.uk ❧ STUDIO studio@valelife.co.uk ❧

Contact us ❧ WRITE TO Vale Life Cardiff House Cardiff Road Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW ❧ PHONE 0845 130 6452 ❧ VISIT www.valelife.co.uk ❧

ENER-CHI PENARTH Tranquility, peacefulness, calm.

OCHO LOUNGE PENARTH Quality coffee, a welcome addition.

I L LT U D ’ S 2 1 6 LLANTWIT MAJOR Great food, lovely welcome.

KUDOS TALBOT GREEN Salon of excellence.

TERMINAL 9 COWBRIDGE Quality designer labels to die for.

BLUSHBABY COWBRIDGE Sexy jeans, sexy shoes, sassy shopowner.

OMNIA COWBRIDGE Great furniture, great owners.

NO 81 COWBRIDGE Bespoke furnishings for fab interiors.

JON IAN COWBRIDGE Simply gorgeous shoes and bags.

PEBBLE COWBRIDGE More yummy fashion.

PASSIONATE ABOUT THE VALE We are independent. We live in the Vale.

We are not a large publishing group pretending to be home grown. Vale Life magazine is written, designed and produced in the Vale of Glamorgan for the people of the Vale of Glamorgan. ❧ OUR PHILOSOPHY We are committed to quality. This quote by William Foster pretty much sums up our thinking.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” ❧ USE IT OR LOSE IT Business is the very life blood of any community.

Without business, villages have no heart, towns have no centre and cities have no soul.

Please support the businesses who advertise in Vale Life - without them there’d be no Vale Life. ❧ SMALL(ISH) PRINT © Copyright Vale Life 2007. All rights reserved.

Nothing in this magazine (including adverts) may be reproduced in any shape or form (in whole or part) without the express written permission of the publishers. We take breach of copyright and theft of intellectual property extremely seriously and will sue at the drop of a croissant. You have been warned (nicely); ignorance is no excuse. ❧ GREEN AS THE VALE The pulp used in the production of the paper Vale Life is printed on is obtained from sustainably managed Scandinavian tree farms and utilises an elementary chlorine free bleaching process.

Anyone would think we loved clothes! ❧ 6 ❧

IMPORTANT YOU READ THIS We have made every effort to ensure that all information contained in Vale Life or on www.valelife.co.uk is correct and accurate.

However, we accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions and can offer no compensation should we get it wrong.

Please note that the opinions, thoughts, views or ideas expressed in articles contained in Vale Life are strictly those of the authors. ❧ CAVEAT EMPTOR All advertisers have supplied their own copy (and in some cases artwork), therefore Vale Life cannot accept any responsibility for disputes between advertisers and their customers.

Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. ❧ SUBSCRIPTIONS To guarantee your copy of Vale Life magazine, please send a cheque for £20.00 (four issues) made payable to Vale Life. Visit www.valelife.co.uk for special subscriber discounts and special offers. ❧ MISSED THE LAST ISSUE? We hold a small number of each issue in stock so if you do need a pristine copy, please email jennifer@valelife.co.uk or telephone us.

Hopefully we’ll have the issue you want (but we cannot guarantee it). Each back issue costs £5 including postage and packing. ❧ YES IT’S FREE! Vale Life is distributed free through a wide variety of outlets across the Vale of Glamorgan and beyond. Vale Life is given away free of charge on the understanding that we are happy for it to be lent, passed around, given to friends and generally read until it falls apart. At which point, you can recycle it and we’d be delighted if you did.

Recycling... because there is no Plan B!

Roger Williams The Jewellery Studio

D A R E

T O

s p e c ta c u l a r

o va l

B E

D I F F E R E N T

d i a m o n d s

s e t

i n

p l at i n u m

Wa l e s ’ N u m b e r O n e D i a m o n d S u p p l i e r Roger Williams, The Jewellery Studio, 237 Cathedral Road, Cardiff Telephone: 029 2022 1144 | www.jewellerystudio.co.uk | www.diamondswales.com

NEWS FROM THE VALE IF YOU HAVE A STORY WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, PLEASE CONTACT VALE LIFE

PENARTH

Tea party is a blooming great charity success Penarth resident, Suzanne Jones, has raised £325 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, after hosting a Mad Hatter’s ‘Un-Birthday’ tea party on her lawn on Saturday 14 June.

Suzanne organised the fundraiser as part of the charity’s Blooming Great Tea Party celebrations, supported by Homebase.

Donations were requested instead of birthday presents and guests were invited to wear a hat, or bring a tray of cupcakes.

Traditional afternoon tea was served at 4pm followed by the ‘Off with her head!’ hour - a mix of cocktails, quizzes and the coronation of the ‘Queen of Tarts’ for Best Hat and Best Cupcake.

COWBRIDGE

Ed Evans Foundation continues good works

Prizes were awarded to Julia Nasrallah for her imaginative ‘Wonderland UnEaster Bonnet’ and Sara Redwood for her delicious ‘Chocolate, Raspberry and White Button’ fairy cakes.

The Ed Evans Foundation is continuing their remarkable work by donating monies generously donated to Ed’s chosen charities – Brain Tumour UK and Cancer Research Wales.

The Ed Evans Memorial Ball 2008 held at Sophia Gardens recently was a huge success, selling an overwhelming 700 tickets and raising £30,000 to give to the chosen charities. Ed’s mum Sue would like to thank everybody who supported the evening that enabled the Foundation to fulfil Ed’s dream – of another fantastic bash!

Please put these dates in your diary to support this worthy cause.

12 September Cowbridge Male Voice Choir with Gauda’s Liedertafel, Netherlands at All Hallows Church, Miskin.

31 October Halloween Party at Wick Village Hall 6 December Male Voice Choir Christmas Concert, Wick For more information visit www.edevansfoundation.co.uk ❧ 8 ❧

Suzanne said, “I wanted to do something in celebration of a wonderful lady, Ruth Hill, the drama teacher who cast me as Alice in Wonderland when I was a child aged twelve. She was a guiding light, inspiration and friend to me for twenty five years. She died of cancer in April after a long illness and the nurses from Marie Curie helped care for her and enabled her to die in her beautiful home, ‘Hope Cottage’, with all her family present. I’d like to thank my friends for generously filling up the donation teapot. I’m thrilled by how much we raised. It’s the most wonderful un-birthday present I could have wished for.”

Blooming Great Tea Party celebrations are taking place across the UK this summer as a national fundraising event for Marie Curie Cancer Care, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in July.

If you would like to hold your own tea party, please call 08700 340040 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty.

All money raised will help Marie Curie Nurses provide free specialist end-of-life care for people in their own homes and the charity’s ten hospice.

WICK

For more information please call Chrys Thomas (Playgroup Leader on 01656 890330) or Sarah Hamilton (Committee Chairperson on 07921 518183) or check out the website at www.wickplaygroup.org.uk

Green playgroup stands for fair play Wick & District Playgroup provides a happy, stimulating and fun learning environment for children aged two and a half to four years.

Their maximum staff to child ratio is 5 to 1, allowing them to adapt to the individual needs of your child.

The dedicated staff have extensive experience and include two qualified teachers who are highly experienced in working with children with special educational needs. The playgroup’s achievements include being one of the first playgroups in Wales to be awarded the Wales PPA ‘Quality Assured’ Accreditation Award with an overall score of over 99%.

Wick and District Playgroup was also the first playgroup in Wales to be awarded the Eco Schools Green Flag and their Wildlife and Learning garden has just won the Vale Biodiversity Award and they are well on the way to becoming a Fairtrade Playgroup!

B A R RY

Businessman strikes chord with charity A businessman from Barry is lending his support to Major Music, a charity offering young people musical opportunities in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Music lover James Emery, managing director of COS – the Complete Office Solution – tutors and mentors groups of youngsters on guitar and vocals.

Major Music was originally established in February 2000 to satisfy the considerable interest from local young people in learning instruments, vocals and DJ-ing skills.

The project, which gained charitable status in September 2004, provides access to a variety of musical instruments including guitars, drums and pianos, as well as providing musical tutors, vocal coaches and mentors.

As well as hosting monthly open mic nights at a local pub in Llanmaes, the charity also has its own studio at Llantwit Major Youth Centre that is available to young people, community groups and other organisations from across the Vale of Glamorgan.

Having already sponsored Major Music for several years through COS, James was keen to continue this strong connection by volunteering to tutor the 8-11 ‘Minor Music’ age group in guitar and vocals, as well as acting as a mentor for the 11-18 ‘Major Music’ age group sessions.

James says, “As someone with a passion for music, I am extremely keen to support Major Music and everything it does for young and aspiring musicians in the Vale of Glamorgan. I already had a strong link with the charity through sponsorship we have provided via COS so this felt like a natural continuation of that relationship. ❧ 9 ❧

I often pop along to the open mic sessions to help co-ordinate the sound and acoustics, but, when I’m not helping out behind the scenes, I also perform with my band, Kelso.

The nights have proved to be very popular in the local community and it has shown just how much raw, undiscovered talent there is out there in the Vale.”

Ex-international footballer Dave Roberts, who helps run Major Music, says, “Through the support of businesses like COS and the volunteers like James, we are in a strong position to give people in the Vale of Glamorgan the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of music and reach their full potential as aspiring musicians.”

For more information about Major Music, call the Llantwit Major Youth Centre on 01446 792141 or visit www.majormusic.net

VA L E W I D E

Tune in and turn on to Bro Radio Bro Radio was the idea of former BBC Radio Wales presenter and producer Gary Price Gary formed a board that included business consultant Mark Hooper and composer and film and music producer Danny Chang. Recently they have formed a very important partnership with local charity, the Barry YMCA (the Hub). Anthea Clements is the CEO of the Hub, and is an incredible force and a very creative thinker. Anthea has brought all the skills that the rest of the board lacked, and has given Bro Radio a studio base and ideas on how to train young people and offer opportunities to them. The studio will be based in the café area of the Hub and will have open access throughout the day.

Bro Radio have researched local advertisers and will give them a direct link to their market. With an advert costing only £3 per 20 second slot, any business will find this a low cost way of communicating with their current and potential customers.

WORLDWIDE

The station will be open to all age groups. If you are a pensioner and wish to air your views, or a young person with issues that need to be discussed then bro will give you that facility.

Bro Radio will offer training in all things media and are hoping to form a partnership with Barry College to give their students an opportunity to get into the media business. It will offer the council the ability to get information out to the community and demystify any council policies.

THG Holidays has teamed up with Cardiff Airport to bring worldwide destinations to you: All prices are per ■ Thailand from £829 person and based ■ Malaysia from £999 on 3 star accomm■ Singapore from £999 odation on a bed ■ Bintan from £1189 and breakfast ■ Mauritius from £1159 basis and include ■ Hong Kong from £899 private transfers.

4 and 5 star hotel ■ China from £1559 options are ■ USA from £679 available at a ■ Dubai from £699 supplement.

Assembly member Jane Hutt has thrown all her energy in to helping the project get off the ground as she too recognises the potential benefits to the Vale of Glamorgan.

Local businessman David Mitchell kindly lent Bro Radio the intial working capital to help research and develop the need for the station.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Brotherton www.worldii.deviantart.com

Fly from Cardiff to the Far East and beyond It is now possible to fly to these destinations from Cardiff Airport.

Exclusive benefits for all THG Holidays customers travelling from Cardiff ■ Free executive lounge ■ 10% off Duty Free ■ Car Parking from £2.73 per day ■ Half price holiday insurance ■ Airport Hotel from £54.95 per room THG Holidays Ring freephone 0800 988 1721 Or visit www.thgholidays.co.uk

BOOKS Gomer Press is Wales’s largest independent publisher, supplying books from Wales, about Wales, in both Welsh and English language.

They publish over 120 new titles every year, for children and adults, in both languages.

For more info visit www.gomer.co.uk

Use it or lose it!

Please support your local book seller.

If you find a book you like online ask your local bookshop to source it.

You’ll be supporting a local business and, in turn, helping to preserve the quality of our high streets.

There’s only 2 Tony Cotteys

Isabella Wella and the Kenfig Pirates

£14.99 (hardback) ISBN 9781843239246

£4.99 (paperback) ISBN 9781843239185

Tony Cottey is one of Britain’s most accomplished and yet unrecognized sportsmen.

When Isabella Wella decides to brighten up a dull, rainy afternoon by playing hide and seek, little does she imagine where the game will take her.

He played professional football at Swansea City, before moving to cricket, where he went on to carve a long and successful career in championshipwinning Glamorgan and Sussex teams.

This is the tale of a trier, of someone who fought to forge a career in the sport that he loved. He reminds us that ‘work hard, play hard’ remains one of the most characteristic mottos of sportsmen everywhere, and treats us to an honest and inspirational account of a life in sport. ❧ 10 ❧

Hiding in her grandmother’s attic she finds a map – not any old map, but a treasure map! With the help of her grandmother, she sets about solving the clues and searching for the lost pirate treasure. But will they find the treasure in time? Or will Old Man Brunt and his bloodhound Ghengis put them off the trail for good?

WIN! All of these fabulous books from Gomer Press.

Grav In his Own Words

£14.99 (hardback) ISBN 9781843238157

The Wright Taste Recipes & Other Stories £19.99 (hardback) ISBN 9781843239178

Grav in his Own Words is the biography of one of Welsh rugby’s most missed stars.

Have you ever wondered where the food on your plate actually came from?

Before his tragic death last year, Ray Gravell was in the process of writing his autobiography with Gomer Press – by combining this manuscript and transcripts of various radio broadcasts and interviews that he gave over the years, close friend and editor Alun Wyn Bevan has complied a look at Grav’s life through his own words. *A percentage of the selling price of the book will be donated to the Ray Gravell Trust Fund to be distributed to various charities that were dear to him.

The Wright Taste follows restaurateur Simon Wright’s journey into the unfamiliar territory of livestock farmer, in order to trace the passage of his restaurant’s meat from animal to plate.

Over a series of months, he filmed a series for BBC Wales (to be broadcast Autumn 08) where he reared a selection of animals on his small-holding in the Welsh countryside, with the intention of serving them at his restaurant and sharing his recipes with the reader. ❧ 11 ❧

You have to be in it to win it!

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question: Who is Wales’ largest independent publisher?

Please email your entry to jennifer@valelife.co.uk and type Gomer as the title of your email.

Watch out for our Autumn/Winter issue out early November.

We will be including a competition to win over £500 of fiction and non fiction books. So, if you’re lucky enough to win it’s books for all your friends for Christmas!

Make sure you pick up a copy.

The ladies of Llantwit Major love their fashion and what better way to showcase the fantastic choice available in this charming coastal town than a fashion show and fabulous lunch organised by Llantwit Major Twinning Association at the gorgeous West House Country Hotel.

FRENCH

CONNECTION The Fashion Lunch, organised

by Llantwit Major Twinning Association is now firmly established on the town’s social calendar. The idea of the first Fashion Lunch held in May 2006 came from the chair of Twinning at that time, Diane Smith.

Diane recalls, “We wanted to set up a special event in Llantwit Major that would help fund-raising for the twenty fifth anniversary of our Twinning Partnership with Le Pouliguen in southern Brittany. The combination of lunch with fashion was a perfect attraction for local ladies and we were particularly fortunate to have the perfect venue in West House Country Hotel. The hotel’s owners Joy and Richard Christopher gave us their full support.”

On that occasion the Association was lucky to have the professional expertise of Silka Casey of Catwalk Wales to organise choreography and liaise with models and shops. Since then the fashion side of the event has been organised by Angela Hawkins and Ros Martin-Jones, who have done a brilliant job.

Of this year’s show Ros said, “This is the second year that Angela and I have organised the clothes and choreography side of the Fashion Lunch. We are lucky to have the co-operation of super shops with a wonderful variety of clothes and of course elegant ‘volunteer’ models.

It’s a challenge, but one we enjoy and to see everyone enjoying themselves in the vibrant atmosphere makes it a pleasure to be part of the event.

Each show has had a different line-up of shops. This year shops featured were Rio, Seconds Up and Jamima (bridal agency) Clobbered Up of St Bride’s Major and Lois of Cowbridge.”

Tina, who runs Rio, has contributed to all the shows and told Vale Life, “I’m delighted to support this event which helps promote fashion and our town. We look forward to what is now established as the annual Twinning Fashion Lunch which always creates a friendly, fun atmosphere.”

Llantwit’s Mayor is automatically president of Twinning and always attends. Newly-elected Mayor Molly Lane has enjoyed previous shows.

She commented, “This is a fabulous event which attracts so many people in our community. We are extremely proud of our link with Le Pouliguen in southern Brittany and I congratulate the committee on creating the Fashion Lunch.”

Helen Sharp, joint event organiser with Diane, and secretary of Twinning said, “The tickets sell like hot cakes. It’s good for Twinning and we have a real ball!”

Current chair of Twinning Les Beckwith was pleased to attend the event. He said, “Our fashion lunch is now firmly established as a major event in the community. This year’s success was assured by the superb fashions and delightful models.

Merci à tout le monde!”

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“We are extremely proud of our link with Le Pouliguen in southern Brittany and I congratulate the committee on creating the Fashion Lunch.” ❧ 13 ❧

Llantwit Major Twinning Association 01446 792164 West House Country Hotel 01446 792406 www.westhouse-hotel.co.uk

Dean Chamberlain opened Deano’s barbers in Rhoose at the age of eighteen.

Dean’s grandfather was a barber so you could say it was in the blood. However, Dean’s real passion is for speed.

Dean, right with his Dad at the opening of Deano’s

MAKING THE CUT Dean’s interest in hairdressing began at the age of twelve, working in a salon sweeping up. His grandfather Michael Olympios who came from Cyprus spent thirty years running his shop in Clifton Street, Roath in Cardiff.

Recently Dean took his Westfield Megablade to Germany for a few days at Nürburgring.

Wednesday 23rd Already packed, leave Rhoose, heading for the famous Nordschleife racing circuit (Nürburgring, Germany), a very technical track, established in 1927 inside the Black Forest (no gateaux jokes please) in the Eifel mountains in Germany. The Nürburgring is world renowned for its single lap distance of.

12.9 miles (20.8 kilometres).

We arrive at Dover approximately four hours after leaving Rhoose, check in and present our passports at Dover customs, then board the ferry for the crossing which is around two hours.

I can’t say I liked the ferry ride, neither did my girlfriend Becci. It’s just not our cup of tea but as we can’t afford to fly the car out, it’ll have to do.

We arrived at Calais and drive straight onto the motorway with an updated Tom Tom navigating us towards Spa Francorchamps, Belgium. Useful tip here: If you reset the satnav at Spa, the TomTom will navigate you to the Nürburgring from Spa on a route that is a nice, scenic run, with the last ninety miles winding through small villages and along some nice A roads all the way to the track.

Before we got to Spa, we stopped at a B&B in Ghent, Belgium, called Pimm’s.

This was flagged up along the route using the search facilities on the satnav.

For 70 euros a night we got some sleep after driving all day. We still had another 180 miles left to drive in the morning which fortunately turned out to be a really gorgeous day.

Thursday 24th We wake up to a gorgeous sunny day and set off. We finally arrive at the track at midday and check in to a hotel called ‘Hotel TierGarten’ which I believe is named after the closest corner to the hotel. The hotel is owned by Sabine Schmitz’s mother (Sabine Schmitz was on an episode of Top Gear where she drove a Ford Transit van around the Nürburgring overtaking Porches and motorcycles and gaining a huge amount of respect, not to mention fans, here in the UK). Not surprisingly, Hotel TierGarten is also one of Sabine’s sponsors for the VLN Porsche cup (VLN explained further on.)

We started unpacking our things and this is when I realised I had left the keys to the Westfield at home ‘DOH!’ This was definitely a serious spanner in the works.

My first reaction was to start shouting at my girlfriend to look for them (sorry Becci) - no luck, definitely missing. I then telephoned home to check if they were back in the UK. Unfortunately they were.

Friday 25th There was a couple of bits and pieces to sort on the car but by 10am we were ready to set off. Ready to rock, Westy is running as normal, problem solved.

Track was, as always, closed on to the public Fridays because it’s being used by manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche and Audi so they can test new models etc. The new Nissan GTR was developed at the Nürburgring.

So, as we have a free day, just for fun Becci and I explore the local countryside and forestry trying to locate the spy photographers hotspots overlooking the track.

Basically, we just drove around the forestry inside the Nürburgring all afternoon enjoying the scenery and nice tarmac the area had to offer. That evening, we enjoyed a few Warsteiner beers to calm the nerves before the following day’s driving.

Luckily, we had lots of tools in the Vectra, so I phoned my dad, got some instructions and started drilling out the ignition barrel, trying to switch on the ignition, finally I succeeded, until... I damaged the ignition which kept engaging the steering lock, so had to remove the ignition barrel from the steering column and relocate the barrel to prevent the steering lock from engaging. This pretty much took up the rest of Thursday. ❧ 14 ❧

Dean’s grandfather Michael

To see video footage of Dean and his Westfield at Nürburgring please visit www.valelife.co.uk Dean’s grandfather also enjoyed his cars

Saturday 26th Over breakfast, we learn that we are able to get on to the track today, but only later in the evening after the VLN four hour endurance race is over.

VLN were running a four hour endurance race on the Nürburgring (Behemoth lap). VLN (German Endurance racing), run a variation of courses, such as the Nordschleife (North Loop), The Behemoth (North loop and F1 track combined) and The Nordschleife Long (The North Loop, plus half the F1 track Circuit).This delay wasn’t a problem because we were able to watch the race from the official F1 seating arena, a really high grandstand seating area with views across the forest which occasionally allow you to see other sections of the track in use. Awesome! We watched a great race and enjoyed full access to the pits too. All for 12 euros.

Early evening was a little different to my usual Saturday evenings. I was queuing at the ticket office inside the ring to purchase as many laps as possible, I couldn’t wait to be a racing driver on the most impressionable race circuit in the world. The driving was awesome! My concentration levels to this day have never peaked the way they did roughly two to three minutes into my first lap. I never realised I could respond to gear changes as accurately and rapidly as I did, not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice (unless I wanted to be passed by random sports cars with random mad people like me driving them. And that, I certainly didn’t!).

Sunday 27th I’m at the gates at 7.45am waiting for the circuit to open at 8am. I check over the Westfield looking for anything that may cause me problems on the track nothing seems out of place. I’m feeling excited, waiting for the adrenaline to take away my nerves. This is the day to be here. Sunday’s are frantic and surreal days for the track users because it’s the only full day the public get to use the track all day, which means, you truly get involved as you do lap after lap shaving seconds off your last.

Technical/Track Day Details Location Nürburgring, Germany Track days x 3 Vehicle Westfield Megablade Engine 900cc Honda Fireblade Gearbox Sequential gearing with clutchless upshift

As every corner presents itself to you on the Nurburgring, you begin to drive more precisely than you ever imagined you could. Every corner is fast and your only fixation, ‘clipping the apex’ gives you even more confidence and more confidence makes you quicker and going quicker will force mistakes.

Weight 417kg dry weight

Lap by lap, I’m really into a groove and then, all of a sudden, I spin out on an uphill left-hander flowing into a downhill right-hander. I turned in before the apex which meant I overcorrected the steering on a crest at which point the car unbalanced and it was too late. I ended up throttling too much, too early, which meant I ended up doing a little grass cutting, very close to the Armco - too close actually.

Acceleration 0-60mph 3.8 to 4 seconds

Will I be going back? You bet. I have another trip organised for later this year with some friends and at 135 euros for eight laps I think I’ll be there for even longer next time. Would I recommend it? Definitely, you must try it. Once you do, you’ll be hooked! ❧ 15 ❧

Power 130bhp approx Power to weight ratio 270bhp per tonne

Top speed Approx 120mph Towing vehicle Vauxhall Vectra Estate SRI 2.6V6 averaging 22.5mpg fully loaded For more information about Nürburgring please visit www.nuerburgring.de

Deano’s Barbers 7 Fontygary Road, Rhoose CF62 3DR 01446 719789

Penarth Pier and its Grand Pavilion is the much loved focal point of Penarth’s Victorian esplanade and, if a group of enthusiastic locals get their way, the pavilion may soon gain a new lease of life as the venue for an exciting new project aimed at reclaiming the ‘People’s Palace’ for the local community.

Penarth Pier was designed originally by H F Edwards for the Penarth Promenade and Landing Company Ltd. Construction of the cast iron and timber began in 1894 and the pier opened the following year and in 1907 a wooden pavilion was added at the sea end.

When the pier was sold to the Vale of Glamorgan Council, it was given a brand new landing stage and spectacular pavilion at the shoreward end built in the very latest material ferro-concrete, which contributes to the buildings Grade 2 listed status.

Following its grand opening in 1929, the venue became very popular, with regular events including tea dances.

Two years later, tragedy struck, when a fire spread almost the entire length of the pier causing serious damage and the pier had to be rebuilt at a cost of £3,157! However, the wooden sea-end pavilion was never replaced.

In 1947 there was another reverse of fortune when the Canadian ship ‘Port Royal Park’ was driven into the pier during a gale. The 7,000 ton vessel caused extensive structural damage and repairs to the pier took two years to complete at a cost of the then considerable sum of £28,000. The pier was restored again in 1998 and formally re-opened. Despite a history of setbacks the Pavilion Building and its Pier remain, an important landmark admired by visitors and loved by residents to this day.

PIER

The Penarth Pavilion Project Depending on who you talk to in Penarth, there seem to be a wide variety of ideas and misconceptions about the project. Many proposals have been put forward for the Pier and all are currently being considered.

Suggestions include restaurants, a film theatre, conference venue, retail units, an education centre, information booths and a multi-functional space for diverse activities such as art exhibitions and a venue for local dances.

One thing is certainly for sure, the aim of the PACL (Penarth Arts and Crafts Limited) is to include the local community in the decision making process as much as possible.

The current state of play For this beautiful building to realise its potential there is much work to do.

The PACL are currently working towards a £2 million application to the Heritage Lottery Fund which will fund the complete renovation of the interior and exterior of the Pavilion. PACL is already in discussion with the Vale Council and many local groups to improve links between the town and the esplanade using a variety of nature walks and shuttle services.

The project has already had much interest from local businesses and welcomes any ideas for new commercial ventures and partnerships which may benefit the project and, ultimately, the community.

There have been several successful awareness and fund-raising events aimed at promoting the project.

One of the most eye-catching was the recent photographic competition which had an exhibition of entries from local amateur and professional photographers at the Washington Gallery. The winner was Penarth resident Mark Rosoman whose striking photograph above wowed the judges to claim first prize.

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PRESSURE The winning photographer Mark Rosoman has lived in Penarth for the past twenty five years and has been a health and safety consultant for the last seven years after being awarded a BSc (hons) in Environmental Risk Management in 1999. Prior to that he ran a small gardening business for five years on a self employed basis and before that was a self employed bricklayer from the age of twenty one.

Local support Penarth resident John Mead comments, “I have worked as an announcer, reporter, writer, producer/director in the TV Media in Wales all my life, I am just retired, my hobby is racing sailing and I think I am the only man to have been Commodore of both Penarth Yacht Club and Cardiff Bay Yacht Club.

I am now President of Cardiff Bay Yacht Club.”

“I have had an interest in photography since I was eighteen, when I got my first SLR camera. With the advent of digital cameras, I purchased a Canon 400 Digital SLR two years ago which give me more personal control of my photography and I have been busy shooting ever since.”

On the 4th of February 1894, Penarth Pier celebrated its construction with a splendid opening ceremony. Penarth Yacht Club had started boating activities fourteen years earlier in 1880 and the Pier had a theatre at the seaward end. Unfortunately this burnt down in 1931 and was never replaced.

To see Mark’s images please visit www.timegrabber.co.uk

For over a century the paddle steamers of the Bristol Channel have run trips to Minehead, Ilfracombe and Lundy Island from the decks of the pier. Nowadays the Pavilion at the landward end is very run down and in serious need of restoration if it is to survice. In its time as ‘The Commodore’ it had been the social centre of Penarth, with years and years of entertainment and dancing and shows of all kinds.

Penarth Pavilion Project The Washington Gallery 3 Washington Buildings Stanwell Road, Penarth CF64 2AD 029 2071 2100 www.penarthpavilion.co.uk

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Now, Maggie Knight, of the Washington Gallery in Penarth, is going to the Heritage Lottery Fund next month with a two million pound bid to put in place a revamped - reinvigorated - innovative programme which could see the Pier Pavilion restored to something like its former glory - maybe dancing again, maybe a restaurant, an art gallery, meeting rooms and some new high tech features, perhaps live pictures of the wildlife on Flatholm, maybe live pictures from the new Olympic sized canoe slalom which is being constructed in the Sports Village across the River Ely. The new Chariman of the Lottery Heritage Fund is Jenny Abramsky, who all her life has worked in the BBC as a senior executive including being the head of Radio 4 - who knows maybe this bid will catch her eye - I hope so surely no one can want the Pier to decay as it has been doing over the last few years.

John added, “I wish Maggie and her hard working team every success with their superb, imaginative plans for the future of Penarth’s own Heritage treasure - its Pier!”

WHAT’S ON There’s lots happening this season, with a whole host of events across the Vale some of which we detail here.

Morgan James

HAMPTONS OF PENARTH Hamptons is widely acknowledged as having one of the best daytime cafés in the Vale of Glamorgan.

What has become something of a best kept secret however is their extremely popular music and dinner evenings.

“It all started,” explained owners Andy Bradshaw and Peter Knowles, “with a request from our customers to put on an event for Valentine’s Day.” Rising to the challenge, they hired a vocalist, Neil Craven who performed a series of Rat Pack, soft jazz and Michael Bublé numbers and served up a wonderful menu with a rather whimsical, romantic theme.

“Tickets for the night sold out so quickly,” said Andy, “that we added a second night which also sold out immediately. People were so desperate to come that we had a waiting list with people calling each day to see if there had been any cancellations”.

“One of the great things about the evening,” added Peter, “was that many of the diners were groups of friends out for a relaxed evening, trying to avoid the huddles of couples staring longingly into each others eyes.”

Andy and Peter then found that having enjoyed the evening so much their customers were asking what was next –a result they hadn’t anticipated.

They’ve now put together an exciting programme of events for the whole year, including News Years Eve.

“To date,” said Andy, “we have had an evening on the Orient Express with food and music from around the world, Cocktail Jazz with the Graham Watkins Quartet, Abigails Party with fab food from the 70’s (yes we did have prawn cocktail and arctic roll!) accompanied by an energetic Motown show from the very talented Copthorne Players and a Night on Broadway with West End singer Morgan James which will be repeated in August.”

Andy and Peter are keeping the programme of events varied to ensure there is something that appeals to absolutely everyone.

Further events will include Summer Jazz, A Night at the Opera with WNO, September Swing with Neil Craven and of course they are already taking bookings for Christmas which they assure us will not include turkey or the dreaded brussel sprouts!

Clare HIngott

A Night on Broadway

Halloween Party

Songs from all your favourite Broadway musicals with vocalist Morgan James and pianist Gwyn Morgans.

It all gets spooky at Hamptons for our special Halloween parties with a spookylicious menu and jazz from the Graham Watkins Jazz Trio.

15th and 16th August

Summer Jazz 29 and 30 August

31st October and 1st November

Autumn Swing Fever

The fabulous Clare Hingott and the boys from the Graham Watkins Jazz Quartet serenade us over dinner for our Summer Jazz evenings.

14th and 15th November

A Night at the Opera

Midnight Jazz

Join us for an evening of light opera and food – think summer’s evening picnic at Glyndebourne - with our four fabulous performers by kind permission of Welsh National Opera.

Two nights of laid back midnight jazz and relaxed dining.

September Swing

The Graham Watkins Jazz Trio and the fabulous Miss Clare Hingott will be with us for Christmas jazz and our special festive menu each Thursday, Friday and Saturday in December.

5th and 6th September

12th and 13th September

Back by popular demand we are delighted to present Neil Craven for an evening of Rat Pack, Michael Bublé and soft jazz – and great food of course!

Autumn Swing Fever 3rd October

An evening of swing, Dixieland jazz and shuffle with the Keith Little Band.

Harvest Festival

The Keith Little Band return for two more evenings of swing, Dixieland jazz and shuffle.

28th and 29th November

Christmas Parties

4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, 20th December

New Years Eve This will be the hot ticket of the Hamptons year – details will be announced on the Hamptons website on 1st September.

17th and 18th October

Hamptons 10 Ludlow Lane, Penarth CF64 1EA

We celebrate the harvest with an evening of country and western music and a harvest festival style menu.

029 2070 5391 www.hamptons-design.co.uk

❧ 18 ❧

THE COPTHORNE HOTEL Visit the Vale’s best kept secret, and enjoy their latest menu.

Dinner at the Copthorne Hotel with Madame Lulu Lamour may conjure up images of a secret assignation with a sultry starlet, but I can assure you that our evening was more Blazing Saddles than blazing passion!

Dinner theatre is hugely popular in the States but fairly uncommon in this Country. The Copthorne however have certainly hit on a winning formula with their four themed shows.

We saw ‘Romance at the Crazy Horse Saloon’ performed by a company of four extremely hard working actors who hardly left the stage. The plot, which involved the impending marriage of Lulu and Tom was linked with a variety of toe tapping songs from ‘The Deadwood Stage’ to ‘Islands in the Sun.’ The show was pure fun and it was clear that Sarah, Sam, Gemma and Alistair enjoyed every rootin tootin number.

The food appears effortlessly between the two halves; warm tartlet of goat’s cheese followed by fillet of sea bass then steamed dark chocolate pudding and finally coffee - no bangers and beans here.

At £27.50 the evening is exceptionally good value when you add together the cost of the meal and a live show.

The four shows are very different with something to suit most musical tastes.

And for the festive season Aladdin will be hopping onto his magic carpet and flying into the hotel for the annual pantomime.

Kindly reviewed by Andy and Peter of Hamptons, Penarth

“The Copthorne have certainly hit on a winning formula with their themed shows.”

Those of you who prefer a somewhat quieter Christmas would no doubt enjoy the Copthorne Christmas Spectacular with traditional carols and heart-warming seasonal songs.

The Copthorne Hotel Cardiff presents hotel based Dining Theatre, Wednesday to Sunday.

What people are saying about The Copthorne

“The performances just keep getting better and better. I will be most certainly recommending the Copthorne Theatre as an ideal evening.”

C Newman

Enjoy the experience of Broadway and West End style live musical theatre performances, combined with a sumptuous 3 course set dinner (lunch on Sundays).

“The food, venue and entertainment were all excellent, providing the perfect ingredients for a memorable evening.”

Ticket prices - £27.50 per person includes live theatre show and 3 course meal with coffee. Concessions available.

“Eat your heart out Cardiff and The Vale... the food, the staff, the atmosphere... Raglans has it all and it doesn’t get much better!”

Shows at 7.30pm Wednesdays Saturdays, 12.30pm on Sundays.

Shows change weekly.

“The Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff presents hotel based Dining Theatre, Wednesday to Sunday.” ❧ 19 ❧

A Milburn

Vale Life

The Copthorne Hotel Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff CF5 6DH To make a booking or an enquiry please call 029 2059 9100 www.millenniumhotels.co.uk

ST DONATS ARTS CENTRE Visit one of Wales’ most beautiful arts venues located in the grounds of St Donats Castle on the spectacular Heritage Coast with stunning sea views.

Performance Summer School

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

This is a fantastic opportunity to have great fun gaining acting and music skills, including body percussion and beatbox, and then create a show on stage.You will be joined by some young performers from UCAN, a national performance group for visually impaired young people working with the Royal National Institute for the Blind Cymru (RNIB) as well as international students from the United World College of the Atlantic.

Michael Palin calls them “The Best of British.” The Independent describes them as simply “the best musical entertainment in the country”; HRH Princess Anne and Sir Paul McCartney are huge fans – these black tie dressed, perfectly polished musicians command the stage with their musical absurdity, tongue-in-cheek audience banter, merciless puns, wry humour and astonishing musical virtuosity.

Mon 11 – Thurs 14 August 12 noon – 6pm

The summer school will be run by the highly experienced director and former Hollyoaks and Pobol y Cwm actor, Bernard Latham.

Tickets £55. Places are limited so contact our box office to secure your place.

Sat 27 September 7.30pm

William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale

Move fast for the last few remaining tickets! £20, £19

Sun 24, Mon 25 August 6.30pm

St Donat’s Arts Centre is thrilled to welcome Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, one of the most prestigious arts organisations in the UK with its unique style of open-air performance to Wales for the very first time. These exclusive performances will be staged on the beautiful Renaissance lawns set against the gloriously dramatic backdrop of St Donats Castle that sits majestically overlooking the sea. The lawns will be open beforehand so pack your sun cream and enjoy a pre-performance picnic while live musicians play music from Shakespeare’s time.

Tickets £15 concessions £14

Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle Sat 4 October 8pm

Jacqui McShee and Pentangle are legendary names. They revolutionised 60s music as the “the greatest and most adventurous acoustic supergroup of their time”. The voice of the iconic artist, Jacqui McShee was described as, “a voice of shatterproof crystal”, and “the ultimate folk voice - the most wonderful voice I've ever heard.”

Charlotte’s Web Film Study Day

Thurs 23rd October 9.45am - 2.15pm

Guided tours of St Donats Castle

12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25 August 2.30pm, 3.30pm (extra tour on 25 August at 1.30pm)

Vale of Glamorgan Festival of Music 2008 Sat 6 – Fri 12 September

£4.50 (adults) £2.50 (children)

This festival - an annual celebration of the work of living composers - takes place in stunning venues in and around the Vale. This year's focus is Polish music, in particular Henryk Górecki, the internationally acclaimed Pole who celebrates his 75th birthday this year.

Events include beautifully atmospheric programmes by the Silesian String Quartet, Estonian vocal group, Vox Clamantis and performances in our Bradenstoke Hall on Sunday 7 and Friday 12 September.

Tours on Bank Holiday Monday are part of Atlantic College Open Day (1pm – 5pm, £10 per car).

Full details of this year's programme: www.valeofglamorganfestival.org or 01550 721565

Once a year only, St Donats Castle opens all its doors to the public – and what a sight beholds the visitor!

Antique ceilings, facades, a moat and portcullis, dungeons ...

Tours begin and end at the St Donats Arts Centre’s café, which will be open for tea and cakes.

❧ 20 ❧

The study will begin with a screening of the film followed by exercises and a workshop to enable students to deconstruct film language, understand how meaning is created and explore how the written text and the film text differs.

Students do not need to have read the book before the workshop. £3.50 per student, teachers free

CAFE CONCERTS These popular matinee concerts are lovely afternoons spent in the relaxed music café atmosphere of our beautiful Glassroom with, of course, free tea and cake and stunning coastal views! £5.

CINEMA Sex And The City (15) Tues 23 September 7.30pm, Weds 24 1.30pm, 7.30pm

The Edge of Love (15) Tues 30 September 7.30pm, Weds 1 October, 1.30pm, 7.30pm

Mamma Mia (15) Tues 7 October 7.30pm, Weds 8, 1.30pm, 7.30pm

Leatherheads (15) Tues 14 October 7.30pm, Weds 15, 1.30pm, 7.30pm

The Oxford Murders (15) Tues 21 October 7.30pm, Weds 22, 1.30pm, 7.30pm

Happy Go Lucky (15) Tues 28 October 7.30pm, Weds 29, 1.30pm, 7.30pm

Evening films £5.10, £4.10.

Tim Kliphuis with Gary Phillips 2 Sept 3pm (£6)

Matinees £4.10 includes free tea and cake!

EXHIBITIONS Marten Post Exhibition

1 August – 26 September

Down The Bay Exhibition 1 – 30 October

ART CLASSES 10am – 4pm

Dutchman Tim Kliphuis, one of the world’s finest jazz violinists is the named the successor of Stéphane Grappelli. Tim’s spirit and style are reminiscent of the late, great jazz fiddler: virtuoso playing with a great love for melody.

“Stephane Grappelli’s style is alive and well in the hands of Tim Kliphuis” Nigel Kennedy

One Stroke Watercolours Thurs 18 September

Photography with a Digital Camera Sat 27 September

Planning your Painting with Peter Cronin

Heather Jones 16 September 3pm

Thurs 16 October

Heather has been a professional singer since the 70s. After many TV appearances she was awarded her own series on BBC Wales. Enjoy a mix of folk songs, original songs and few traditional Welsh songs too.

Fabric Painting for Landscape Quilting Sat 18 October

£20 (available in advance from Sally Perini, Cowbridge Community College, Old Hall, High Street, Cowbridge CF71 7AH 01446 773831 and 01446 799100).

Musicians from United World College 7 October 3pm

Sapriste String Quartet 28 October 3pm

This quartet of highly accomplished musicians from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and The Welsh Sinfonia are also great friends and the warmth of their playing is always felt.

To book online visit www.stdonats.com ❧ 21 ❧

St Donats Arts Centre Box office 01446 799100 Minicom 01446 799102 enquiries@stdonats.com

RESTAURANT REVIEWS Each issue we review a selection of Vale restaurants.

P E N D OY L A N

The Red Lion

Dinner for two

We recently had the pleasure of meeting owner and chef Kamran (Kami) Soroush at the new Red Lion gastro pub in Pendoylan.

Kami is a larger than life character and larger than life chef, having enjoyed regular television and radio appearances over the years. His passion for good quality, simple food using only the freshest, finest ingredients was obvious during our chat.

His French style cuisine is influenced by his travels and favours his Persian heritage. He also told us of his love of fine wines and how proud he is of his extensive yet selective wine list. This man’s passion for all things culinary and of the vine holds no bounds.

Kami proudly showed us around the pub which he and his wife Azi bought in 2005. They refurbished the Red Lion to create a dining area upstairs which is both tasteful and inviting and which gives stunning views of the Vale with a terrace suitable for alfresco dining and a separate cwtch area for after dinner coffees. Azi’s talent for interiors are certainly apparent throughout the establishment.

Kami was sure we’d be impressed when we’d sampled his hospitality.

He’d lain down his gauntlet...

We arrived in the bar area and were greeted by friendly staff and offered a drink. Kami had promised attentive staff. They didn’t let him down.

We were left to mull over the menu and wine list. Our choices made, we were escorted upstairs to our table, which benefitted from the aforementioned view.

We particularly liked the table setting of grey Welsh slate and a single red rose. I was also pleased to see cutlery that I could touch up my lippie in, not that I would in public of course.

Our waitress for the evening was extremely helpful and smelt lovely (Estee Lauder Pleasures) – I had to ask.

She took our order for starters and main and then left us to enjoy the view.

Before our starters came, and as we perused the wine list, the sommelier arrived and said that Kami wanted to suggest a wine for us to complement our choice of menu.

A 2006 Chablis Grand Cru – Domaine Vocoret no less. This was brought to us to sample. What a fine choice.

Our starters of grilled brie salad with cranberry, lime and saffron dressing and King prawns wrapped in bacon stuffed with wholegrain Pommery mustard with a salad garnish arrived.

We both agreed they were not only beautiful to the eye but also amazing on the taste buds.

Then came our mains of Gigot (pot braised leg of Welsh lamb cooked in tomatoes, saffron, lime juice and garlic and a roasted Cajun sea bass with mango and avocado salsa flavoured with coriander and lime juice.

Again full marks for artistic presentation with extra marks for taste. There were so many flavours in each dish but all had been used intelligently and none were superfluous.

Left, Sharon Escott, Sous Chef , Kami Soroush, Head Chef and owner of the Red Lion, and Victoria Evans, Chef De Partie

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We asked for a little rest before our dessert but still couldn’t wait to taste the apple and plum tart with crème anglais and the orange crème brulee.

Kami had warned us that once we’d tried his homemade desserts, we’d be spoilt for life and he wasn’t far wrong.

As we enjoyed our coffees in the cwtch on the comfy settees and took in the lovely touches of the oversized candles and chunky wooden tables whilst thumbing through the book of mystical poems by Rumi, we pondered on how we could best sum up our evening at the Red Lion.

We both agreed that it was like being invited out for the evening and then finding, to your delight, that your hosts had laid on fireworks, but in this case the fireworks were the flavours in our mouths.

The Red Lion Gastro Pub Pendoylan Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7UJ 01446 760332 www.newredlion.com

COWBRIDGE

Shampan

Dinner with friends

If you’re an avid reader of Vale Life, you’ll know that I love Indian food.

So, when I was asked to review the Shampan Indian restaurant in Cowbridge’s High Street, I leapt at the chance.

I thought I’d invite a few colleagues, one of whom is a vegetarian to give our individual opinions on the evening.

I arrived a little early and got chatting to a lovely chap and his son in the foyer area after I heard the dulcet tones of a north Waleian. As it happened Myrddyn Hughes and his son Noa, aged seven, are regular customers at Shampan, having takeaways at least once a week.

Myrddyn, is Head of the Commercial Centre for HSBC Bank covering Bridgend and the Valleys, and has lived in Cowbridge with his family for the last six months following a job relocation from Anglesey.

I asked Myrddyn what he liked about Shampan and this is what he had to say.

“The food is consistently good here.

They are really friendly and the service is excellent. They recognise me as soon as I walk through the door and I’m always greeted with a ‘Good evening Mr Hughes’ which you don’t expect these days. Noa is given a free bottle of pop while we wait for our takeaway, which is another nice touch.”

I bade my farewells to Myrddyn and Noa and my colleagues arrived. Owner Athoul Chowdhury, otherwise known as Bright to his friends appeared and made us welcome. The nickname suited his disposition perfectly as a more pleasant and charming chap you couldn’t wish to meet. Pleasantries exchanged, Bright showed us to our table and gave us menus to look over while we ordered drinks.

Looking around the room, it was decorated as you might imagine a typical Indian restaurant. Lots of reds and golds and low lighting. Bright returned with our drinks and brought with him plans of how his restaurant will look after a forthcoming rebranding and redecoration exercise.

Bright has recently taken over the helm after successfully building up his other restaurant in Pengam. In the few short months he’s been in Cowbridge, he has seen an increase in custom. Bright has big things planned for Shampan.

We were keen to sample the cuisine and made our selection from the extensive menu. Bright suggested we start our meal with a selection from his new menu of casiculum bahari and chicken taha-tysar. These consisted of peppers filled with chicken and spices and chicken stuffed with mince meat.

Both dishes were colourful, with tastu meat, tender and full of flavour.

Accompanying our starters were four papadoms and the obligatory chutney tray. Bright’s colleague (owner of another knockout smile) deftly removed our dishes to make way for our mains. These consisted of duck korai, lamb kurchi, lamb shaslik for us meat eaters and a sag bhaji and a tarka dal for the vegetarian in our party. To accompany our mains we had lemon and onion rice, mushroom rice, garlic nan and chapatti with four onion bhaji’s thrown in for good measure.

We had all decided on lager as our choice of beverage but Bright suggested we accompany our mains with a bottle of Marquees de Caceres, a white wine from Spain and who were we to question him? The subtle flavours of this particular grape suited the food perfectly! I was very impressed with my time spent at Shampan. The food, service and hospitality of our charming hosts made for an experience I will want to repeat. I’m very excited for Bright’s plans for Shampan and hope they come to fruition.

“The food, service and hospitality of our charming hosts made for an experience I will want to repeat.” ❧ 23 ❧

Here’s what one of my colleagues had to say...

“Being an Anglo-Indian, I always look for something a bit different. There were some mouth-watering options for fish, but instead I opted for my favourite vegetarian dishes and was delighted to find lemon and onion rice on the menu which is something I make at home but rarely find in restaurants locally. Last but not least service was definitely brought to us with a smile and with a passion that is so often lacking these days.”

Suzanne Jaya

Shampan Indian Restaurant 70 Eastgate, Cowbridge CF71 7AB 01446 771682 or 01446 774590 Open Mon – Sat 5.30pm – 11.30pm Sun 12 noon until 11pm The Shampan Indian Restaurant has been awarded 4 star Food Hygiene Rated Score on the Door by the Food Standards Agency Supported Scheme

COWBRIDGE

Oscars Bar & Grill

Dinner

If you’ve not yet been to Oscars Bar and Grill on Cowbridge’s High Street, you’re missing a real treat. If there was a place that ticked every box for great ambience, décor, service, food, people watching opportunities (come on, well all do it!), then this is it. If all you want to do is relax and enjoy a cocktail chilling out on the sofas, you can, or if you want to treat yourselves to lunch or dinner and choose from a tantalizing menu of mouthwatering steaks, crisp salads, juicy burgers, sandwiches or flavorful pastas, then you can do that too.

You might think, well, she’s going to say that isn’t she, she’s selling advertising. Fair cop. Perhaps then you might best hear from Rhodri Owen of BBC Wales’ consumer show X-Ray who regularly frequents Oscars with wife Lucy Owen and new addition to the family, Gabriel.

We’ve been going to oscars for years.

Before we moved to the area, we would drive down from cardiff a couple of times a month, but since moving into the area a year and a half ago, I guess we have become ‘regulars’.

When we’re not away working, we come here most Saturday mornings for breakfast. It’s almost an essential part of our weekend now. We’ve even gone for breakfast with friends and carried on to have lunch. Since our little man arrived, we haven’t managed an evening there, but before his arrival, we were almost part of the furniture.

Whenever we go in to Cowbridge we grab a coffee, and I guess with little Gabriel, we have more of an excuse..

We go individually, as a couple or as a family. They always have the day’s papers at hand which is a lovely touch, although these days it’s not so easy to have free hands to enjoy the papers...

Oscars deserves an Oscar. It has everything without being too fancy.

You can eat inside, outside, at a table or relax on the sofas, and whatever the time of day, there’s always something to tempt us.

From the specials to the old favourites, healthy options to the treats, they’re are all tasty. I’m a huge fan of their winter brunch (always does the job, and value for money) and the summer ‘lighter’ healthy breakfast makes me feel better after so many brunches!!!!

Ask me what my favourite meal is at the moment and I’d have to say it’s the healthy breakfast of yoghurt and fruit salad with a smoothie and a latte.

During the winter I’m always drawn to the homemade burger.

Like most people, we have visited a fair few eateries in our time, and having worked on a travel show for four years, I’ve really eaten my way around the world and experienced service worldwide.

Oscars is truly special, not only is the food spot on, but the service is always fantastic! It’s almost un-noticed, which is a magical touch. Everything appears and disappears so smoothly.

You really can’t go wrong!

Rhodri can be seen with wife Lucy as they help solve consumer queries and complaints, along with reporter Jessie Swinburn, on one of the BBC’s most popular programmes, X-Ray which can be seen on BBC One Wales ❧ 24 ❧

Oscars Bar & Grill 65 High Street, Cowbridge Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7AF 01446 771984 oscars@oscarscowbridge.co.uk www.oscarscowbridge.co.uk

LLANTWIT MAJOR

A warm welcome in the heart of the Vale The West House Country Hotel is a converted 16th Century Country House located within Llantwit Major, with a rich history and heritage typical of the area. Bought four years ago by its current owners, the hotel aims to provide excellent service in a peaceful, rural location, whilst also being accessible to Cardiff and the wider Vale. The hotel is a very popular location for weddings.

When we arrived at the West House Country Hotel for dinner we were immediately struck by the beautiful frontage of the building with its low front door, fine lawn and paved terrace - just perfect for enjoying an aperitif on a fine summer’s evening.

Suitably impressed by the hotel’s façade, the door opened as if by magic as we entered the hotel and were greeted by the head waiter whose genuinely warm welcome and understated courtesy set a precedent for the impeccable service and friendliness we received from all of the West House staff in the restaurant.

The Heritage Restaurant is a bit of a hidden gem. Although the ambience of the restaurant itself is more business than brasserie, this really should not put you off. Just like some of the best eateries in France, the surroundings have gracefully stepped aside to make way for the quality of the food - and this doesn’t disappoint.

The restaurant boasts the finest cuts of meat, the freshest fruit and vegetables from local suppliers and a meticulous attention to preparation. This was certainly borne out during our visit and we were very pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the menu and the sophistication and surprising twists that had been applied to both local and traditional dishes, especially given the excellent value for money that this restaurant offers. How about Caerphilly, leek and bacon Welsh cakes or rabbit paté with caramel-ised figs as a starter, for example?

We will certainly be returning and hope to sample the hotel’s Sunday lunch roast leg of Welsh saltmarsh lamb with sage, shallot and red onion stuffing?

Mmm, yes please!

Mark and Tamsin Carey-Lang

For more information about West House Country Hotel please see page 28.

West House Country Hotel was also the venue for the Llantwit Major fashion show. Please see page 12.

We chose the soup of the day and the salmon as starters, both of which were extremely good. Our main courses of local sausages and lamb were excellent, with real attention to detail paid to both the recipes and the imaginative presentation. The quality of the food shone through and seasonal fresh vegetables, beautifully cooked, accompanied each dish.

“The restaurant boasts the finest cuts of meat and the freshest fruit and vegetables from local suppliers.”

The wine list was very sound with a varied and reasonably priced range to suit every taste.

Finishing our evening with coffee in the comfortable and homely lounge, we chatted with a couple from Edinburgh who had enjoyed the food and the excellent service as much as we had. ❧ 25 ❧

West House Country Hotel West Street, Llantwit Major CF61 1SP 01446 792406 enq@westhouse-hotel.co.uk www.westhouse-hotel.co.uk

L L A N DA F F

The owner obviously has a keen eye for fine wines with an extensive selection of wines and champagne on offer. The knowledgeable staff member suggested an Italian Gavi di Gavi to complement our menu choices perfectly. I can quite easily understand why Mulberry Street is a regular haunt for Welsh celebrities.

It may be its proximity to the BBC, but I would guess it’s more likely due to the outstanding food, the ambience and the impeccable service.

Mulberry Street restaurant Having heard great things about Mulberry Street restaurant in Llandaff, we decided to step a little bit out of our comfort zone of the Vale and head off into the quaint, but sophisticated, village of Llandaff to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.

Open for lunch (12 noon to 2pm) and dinner (6.30pm to 10pm) Tuesday to Saturday with special lunch time offers available.

Mulberry Street restaurant is on the High Street and sits very well with other high quality businesses including a florist, hair salon, coffee shops and gift shops. I spent a good few hours in the morning divesting Mr Roberts of his hard earned cash and we then popped into Mulberry Street for lunch.

What immediately struck us was the decor. Pure sophistication. The same could equally be said about the staff who greeted us warmly and showed us to our table. There was a choice of menus, the a la carte, special lunch menu and our choice of ‘Little Dishes’, Mulberry Street’s take on tapas.

I went with the rare tuna niçoise, calamari fritti and hot smoked salmon.

Mr Roberts couldn’t resist the meatballs with spicy tomato sauce, lamb kofta and his all time favourite of pan fried chicken livers. We accompanied our tapas choices with a broad bean and pecorino risotto.

“I can quite easily understand why Mulberry Street is a regular haunt for Welsh celebrities.”

COWBRIDGE

Food & Drink Festival One for the diary The picturesque town of Cowbridge is often known as the ‘Jewel in the Vale’. With a reputation for fabulous food, beautful boutiques and gorgeous gifts, the town is a must for any trip to south Wales.

The weekend of Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival (in association with UWIC) adds a true carnival atmosphere to the town with a fabulous food hall, demonstrations and entertainers to make this a great family weekend.

Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival 25 -26 October 2008 Saturday 9.30am - 5.30pm Sunday 10.00am - 4.00pm www.cowbridgefoodanddrink.org Ticket Prices Family Day £7 (includes 2 adults and 3 children under 14 yrs) Adult Day £2.50 Child Day £1 Family Weekend £12 Adult Weekend £4 Child Weekend £1.50

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Mulberry Street restaurant 48 High Street, Llandaff 029 2056 4646 www.mulberrystreetcardiff.com

HENSOL

La Cucina at The Vale Hotel Spanish Evening

We have had the pleasure of reviewing La Cucina restaurant, one of the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resorts restaurants, in our first issue of Vale Life and were very impressed. I was delighted therefore to have received an invitation to an exclusive Spanish evening (a popular event at the four star hotel).

The evening promised a celebration of the best in Spanish food and wine with a sumptuous four course dinner, accompanied by a presentation of specially selected wines in the company of Neil Phillips, Development Brands Manager (Wines and Champagne) for Pernod Ricard.

I arrived to be greeted by the Director of Marketing for the resort, Mr Paul Beddoe, who quickly introduced me to the speaker for the evening Mr Phillips.

As soon as I heard Mr Phillips’ dulcet tones, I was immediately struck by how much they resembled his famous namesake, Leslie Phillips... “ding dong!” I thought. I wasn’t surprised to hear that his voice is often heard on radio broadcasts on his favourite subject of wines.

There was a good gathering of people assembled on the patio to sample the fine wine on a glorious, balmy Thursday evening. As guests chatted, we were offered a selection of traditional tapas accompanied by Gran Camp Viejo Cava (Penedes), a perfect light and refreshing accompaniment.

Once seated, our starters of suckling pig with green peppercorn terrine and apply jelly arrived, followed by a Terra Duoro Albarino (Rias Baixas) a delicious, subtle white wine.

Mr Neil Phillips gave us an interesting and entertaining talk on the wines we were to sample throughout the evening which was well received by all.

Our main course of Seabass fillets, chorizo risotto with deconstructed ratatouille then followed which was accompanied by a Ysios Reserva (Rioja), a rich and fruity red. The dessert of chocolate and raspberry mousse was then devoured and to accompany this was a Don Guido Pedro Ximenez Solera Especial twenty year old (Jerez) a sweet white wine.

Mr Phillips asked for our comments on the wines and we all agreed that the wines chosen for each course complemented the food perfectly.

We ended our evening with coffee and petit fours. I must say that I learnt a good deal from the evening. A creature of habit, I do tend to stick with what I know where wines are concerned, (a nice bottle of Sancerre) but I was definitely enlightened as to the quality of wines that are available, when you know what you’re looking for. For an education in quality wines, a four course dinner with wines for £35 per person is astonishingly good value and, what’s more, a guaranteed enjoyable evening.

La Cucina at The Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort will be holding regular events. Please visit www.vale-hotel.com for more information. ❧ 27 ❧

Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort Hensol Park, Hensol, Near Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan CF72 8JY For more information about events please visit www.vale-hotel.com For reservations at La Cucina, please call 01443 667877 If you would like more information about Campo Viejo Wines please visit their website at www.campoviejowines.co.uk

“The evening promised a celebration of the best in Spanish food and wine.”

WEST LIFE

West House Country Hotel is a charming 16th Century hotel in Llantwit Major. Once the home of the Sheriff of Glamorgan, it is now a beautifully appointed family run hotel.

Asked what he likes best about the West House Country Hotel, proprietor Andrew Christopher stated that there were too many positive aspects to choose one in particular.

However, weddings at West House are always terrific events and the continued gratitude and compliments received always makes their efforts worthwhile.

Christmas Day with Santa and gifts for everyone through to New Year’s Eve come next on the list of special events, and already bookings are well advanced as people wish to return for these very special days.

West House’s New Year’s Eve parties have always been nights to remember with a seven course evening dinner of the highest quality, dancing and cabaret entertainment right through into the New Year. The event is strictly black tie and has proved very popular, with many guests returning each year.

“We are very passionate about our food. We want our guests to know that our chefs have gone that extra step.”

The hotel has undergone an amazing transformation in the last four years from the time Richard, Joy and Andrew took ownership. The new patio in the front gardens has been a tremendous bonus and is proving popular with more and more guests choosing to eat and drink alfresco.

The support of the local community has been absolutely fabulous and has been a major factor in the success of the hotel, gaining a remarkable increase in the number of business functions, weddings, parties and many other special events. The lounge bar has an ambience of times past, and is the perfect place to relax with a pre-dinner drink while you consider the menu and extensive wine selection.

What brought you to the West House Country Hotel?

As a family, we had spent many years overseas and on our return to the UK we decided to look for a hotel that we could run together. Eventually, after viewing countless properties we all agreed that The West House Country Hotel was something special. It had a happy feel about it - it felt right!

What do you think makes West House so special?

Our staff are our best asset. The longest serving employee is our breakfast chef Jill, who has been at the hotel for over twenty years. She is very proud of her breakfasts, believing it to be the most important meal, as it is usually the last meal our clients’ have before they leave and it’s the one they will remember.

The friendliness and willingness of our staff to go out of their way to assist guests typifies the way we have chosen to develop our business. We want guests to feel welcome and to take away the memories of a pleasant and enjoyable experience. We have had many letters of appreciation from guests thanking us for a wonderful stay, excellent food and in almost every case, compliments on our friendly and helpful staff. ❧ 28 ❧

“We continually strive to provide a service that exceeds our customers’ expectations.”

What are your roles in the Hotel?

We are all multi-faceted when it comes to managing and running the hotel.

Primarily Joy is responsible for the accounting and interior design, Richard handles marketing and Andrew is the general manager.

Would you say you are passionate about the business?

We are very passionate about our food.

We want our guests to know that our chefs have gone that extra step. We source the majority of our produce locally, supporting our local farmers wherever possible. One of our most popular dishes has been Welsh beef fillet in a Penderyn malt whisky sauce.

Even at weddings and functions when there are large numbers of guests dining at the same time, they are amazed at the high standard of presentation and quality. All meals are freshly prepared and we refuse to compromise our standards even with high volumes of guests.

The hotel has undergone an amazing transformation in the last four years

Can you tell us your business philosophy?

To provide the finest dining, function and accommodation experience. When we adhere to this ethos, everything else falls into place. We continually strive to provide a service that exceeds our customers’ expectations.

We aim to support local businesses and community markets, developing relationships and opportunities.

Do you attract customers from overseas?

The hotel has a growing number of tourists coming to stay from abroad and they show a keen interest in our hotel packages. One of our special breaks ‘Walking with the Saints’ offers walking maps to explore the history and surrounding area as Llantwit Major is the first recognised centre of Christian learning from which many saints set out to teach Christianity.

What are the plans for the future?

Our dream and objective is not that far away. We continue to invest extensively to ensure the hotel attains four star grading. Rosette accreditation is also one of our key objectives.

The restaurant at West House has been reviewed on page 25 of this issue.

West House Country Hotel West Street, Llantwit Major CF61 1SP 01446 792406 enq@westhouse-hotel.co.uk www.westhouse-hotel.co.uk

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Do you have a pen to hand? If so, you’ll most definitely want to put a reminder for The Vale of Glamorgan Show in your diary.

Wednesday 20th August 2008 is the date of the most well attended event in the Vale of Glamorgan’s calendar and once again it is being held in the grounds at Fonmon Castle, near Rhoose.

This year’s event has already attracted a huge amount of interest with many new exhibitors attending the Food Hall, Craft Fair and Shopping Mall marquees and along with over 200 trade stands.

The more the merrier we say as this allows an excellent day browsing around shops that visitors wouldn’t normally encounter locally.

The Dog Show, Horticultural Show and Home Produce Show are all still accepting entries so why not have a go and show your prize vegetables and flowers. If you haven’t shown before, don’t worry, there are classes for novices too! If you have a wonderful piece of needlework or a good piece of art work or can make an excellent cake, there is a class for you in the Home Produce Marquee.

The Vale Show are delighted to welcome back the cattle, sheep, goats and pigs to the show this year and with increased prize money, they are expecting an excellent turn out.

The main ring display are Motostunts International, who will be performing dare devil stunts on quads, motorbikes and in 4 x 4 cars in the Main Ring following the Grand Parade of prize winning animals at 3pm.

There’s plenty of fun to be had for children with Punch and Judy and circus workshops, along with a fairground, road train, face painting and loads of other entertainment.

No one should go hungry with plenty of food outlets on the show field along with bars and coffee stalls.

The show opens at 8.30 in the morning and things wind down from around 6 pm. Prices this year are £8 adult, £6 oap and £4 per child – family tickets of 2 adults and 2 children are £20 All in all the Vale Show is the biggest and best day out that the Vale has to offer with something to entertain all the family – the one not to miss in any weather!

The Vale of Glamorgan Show Wednesday 20 August 2008 Fonmon Castle, near Rhoose Vale of Glamorgan For further information contact Nicola on 01446 710099 or email vale.show@btinternet.com www.valeofglamorganshow.co.uk

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IT’S

SHOWTIME! Look out for the Vale Life marquee next to the main ring. Advertisers are welcome to join us for a glass of bubbly and some nibbles.

This issue we talk with Monique Green of The Studio, Penarth about her passion for photography and her love of art.

What’s your background?

I was born in Brisbane, Australia, and met my husband in London. We lived in both cities before moving to Penarth and we’ve been here for ten years.

We have a little girl (she’s a corker!), a dog and some lovely friends. I only miss Australia when I’m trying to swim in the sea - I’m just not used to the cold, but the warmth of the people here more than makes up for it.

I love the Welsh, they’re kind, funny and very underrated.

One of my current projects is a photograph of a couple broadly recreating ‘The Kiss’ by Gustav Klimt as a gift for their wedding. I was also lucky enough to do a series of nudes for a calendar, each photo themed by prominent events for the month; Valentine’s day, The Great British Summertime, Christmas and New Year’s etc. It’s not the sort of thing I can display in the shop window, but I’m quietly very proud of how they turned out.

What kind of photos do you take?

I look for joy; when you see it, it’s beautiful, breathtaking. A photographer is in the privileged position of being invited into some of the most important times in people’s lives such as weddings, birthday parties, golden anniversary celebrations, a child’s early days. All these things are about the people we love, and the joy they bring us, so I aim to capture just that.

Trends are worth watching, but what’s more important to me is that my clients are happy. With something as important as a wedding, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I work hard to make sure I understand what the Bride (and the Groom, of course) want, and deliver it. It’s a very special time, and I want to help them enjoy it.

How do you ensure each client is given your undivided attention?

Unlike some of the larger photography chains, it’s just me (and sometimes my very patient husband) here, so it’s a very personal service. I take the photos, I do the post-production work, I like to see the look on my client’s faces when they view the photos for the first time.

Any other trends we should be looking out for?

Whilst the current fashion for the ‘white background, bright colours’ kind of lifestyle photography is still very popular, I’ve found changing the background to black visually very satisfying. It’s just one change, but it makes the photos so much more dramatic, very ‘Dutch masters’.

I’m not sure if this counts as a trend, but I’m having a great time with it!

There’s no time limit on the shoots, and no high pressure sales people at the end. Just me and my customers and the photos.

Do you keep up to date with the latest trends in photography?

I like to keep abreast of what is happening, but my inspiration and ideas usually come from other places I particularly find looking at paintings by great artists very exciting.

Tell us about your wedding photography.

Weddings are very much a family affair, and not just for the Bride and Groom.

My husband Mike and I work together as a team to deliver not just the standard shots but also more intimate and candid shots that capture the feel of the day. Mike has 25 years experience in advertising and fashion photography, so I find he comes in handy for this type of thing! I meet with the couple before the wedding to find out their preferences for style and iron out any little details. And to establish a good rapport - it’s so important. If the photographer and the bridal couple get along well, you can see it in the photos. After that, all they have to do is relax and enjoy their special day together.

“My inspiration and ideas usually come from other places - I particularly find looking at paintings by great artists very exciting.” ❧ 32 ❧

What is your work motto?

Exceed their expectations.

The Studio 2 Royal Buildings Stanwell Road, Penarth Vale of Glamorgan CF64 3EB Tel 029 2040 7276 Fax 029 2071 1776

EXPOSURE

Attaining a good work/life balance is hard enough for any couple, but when you work together in one of Cardiff’s most popular dental practices and then add three young children into the equation, this creates an even greater challenge.

Not so for husband and wife team Peter and Mary Murray who work at James Hull in Cardiff Bay. They invited us into their lovely home in the Vale of Glamorgan to tell us about their life and work.

How did you end up working together?

PETER We have both worked for the James Hull Dental Group for over 16 years but have worked in the same practice since returning to work after our third child.

How did you meet?

PETER We met at dental school in 1986.

MARY Yes, it was at one of the school’s boozy night’s out. Pete paid for my taxi ride home!

Are you competitive with each other at all?

MARY Only on the golf course!

At what point did you realise you wanted to be together?

MARY We gelled straight away and went on to support each other through dental finals. We then decided a few years later to take a year off and travel the world.

Tell us, how do you juggle the work/life balance?

PETER We’re lucky in that we both have great organisational skills. There’s lots of forward planning involved and we both take an active part in child care.

MARY We both have the same stresses with work and child care, so this helps as we can work together on things.

What are the qualities you admire most in each other?

MARY Pete is so easy going. He has a laid back attitude and is always optimistic.

PETER Mary is very methodical and level headed. There’s a good balance to our relationship which works really well – a good yin and yang!

What do you do to relax?

PETER Golf. We also have a large network of family and friends and we love to get together as often as possible.

MARY Golf. Dinner. Meeting friends. We also enjoy gardening and have an allotment.

THE Where do you see yourselves in ten years’ time?

PETER Bringing up our three children and getting that balance right between work and personal life.

What’s your philosophy on life?

PETER Try anything – give anything a go!! If you fancy bungee jumping, then why not?

MARY Have a cool, calm measured approach.

What are your roles within the James Hull Group?

PETE I work with all specialists within the group.

MARY I take referrals from outside and inside the Group. I’m also the only female dentist at both the Bay and Parade practices.

“We gelled straight away and went on to support each other through dental finals.” ❧ 34 ❧

Dr Mary Murray Mary graduated from Cardiff University in 1988. Following this she took up posts as junior and senior house officer Periodontology, Restorative dentistry and Oromaxillofacial surgery.

She then embarked on her career in General Dental Practice.

JOURNEY “We have both worked for the James Hull Dental Group for over sixteen years.”

Mary has a special interest in cosmetic dentistry, creating beautiful smiles with crowns and veneers.

Mary also offers Invisalign treatment, a nearly invisible way to straighten teeth using clear removable aligners.

Peter and Mary with James Hull in Australia

Dr Peter Murray Peter was one of the founder dentists at Mermaid Quay and until his third child was born was UK Clinical Director for the James Hull Company. He is now lead clinician and has a special interest in veneers, Invisalign and placing dental implants. Peter is also qualified to provide intravenous sedation for patients of a nervous disposition.

James Hull Associates Unit 11a, Mermaid Quay Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF10 5BZ 029 2048 1212 cardiffbay@jameshull.co.uk www.jameshull.co.uk

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Former academic, Giancarlo Bianchi, has turned his passion for working with wood into a successful business. Vale Life visits his workshop to find out more.

Have you always worked with wood?

No, I started my career as a marine geologist. I graduated from Southampton University and went on to obtain a PhD from Cambridge. I then pursued my academic career with a position at Cardiff University in a technical research post from which I left in 2005. I was in need of a new vocation where I could use my manual skills, something which would enable me to make things.

Where did you learn your craft?

I enrolled at the International Woodworking School of David Savage in Devon. I then obtained some local government grants to enable me to set up Bianchi Fine Furniture.

How long has Bianchi Fine Furniture been established?

It’s been up and running for almost two years and, after a challenging start, I am now confident that my new venture is turning into a success story.

Where do your clients come from?

They’ve mainly been private individuals from South Wales but also from beyond in the south-east and south-west of England.

More recently though, there has been a pleasing upturn in the number of corporate enquiries, the most notable being a series of commissions for the Penderyn Distillery, the only distillery in Wales. They have commissioned me to supply a number of wood artefacts to be included in the new visitor centre, which was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales.

Is he now a fan of your work?

Yes, I had the privilege of being asked to design and make a solid oak, luxurious dovetailed box to house a special edition of the Penderyn whisky.

The Prince certainly seemed to appreciate the quality of the silk-lined box almost as much as sampling the 56% proof whisky!

FROM SMALL What woods do you work with?

I only work with hardwoods, all of which have been harvested from woodlands certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. I must admit to having a soft spot for working with American Black Walnut (a beautifully grained timber with a chocolatey colour) but have recently undertaken commissions made of oak, elm, macassar ebony and maple, among others.

“I am now confident that my new venture is turning into a success story.” Giancarlo Bianchi

What items of furniture have you made recently?

I can turn my hand to most things but more recently I have made an ash lounge cabinet, TV units, shelving, a CD-storage unit, library, church desk, mirrors, vanity units and much more for clients spread across South Wales in places such as Mumbles, Pendoylan, Cardiff and beyond.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a sizable lounge unit in olive ash for a client in the Vale. ❧ 36 ❧

TESTIMONIALS

What satisfied clients say about Giancarlo...

“Giancarlo Bianchi provided some very high quality, specially made, exhibits for the new Penderyn Distillery Visitor Centre that has just opened to the general public. These items have already been points of discussion and interest for our visitors and have helped to highlight some important aspects in the making of our spirits.

He also produced a beautiful presentation box that was a gift for HRH The Prince of Wales on the occasion of opening the distillery to the public on 26 June 2008.

Giancarlo’s attention to detail and emphasis on quality were exceptional and we continue to work in partnership with him.”

Stephen Davies Managing Director The Welsh Whisky Company

“From the outset Giancarlo showed an understanding and recognition of the type of piece that we needed in the Church (Church Table) which is a contemporary piece of furniture designed to fit well within the traditional surroundings of St Michael’s.

ACORNS

I must say that his final design and choice of wood and finish have been received with universal approval, and admiration for the high standard of workmanship.”

Barry J Smith St Michael’s PCC

Bianchi Fine Furniture 9-10 The Workshops, Glyncorrwg West Glamorgan SA13 3EA 01639 850200 enquiries@bianchifinefurniture.co.uk www.bianchifinefurniture.co.uk

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Unmistakably Miele.

Willow Walk, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7EE

01446 771234

email info@rflkitchens.com

www.rflkitchens.com

The newly transformed salon Kudos, in Pontyclun, offers all the treatments you’d expect from a high end salon and more...

IN PRAISE OF

KUDOS I used to think that if I wanted the ultimate cut and colour from a salon, I would have to go to Cardiff.

Magazines are full of salons offering more or less the same thing so how do you choose between them? The answer is probably by visiting each one.

With only so many hours in the day and only one head of hair to play with, the chances of getting around them all is going some, to say the least. If I were to give one salon a try, it would have to be Kudos in Pontyclun. I chatted with owner Nigel Lewis, and his enthusiasm for what can only be described as a centre of excellence, made me realise that expertise, honest customer service and forward thinking on a grand scale was truly on our doorstep.

Nigel – what’s your background?

I come from Carmarthen from a family of five brothers and sisters who have all done well in our respective careers but I suppose I was very much influenced by my sister who works as an actress with the BBC. After a fourteen month stint in college on a civil engineering course, my creative side and the need to work with people took over.

I applied for a job and worked in a popular local hair salon, working my way up, acquiring cutting and colouring skills and progressing to management training locally and in London as my ambition was always to run my own salon.

When did you set up Kudos?

I launched Kudos in 1993 and we grew from three to seven staff within eighteen months. We achieved Investors in People status in 1995 and now have seventeen staff, five of whom are male and most are local.

What are your specialities?

We offer all the treatments expected of a high end salon to all ages and we also take our creative skills to venues if needs be. We have travelled to clients in Carmarthen, Aberystwyth, Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel.

Why Pontyclun?

Pontyclun is an up and coming village enjoying a high level of investment and attracting high quality businesses. It also has the benefit of free parking.

We can also create a style for a wouldbe bride and take a photo of it so that she can take it with her wherever she gets married. Now that we’ve included Smoothlines into the mix, I truly feel that we offer the complete hair and beauty package. We also have quite a few Welsh speaking staff here, myself included.

You have just introduced a new male grooming salon. Please tell us about that.

We felt that there was a market for male grooming so we’ve introduced a separate area for men with their own entrance where they can enjoy all of the treatments afforded to our female clientele. There’s even an area for watching sport or even playing on our PS3 while enjoying refreshments!

“There’s even an area for watching sport or even playing on our PS3 while enjoying refreshments!” ❧ 40 ❧

Are your clients local?

Many are, but we also have clients who come from west Wales, London and Cardiff. Our Cardiff clients know that we are competitively priced with the same high standards but they don’t have to worry about parking fees.

Husband and wife team Beverly and Ian Hodges run Smoothlines, within Kudos to offer customers cosmetic procedures.

SMOOTHLINES Do you choose products that other salons don’t stock, if so, why?

We’ve built a good relationship with top brands including Redken, Elemis, Jessica, St Tropez, GH2, and Tigi.

You’ve accomplished a lot here.

Have your family been supportive?

My parents have been very supportive throughout mine and my siblings’ careers. Family is very important to me and I’m lucky that my wife Karin is fully supportive of what I do. She’s also very creative, designing bespoke tiaras.

My motto is, “do it as well and as best as you can and enjoy it”.

Kudos Hair and Body Styling 2 Midland Chambers, Cowbridge Road Pontyclun CF72 9BT 01443 229913 info@kudoshair.co.uk www.kudoshair.co.uk

“We offer all of the treatments expected of a high end salon and we are also able to take our creative skills to venues.”

What are your backgrounds?

BEV I qualified as a registered general nurse in 1989 and later trained as a registered sick children’s nurse.

Between gaining my degree and my Masters degree I trained as a beauty therapist. Two years ago I decided to expand my skills and train in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures with a view to setting up Smoothlines which I did, along with my husband Ian in February 2007. Most of this training took place in Harley Street.

IAN I qualified as a doctor in 1973 and initially went into adult medicine after full registration with the GMC. In 1979 I gained membership of the Royal College of Physicians. I took up my consultant post having spent two years in research in 1986 and was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians, London in 1995, and to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 1997.

Why do clients come to you?

We’re passionate about what we do and talk with clients to find out their aims and to set realistic goals. We’re open and honest and will let a client know if we think they don’t need a treatment there’s no pressure. Offering a complimentary, no obligation consultation, we advise clients to take time to think about things if they’re not sure, whilst providing them with any information they require. It’s important that the client makes an informed decision to suit them, as timing and readiness to have a procedure is essential. ❧ 41 ❧

We ensure all of our clients are offered complimentary follow up appointments after a procedure. They are also provided with our contact number in case they have any concerns, worries or questions.

What services do you offer?

We offer a range of services that aim to counteract the signs of ageing including anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers (hyaluronic acid) and collagen fillers (Evolence) to smooth lines and folds and Sculptra to stimulate the build up of the body’s own collagen to smooth out lines and wrinkles, adding volume to the face this is our most popular treatment.

We also offer facial rejuvenation using chemical peels - we use glycolic peels and TCA peels and prescribed skin care packages for the treatment of acne, dry, sun-damaged and sensitive skin and anti-ageing.

What skincare range do you offer?

We essentially use two ranges of prescribed skin care. These are Skin Tech and Neostrata. Both skin care ranges are designed to treat a range of cosmetic skin care problems including acne, pigmentation, ageing, dry and sensitive skin.

Smoothlines 07724 661406 info@smooth-lines.co.uk www.smooth-lines.co.uk

Hello and welcome to the first of a series of regular features on gardening and all things horticultural in the Vale.

VALE GARDENS Let me start by introducing myself.

My name is Bob Priddle. Born in Dinas Powis, I have spent most of my life living and working within the Vale of Glamorgan and the majority of it connected in some way with horticulture.

My current role is that of senior lecturer in horticulture for Neath Port Talbot College based at Twyn yr Hydd House in Margam. As well as bringing you tips and advice on what to sow, prune or plant, I hope to give these features very much a Vale of Glamorgan based flavour by looking at some of the great gardens and gardeners who work either professionally or for pleasure within the county.

So, if you’re the secretary of a gardening society or have a garden that opens either for charity as part of the National Garden Scheme or for any other organisation please let me know.

If it’s connected with gardening and in the Vale of Glamorgan it would be great to hear from you.

At this time of year your hanging baskets and tubs are probably just past their best. Plants, like many other living things, use a great deal of energy as part of the reproductive process. After flowering a plant’s natural life cycle means that it will go on to make seeds thereby using a great deal of energy.

By regular ‘dead-heading’ i.e removing the spent flower heads from the main plant, you will divert much of this precious energy back towards helping the plant make new flowers and give your containers a second flush of flowers.

Plants that live in confined spaces, such as baskets and containers, are also prone to looking a bit tired due to lack of nutrients. A liquid fertiliser high in potash, such as tomato feed, should help promote continued flowering.

It’s worth noting at this point that a lot of plants used in pots and troughs are tender and will not go through the winter unless, of course, you can provide them with protection.

A popular choice for both gardens and containers are Osteospernums. These, together with Pelargoniums are easily propagated by taking cuttings. Choose non-flowering stems or remove any flower buds or visible seed heads.

It’s asking a bit much for your cuttings to produce new root systems and flower at the same time. Use a sharp knife or secateurs and cut off stems two to three inches long and make a cut just below a leaf joint or node. Remove all but three or four leaves and place your cuttings in some good quality compost with a little grit sand or perlite added and place in a three inch pot. Water them sparingly as too much water will cause them to rot off.

It’s often said that good gardening is all about presentation and planning. Well, it’s true that you need to think and act now if you want to enjoy great displays of spring bulbs to cheer up those cold damp days in February. Daffodils and Narcissi are not too fussy and if you follow some simple rules you should be well rewarded for your efforts.

First, always buy top quality and good sized bulbs. Yes, size does matter!

Plant bulbs at a depth that is approximately two and a half times the height of your bulb. Bulbs do not like standing in water so try and spread a layer of lime-free horticultural grit sand in the base. This should prevent them from rotting off. Avoid planting in single or straight lines – it just never looks natural. Avoid mixed bags of daffodils. You may end up with a very patchy flowering pattern. You’re better off buying small quantities of individual varieties and planting them near each other. Combine bulbs with some of the popular biennials - Red Riding Hood tulips together with Forget-Me-Nots make a stunning display. ❧ 42 ❧

Did you know that the Vale of Glamorgan is now the centre for daffodil growing in Wales, due to the excellent work of the good people at Really Welsh?

They specialise in supplying numerous companies such as Waitrose with pure yellow Daffodils. So, if you ever see any orange, or even a hint of it, in any other Daffodil, you know that it’s not Really Welsh.

They have 100 acres of shiny yellow Really Welsh Daffodils popping up from January right through until the end of Spring. And to save you doing the maths, that works out at about one million bunches each year brightening up people’s lives.

The company has 27 varieties of Daffodils, including the variety Cardiff.

You can find out more by contacting them at www.reallywelsh.com Continuing the Welsh theme, there are also Daffodils called Katherine Jenkins and Welsh Rugby Union and these are available from R A Scamp who are based in Cornwall. You can find them online at www.qualitydaffodils.co.uk

Gardens open to the public as part of the National Gardens Scheme Sunday 24th August Bordervale Plants Ystradowen nr Cowbridge Mature woodland, stream and bog gardens.

Please check the NGS website www.ngs.org.uk for further details

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This issue we bring you a range of competitions with something to suit everyone!

COMPETITION WINNERS

VALE LIFE

WIN! WIN! A tailor made facial at Ener-chi Penarth or Radyr

A voucher worth £100 to treat yourself at Hamptons

Here’s a fantastic opportunity to win a skincare assessment and signature facial tailored to your needs from Ener-chi in Penarth or Radyr.

This prize is worth over £50.

Hamptons of Penarth is a haven for lovers of quality homeware and furniture. Owners Andy and Peter have a true flair for finding interesting and individual pieces for the home or garden.

Shame I can’t enter this one!

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the question in the box below and either post your entry to: Ener-chi Competition, Vale Life, Cardiff House, Cardiff Road, Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW. Or email your answer and contact details to jennifer@valelife.co.uk.

Please type Ener-chi as the title for your email.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the question in the box below and either post your entry to: Hamptons Competition, Vale Life, Cardiff House, Cardiff Road, Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW. Or email your answer and contact details to jennifer@valelife.co.uk.

Please type Hamptons as the title for your email.

SPRING❧SUMMER 2008 £1.95

P R O U D

T H E VA L E

OF

T O

B E

I N D E P E N D E N T

G L A M O R G A N ’S P R E M I E R L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E

VALE ROCKS! WE TALK TO J ANE

HUTT

AND

DEREK BROCKWAY

FASHION , FOOD , TRAVEL AND INTERIORS

RESTAURANT REVIEWS, WHAT’S ON, BUSINESS, SHOPPING

PLUS A RT , B OOKS , S TYLE , HEALTH, HOMES AND MUCH MORE

SUE BROWN & SUZANNE JAYA V I V E D WA R D S Barry KATE BARNARD PHOTOGRAPHY C L A I R E S WA L L O W Ewenny SPACE STUDIOS LY N DA D U D DY Cardiff LOGO COMPETITION CHRIS’S Radyr

All competition entries must be received by October 1st 2008.

Winners will be notified within 14 days and prize must be taken

by December 1st 2008.

Go for it!

You’ve got to be in it, to win it!

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Come on Vale Life readers.

You have every chance of winning one of these fantastic prizes just like the lucky winners above.

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GAIL FOLEY E I R LY S DAV I E S Penylan

Q

Where are Ener-chi’s salons located?

Q

Who are the owners of Hamptons?

Answer

Answer

Name Address

Name Address

Postcode Phone Email

Postcode Phone Email

If you do not wish to receive details of products and services from Vale Life or other companies, please tick the box provided.

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If you do not wish to receive details of products and services from Vale Life or other companies, please tick the box provided.

WIN! WIN! WIN! A table for 4 at The Copthorne worth £110

A website and one year’s hosting worth £1,000

A new logo for your business worth £500

The Copthorne Hotel Cardiff is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a table for four to enjoy a stunning performance at the hotel’s Dining Theatre.

Commedia is a dynamic, creative multimedia company based in the Vale of Glamorgan. The company is offering one lucky winner a website and a year’s free hosting worth £1,000.

If your company logo is looking a bit tired, then here’s your chance to give it a much needed makeover.

The lucky winner can enjoy a performance from Wednesday to Sunday. The offer includes the experience of either a Broadway or West End style live musical theatre performance, combined with a sumptuous 3 course set dinner (lunch on Sundays). The shows change weekly but the winner can take their pick from Magic of Mowtown Show, Rock Your Soul to Broadway, Lights Camera Action or Romance at the Crazy Horse Saloon.

More information on the Copthorne Hotel Dining Theatre experience is available on page 19.

This is your opportunity to have your existing website redesigned or if perhaps you are a business that has not yet dipped its toe into the internet, this could be the ideal prize for you.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the question in the box below and either post your entry to: Website Competition, Vale Life, Cardiff House, Cardiff Road, Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW. Or email your answer and contact details to jennifer@valelife.co.uk.

Please type Website as the title for your email.

Below are some examples of Commedia’s logo design and branding work.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the question in the box below and either post your entry to: Commedia Competition, Vale Life, Cardiff House, Cardiff Road, Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW. Or email your answer and contact details to jennifer@valelife.co.uk.

Please type Commedia as the title for your email.

This prize is valid until 23rd November 2008 and is subject to availability at time of booking. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offers/promotions.

The Copthorne Hotel is just 5 minutes from M4 Jct. 33 and Cardiff Bay and has FREE PARKING

T HE COMMUNITY F OUNDATION IN WALES Y SEFYDLIAD CYMUNEDOL YNG NGHYMRU

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Q

How often do the shows change?

Q

Where is Commedia based?

Q

Tell us why you need a new logo?

Answer

Answer

Answer

Name Address

Name Address

Name Address

Postcode Phone Email

Postcode Phone Email

Postcode Phone Email

If you do not wish to receive details of products and services from Vale Life or other companies, please tick the box provided.

If you do not wish to receive details of products and services from Vale Life or other companies, please tick the box provided.

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If you do not wish to receive details of products and services from Vale Life or other companies, please tick the box provided.

VALE STYLE

Super seasonal pick me ups and gorgeous interiors P E N A R T H A N D R A DY R

Ener-chi’s tips for a healthy autumn To look good on the outside, you must feel good on the inside. We chatted to Judy Mancuso of Enerchi of Radyr and Penarth to find out what we can do to build up our immune systems to ward off unwelcome autumnal viruses.

Can you tell us how the immune system works?

Bascially the immune system is the body’s defence mechanism. When working well, it constantly protects us from infection, infestation and general invasion by bugs. If our immune system is poor, then we are more prone to pick up colds, coughs and viruses.

What are the causes of an unhealthy immune system?

There are many reasons why our immune system may be compromised.

The good news is that there are lots of things we can do to help ourselves such as eating a nutritious healthy diet, ensuring you get plenty of rest, limiting alcohol intake and refraining from smoking. That said, we all know someone who smokes, drinks excessively and eats all the wrong foods yet looks incredibly healthy. If like me, your system suffers at the slightest overindulgence, you may wish to boost your body’s natural defence mechanism with some of the herbal remedies available at Ener-chi.

What are your top three winter remedies?

ECHINACEA. In tablet or tincture.

This wonder herb helps protect against many winter ailments.

MILK THISTLE. Well known for supporting the liver and helps expel toxins from the body .

RHODIOLA. Natures miracle herb an adaptogen, may help support the adrenal glands, particularly helpful at times of stress or when under pressure.

PONTCANNA

Rachel opens new Hair Studio We were very excited to learn that a new hair salon is opening soon in Pontcanna although not as excited as The Hair Studio’s new owner, Rachel Williams, who can’t wait to open the doors to clients familiar with her work and of course new clients.

Congratulations on your new venture Rachel. When does The Hair Studio open for business?

Thank you. I’m really excited about opening. Hopefully it will be sometime in September.

Why Pontcanna?

When I researched the Cardiff area, Pontcanna with its coffee quarter, boutiques, interiors shops, and up market jewellery shop, it was an obvious place to consider. I will be the only salon on Cathedral Road, so I’m hoping that a customer base will follow, especially with the passing trade.

Will you be having a launch?

A launch will come but we’re waiting for the right time. ❧ 46 ❧

A supporter to the nervous system which helps you cope at difficult times.

Ener-chi stock a full range of herbal remedies including Bio-force, A.vogel, Jan de Vris, Health aid and other leading brands. Their qualified team of therapists are on hand to give you professional advice on their use.

Call in to Ener-chi Radyr or Penarth to see the full range of products or, if you have more time, treat yourself to a revitalising complementary health and beauty treatments to bring peace of mind and body. Their hot stone collagen facial is a blissful treat and at only £30.00 is highly recommended.

Ener-chi 37 Hickman Road, Penarth CF64 2AL 029 2070 7356 also at 57 Heol Isaf, Radyr, Cardiff CF5 8AH 029 2027 4012 www.enerchi4health.com

P O N T YC L U N

Design Inspiration’s made to measure Lack of time? Knowledge?

Confidence? Wendy and Rose are here to offer you a totally free design solution. With over thirty five years of professional experience they will tailor make a design scheme that is unique to you - from one room to a whole hotel, they measure make and fit.

From carpets to soft furnishings, lighting, furniture and wall covering to artwork and accessories, Design Inspiration can transform your ideas into reality, achieving the look you’ve always wanted so that you have time for the more important things.

Call them today for your appointment or visit their showroom for Inspired Designs… tailored for you.

“From carpets to soft furnishings, lighting, furniture and wall covering to artwork and accessories Design Inspiration can transform your ideas into reality.”

Why did you decide to call it The Hair Studio?

The Hair Studio was an obvious title for me, as it’s straight to the point and also ties in quite nicely with the other family business a few doors down, The Jewellery Studio.

Where did you acquire your skills?

At the age of 15, I went to work for The Hair Business in Cowbridge.

I was one of their top stylists, learning everything there that I know today.

The training I received there taught me the cutting, colouring and hair up skills.

In later years, I was responsible for training the younger recruits. I involve myself in all aspects of hairdressing.

I’ve gained a reputation for my cutting skills and my ability to do hair extensions. I also get a lot of satisfaction for creating hair up styles for events such as weddings.

Which products will you be using?

La Biosthetique is the product line I’ve found. It’s based on the individual condition of your scalp, as well as on the development phases of your hair.

It strengthens and supports the hair’s natural lifecycle, ideally balances out nutritional deficits in the hair roots and thus results in full, healthy and shiny hair. I’m very excited about it as I will be the first one in Cardiff to have it and I believe it’s the most up to date range available. It supports what I believe in, which is strong, healthy hair and that’s why I will be also offering hair and scalp treatments to give customers problem solvers to great homecare for use in between visits.

Will it be a female only salon?

No, I will be open to women, men and children. I’m equally as enthusiastic with men’s hair and I’m always willing to cut children’s hair. ❧ 47 ❧

Design Inspiration 77 Llantrisant Road Pontyclun CF72 9DP 01443 449955 info@designinspirationltd.co.uk www.designinspirationltd.co.uk

Will you be working alone or will you have staff?

Initially I will be working alone, but I look forward to finding the right staff to join me. I want to start small and grow steadily. I love what I do and I would want my staff to feel the same!

The Hair Studio Pontcanna, Cardiff 07896 562874 rachel@the-hairstudio.co.uk www.the-hairstudio.co.uk

Giorgio’s stocks a superb range of Masonic gifts ❧ 48 ❧

The era of the ripped jeans and scruffy t-shirt is dead. Welcome to the new dawn of the sharp dressed, sophisticated male.

With more quality designer names than you can shake the sharpest of sticks at, Giorgio’s, on High Street in Barry is the new shrine for the modern man looking to turn on the style.

Vale Life took time out to speak with owner, George Watters about his passion for Italian fashion and the ethos behind his new venture, Giorgio’s.

“Men now want to look smart and there’s no better way to achieve this than with a really good quality suit.”

Why have you opened Giorgio’s?

I believe that there is nowhere else in Barry or, indeed, the Vale of Glamorgan where you can buy the kind of quality Italian tailoring that we offer at Giorgio’s.

What brands will you stock?

At the moment I stock Hagga, Gabicci, Jupiter, Scott Suits, City Survival Suits and Paolo Vandini shoes. Quite soon I will be adding to this collection with Hackett, Ralph Lauren, Duck and Cover and Gio Gio.

George Watters

How do you source your brands?

I have travelled extensively over the years and have a particular love of Italian clothing.

Who will your customers be?

Style conscious men of all ages, both local and from further afield. We’re not aiming to be a niche market but to provide high quality fashion and to be accessible to all ages.

What do you think are the musthave items for the season?

Definitely a good quality suit. The age of the ripped jeans and scruffy t-shirt is dead, thankfully. Men now want to look smart and there’s no better way to achieve this than with a good quality suit. That’s not to say it can’t be dressed down. A good look is also a suit jacket worn with a casual plain top and smart/casual leather loafers.

Will you be offering anything else?

We are working with a company in Broad Street who can make alterations very quickly so we can offer all of our customers tailoring if required.

Giorgio’s Designer Menswear 16 High Street , Barry Vale of Glamorgan 01446 740990

“Giorgio’s has a fantastic range of suits, casual wear, leather jackets and briefcases. There is also a superb range of gifts for all ages and for every occasion.” ❧ 49 ❧

Take a trip to the popular Vale market town of Cowbridge, with its plethora of boutiques, antique shops and quality jewellers and it won’t be long before you happen upon the small but perfectly formed bridalwear boutique...

HIGH SOCIETY

“High Society go to great lengths to provide the customer with the time and honest advice that they deserve.”

Filled with the most wonderful selection of bridal gowns by the very best of British designers, it is clear that High Society owners, Awen and Emma, have a passion for beautiful gowns.

They opened High Society after realising that there was an extremely limited range of designer wedding gowns available in Wales. Now they can lay claim to stocking gowns from designers such as Suzanne Neville, Jenny Packham and Sassi Holford – big names usually found only in London.

As soon as you walk in, calm descends and the friendly and experienced staff are on hand to put you at ease. They appreciate that this purchase is one of the most important any woman is likely to make and go to great lengths to provide the customer with the time and honest advice that they deserve.

Realising that the mother of the bride and groom and other female guests will also want to look equally stylish, they introduced High Society Occasions, an intimate attic boutique, filled with the most wonderful selection of evening and occasion wear from internationally acclaimed designers such as Maria Coca, Paule Vasseur, Linea Raffaeli and Ispirato.

Also available is a beautiful range of evening wear from Suzanne Neville Niche and Jenny Packham.

Suzanne Neville’s gowns create the most flattering shape for any woman and are frequently commissioned by celebrities in film, TV and the media.

Jenny Packham was voted Best British Bridal Designer 2008 at the Bridal Buyer Awards and her design house is world renowned. Her gowns have graced celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Keira Knightley, Nelly Furtado, Eva Longoria, Sarah Jessica Parker and Beyonce.

Jenny Packham

Next door to High Society is Havana which caters for women looking for affordable but high quality everyday wear. The same quality service is available here with expert advice given on outfits to suit every occasion with labels such as Inwear, Fenn Wright Mason, Sticky Fingers and Avoca.

Awen and Emma’s latest acquisition is Becki’s, situated towards the upper end of the High Street. Becki’s has a loyal and fashion driven clientele and Awen and Emma will continue to offer the quality labels such as Basler, Lucia, Fuchs Schmitt, Marcona and Delmod that customers have come to love but will also be adding their own élan.

High Society 85 Eastgate, Cowbridge CF71 7AA 01446 771775 (by appointment only) www.highsocietybridal.co.uk High Society Occasions Upper floor, 85 Eastgate, Cowbridge 01446 771775 (appointment recommended) Havana 87 Eastgate, Cowbridge CF71 7AA 01446 774807 Becki’s 79 High Street, Cowbridge CF71 7AF 01446 774591 Please telephone for opening hours

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The Suzanne Neville Group is delighted that High Society Bridal wear have joined our exclusive network of top UK stockists.

Suzanne Neville is the number one couture wedding dress designer in the UK, with a range of stunning head turning gowns which are just at home on the red carpet as in a beautiful country church. Our ethos is to design the most beautiful dresses, where every last detail is perfect; all our gowns are created in our London studios, therefore keeping the tradition of English tailoring alive.

Suzanne Neville comments, “High Society has been carefully selected as a Suzanne Neville stockist due to their passion for the bridal business. This combined with their commitment not just to sell any dress but the perfect dress for each unique bride.”

The Vale Life team were very pleased to be able to work again with the creative team at Fich and Ramous to help us create our front cover and inside features.

We gave them a tough brief, exquisite gowns, beautiful young models, a working farm, chickens not the norm, but as usual they rose to the occassion and came up trumps. We caught up with the team to find out how they thought the day went.

Lance, how did the day go?

We were presented with an unusual brief, to create hair styles to compliment classic, elegant evening wear juxtaposed with a retro, agricultural genre. The creative juices were gushing as we brainstormed possible storyboards for such a scenario! ‘The morning after the night before,’ ‘Debutant meets boy,’ ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ and so on.

With some tweaking and teasing here and there we were all thrilled by the finished results. Graduate stylist Claire Bunton, or Bunty as she’s more commonly known, was responsible for the styling of the models in evening gowns.

Before embarking on her career as a hairdresser, Bunty graduated from Liverpool University with a degree in music and is a singer/songwriter and music producer in her spare time!

Bunty is very clever at using hair as a medium for expressing her creativity and in addition to fab cutting and colouring, Bunty will create an unique and imaginative hair up for all occasions, whether it’s a classic finish or funky rolls, braids or dreads

Bunty, how did you manage to create such stunning styles?

To ensure that the hair styles weren’t lost in the background of hay and straw, we created masses of volume prior to styling, by crimping the hair then lightly smoothing the surface using a soft brush and with a certain amount of back combing and lots of spray the styles were pinned in place.

As a finishing touch styling irons were used to create curls.

Stylist, Shelley John as well as working flat out on the girls also got to grips with the Young Farmers.

Shelley, how was it working with the Young Farmers?

As well as creating the looks for the girls I took charge of the Young Farmers, ensuring that their hair styles were tended to, and after a certain amount of gels, waxes and sprays the Young Farmers became fitting escorts for their elegant companions.

BEING FICH ❧ 54 ❧

“The creative juices were gushing as we brainstormed possible storyboards for such a scenario!

‘The morning after the night before,’ ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ and so on.”

Fich and Ramous 10a High Street Cowbridge CF71 7AG (rear of Beauty Within Day Spa) 01446 775522 www.fichandramous.com

Last, but by no means least, was Salon Owner and Style Director Lance PryorCollins. Lance had the most challenging hairstyle of the day to master, that of the model bride. Lance is a formidable name in the world of hairdressing and has owned salons in the South Wales area for the last three decades.

A former winner of many prestigious awards such as the L’Oreal Colour Trophy, the Clynol Award, the Wella Award and three times Welsh Champion, Lance is renowned for his

&

trend setting cutting and creative colouring. During his time in the industry, he has trained some of Wales’ top hairdressers and salon owners.

Lance, that was a masterpiece of creativity. Where did that come from?

Creating a curly, retro look for the bride in short, layered hair was a huge challenge and I had to dig deep into my creative past to rise to this challenge! I used a hairdryer and comb only, to create an old fashioned ‘blow wave’ in

the front, made popular by the barbers of the 50’s and 60’s. The main body of the curls was achieved using a small styling iron. The finished result, along with Amanda’s stunning make up, made a perfect complimentary look for the exquisite bridal dress on the front cover.

“Lance is renowned for his trend setting cutting and creative colouring.”

RAMOUS... ❧ 55 ❧

So there we all were, summer ball gowns, fantastic bags and shoes, a beautiful bride and models - a typical July day in the Vale of Glamorgan and yes, of course, it was raining.

LIFE COVER We had high hopes for the photoshoot for this issue of Vale Life magazine which proved to be a real challenge to all our skills and combined experience.

My name is Amanda and I’m a self employed professional beauty therapist. My salon, The Beauty Spot is located within The Business Centre off Cardiff Road in Barry.

It seemed a great idea at the time, when Jennifer, Mark and I cooked up our ‘bride on the farm’ idea a couple of months ago in the midst of the June heatwave. It was brilliant that the High Society girls were up for it, although their taste for adventure stood a real test as the models strode out into the afternoon rain through the farmyard in their designer dresses.

I’m extremely passionate about my work and I am rewarded by the positive impact my treatments have on my clients, both mentally and physically.

We used lots of dustsheets (only the best) and the freshest hay bales and warned the chickens to be on their best behaviour! The success of the shoot was mainly down to the great welcome and assistance from the team at Amelia Farm Trust. We couldn’t have asked for more helpful and co-operative people.

One little boy in the watching crowd did think we were filming an episode of Dr Who, (obviously the one where the Young Farmers defeat the Daleks with just their pitchforks!). However, the shootout was not between the brave young farmers and Davros, it was the combined talents of the assembled creative crew that won the day.

At The Beauty Spot, we offer a comprehensive range of treatments and stock a range of medically approved products by MD Formulations. The ID Bare-Essentials make up range is particularly popular with clients, celebrities and make up artists around the world... I love it’s versatility.

We achieve natural looks for brides and it’s durability means it’s suitable for television and flawless enough for photography and competition work.

Make up has always been a favourite area of my work so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to work on the Vale Life photoshoot. Having my make up photographed for a magazine front cover has been a life long ambition.

I was very excited, although a little nervous knowing that it would have to be perfect, but I gladly accepted.

Contact Martin Phillips for photography to match any challenge!

Commercial, Portrait and Wedding photography by Martin Phillips DipAD AMPA ABIPP.

Martin Phillips Photography studioredkite, 32 New Road Station Hill Porthcawl CF36 5DN 01656 771525 martin@studioredkite.com www.studioredkite.com

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Having been involved with many creative looks, this day was truly a highlight in my career. I loved working with a professional and energised team and had the privilege of working along side Lance of Fich and Ramous hair salon, whom I must say was highly entertaining and fabulously creative.

We worked hard to produce a 1950’s Hollywood Marilyn Monroe meets Gwen Stefani styled look, for our stunning cover girl and with Martin’s expert eye, I think we nailed it! The inside spread was fun too, we had fantastic models in High Society’s glamorous gowns, so decided to team an edgier ‘morning after the night before’ hair with appropriate makeup.

The experience of the day has given me the confidence to be more creative and experimental in this field and I am now looking forward to any future opportunities to work again with a great team of professionals.

Thank you Vale Life magazine.

The Beauty Spot The Business Centre, Cardiff House Cardiff Road CF63 2AW 01446 731230

Our beautiful tractor was supplied by Rhodri Jones of Sharp Edges Ltd. Sharp Edges specialises in tree and hedge surgery and are experts in Leylandii. The company is fully insured and Pershore educated. They also undertake tree reports. They work throughout south Wales and can be contacted on 01446 771212 (24 hr call out) or by mobile 07703 167287 or by email at rhodri@sharpedges.freeserve.co.uk.

Vale Life would like to thank Esther at Jon Ian for the fabulous bags and shoes and assistance in sourcing our fantastic models.

Special thanks go to members of Wick Young Farmers Club and our beautiful models Heather, Lydia, Hannah, Naomi and Angharad for being unbelievably patient and totally professional.

Last, but not least, thanks to Natalie Morgan, a travel consultant for Superior Travel of Rhoose for the use of her perfect legs!

The location for our cover shoot, Amelia Trust Farm offers animals great and small, play areas and nature walks, all for free!

AMELIA TRUST Set on a 160 acre lowland site in the middle of the Vale, The Amelia Trust is a working farm with a variety of livestock that gives free access to anyone who wishes to enjoy the tranquility of the countryside.

Whilst their main work focuses on young people with disaffection, emotional and/or behavioral difficulties, the general public can, without charge, visit daily to freely explore the countryside and all that it has to offer.

Visitors are welcome to explore the farm and surrounding play areas and nature walks, with the possibility of pre-booking barbeque sites or hiring the use of other facilities. There is even a a self-catering hostel for those who wish to make a longer stay!

Believing in the human spirit The Amelia Trust know that with support, care and respect, individuals can experience positive changes in their lives. The small team at the Trust provides that support and is the backbone to the whole project.

All these facilities and more are used on a daily basis by disaffected young people and adults with learning difficulties, who travel from across south Wales to train, to experience and to share positive changes in their lives.

New developments for the Trust include the prospect of further buildings, business plans and partnerships. In order to secure what they have and continue to build on their success they need to ensure continued support.

Set in a tranquil, rural setting open all to enjoy, The Amelia Trust provides valuable educational training and recreational facilities specifically to young people who would be otherwise denied access to them.

If you feel that you would you like to become a part of Amelia’s future please contact them by phone on 01446 782030 or visit their website at www.ameliatrust.org.uk

The Amelia Trust Farm has lots of friendly animals, big and small. By adopting one of their animals for a year, you will be helping toward the running costs.

The adoption fee varies according to the size of the animal. For the fee you will receive a fact sheet about the animal, an adoption certificate and a twice yearly newsletter.

Small Animals (£10) Cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, degus chipmunks, ducks and chickens.

Medium Animals (£20) Sheep, goats, pigs, geese and turkeys.

Large Animals (£30) Horses, cows or calves and donkeys.

Events at The Amelia Trust Farm Harvest Festival 13th and14th September 2008

Harvest Service 3pm Sunday. Crafts, refreshments, donkey rides, bouncy castle, games, face painting, clowns.

Vale Life were delighted to be able to utilise the barn at Amelia Trust for its cover shot and features. The help we received from staff was incredible which helped the long day go smoothly.

Even the chickens were well behaved!

The Amelia Trust Farm, Whitton Rosser, Five Mile Lane Llancarfan, Barry Vale of Glamorgan CF62 3AS (A4226 Five Mile Lane) between Barry & Bonvilston 01446 782030 general@ameliatrust.org.uk www.ameliatrust.org.uk

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THE ART CAFÉ Are you and your family feeling creatively inspired and need somewhere to vent that creativity this summer?

If the answer is yes then look no further than The ART Café on New Road in Porthcawl where you’ll find a host of artistic activities to fill the day.

Customers leave with a ticket. Not a ‘Golden Ticket’ but a white one, to come back the following week to collect their own unique piece of glazed pottery.

The ART Café is all about enjoyment and relaxation. It is both a café and a place to paint pottery, this may well be something you have never even imagined doing, but is quite addictive once tried!

Items range from £3 tiles to larger items such as platters and vases. You can choose from a huge range of animals, characters, money boxes as well as table ware. During the school holidays, The ART Café also has pottery making workshops, themed weeks and painting competitions with prizes for different age groups.

Customers range from babies (footprints) to grandparents. Stencils, sponges and books full of useful tips and techniques to get you started are available with staff always happy to help. The ART Café can even paint gifts to order, but REALLY the fun is in doing it yourself.

Everything is provided, from paints to aprons, great coffee to help the creative juices flow and they even do the tidying up at the end. Pottery painting is a great activity for children's birthday parties and they can also cater for fun adult evenings too.

You can expect great home-made food here. Fair Trade coffee, vegetarian soups, salad bowls with roasted vegetables and couscous, paninis and wraps, toddlers treats and delicious home-made cakes.

If you still don’t get what pottery painting is all about, check out their website at www.artcafe.biz to see plenty of pictures of happy customers’ creations, then go along and give it a try. You’ll be glad you did!

“The ART Café is all about enjoyment and relaxation.

It is both a café and a place to paint pottery.”

“You can expect great home-made food here.

Fair Trade coffee, vegetarian soups, salad bowls with roasted vegetables and couscous, paninis and wraps, toddler treats and delicious home-made cakes.” ❧ 59 ❧

The ART Café 32 New Road, Station Hill, Porthcawl 01656 786735 www.artcafe.biz

Cork is Ireland’s second largest city and fiercely proud locals like to claim it is the ‘real’ capital of Ireland.

POP TO CORK Set on an island in the River Lee, Cork’s streets expand up the river banks on either side to the ornate French gothic spires of St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral and the soaring tower of St. Anne’s where you can ring the famous Shandon Bells.

The city itself has a long and fascinating history, and many fine buildings line its streets from the imposing City Hall to its poignant 19th Century City Gaol.

To say Cork is a pretty city wouldn’t be accurate but it does have plenty of character. The city is currently receiving a makeover, with busy cranes dotted around – a good sign when you consider there’s supposed to be a global slowdown. The streets are definitely in need of investment but already Cork has a good selection of small boutiques, gourmet food shops, top-notch restaurants and the obligatory pubs and clubs. Cork is changing for the better - you can feel the promise in the air.

The gateway to southern Ireland Cork is the perfect place from which to explore southern Ireland. There are regular flights from Cardiff International Airport and a ferry crossing from west Wales if you’re a nervous flyer or just fancy taking the car or bike.

“The phrase, ‘The jewel in the crown’ really is well deserved for this beautiful hotel.”

Where we stayed Just fifteen minutes from Cork International Airport and five minutes from the city centre is Hayfield Manor, Cork’s first five star hotel. The popular description, ‘the jewel in the crown’ really is well deserved for this beautiful hotel. Set back from College Road, a few minutes from the campus, owners Joe and Margaret Scally have restored the Victorian house with meticulous care and attention.

The building’s incarnation as a hotel is relatively recent. The owner’s daughter, Anne-Marie, designed the interior in grand old country house style, no doubt influenced by the numerous Anglo-Irish mansions across the county, and has included some surprisingly modern and luxurious features. Each one of the 88 rooms is different. Antique furniture and artefacts acquired from various manor houses around Cork have been incorporated into large bedrooms with spacious marble bathrooms.

Our visit We arrived very late (10.30pm is late for me) on our first night’s stay but were greeted with genuine warmth by the staff. We were shown to our room by a lovely young man who enthused about the ethos behind the hotel. It wasn’t just the lovely lilt of his accent that made us believe his patter, the hotel really is gorgeous. We found this attitude permeated through all the staff, including those who weren’t native to Cork or the UK for that matter. Our room was huge, spotlessly clean and exuded class. There was everything we needed and more. Mr. Roberts particularly appreciated the complimentary hand made chocolates, whilst I, even at that late hour (it was 11pm by this time), couldn’t resist a glass of the complimentary house wine.

After we’d oh’d and ah’d at our room and en-suite bathroom, we decided on a nightcap. We had read in the fact sheet that there was a bar and headed downstairs to sample its delights. This was not the hotel bar that we’ve come to expect. You may know the type... four bar stools, and as many optics. ❧ 60 ❧

This was like walking into a trendy city bar on a Friday or Saturday night, fully staffed, fully loaded and packed to the rafters. A couple of cocktails later we felt completely de-stressed and made our way to our room. No sooner than our heads hit our pillows, we were fast asleep in a wonderfully comfortable bed.

The following morning, we made our way to breakfast in a room overlooking pretty gardens. I must say that I’ve never seen such a fully laden table of meats, cheeses, cereals, fruit and pastries in my life. That was before the full Irish. Once again the staff were attentive and friendly.

After the magnificent breakfast we made our way to reception to get information on places of interest. This is when we met Bart. What a character!

There wasn’t much about Cork this man didn’t know. He even threw in a couple of ditties to send us on our way.

We then decided to pay Kinsale a visit.

Known as the gastronomic capital of Ireland, this harbour town has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Cork. It’s famed for its abundance of award-winning restaurants and stunning harbour views.

We dined at the very popular Fishy Fishy restaurant on the harbour front and enjoyed seafood at its best.

A leisurely couple of hours later we hopped on the local bus back to the city for a spot of shopping before making our way to Hayfield Manor.

The sea air had given us quite an appetite so we changed for the evening and made our way down to the bar for aperitifs.

We had booked a table at one of the Manor’s restaurants, Perrotts, the hotel’s exciting new contemporary styled bistro. Perrotts is very popular with the locals and we could see why as the food and service were impeccable. The Manor also has a more formal dining room, Orchids.

Had our stay been longer, we would have very much liked to give it a try.

After a very impressive meal, we made our way back to the bar for a nightcap before retiring to our room for another night of restful sleep. On our last day, we decided to pay the relaxation suite a visit. After a dip in the indoor heated pool, we chatted happily to fellow guests in the steam room and continued the conversation in the outdoor Jacuzzi.

Hayfield Manor also benefits from The Beautique, beautifully designed by daughter Anne Marie, which has nine superb treatment rooms offering guests Elemis spa therapies.

Unfortunately, our time was up and we were truly sad to be leaving this little haven of tranquility. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and were impressed to hear that previous guests included such luminaries as Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sir Henry Kissinger, the King of Malaysia, the Prime Minister of Canada, Bono and family, Pierce Brosnan and family… the list goes on! We loved southern Ireland and will certainly return to explore as a family in the not too distant future.

For information on Cork, please visit Fáilte Ireland South West Region at www.discoverireland.ie/southwest For information on flights to Cork, please visit www.cwlfly.com Places to visit in and around Cork ■ THE ENGLISH MARKET We went, we saw, we shopped ■ MIDLETON DISTILLERY Distils Jameson, Bushmills, Paddy, Midleton Rare ■ KINSALE Gourmet Capital of Ireland ■ BLARNEY CASTLE AND STONE Kiss it and get the gift of the gab!

■ COBH HERITAGE CENTRE ■ LEWIS GLUCKSMAN GALLERY One of Ireland’s foremost art galleries ■ CORK INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL Catch this in October ■ CORK WEEK Biannual international sailing festival ■ CORK CITY GAOL ■ SHANDON TOWER ■ MILLSTREET COUNTRY PARK ■ DONERAILE WILDLIFE PARK ■ GOLF Plenty of challenging courses ❧ 61 ❧

Hayfield Manor Perrott Avenue, College Road Cork, Ireland +353 21 4845900 enquiries@hayfieldmanor.ie www.hayfieldmanor.ie

H AMPTONS A DAY IN THE LIFE

It’s Friday at Hamptons of Penarth one of the busiest days of the week.

We go behind the scenes at one of Wales’ leading independent home and interiors stores to find out what makes this much admired business such a great success. ❧ 62 ❧

7:30am

8:00am

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Amy arrives in the kitchen at Hamptons to begin the preparation for the day’s menu and Richard will join her later.

Today is particularly busy as this evening sees one of Hamptons’ regular music events which is also being repeated on Saturday evening.

Andy and Peter meet with their architect, Bernard to discuss the plans for the new extension. The store isn’t open yet at this time, and therefore it’s quiet which makes the walk around on site a lot easier.

The plans are due to be submitted for planning consent so everyone involved with the project need to agree that there are no outstanding amendments or other concerns.

This means there will be a staff change over and a complete menu change with the second shift working until 11.30pm. ❧ 63 ❧

8:30am

Sue, the Café Manager at Hamptons calls to talk through the plans for this evening’s event. The theme is ‘Movies and Musicals’ and she is delighted to announce that both days are sold out.

There is a slight problem in as much as she has had a call from a regular customer who had promised to bring his wife for her birthday but forgotten to book.

Peter says they will ring around to check that those who have booked are coming. Barbara, who runs front of house in the café says that she will handle the calling once she has set the café for breakfast. Sue will be in later with the shopping ready for the evening shift.

8:45am

More staff arrive and the morning checks begin; “light bulbs and loo rolls,” as Andy and Peter call it! It takes from now until the store opens at 9am to switch on all of the lamps and display lighting, uncover candles, choose the days music, warm up the coffee machine and generally get the store ready to face its demanding public.

Barbara has been joined in the café by Dave and Andrew who are setting tables for breakfast and Richard is in the kitchen with Amy tackling the daily salad mountain. Merida who runs the office arrives with the day’s post and Roxy, Andy and Peter’s Westie who spends her day at the store is eagerly awaiting the treat that she knows Merida will have in her pocket.

The café staff change the colour of their Hawaiian shirts every day alternating red and blue although occasionally someone will forget and arrive in the wrong colour - much to the amusement of their colleagues.

Today Dave arrives in the wrong colour – hilarity all round.

They hope they have made a good choice as the designs are fairly unique.

A new collection of home fragrance products is also expected from the Lake District. Everyone agrees that both will probably arrive at the same time and block the traffic in Ludlow Lane!

The doors open and the music kicks in.

The style of music varies during the day, always starting with something fairly upbeat. By mid afternoon the feel in the store a little more relaxed and so the music changes accordingly. The smell of baking is now wafting out across the café and tempting in early diners. The early arrivers are already seated in the café - business meetings and mums glad to have offloaded their offspring at school and welcoming the chance for some girly chat.

In the design studio, Andy and Peter meet with the retail team, Anna, Lynne and Kerry. There are some deliveries booked in today from a new supplier cushions and rugs which were ordered at a trade show several months ago.

Anna is struggling to complete her display of cushions as they are proving to be a big hit with the customers and as fast as she puts them out people are buying them. She thinks that they will need to be re-ordered almost immediately.

10:15am

The reps from Content by Conran arrive early so Andy sends them off to the café for breakfast and will join them later to discuss the performance of their furniture collection as Hamptons is the only supplier in Wales.

Just as suspected, the two deliveries arrive at the same time and yes, it’s raining. The pavement is now blocked with two pallets towering rather precariously, its all hands on deck to get them in and unloaded.

The cushions are fantastic and as Lynne is unpacking them someone buys two, a very good start. The candles are also great and have a display unit that will need assembling when the store is shut.

10:30am

9:00am

11:30am

A photographer arrives to photograph the Conran collection for a newspaper feature about latest furniture trends in Wales. They want some good images of furniture in the store. He is left to his own devices as everyone is still carrying boxes of candles and cushions to the stockroom and Andy is heading off to the café to meet with the Conran reps.

11:00am

Barbara calls down from the café to say that she has saved the day. A cancellation for the evening event means that the man who forgot to book can now come. He’s understandably thrilled and promises to scatter rose petals at Barbara’s feet when he sees her. Barbara is from Poland and wonders if this is a strange Welsh custom… everyone say yes! ❧ 64 ❧

12:00 noon

The early lunchers are in and the café is fairly full. Hamptons now has so many regulars that Andy and Peter say it feels like having the family over for lunch.

The wonderful thing about Hamptons is that it was originally built as a meeting hall and now after many different identities it feels as if it’s once more a great place to meet. Many regulars have made friends with other regulars – Andy and Peter are waiting for the first Hamptons engagement.

Hamptons is a popular choice for mums with babies and the staff have followed many mums from pregnancy through to the baby’s first visit to the store – the youngest, Alexander was only a day old on his first visit. One of Sue’s specials this week – Thai Salmon Skewers with sweet chilli sauce is doing a storm and the customers think it should become part of the regular menu.

12:30pm

Andy looks through the concept boards for an interior design client who is coming in for a presentation this afternoon. The project had started as one room but the client had loved the initial ideas so much she decided to change the rest of the house too.

“The wonderful thing about Hamptons is that it was originally built as a meeting hall.”

2:00pm

The client arrives and is delighted with the designs. She wants to move the project forward as soon as possible and a trip to London is arranged for further inspiration and to source specific items.

Andy has already been up and done his homework so the trip will not waste the client’s time. It will be a whistlestop tour of the Capital, of course stopping off for lunch at Harvey Nicks.

She now lives in Florida but spends the summer here. She loves the evening atmosphere so was easily persuaded to come back to work. Andy finishes off the decorations for the evening.

Balloons themed in black and gold with matching table centres. Barbara is back and helps finish off the tables with Sue checking that everything is ready before the evening starts.

7:30pm

2:30pm

Another client turns up unexpectedly whilst Andy is still busy so Peter takes them onto the shop floor to confirm fabric choices for their furniture order.

Peter is due on site with a garden project so Merida who runs the office ‘phones ahead to explain to the builders that he will be late.

The interiors clients leaves happy and Peter heads off to check on progress with the garden project. Work is at the stage where Peter is visiting almost daily to ensure that everything is completed in line with the plans.

The first of the guests arrive and the store takes on a different look. Dimmed lighting and candles and a sparkling mirrorball give the store a relaxed evening feel. Peter is working with the girls front of house and Andy is in the kitchen with Sue and Amanda.

8:00pm

The evening kicks off. Clare, as always transformed into a Jazz diva launches into ‘Blue Moon’ and the first course slides effortlessly out of the kitchen.

The staff who have worked the day shift too get their second wind helped along by the lively crowd who are clearly enjoying themselves.

3:00pm

Sue arrives with the shopping for the ‘Movies and Musicals’ dinner. She heads for the café to catch up on the day’s events and prepare a pre-hen night afternoon tea party for 4 o’clock.

4:00pm

The fifteen girls arrive for afternoon tea and are delighted to see that the staff have made a great effort - balloons on the chairs and Champagne ready.

The evening shift arrives and begins to prepare dinner for this evening’s event.

5:00pm

Closing time and as the last of the afternoon tea party head off to Cardiff for the evening, the staff gear up for the evening and tomorrow.

Sue and Amanda don’t need Andy in the kitchen for a while so he slips off to start setting the store for ‘Pirate Day’ which Hamptons are holding as part of the Penarth Summer Festival. He is wrestling up a ladder with pirate bunting, balloons and flags. The lady whose birthday it is has no idea that a cake has been arranged and as Clare sings Happy Birthday the husband who forgot to book gives a big thumbs up to Barbara - the divorce is off!

10:30pm

The event draws to a close and Clare and the boys come back for one more number. The kitchen is already clear and as the band derig Andy and Peter reset the store for tomorrow morning.

11:00pm

The store has to be cleaned and reset after a busy day. The café also has to be cleaned and the tables rearranged and set ready for tonight’s event. Part of the retail area upstairs also has to be cleared for the Graham Watkins Jazz Quartet who are playing tonight.

The daytime staff head for home and the store has a moment of peace until Clare and the boys arrive to begin setting up. Clare is in desert boots, jeans and a baseball cap, the transformation is impressive as she appears in her outfit for the evening.

Peter resets the café for the evening and Barbara who has been in all day goes for a well earned break. Another Sue arrives for the evening shift. ❧ 65 ❧

The café is cleaned again and set for the morning. The staff finally leave and its time for a final check and lock up.

11:30pm

The store is silent but not for long as tomorrow is Saturday, the busiest day of the week! Andy and Peter head for home wondering if Roxy, who was taken home earlier for a walk and her dinner has done the ironing, made dinner and opened the wine - well they can dream cant they?

Hamptons 10 Ludlow Lane, Penarth CF64 1EA 029 2070 5391 www.hamptons-design.co.uk

VALE BUSINESS A round up of business news in the Vale.

VA L E W I D E

PENARTH

A commission fit for a Prince

Vale photographer gathers Momentum

After only two years in the industry, fine furniture designer maker, Giancarlo Bianchi did not expect to be commissioned to design and make a gift for the Prince of Wales.

Momentum has been in the business of food photography for over ten years with clients across Wales and the UK.

He was asked by the Penderyn Whisky distillery to make a solid oak, luxurious dovetailed box to house a special edition of the Penderyn whisky. Prince Charles received the gift from Stephen Davies, managing director of the Welsh Whisky Company in Penderyn at the ceremony to open the brand new visitors centre at Wales’ only whisky distillery.

Giancarlo mainly works with a range of hardwoods harvested from woodlands certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. He admits he has a soft spot for working with American Black Walnut (a beautifully grained timber with a chocolaty colour) but he has recently undertaken commissions made of oak, elm, macassar ebony and maple.

FONMON

County Marquees has Vale Life covered The Vale Show, which takes place in the grounds of Fonmon Castle near Rhoose on Wednesday 20th August, is a huge event for the Vale of Glamorgan and this year Vale Life will be there too.

The decision to be there was an easy enough one to make. Finding the right company who could provide us with a marquee with the wow factor we were looking for was another matter.

Internet duly googled, I happened upon www.countymarquees.co.uk and thought I'd give them a call. We met with Niki Ardern, Director and Emma Jones, Event Manager at their offices in Chepstow to discuss our needs.

They are studio based but also fully mobile so they can bring their talent and technology to you, allowing you to be at your best, in familiar surroundings.

“While many of my commissions have come from the South Wales area, I am getting more and more commissions from the South East and South West of England. In addition, I am attracting interest from corporate clients including the recent work I undertook for Penderyn Distillery, both with the design of the box for Prince Charles through to some signature pieces for the new visitor centre,” says Giancarlo.

There’s more on Giancarlo and his company Bianchi Fine Furniture on Page 36.

Mike Chapman of Momentum says, “Great food photography has the unique ability to stimulate the senses and tap directly into human desire. to whet the appetite and create anticipation of the moment.”

And the cost? They’re probably more affordable than you’d imagine. With cost effective hourly and full day rates, they can create a perfect package tailored to your budget.

To contact Giancarlo call 01639 850 200 or e-mail enquiries@bianchifinefurniture.co.uk

Momentum Advertising Photography 2 Royal Buildings, Stanwell Road Penarth Tel 029 20 407 276 Mobile 07970 229 630

To see more of his work visit www.bianchifinefurniture.co.uk

mike@momentumphotography.co.uk www.momentumphotography.co.uk

I hadn’t realised that there was so much to consider when hiring a marquee.

We’d already decided on the type of marquee we wanted but Niki and Emma got to work creating a masterpiece of tables, chairs, sexy sofas, linings, a chandelier and even an illuminated bar! Being a family run business, father Warren has certainly taught Niki and the team well, with attention to detail and great organisational skills, qualities which have helped the business grow rapidly, supplying customers throughout south Wales and the south west from its offices in Cardiff, Chepstow and Bristol.

The company will erect and dismantle the marquee so all we have to do is turn up and enjoy the day. County Marquees will also have a marquee of their own at the show and a friendly rivalry is already present as to whose will be the most impressive! ❧ 66 ❧

County Marquees can supply marquees tailored for any event.

Give them a call on 01446 772739 or email info@countymarquees.co.uk.

You can visit their website at www.countymarquees.co.uk

C U LV E R H O U S E

Culinary Coup for Copthorne’s Raglans Raglans, the restaurant at The Copthorne Cardiff, has secured a second prestigious AA rosette following an inspection by a top judging panel.

The rosettes are awarded to restaurants who offer guests an outstanding holistic dining experience. Judges take into account factors from the quality of ingredients right through to service levels and the product knowledge of serving staff.

Head chef Daniel James was praised for his technical skill, innovation and menu choice. Judges were particularly impressed with the balance of seasonal ingredients illustrated in dishes such as Fillet of Poached Brill in Red Wine served with a Clove Scented Sauce.

Daniel, who won a Michelin star in a previous role as head chef at Llangoed Hall in Powys, put the success down to the hard work of his team, “I am

delighted we have achieved this prestigious accolade for the hotel. The whole team works incredibly hard to ensure that every diner has a fantastic experience and this recognition reflects the high standards of the food and service.”

WORLDWIDE

“The second rosette is reflective of the city’s vibrant dining scene and we look forward to welcoming customers new and old to sample our award winning menu.”

As we go to print, a quick review of our website stats, supplied by Commedia, shows that while our Spring/Summer issue was out, www.valelife.co.uk had 4,132 unique visitors from 53 countries and visitors read a whopping 10,639 pages of our website.

General Manager Orla Watt concluded; “Raglans restaurant is a great place to dine, with a menu which changes regularly under Daniel’s direction, a great wine list and perfectly coordinated service in attractive, relaxed surroundings. Many diners choose Raglans for a lunch meeting or dinner date not only for its sheer quality but also its convenient location.”

Raglans provides a quality menu using locally sourced ingredients and fine wine at a prime location overlooking the hotel lake, close to Cardiff Airport and just four miles from the city centre.

It seems our website is becoming as popular as Vale Life magazine!

Richard Bennewith of Commedia, the company that designs and manages the website said, “Since the Vale Life website went live, we have been working hard to optimise the site and generate ever-increasing site traffic. I am delighted to report that since the beginning of February, visitor numbers have increased by over 600% and page views by over 500%.”

Richard added, “Many people think that hits mean visitors. Hits are generally files or objects such as images in the form of gifs or jpegs that make up elements of a web page. Quoting hits isn’t a particularly good performance indicator although many businesses do it because the numbers seem more impressive when actually they aren’t.

The true test of any website’s success is unique visitor numbers, visits and page views. After that, it simply comes down to actual business generated from traffic which is what most companies look for.

If you’re selling online or using your website to generate sales enquiries, it’s all about the stats and converting visits into hard currency.”

Richard is confident that by the end of 2008, Commedia will have helped triple traffic to the Vale Life website giving advertisers even more exposure.

COWBRIDGE

Rock Bottom in Cowbridge

Jennifer Hobbs-Roberts, Editor of Vale Life said, “Each editorial in the magazine is put on the website including all the images and active hyperlinks. Because of this, readers from around the UK and overseas have the opportunity to read the content of each magazine as it is published and discover what a fantastic county the Vale of Glamorgan is.”

RB’s first opened as Rock Bottom on the turn of the Millennium, specialises in ciders, lagers, fine wines and spirits.

With the ambition to offer customers the cheapest prices and the best quality products possible, they have taken this concept to the next level by doubling the size of the store to accommodate a large selection of premium wines from all over the world, encompassing a large French selection and New World wines, some in excess of £30.RB’s have teamed up with Specialist On Trade suppliers from London and other parts of the UK to bring you the best of the best. RB’s also offers a service for customers that need that little bit extra.

www.valelife.co.uk welcomes the world

Offering a full sale or return service on large orders RB’s can help with deliveries and glass hire. They have successfully supplied many Vale weddings in the past and have built up a large part of their business by going that extra mile. David Brown, Store Manager, invites you to come and visit the store and see what they have in stock. His team is always happy to answer your questions or to discuss your particular requirements. ❧ 67 ❧

As in life, business has its ups and downs and, depending on who you’re talking to in the business community, some of you are enjoying the ups at present and some are definitely not enjoying the downs.

Mark Roberts considers some strategies for business survival without using...

THE F WORD One thing is for sure, we’re all in for an interesting ride over the next eighteen months and being able to adapt quickly appears to be the key to success.

If you’ve been in business as long as I have, you learn that usually the difference between boom and bust is a couple of thousand pounds and sometimes even less than that.

You’ll also learn some pretty fundamental truths…

One, don’t stop marketing. In fact, in a challenging market, the strategy should be to up the effort. Why? Because it’s exactly what less experienced businesses do and you need to be noticed to secure the customers that are out there.

Two. Don’t get sentimental. You’re in business and if you have to let one person go to keep five in a job you’d better learn to get over it, it goes with the territory. Business is about making tough decisions.

And three… Now this, if you don’t do it, will probably kill your business stone dead. Be flexible. At this point, most people are thinking reduction but it can be quite the opposite. The businesses that tend to do well in challenging times are the businesses who are flexible both ways – those who can contract and expand with the market smoothing out the ups and the downs.

For example, if you’re a business based in a small office and you win a large contract, what do you do? Well, you probably celebrate (who doesn’t?) and look for a larger office, sign the lease, buy the furniture and move in – that’s brilliant, but hang on...

Here’s an interesting thought. What if the company who awarded you the contract loses its contract that was basically funding the contract you have?

If you’re the business that has just signed the five year lease and bought all the furniture, chances are you’re feeling pretty sick. There’s an old saying in business, “We’re all sixty days away from bankruptcy.” And it’s true, usually because we haven’t been able to adjust to the changes.

Now, imagine you’re the company that had serviced offices in The Business Centre and all you had to do was call reception and shrink back to your original size. Your risk has been minimised and you’ve enjoyed the period of increased income without taking on the long term overhead and, as each office comes furnished, you didn’t have to buy any furniture or install an expensive phone system.

Total flexibility I like the idea of The Business centre.

It’s brilliantly simple. For example, if you’re just starting out and own a mobile phone, you might just want a good address – something that gives you credibility. Well, an address at The Business Centre will cost you a paltry £25 a month.

Three months goes by, hmmm… things are on the up. You really could do with someone answering those calls you keep missing because you’re in meetings with new customers.

No problem, The Business Centre reception facility including a landline number will cost you just £60 a month and yes, you read correctly, the landline number is included! ❧ 68 ❧

At this point you may be considering getting an office with your own receptionist, and you could if your business was doing well. The Business Centre has serviced office packages from small offices (one to two persons) right up to full blown suites that can comfortably accommodate six to ten people and with easy in/out terms with one months notice, you won’t be lumbered with a long, expensive lease.

They even offer a range of support services from photocopying right through to secretarial services.

You can hire larger rooms for meetings or presentations – they even have an IT suite and fantastic break-out areas with pool table, café and even a gym! In fact, there’s very little The Business Centre can’t supply you with or take care of for you.

Those of you who are sharp, will be thinking you‘ll pay a bit of a premium for this and perhaps you’re right but when push comes to shove, it’s the old F word that matters – flexibility, which means low risk and that is usually the difference between businesses flying or failing. Yes it’s a lot of F’s to think about, but flexibility is better than another F word I can think of… failure.

Mark Roberts has worked with hundreds of businesses over a twenty five year career. He has helped businesses develop successful marketing and promotion strategies through good times and bad.

You can contact him on 07766 106731 and, yes, he really does have an office with The Business Centre.

For more information about flexible office solutions to help your business, call Lynnette at The Business Centre, Barry on 01446 739911.

THE BUSINESS CENTRE

The flexible benefits of a serviced office ■ Instant Access

Usually, you can move in to a fullyfitted turnkey office suite, within 24 hours, providing you with an immediate solution to your office requirement.

■ Flexibility

We are flexible, streamlined and trouble-free – you can expand or contract at short notice free from leasehold responsibilities and obligations.

■ Cost Effective

When all the costs of running a business are taken into account, The Business Centre offers excellent value for money.

There is minimal capital outlay and no expensive legal fees.

■ Convenience

One monthly rental payment based on the size of the office suite chosen covers all of the following business essentials: ■ Rent ■ Service charge ■ General and environmental rates ■ Heating, lighting and power ■ Executive furniture ■ Daily cleaning of office ■ Furnished and manned reception ■ Telephone system including handsets ■ DDI line per authorized user ■ Mail handling ■ Building insurance and maintenance ■ Fire alarm and building security ■ Free car parking ■ Free membership to on-site gym ❧ 69 ❧

“The businesses that tend to do well in challenging times are the businesses who are flexible both ways – those who can contract and expand with the market smoothing out the ups and the downs.”

Mark Roberts The Business Centre Cardiff House, Cardiff Road Barry, Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW 01446 739911 enquiries@thebusinesscentreonline.co.uk www.thebusinesscentreonline.co.uk

VA L E W I D E

P O N T YC L U N

Vale Life’s Top tips for business!

Smoothlines smoothes away lines

WEBSITES

Vale Life talked Sian Ledbury who is a regular customer and avid fan of Smoothlines’ treatments.

Increase the traffic to your website Hits aren’t visits! When people quote you hits, take it with a pinch of salt. Hits are very misleading as they are not the amount of visitors the site has had but indicate the amount of files we download from the website when browsing it.

For example, a hit might be an html file, a picture or thumbnail or an mp3. So, one visitor visiting one web page with 50 pictures or files on it will create a hit rate of at least 50 and possibly several times that - it really is quite easy to generate hits. Always count individual visitors, visits and pages browsed. That way you’ll get a real idea of the traffic.

Richard Bennewith, Commedia www.commediaonline.co.uk VEHICLE HIRE

Huge savings on your vehicle leasing Most Double-Cab vehicles are classed as LCV’s, which means they’re usually 100% tax deductable and business users pay much less company car tax - great news!

The big disadvantage though is that they are so heavy on fuel. Get the best of both worlds by going for a Crew Van, such as the Mercedes Dualiner.

It drives like a car with lots of luxury goodies, it’s better on fuel, is 100% tax deductable on a lease and you can claim back all the VAT (if VAT Regd.)

Glen Newman is co-owner of Purple Contracts 08456 444 300 www.purplecontracts.com

PONTCANNA

Dunia Collection at The Jewellery Studio We are delighted to announce that Roger Williams has introduced the latest Dunia silver collection from Paris to his Jewellery Studio.

Dunia is an exciting new brand of sterling silver fashionable jewellery which is sold exclusively in the Cardiff area by Roger Williams’ Jewellery Studio.

Why do you go to Kudos and Smoothlines?

I have been a regular customer of Kudos for at least 15 years, and with Smoothlines since September 2007.

I initially went to Kudos after always feeling disappointed with previous stylists – I get bored quickly with my hair and other stylists were reluctant to support me with change. At Kudos I have been able to experiment with styles and colour work, with constructive advice which I trust.

How did you hear about them?

I first went to Kudos all those years ago because I liked the look of the salon and it was reasonably local. I now recommend to family and friends.

Nigel introduced me to Smoothlines while I was having my hair done and complaining about my sagging face. He provided me with a leaflet and advised me to contact Bev for an informal chat/consultation. I t was made easier being able to meet Bev at Kudos.

What did you have done?

At Kudos I have regular colour work and styling. At Smoothlines I initially went for discussion/advice about anti wrinkle treatments, however I was introduced to something new to me – Sculptra.

I’m still waiting for the full results of my Sculptra treatment and it will be a few more months for the true result.

However work colleagues are already commenting on the difference - I now have cheeks not a hollow sunken face.

What do you like about Kudos and Smoothlines?

Nigel always looks after his staff and customers, he came to my home on his day off, which happened to be Christmas Eve to do my hair on my wedding day, he also opened up early the day of my son’s wedding to do my hair.

At Smoothlines Bev and Ian are a warm friendly couple, they introduce the treatments in a professional manner, ensuring you are well informed about any procedure undertaken. I always feel totally relaxed when undertaking any procedure with them even when needles are involved!!

Smoothlines at Kudos 2 Midland Chambers, Cowbridge Road Pontyclun CF72 9BT 07724 661406 info@smooth-lines.co.uk www.smooth-lines.co.uk

“Work colleagues are commenting on the difference I now have cheeks not a hollow sunken face.

The latest Dunia collection has over twenty individually named styles of eye catching designs to be worn and admired by women of all ages – ideal as a treat for yourself or as a gift you’ll be sure to find something you love! The Jewellery is created with high quality rhodium plated Sterling Silver and is set with white and coloured CZ. Prices range from £60 to £400.

The jewellery is beautifully packaged and comes with a guarantee card.

The full range with prices can be viewed at www.jewellerystudio.co.uk ❧ 70 ❧

VA L E W I D E

Business referrals Prosper in the Vale To prosper is to flourish and we all want our businesses to prosper and flourish, but hey guess what we can’t do it alone. The best gift anyone can give anyone is business is the gift of friendship, support and development opportunities.

So often businesses try and go it alone and run their enterprises as if they were one hand clapping. Successful businesses recognise that one hand clapping makes no sound and has no impact, so you need another hand to make something significant happen.

The Prosper Business Referral Network considers itself a spare pair of hands to support business get more business and to grow and develop by that same process. Prosper was established in the Vale and is known as an exclusive business network that serves its members by: ■ generating new business

opportunities ■ updating their business skills via

business master classes ■ supports them via business surgeries ■ helps them explore new business

opportunities together by organising bi-monthly under the microscope workshops ■ identifies business venture capital and grant funding

VA L E W I D E

Commedia expands its sign and display range Leading the pack, without breaking your back or your budget. When you need to make an impact in a hurry, you need a portable display system from Commedia. Their exciting range of roller banners pop-ups and panel and pole systems is exactly what you need to make a big impression.

Commedia provide a complete package: design, artwork, print and delivery. For a free demonstration, please call them on 0845 130 1508.

Commedia can design and supply all sorts of signage. Interior signs, exterior signs, you name it - they can create it.

They also design vehicle livery too.

From small vans to articulated lorries no job is too big or too small.

Call for a free quotation!

Commedia Cardiff House, Cardiff Road Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW 0845 130 1508 mark@commediaonline.co.uk www.commediaonline.co.uk

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In short it is the first business networking group to offer a holistic service to members.

Prosper has meetings scheduled at: LLANERCH VINEYARD, HENSOL (VALE) 23 Sept, 28 Oct, 25 Nov and 16 Dec, 2008 MARRIOT HOTEL, SWANSEA 9 Sept ,1 Oct, 4 Nov, 3 Dec, 2008 ST DAVID’S HOTEL, CARDIFF Autumn 2008. Dates to be confirmed.

COED Y MWYSTER HOTEL, BRIDGEND Summer 2008. Dates to be confirmed.

For more information on the Prosper Business Referral Network please visit www.prosperuk.net or contact Cheryl Bass on 07974 762601 or email cheryl@prosperuk.net

JOIN THE CLUB Costco is coming to Cardiff. The cash and carry membership warehouse club sells a wide variety of brand name merchandise at low warehouse prices which will be music to the ears of local businesses in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The first membership cash and carry warehouse club, Price Club,was founded in San Diego, California in 1976. Seven years later, a group of limited partners started Costco Wholesale in Seattle, Washington.

Both companies operated very successfully for over a decade, and then in 1993 they merged to form PriceCostco. In November of that year, the company opened its first warehouse club in the UK. Following the success of the merger, the company changed the name to Costco Wholesale in 1997.

Costco currently operates over 530 Costco membership warehouses worldwide. Each one is filled with top quality, brand-name merchandise at low warehouse prices. Their members include business owners and managers purchasing for resale and commercial uses as well as certain qualifying individuals who are members of specified employee groups.

Costco’s goal is to provide their members with top quality goods and services at the lowest prices possible.

A spokesperson for Costco said, “We do this by operating large, no frills, low-cost facilities, in the most efficient manner. By eliminating many of the operating costs inherent in traditional forms of cash and carry distribution, and being more efficient, we are able to pass on these significant cost savings to all of our members in the form of lower prices.”

Costco offers a wide range of nationally branded product categories with a narrow selection of the most popular items and styles within each category.

This narrow selection process ensures the best selling items are available to you while providing increased inventory turns at their warehouses.

Virtually all merchandise is purchased directly from the manufacturer, thereby reducing costly distribution channels.

These improvements in efficiency contribute directly to lower prices for Costco’s members.

COSTCO CARDIFF

Advantages of Costco membership ■ Substantially reduced prices ■ Wide range of quality branded

products ■ High quality fresh food departments ■ Business supplies and resale

merchandise ■ Immediate availablity - open 7 days a

week ■ Exclusive early shopping hours for

Trade Members ■ Warehouse is self service with

Product Categories include ■ Office Equipment ■ Computers/Software ■ Fresh Meat & Bakery ■ Wines/Beers/Spirits ■ Office Supplies ■ Health/Beauty Aids ■ Large/Small Appliances ■ Tyre Centre ■ Chilled/Frozen Foods ■ Sporting Goods ■ Office Furniture ■ Photo Processing ■ Service Deli ■ Confectionery ■ Tobacco ■ Toys ■ Automotive ■ Hardware ■ Fresh Produce ■ Grocery ■ Optical ■ Clothing ■ Jewellery ■ Housewares ■ Seasonal

“Costco’s goal is to provide their members with top quality goods and services at the lowest prices possible.” ❧ 72 ❧

products packaged and sold in bulk quantities ■ No hidden charges - all prices are posted excluding and including VAT ■ Pay with cash, company or personal cheque or debit cards ■ Membership valid at over 530 locations worldwide Lower prices Costco keeps prices low with massive buying power and by eliminating nearly all conventional distribution expenses.

Top quality The most wanted and respected brands such as Michelin, Philips, Sony, Dyson, Coca Cola, Gillette, Hewlett Packard, Dom Perignon and many more.

Product selection From croissants to computers thousands of items to choose from virtually everything for an office or business, for resale or business use.

Speciality departments ■ Fresh Produce ■ Gourmet Deli ■ Optical Centre ■ Tyre Centre ■ Fresh Meat ■ Fine Wine ■ Photo Processing

“Virtually all merchandise is purchased directly from the manufacturer, thereby reducing costly distribution channels.

These improvements in efficiency contribute directly to lower prices for Costco’s members.”

Welcome to Costco Wholesale If you are a bonafide business owner or manager, you qualify for Trade Membership.

You need to provide evidence of trading in the form of a current business utility bill (electricity, gas, water) plus either a VAT Registration Certificate or two other pieces of business stationery (cheque, letterhead, invoice).

The annual Trade Membership fee is £23.50 (inc VAT) which includes a free spouse card.

Individual Membership You qualify for Individual Membership if you belong to specific employment groups – please call for more details of qualifying categories.

You need to provide relevant ID, such as your payslip, ID card or professional qualification, plus a current utility bill (electricity, gas, water) from your home address.

The annual Individual Membership fee is £29.37 (inc. VAT) which includes a free spouse card.

Double guarantee on Costco merchandise Costco guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund.

Costco will refund your membership fee in full at any time if you aredissatisfied. * Exceptions apply. Please see in warehouse for more details.

“Costco currently operates over 530 Costco membership warehouses worldwide. Each one is filled with top quality, brand-name merchandise at low warehouse prices.”

Call Costco Cardiff 029 2078 7520 Capital Retail Park, Leckwith Road Cardiff CF11 8AZ www.costco.co.uk

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Open Mon - Fri Sat Sun

Trade 10am - 8.30pm 9.30am - 6pm 11am - 5pm

Individual 12am - 8:30pm 9.30am - 6pm 11am - 5pm

Ensuring exceptional care for you

ARE AREYOU YOU CONCERNED CONCERNED ABOUT? ABOUT? • Heartburn/reflux • Heartburn/reflux • Diarrhoea • Diarrhoea • Constipation • Constipation

Patients may contact Nucleus Healthcare directly to arrange an appointment.

We are able to offer appointments within 24 hours.

Nucleus Healthcare is recognised by all major health insurance companies.

CONTACT US ON:

01633 815900

• Unexpected • Unexpected weight-loss weight-loss • Loss • Loss of of appetite appetite • Bleeding • Bleeding from from thethe bowels bowels • Nausea/vomiting • Nausea/vomiting • Haemorrhoids • Haemorrhoids • Abdominal • Abdominal pain pain

Some of Wales’ finest physicians and surgeons specialising in gastroenterology consult at the centre. Nucleus Healthcare is the country’s first private clinic offering state-of-the-art facilities for the prompt, expert diagnosis and treatment of all acute and chronic problems of the digestive system.

• Hiatus • Hiatus hernia hernia • Liver • Liver and and Gall-bladder Gall-bladder problems problems • Anaemia • Anaemia

Nucleus Healthcare was inspected and accredited

by Health Inspectorate Wales in January 2008.

• Screening • Screening forfor bowel bowel cancer cancer Nucleus Nucleus Healthcare Healthcare is open is open to everyone to everyone youyou do do notnot need need private private health health insurance insurance to visit to visit us.us.

Spooner Close, Celtic Springs Business Park, Newport, NP10 8FZ. Tel: 01633 815900. Fax: 01633 815915 Email: enquiries@nucleushealthcare.co.uk Web: www.nucleushealthcare.co.uk

At some point, most of us will probably suffer from an illness that we may feel embarrassed or frightened to seek treatment for. A new clinic in Newport could help ease your concerns.

Nucleus Healthcare, a brand new state-of-the-art specialist gastroenterology clinic has been officially opened at Celtic Springs Business Park, Newport.

The unit has a team of thirty, consisting of five specialist consultants, experienced nurses and administrative staff.Nucleus Healthcare is the only private gastroenterology unit in the UK, providing services such as capsule endoscopy, pH manometry studies and many more leading edge investigations.

The 27,000 sq ft unit has two endoscopy theatres, ten en-suite rooms, dedicated out patient areas, teaching and research facilities over two floors.

SPECIALIST CLINIC The specialist unit deals with many illnesses which patients often find embarrassing or difficult to talk about, Nucleus Healthcare is the UK’s first clinic to specialise in this way and focuses on expert diagnosis and treatment of all problems relating to the digestive system.

These include relatively common conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac and crohns disease, as well as detailed procedures which screen for bowel cancer, gall bladder, liver disease and other associated problems related to digestion.

“What we’ve aimed to do is create a centre of excellence that is completely designed with the patient’s needs in mind. We’re fully aware that we’re dealing with subjects that people might not want to talk about openly.”

Speaking about the centre, unit manager, Luba Srivastava, whose husband, Dr Manny Srivastava founded Nucleus Healthcare and is chief executive and clinical director, said:

Nucleus Healthcare has been designed to feel spacious and welcoming, creating a relaxing environment for patients going through a difficult and stressful time.”

“What we’ve aimed to do is create a centre of excellence that is completely designed with the patient’s needs in mind. We’re fully aware that we’re dealing with subjects that people might not want to talk about openly.

Nucleus Healthcare is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday.

Please call 01633 815900 to arrange an appointment

We try and reassure them that literally thousands of others will be suffering in the same way and that the more these things are discussed, the better, as health is something that cannot be taken for granted.

At Nucleus Healthcare we have a team that includes some of Wales’ best physicians and surgeons, as well as our own specialist dietician, and I think it is important to stress that no referral is needed prior to making an appointment-patients can simply call us directly and they can be seen within 24 hours.

We deal with all sorts of symptomsfrom heartburn to constipation, unexpected weight loss, haemorrhoids and abdominal pain. They’re things that most of us will suffer from at some point but might be embarrassed or frightened to seek treatment for.”

Nucleus Healthcare was inspected and accredited by Health Inspectorate Wales in January 2008.

If you need to rent or to sell a property, it needs to look its very best.

Vale Life talks to experts Multifurnish in Barry.

Who is involved in the business and what are your roles?

Dave Lewis and Mike Watkins – joint directors Matt Church – Sales Manager How long has Multifurnish been trading?

Two years.

In a nutshell, what does Multifurnish do?

We supply furniture, floor coverings, white goods and ‘dress out’ items to the commercial market i.e. landlords, show homes, hotels, nursing homes, pubs and clubs etc.

We opened our first retail outlet in February of this year after recognising there was a gap in Barry and the Vale area for a furniture store that supplies high quality items at competitive prices.

Which areas do you cover?

The whole of the UK and Western Europe – mainly Spain, Portugal and France.

Is there a show home in the Vale that customers can visit?

Not a show home as such, but there is a 5,500 sq ft shop, which is used as a show room to our commercial clients – we then try to pass the discounts we receive for buying in bulk on to the general public, through this outlet.

MULTI FURNISH Who are your customers?

As well as serving the general public with our retail arm, our main business covers the whole of the UK and Western Europe ranging from furnishing a single apartment to a large hotel development.

I understand that you have different packages for this service?

Although our unique selling point is the fact that we visit every apartment that we furnish in order to sell people what they need rather than ‘off the shelf’ packages which may not suit them.

We do have a few example packages just to get the ball rolling and give customers an idea of makeup and costs.

Please visit our website for more details. ❧ 76 ❧

We visit every apartment that we furnish in order to sell people what they need rather than ‘off the shelf’ packages which may not suit them.

“I was having problems renting out my flat and my agent suggested I put in some additional furniture. However, being very busy i did not want the hassle of having to find furniture, wait for it to be delivered, assemble it and remove unwanted stuff.

I contacted Multifurnish and a consultant came around that afternoon to assess what was needed, by that evening I had a full quote for furniture, paintings and mirrors and this was delivered and assembled within 5 days.

“Our main business covers the whole of the UK and Western Europe from a single apartment to large hotel developments.”

It was good value and Multifurnish knew exactly what was needed.

Their staff did all the work and I didn’t even need to be at the property once whilst it was being sorted!

Multifurnish Ltd 125, Broad St, Barry Vale of Glamorgan CF62 7AL 01446 721393 info@multifurnish.co.uk www.multifurnish.co.uk

❧ 77 ❧

Within a week I was delighted to have rented out my flat. I would thoroughly recommend Multifurnish who provided me with a professional, efficient and great value service.”

Jilly, Cardiff Bay

Welcome to Vale Life magazine’s Social Life section, a veritable who’s who of the Vale of Glamorgan.

VALE

PENARTH

Eclipse nightclub The new owner of Eclipse nightclub in Penarth, Nick Lloyd, pictured below, welcomed friends and new customers to the launch party which was in aid of the George Thomas Hospice.

Presenters and friends of Eclipse raise a glass

For exhibition and display solutions call

MAKE A REAL EXHIBITION OF YOURSELF 0845 w w 130 w . 1508 c o mwww.commediaonline.co.uk mediaonline.co.uk

❧ 78 ❧

SOCIAL LIFE LLANTWIT MAJOR

Illtud’s 216 Owners Georg and Einar Fuchs and staff welcomed regular customers to their anniversary celebration.

Guests enjoyed the culinary delights and partied into the small hours with live music by Colum Regan.

The Illtud’s 216 team

Andrew Davies aka Pugsley and Caitlin Jenkins of Ewenny Pottery

Alan Evans, Alison Williams, Mandy and John Davies

Colum Regan

Deborah Jones and Martin Jones (artist whose work was featured on the walls at Illtud’s 216), Peter Ashby, Jan Culleton

Rhian and Leighton Sime, Linda Hayward

Eddie Rabaiotti, Diana Andrews, Margaret Hewlett, Peter Andrews

For exhibition and display solutions call

YOU CAN STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD 0845 w w 130 w . 1508 c o mwww.commediaonline.co.uk mediaonline.co.uk

❧ 79 ❧

VALE

Social Life covers launches, parties, exhibitions, charitable events, fashion shows, engagements and weddings.

TREBETT YN

Glamorgan Hunt Ball A great time was had by all at the annual Summer Hunt Ball held at Trebettyn by kind permission of Mr & Mrs Cocco.

Over £5,900 was raised on the night towards the Noah's Ark Appeal and the Glamorgan Hunt. The Entertainments Committee are extremely grateful for so much continued support.

Joanna Allen, Lyndon Ward, Leeann Mullen, Keeley Lane

Mike and Alison Gibbon, Martyn and Charlotte Edwards

Judith Edgell and husband Terry

Lyndon Ward and Paul Islwyn Thomas

Tim and Julie Rooney, Russell and Sarah Pritchard

Mr Mervyn and Mrs Beverly Lewis, Mrs Nesta and Mr Ross Lewis (Master)

Louise Cossey, Catherine Andrews, Louise Evans, Lynne Devine

Three Hunt Masters, Mike Gibbon, Ross Lewis, Martyn Edwards

For exhibition and display solutions call

I T ’S YO U R C H A N C E TO R E A L LY S H I N E 0845 w w 130 w . 1508 c o mwww.commediaonline.co.uk mediaonline.co.uk

❧ 80 ❧

SOCIAL LIFE Tony Evans, Mike Thomas and friends

HSBC Sponsors, John and Jackie Lloyd Jones, Fleur and Matt Burge

Liz Roderick, Alice Croxford, Jeannie Beckett (Huntsman’s wife)

John Howes, Nicola Gibson, Sue Howes, Keith Gibson

Mr and Mrs Dixon, Mr and Mrs Mason

Mr Paul Islwyn Thomas and Mrs Nicola Gibson, Mr Keith Gibson and Mrs Jane Islwyn Thomas

Ross Salter (Whip), Ross Lewis (Master), Mark Beckett (Huntsman)

HSBC Group Fred and Manu Whitcombe, Paul and Caroline Hole, Clive Sensier, Sian Roberts, Derek and Kim Gaynor, Anita and Myrddyn Hughes

Caroline and David Calow

Abi Reader, Hannah Whitehouse, Jenny Evans (Veterinary student, 21st birthday), Victoria Shervington, Jo Rees, Natalie Lewis

For exhibition and display solutions call

YOU CAN BE THE STAR OF THE SHOW 0845 w w 130 w . 1508 c o mwww.commediaonline.co.uk mediaonline.co.uk

❧ 81 ❧

I’ve always fancied going to the Polo. Not because I follow the game but mainly out of curiosity. I’m the first to admit that I’m a shocking people watcher and now that I’m editor of Vale Life, it gave me the perfect excuse to see what all the buzz was about.

On checking out the website at www.stdavidspolo.co.uk I saw that there were several different options to choose from. We could step out in style with a table in the hospitality pavilion hosted by the patron of the St Davids Polo Club, Viscount St Davids and get the full VIP treatment of a Pimms

reception, three course lunch, the ability to view the match from a private enclosure and enjoy a post match private disco by a top UK party band.

Or, we could take a Polo box (or pod as it has affectionately become known) which is a marquee directly on the Polo ground with private enclosure to the front, or, we could simply pay for field only tickets and take our own picnic.

Hmmm... tough call. VIP table duly booked, we then invited some friends and began the countdown to the day.

My main concern wasn’t the weather conditions, ground conditions or any other condition but what to wear. ❧ 82 ❧

The weeks before the event seemed like a blur with much pounding the streets of the Vale and Cardiff looking for ‘the’ outfit. I happened to choose a day in Cardiff when the sales were on.

Looking through rail upon rail of dresses which weren’t wanted in the first place has never appealed to me and with half an hour to go before the shops closed I happened upon a dress from Hobbs which I thought would fit the bill perfectly.

A few days later and a quick dash to Marks & Spencer in Culverhouse Cross for chinos and a jacket for my husband and we were just about good to go.

POLO Fonmon Castle proudly welcomed the sport of kings to the heart of the Vale.

Proof that the polo is a fun event!

It was champagne all the way

Amanda Protheroe-Thomas with the captain of the winning team

“I’m so pleased that St Davids Polo will be at Fonmon Castle in 2009 and we fully intend to visit again next year.”

The big day came and luckily the weather was fine if a little breezy.

My hat went off (not that I wore one) to Geoff Lloyd, Chairman of St Davids Polo Club and his team as the day appeared to go without a hitch.

The lunch was superb, Team Aston Martin and Team Hackett played brilliantly and the day continued into the night with music which I could actually dance to, which I did.

A big thanks to our guests Martin and Julie Phillips, Judy and Pepe Mancuso, Cheryl Bass, Huw Johns and Suzanne Jaya for making the day such an enjoyable one.

Jennifer Hobbs-Roberts, Editor, Vale Life

❧ 83 ❧

POLO

“We were delighted to host the St Davids Polo here at Fonmon Castle Grounds.”

Jane Islwyn Thomas, Nicola Gibson, Judith Edgell

Natasha Louca (green dress) and friends

Andy Mathews, Paul Islwyn Thomas

Liz Scourfield, Eleanor Gimblett-Williams (S4C)

A great opportunity to let your hair down!

Vale Life is very happy to be working with Derek Naylor as our society and events photographer.

Why do you specialise in society and events photography?

Mainly by request. Since I love photographing people and that’s what I’m best known for. Clients and friends have needed photography over the years for corporate and private events and it’s just a natural progression of what I do best. There’s always something going on in the Vale and Cardiff and capturing people at society events, when they’re relaxed and enjoying themselves, is what I enjoy.

What is your favourite event?

I enjoy the buzz of celebrity events and I do enjoy the Polo as it’s a fantastic spectacle and a good way to catch up with friends and make new ones whilst working. I also enjoy the more poignant event like the one I covered recently where some disabled children were having fun with the drivers of the touring monster truck team. Despite their difficulties, they had such a fantastic time and I know some of my photographs made a difference.

Why have you decided to work with Vale Life?

It’s a really beautiful magazine and it’s obvious that it is something quite special and I like the ethos behind it.

I enjoy being a part of it.

How long have you been a photographer?

I have been photographing for more than 20 years professionally. I worked in the BBC film unit many years ago and most of my spare time was spent in the darkroom, which was rarely used. My father was a journalist and I always had access to Time Magazine, National Geographic and the Sunday supplements. This certainly inspired me. I worked for a lady photographer in a very classic studio in Toronto, which was really valuable training, before returning to the Vale about twelve years ago where I slowly but surely established myself as a professional photographer.

What type of events are these?

Most large charities have black tie events and celebrity dinners or fundraisers as they’re essential to generating funds and awareness. My attendance at these events not only covers essential PR photographs but also allows guests to remember the event long after it’s gone as they can purchase the photographs from my website at www.ifotoevents.co.uk while supporting the charity, as a percentage of sales is given to the charity. Also golf days, ladies lunches, fun runs, Royal visits and private parties. ❧ 84 ❧

Derek Naylor’s Polo images can be viewed online at www.valelife.co.uk and can be bought from his website at www.ifotoevents.com

Steve Llewelyn, Sacha Stevens, Vicky Llewelyn

Tim Ham, Alisa Thorne

Does it take a special type of photographer to do this?

Twenty years experience certainly helps but also being able to blend in with the environment and being part of the event is crucial to getting good photographs of people. Privacy and trust are also vital... not everyone wants to be photographed and I respect that.

Ewan Price, Edward Price, Lizzy Creffield, Lesie Ann Creffield

Kelly Readon Brown, Sacha Stevens, Jamie Baulch, Tamsin James

“I love photographing people and that’s what I’m best known for.” Derek Naylor

Any plans for the future?

For some time, I’ve wanted to make a film about surf culture in Wales, which combines my love of surfing and my love of Wales and photography.

I’ve recently had some interest in the project which is exciting, but sourcing funding for a project of this scale is still a massive task. However, I like a challenge and I believe it’s good to have something to work towards in life!

Derek Naylor Photography 01446 795300 Mobile 07979 361520 www.ifotoevents.co.uk

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Derek enjoys a Pimms with friends

POLO

Judith Edgell, Debbie Mulberry, Caroline Callow

“This was my first visit to St Davids Polo and it certainly won’t be my last. It’s a great day out and I’d thoroughly recommend it.”

Judy Mancuso, Pepe Mancuso

Relaxing in their pod!

Having a drink, watching the sport

Fortunately the rain held off and everyone enjoyed the day

Kirsty Elliot, Sophie Hall, Sue Jones, Roz Paul, Bridget Hall

Wendy Morgan, David Thomas, Sally & Richard James-Williams

Alison Gibbard and friends (Swansea Business Life)

You can find more photos at www.valelife.co.uk ❧ 86 ❧

Lynda and Margaret Demerios and friends

The Polo organisers and teams ensured that a great day out was had by all

Alison Gibbon, Frank Holmes, Nicola Gibson

James Henry Sykes-Hagen, centre, and friends

“Fonmon has certainly been a hit with members and players alike and we all look forward to returning next year.

Special thanks to Sir Brooke Boothby and the resident farmers Andrew and Julian Radcliffe for their patience and hard work in converting a field to a very acceptable playing surface.”

Geoff Lloyd, Chairman St David’s Polo & Racing Club Ltd

Enjoying a glass of bubbly

Vale Life and guests enjoy the proceedings

To find out more about the event or to book tickets for next year contact the tournament director Geoff Lloyd by writing to: St Davids Polo Club 34 Cathedral Road Cardiff CF11 9LE or by phone 029 2066 6091 or by emailing geoff@stdavidspolo.co.uk www.stdavidspolo.co.uk Mike Clarke and friends

For more information about St Davids Polo please visit www.stdavidspolo.co.uk ❧ 87 ❧

SHOWCASE YOUR HOME IN VALE LIFE Featuring your home in Vale Life can help to sell your property!

We’ve all heard the recent disturbing news about the global credit crunch and the effect that this is having on the housing market, but what if you still want to sell your house?

Is your property suitable?

Firstly your property has to be appropriate for Vale Life. It might have some interesting history, be in a stunning location or just simply beautifully presented.

We have a number of packages available which are as follows:

As with any product, it is important to create a desirable product for the market in which you’re trying to sell.

So, just imagine potential buyers poring over your beautifully presented property in the pages of Vale Life.

After an initial consultation, we would arrange to take photographys and write descriptive text to complement the images.

Gold A four page feature of your home including photography, copywriting and web pages.

If you’re thinking of selling, this is a highly effective way of promoting your home to discerning readers in the Vale of Glamorgan and is the perfect medium in which to showcase VALE LIFE your property.

Platinum A four page feature of your home including photography, copywriting, web pages and an eight page brochure which would also contain the feature pages from Vale Life.

“A feature in Vale Life is a highly effective way of promoting your home to discerning readers.”

SUMMER ❧ AUTUMN 2008 FREE

P R O U D

T H E VA L E

Vale Life Cardiff House Cardiff Road Vale of Glamorgan CF63 2AW

OF

T O

B E

I N D E P E N D E N T

G L A M O R G A N ’S P R E M I E R L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E

Silver A double page spread of your home including photography and copywriting

For a free quotation, please telephone 0845 130 6452 HIGH SUMMER THE VALE

OF

GLAMORGAN SHOW, POLO

AT

FONMON

FASHION , FOOD , TRAVEL AND INTERIORS

RESTAURANT REVIEWS, WHAT’S ON, BUSINESS, SHOPPING

THERE’S MORE ONLINE WWW . VALELIFE . CO . UK

PLUS A RT , B OOKS , S TYLE , HEALTH, HOMES AND MUCH MORE

or email jennifer@valelife.co.uk www.valelife.co.uk

CEREDWYN COTTAGE 4 star luxury, breathing fresh air into coastal living.

Situated on Colhugh Street, Llantwit Major a stone’s throw from the bustling village with its many quaint shops, cafés and restaurants. Just one mile to the beach and the breathtaking Heritage Coastline, stands this most charming 200 year old Welsh stone cottage.

The cottage has been lovingly restored to reveal its Welsh stone walls and two original fireplaces by its owners Vicki Morgan and her business partner Kevin Hom Sing of Icos Building and Design Ltd. Vicki and Kevin started renovating the cottage just over a year ago and have transformed it into a masterpiece of sophisticated, warm cottage living. The whole cottage has been completely remodelled offering the following accommodation: Interior ♥ Large open plan sitting room with two original fireplaces ♥ Slate stone flooring to the whole of the ground floor ♥ Kitchen/dining room with utility ♥ Downstairs family bathroom ♥ Two double bedrooms (one bedroom with dressing area) ♥ Master bedroom offers en-suite shower room Exterior ♥ Enclosed landscaped garden with decking and lawn area ♥ Private off road parking for two vehicles

This is a rare opportunity to purchase a stunning cottage, full of character, in one of the Vale’s most desirable and sought after locations.

For Sale This charming property is offered for sale at £255,000 Please call 0845 130 6452 or email jennifer@valelife.co.uk

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Ceredwyn Cottage.

Home is where the heart is.

Selling your property?

If you are a homeowner and would like to feature your property in Vale Life please call 0845 130 6452 or email jennifer@valelife.co.uk for further information.

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THG Holidays has teamed up with Cardiff Airport to bring you worldwide destinations at amazing prices.

If you’re anything like me, you dream of flying off to distant shores but doesn’t the thought of dragging yourselves and your children on a four hour trip to Heathrow or Gatwick with the usual traffic jams, frequent delays, high transport costs and crowded terminals put you off? Thanks to THG Holidays this is now a thing of the past.

COME FLY WITH US Making that dream a reality is now possible thanks to south Wales based tour operator THG Holidays. They have teamed up with Cardiff Airport to launch a new Worldwide programme based on flying from Cardiff Airport for Winter 2008/9 and beyond.

We chatted to Elise Howells, an existing THG Holidays customer, to see how her dream holiday came true by booking through THG Holidays.

Why did you choose THG Holidays?

Through personal recommendation.

A friend of mine has used THG Holidays a few times in the past and had always been really pleased with the holidays that they had booked for her.

How did you know their choice of hotels would be suitable for you?

They assured me that all of the hotels featured in their brochure had been visited by at least one member of their staff and met their strict criteria before they gained the THG Holidays seal of approval. My friend had also said that she had been delighted with the hotel that they had chosen for her.

Was it easy to book the holiday?

It was all done over the phone. THG Holidays were very efficient and came back to me with a confirmed cost and itinerary that matched my requirements.

What was the most important requirement for your holiday?

I wanted to fly from my nearest regional airport which is Cardiff.

As we were flying to a long haul destination, I didn’t want the hassle of a long journey to the aiport and I knew that when we got back after a long flight, I’d just want to get home as quickly as possible.

What did you like about booking with THG Holidays?

The customer service was second to none, the staff were extremely friendly.

They matched my holiday requirements accurately and made sure that I was given tips and advice. They also booked executive lounge passes for me in Cardiff and Bangkok which was an excellent start and finish to the holiday.

In addition, they even booked car parking for me at Cardiff so I literally had nothing to do myself.

Did you have a destination in mind?

I did have a destination in mind but I received a lot of excellent advice from the sales consultant who questioned my holiday preferences and matched three resorts to my requirements. I stayed three nights in Bangkok for sightseeing, shopping and nightlife, seven nights in Krabi for beach, relaxation and island trips and finally three nights in Hua Hin for night market, shopping and evening entertainment. All the hotels recommended to me were spot on in terms of location, service and standard.

Did they give you any useful tips?

On their recommendation I took my husband to the Lebua State Tower in Bangkok for the best views of the city at night and we visited the Grand Palace which was spectacular. The service I received in the resort was excellent. We were met at the airport and transferred to our hotel where we were assisted with check in and given contact details by our representative who also was able to arrange additional trips for us and was just a quick call away if we needed them. ❧ 89 ❧

This all sounds expensive and did the change over in Amsterdam put you off?

I looked at pricing flights and accommodation myself but this worked out more expensive, it was easier and more cost effective to book as a package and THG offered me the best price in the market. The change over in Amsterdam was very easy as Schiphol airport is superb and sign posted well.

It was nice to stretch your legs and have a drink between flights. I would prefer this than the inconvenience of flying from a London airport.

Would you use THG Holidays to book another holiday?

Absolutely! In fact my husband and I are discussing dates for our next trip and are considering the USA or a South China Cruise and will be contacting THG Holidays again to arrange it.

THG Holidays Ring freephone 0800 988 1721 Or visit www.thgholidays.co.uk

THE LAST WORD Alun Davies, of Purple Contracts tells us about his favourite things in the Vale and what he’d change in the world if he could.

Alun, please tell us about yourself I’m 47 years of age and have worked within the Asset Funding industry for 25 years. Previously I worked with Chartered Trust, First National Motor Finance and I had significant involvement with MG Rover, Suzuki and Honda motor manufacturers.

I’m currently a director of Purple Contracts, a vehicle leasing company.

What do you most like about living in the Vale of Glamorgan?

It has to be the Heritage Coastline with its sweeping cliff backdrops and the sands at Merthyr Mawr, it’s history and proximity to both Cardiff and Swansea and their rejuvenated bay areas. The Vale offers a country style living and only 25 minutes from a capital city with all its amenities.

“The Vale offers a country style living and only 25 minutes from a capital city with all its amenities.”

What is your favorite restaurant?

Porthcawl’s best kept secret, The Coast Restaurant. Great service, quality food and a great atmosphere. For a more formal evening check out the Great House at Laleston. Well worth a visit.

Favorite meal?

Aberdeen Angus steak with mushrooms, mashed potato and a red wine gravy. Homemade bread and butter pudding – not for slimmer’s but it isn’t half good.

Lifelong ambition?

To learn to sail proficiently

Best view in the Vale?

Watching the sunset as you look down the Bristol Channel at Southerndown.

Looking west or watching the moon rise over Nash Point lighthouse on a clear summer’s night with the north Somerset coastline in the background.

Favorite place to stay in Wales?

The very dramatic setting of Pale Hall near Bala, an 18th Century house set in parkland with the mountains of Snowdonia as a backdrop.

Best view in south Wales?

Looking 360 degrees from Rhossili Down you have Carmarthenshire, Tenby, Saunsersfoot to the west, Gower to the north and Worms Head and north Devon to the south and Rhossili beach immediately below you.

What do you do to relax?

Spending time with my family, walking the Welsh coastline. Watching all sports particularly football and rugby as, unfortunately, I’m too old to play now.

If you weren’t involved in vehicle finance what would you have been?

A PE teacher

Any two people you would invite to dinner?

Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandella. It would be a night of stimulating conversation with two of the greatest statesman of their century.

What gadget could you seriously not do without?

Today’s world means that we have to be in constant communication so it would have to be my internet connection. It is a constant stream of information... the contents of every library available at the click of a mouse! ❧ 90 ❧

If someone summed you up in three words?

Reliable, diligent, cautious.

If you were a politician what would you try to change?

On current issues, it would have to be the situation in Zimbabwe and Darfur.

How can we be measured as a civilised society when we watch the horrors of these situations. It’s a sad reflection on the UN and the G8 countries that they will not influence these regimes to treat their citizens more humanely. Enough politicising – that’s too big a question.

Purple Contracts Talk to Purple!

08456 444 300 info@purplecontracts.com www.purplecontracts.com If you’d like to be featured or would like to promote your business in Last Word, please call Jennifer on 0845 130 6452 or email jennifer@valelife.co.uk

need a van? need a car? need advice?

“At Purple we take great pride in the fact that every one of our customers gets the very best advice and the right vehicle for them, quickly and easily.

Anyone can ‘punt’ a cheap vehicle.

At Purple - we do it right!”

Glen Newman Co-owner

Reasons people are talking to Purple ■ Our expertise and knowledge ■ Good, honest, straighforward advice ■ One to one phone consultation ■ Vehicles from stock, free UK delivery ■ We make it simple - simple is good!

■ No nasty surprises, or hidden costs Talk to Purple - you’ll be glad you did

please visit www.purplecontracts.com

08456 444 300

Choosing the right marquee and interiors can make all the difference between a great occasion and a really memorable one. At County Marquees we don’t just provide marquees... we help you to create the perfect atmosphere for your event.

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